Wednesday, December 31, 2008

Catch-up Post #3

At Lynn (Todd's mom) and Bobby's Wedding

A beautiful, casual, and intimate wedding in a little Inn that is also an art studio. I was either in the picture or managing Sarah so I didn't snap a whole lot of pictures, and will have to wait to post more until I get copies...



If you have been around Sarah for any length of time you know "Lovey." She made it into our family shot. I thought Lovey would help me calm Sarah since she didn't get a normal nap that day and, well, it worked!

Sarah in her "I'm Mary, you're Joseph" garb...
Catch-up Post #2

Christmas in Las Cruces, New Mexico

This is the gorgeous view out the windows of Todd's Granddad and Grandmom's place...
The mountains are the Organ Mountains... named presumably because they resemble the pipes of a pipe organ?


Hannah and Sarah in their chairs... Dressed as twins though Sarah is 8 months older. She also seems to have achieved "star cousin" status in Hannah's eyes...


If Sarah "got" opening presents last year, she was showing that she definitely remembered what to do... Thankfully, she also showed a greater understanding of the true meaning of Christmas with all the role-playing of the Nativity...


I was really lame at capturing all the family that came. It really was unbelievable how many extended family were around...both for Christmas and for Todd's mom's wedding.
Here is Alvy Smith and his partner Alison Gopnik,
Joy (Todd's sister), Granddad.



Stuart, Joy's husband, and me...


Catch-up Post...

Fun in the snow...

I just HAD to post this because normally my aim is embarrassingly poor, but this time I got Todd right on top of his head! Couldn't do it again in a million years...


Sarah being affectionate with her snow buddy...

Sarah said the taste of snow tasted like summer...
I guess that makes sense since she really enjoys popsicle
s!

Anyone see a resemblance to Ralphie's younger brother? Only difference (other than that Sarah's a girl) is that she could put her arms down...

Sarah gets stir crazy and discovers her headbands...

Thursday, December 18, 2008

Snow that I grew up with from time to time in Spokane...
Maybe not "Montana" snow or "Colorado" snow,
but it sure isn't Seattle snow either...
Two feet and getting deeper...

Just out the sliding glass doors to my parents' back deck
where the roof stops and the snow begins...


Out the front door...

Out the side door to the side yard...

Further out the front door/Front walkway...

They make sure the birds are well fed...

Sunday, December 14, 2008

More December Highlights...

Ho Ho Ho!


Sarah's 2nd Candy Cane...
I better watch her with her 3rd,
because they seem to be getting progressively more messy...




Women's Christmas Tea
(no pictures unfortunately)
BEAUTIFUL
Cozy YUMMY Entertaining
Fun JOY-FILLED Fancy
Festive!


My late at night inspired craft

(Thanks Paper Zone for the pattern!)
on the night we got about 3 inches of the real thing!


Grace's 2008 Christmas Program
Preschool class singing:
Twinkle Twinkle Christmas Star
and
Away in the Manger
Thanks Grandmom for the Christmas dress!

Amber and Roberta et al. did such a great job
with running and costuming the whole thing...
Congrats that it's also DONE! =)


Our daughter seems to clam up (HIGHLY unusual) and instead do interpretive dancing (toward the end) during Christmas programs... the little ham... Good thing we get to hear the full versions at home, in the car etc.

Sunday, December 7, 2008

Thanks everyone... We are very excited and even though the world of "sisters" is foreign to me (as far as growing up with a biological one) I hope to follow the wonderful example so many of you have set so far in fostering the love between sisters in your children... I confess, my first thought of sisters is/was not a positive one (I was actually glad to not have a sister growing up because of all bad impressions I had of them being cruel to each other and always fighting...) and I am thankful to have such an amazing brother so I didn't have to deal with the negative side of sisterhood. But be assured, I'm not thinking that has to be the case, and will probably be probing you for wisdom and advice as the years go by! Sarah is just so excited and crazy for babies, I can't imagine (right now) that she will be anything but ga-ga over this new little lady... Sharing me, however, will be the challenge, and my hope is to really make sure I'm giving her as much "Mommy time" as I can spare so she doesn't feel abandoned or "replaced" so to speak...

On another note, last night we went to the Marysville Christmas parade in "downtown" Marysville... I would describe it as "cute" as far as small town parades go... The typical Scout troupes with leaders walking down a stretch of State street singing and waving, the mayor, hot rods all tricked out with neon lights and reving engines, the random tow trucks who were also advertising/decorated in lights, police, and to finish it off, Santa and Mrs. Claus in the bucket of the fire truck's ladder. Sarah loved it. She had her first candy cane and was sassy enough to tell me that she bit it off even though I had told her to just lick it! I think we lost one mitten, and had a good time... Forgot the camera - doh!

Monday, December 1, 2008

So we had our "big" ultrasound today,
and without further ado, we're having a....
Drum Roll Please.................................

































































GIRL!
And are now in the search for a girl name which we will be keeping as the surprise for after she's born... Sarah's suggestion of a name for her little sister is "Goose" - uh, yeah, so we won't be naming her that (or Hannah since there's already two as cousins), but "Goose" might just be a fun nickname...
(that is if Todd can disassociate it from Top Gun)