Happy New Year!

We celebrate early here! The kids go to bed early so we celebrate after dinner.

The celebration goes like this: The yearly dropping of the Babbitt Ball(which keeps loosing one to two pieces a year from being dropped..it really will be a ball soon) and our tradition of pulling poppers and reading and telling the jokes inside. Some years we get lucky and find paper hats.

 Greta's turn to countdown.. then we cheer

 Pulling poppers

 Finding treasure

This was Fieldin's first year of dropping the "ball" by himself.  He had a very proud smile on his face.

Happy New Year from our family to you. I wish you all many blessings and happiness in the coming year. Have fun, go on an adventure, try something new and remember to tell me all about it. :)



Around Here

 Around here.. it has been quiet and lazy. :) The den has been turned into a playroom for Fieldin.

 Excited little ones love watching and eating cake in a mug. So easy, so good and vegan.

ping pong games on the dinner table...

and that is about it. Sooo Soo lazy we have been. :)



Christmas Morning

 Does this girl look tired or what??

 Having Santa come in the house is not so bad when he leaves you goodies.

 Chompers got a candy cane pipe cleaner which he loved. He ran off with it. He wasn't going to share this gem.

 Major morning excitement...6 a.m. not bad.

 Another prized toy

 I look tired too. Making pies in the morning.

 Dressed up in their Christmas best.

 Sometimes a fork just won't do.

 Fieldin found chasing Greta around with his jeep is pretty cool :)

Greta did the yearly reading of the classic "Twas the night before Christmas" I am so proud! She only needed help on a couple of the more old fashioned words. Good Job Greta! Now you are the official yearly story teller.

We also had a most amazing sunrise Christmas morning. It was vibrant pinks, which means in our house Grandma is checking in on us. The kids watched it from Greta's window and it was a special moment for them. In the afternoon we had a beautiful Christmas rainbow after a light rain. We didn't have the snow that we are used to from our Pullman days but starting to adjust to the weather here. I think I am going to grow to love it more than snow. 

Christmas Eve- Time For The Bribe

 Preparing the bribe and counting out carrots for the reindeer.

 Greta has it down. It's all about presentation.

The kids were tracking Santa all evening. When he hit New York, Greta started to panic running around like a chicken with it's head cut off. Jeff jokingly said he thought he heard something on the roof and the kids ran to the window to see if Santa was here. After this pic was taken they were off like a shot upstairs. All I remember seeing was Fieldins bottom moving like a flash.

Greta was almost to excited to sleep. Fieldin had his short yearly meltdown, scared about Santa coming into the house. Greta told me "Fieldin needs to stop crying! Santa may not come!" Within minutes they were both fast asleep.. along with poor worn out Chompers who slept at Fieldins feet. 

Christmas Eve -A Sea Of Paper

Open A box from Aunt Denise. Pure Joy. They had to look at these boxes for days, so wanted to open them first.

His favorite toy of the night. A remote control jeep.

Fieldin was in his present opening prime

Greta took her time and enjoyed each gift. Fieldin had a routine down. Rip open.. ask someone "you open it?", put in a neat pile and move on to the next one.

Gret's fav of the evening. A barbie from aunt Nisey.

What the night looked like from where I was sitting. Children buried in flying paper. 

Christmas Eve Day

This year was the most lazy, laid back Christmas time we have ever had. Lounging around, eating all day, wearing pjs til the afternoon, staying home... It was great. I usually go a little crazy on the holidays with projects, pics etc but not this year. I gave myself and everyone else a break :)

 This poor guy had no idea what was going on. He could feel the excitement and didn't know what to do with himself. Especially when Fieldin would get in his face singing"Walking in a cat winter wonderland" and "Rudolph the red nose Chompers"

 He kept looking out this window to look for answers.. didn't help.

 The kids could NOT wait to move their toys downstairs. We had to hide them til the last minute because Chompers was all to willing to open them.

 We watched lots of Christmas shows and listened to Christmas music and the kids stared at the toys asking every few minutes " Can we open one now?"

 The last day of their advent calendars, here they are playing with all their little toys they collected over the month.

Brand new Christmas eve jammies. Fieldin got a new pair of Spider man jammies with the feet in them. He was soo excited and refused to take them off all day on Christmas. Even Christmas night he did not want to take them off. He would hug me and say"mommy thank you for the warm jammies" 

Placing A New Order To Santa

I found this letter on the eve of Christmas Eve outside Greta's door. She had a few changes to her wish list since she saw him last. She was hoping he would come a day early and didn't want to miss her chance.  She decided the gift she asked him for(Barbie) needed to be changed to ice skates and some other things. Her thought on the subject when I asked her about the letter," I wanted him to know I wanted something else so he could give the Barbie to another Greta in the world. I am sure she will like it."

Greta also got an email from Santa this year and had to wait to see if she was on the naughty or nice list. I don't think I have seen Greta sweat under pressure before but she was nervous beyond belief. She let out a sigh of relief when she was told she was on the nice list. I could have told her that:) As for Fieldin he didn't get an email. We told Greta it is because the ages of 2 & 3 are bypass years....guaranteed presents for the terrible twos. Just easier on the elves. Can you imagine all the melt downs they would have to see.....

A Tradition

 Tonight we made a trip to Portland to see the zoolights at the Portland zoo. We arrived early this year. Bought our zoo train tix and by the time we boarded the train it was dark. We had some great light viewing. Fieldin's favorite light was the dragon blowing fire. Greta's was the unicorn below and a peacock.

 Somebody offered to take a pic of us while we were standing in line. It was a nice day in Albany and in Portland. We saw people in shorts and t-shirts. By night though it was getting cold!

 Greta and a polar bear. Fieldin had no interest in being in the pic.

 Some of the lights.

 Strolling downtown we popped into the Hilton so Greta could see the gingerbread house in the lobby. A bit better construction than ours :) The Hilton is spelled with bits of red licorice.

 The big tree in downtown portland. Greta loves the star on top. She also loves that there are two starbucks nearby for hot cocoa... and warm fresh nuts for sale .

The kids are very excited for Christmas. Greta is thinking that maybe Santa will decide to come a day early and drop off some toys tonight. Chompers cat is all over the tortured trees and trying to tear anything that resembles a gift open. Fieldin is going with the flow. He is excited but mostly follows Greta's lead into uber-excitement.

I still have some food preparation I need to do but it will have to wait until morning.

Better go.. the kids are brushing their teeth and singing songs to Santa... may be a long night and it isn't even Christmas Eve yet!

Would You Like A Cookie With That Frosting?

 Cookie decorating for Santa.. so pretty much bribe preparation.

 Greta worked hard and made some beautiful cookies... Fieldin,well, Fieldin snuck frosting to eat whenever he had a chance.

 The dough part was fun..it was like playing with playdoh. Most of the time he sat on the corner of the island sneaking frosting, cookies and working his way into a sugar coma.

 Greta just wanted to use pink icing.

Some of the finished product. Fieldin said"If Santa  eats all these cookies he will get sick" and "Mommy don't eat all the cookies, save some for Santa"..ahem... I have no idea what he was talking about.

Another Glance Around Here

 The daily line up of nutcrackers. Fieldin says the big Nutcracker is the daddy because it plays a trumpet, "Only daddy's play trumpets" he says.

 Tree #2.

 After the kids go to bed and I want to watch a little T.V...the cat joins me. He lays on his back with his feet in the air.

 What's Christmas without a few inflatables on the front porch...

Lots of Christmas excitement going on around here. Fieldin is pretty much singing Christmas songs all day except for when he is fighting with his sister and having long conversations with the cat about Christmas. "Chompers, if you are good you get to open a present on Christmas from Santa. if you are baaaad, then no present for you. Snowflakes will fall on Christmas. Chompers you be good".

Greta is very excited too. Counting down the days on her advent calendar and upset because I didn't buy the small carrots for the reindeer today. She is singing and dancing to Christmas songs most of the day and if not doing that, bugging me for a playdate with her friends.

I am not in my usual Christmas giddiness this year. I think I am still adjusting to the mild climates here and missing some snow. We went on a walk today and the sun was shining and lawns were being mowed. hmmmm....