December Wrap-Up

A smattering of pictures from the past few weeks. Not nearly enough, I keep witnessing cute moments that have passed by the time I pull out the camera.

Santa!Jack crawling.


Santa!Jack sitting.


All he wants for Christmas is to pull up unassisted.


Ho ho ho.


Cheese!


Clara is showing off the barnyard she and Daddy made for the Nativity scene.


PJ shot


Jack was cracking up at Sydney at the end of his dinner.

Walking in a Winter Wonderland

This afternoon on our walk it began to snow! Clara was very excited since snow has been a common theme in many of the Christmas books we've been reading. She was sticking her tongue out to catch snowflakes like Clifford.

On the Hugie Mama Rock in the snow


All bundle up


Jeekbo's first snow


It's snowing!


And a quick video.

The Quest for a Christmas Card Picture

Last week I embarked on the task of getting two children to smile for the camera at the same time. This turned out to be v. difficult. On two separate occasions they were dressed in festive apparel and pictures snapped. Out of all those taken, only a smattering of which are shown below, there were two in which they were both looking at the camera.

Day 1

My first idea was at some point on our walk to try to snap a photo. First attempt was to have them sit on a bench in the green way near the park. That ended before it could even begin as Clara burst into tears screaming that she didn't want her picture taken and ran off towards the park. This gave me the idea to put the kids in swings... at least this way they were contained. Also swinging seemed to calm Clara down. Quickly I realized that two separate swings was not the way to go.


Then I opted for both kids in the same swing.






Good smile from Clara


Good smile from Jack


Once again no one is looking


Runner-up


The winner... Merry Christmas!


Day 2 - Different outfits, same song...

No one looks


Jack looks


Clara looks


Each smiles off into the distance


And we're back to hiding our faces.


The one picture from this set I really liked is now the new header. While no winning smiles, I liked the way it turned out.

Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree

We had a busy weekend packed with brunch at our old neighbors new house, followed by a trip to the NC Farmer's market to get a Christmas tree. Clara was very excited about the whole process and couldn't wait to get home and decorate ours like the ones in all of the stories she's been reading.

Family picture at Rob & Monica's.


Jack all dressed-up for brunch.


Playing during the decorating.




Getting help from Daddy to "branch out" from her decorating range.




The finished product - I think its a beauty this year.


Oh! and Jack cut his first tooth on Saturday. My little boy's all growed up.

Happy Thanksgiving!

First things first... let me just say thanks to Robin aka Momola for her first comment on the blog. You know I love 'em!

For the Thanksgiving holiday we traveled over the river and through lots of woods to get to grandmothers' houses. We had Thanksgiving dinner with the Carsons & extended family.


Clara ate some turkey but really enjoyed the fresh baked rolls!


Jack had some festive sweet potatoes with the family.


During the meal Jack found Sydney sitting in the corner to be particularly hilarious. I guess he couldn't believe how good she was being.


Clara enjoyed taking a bath in Susu & Gramby's giant tub and afterward being wrapped up like a princess.


Jack turned 7 months old over the holiday and hit several milestones. He got into a sitting position all on his own and began rocking on his knees. He might have made a crawling motion forward, but mostly he scoots himself backwards.






Peak-a-boo with Luc.


His first time in the high chair at Nay-nay & Pop-pop's.


Time for Thanksgiving comparison shots in the ugliest outfit ever...

Weekly (Monthly?) Wrap-Up II

Before I get to the Thanksgiving holiday, here are some moments from the weeks (11/1 - 11/19) since the previous "weekly" wrap-up...

Jack continues to enjoy eating which has been a pleasant experience for me since Clara hated everything I gave her.


I love sweet potatoes!




Playing with his spoon post-green beans, check out the happy feet.


Sweetie pie


In the car some time ago Jack was fussing and Clara started to sing "Old King Cole". Immediately Jack turned his attention to her and began smiling. I point this out to her and said how great it was that she had made him happy. Now any time he's squawking, be it happy or sad, she breaks into "Old King Cole". Here it is finally recorded for posterity.


Clara continues to sing numbers from the Sound of Music. A little "Do Re Mi" whilst hanging out in Jackbo's room makes the afternoon brighter.


Finally having deemed Jack's tummy coordination steady enough for hard wood, I brought him into Clara's room to play. It was a whole new world for him. Here he is checking out the toy bins just waiting to be emptied.


Clara thought he might like some pear.


Princess Clara


Lulu and Clara have double princess fun.


Showing off their fancy footwear.