Noteworthy

There are so many times throughout the day that I think to myself, "I really need to write this down."  Lately it seems to come when thinking of a grocery item that needs to be picked up or another to-do on the home improvement list, but I will spare you from those and instead will share some "Clara-isms" that bring many laughs and need to be remembered!

- Matt: "Clara, would you like a piece of biscotti?"
Clara: "Not right now Dad, I'm birthing the Saviour."
(A little background: She's been really into having babies lately and playing mommy & kid and husband and wife.  I always end up being the kid and she refers to me as "kid" each time she speaks to me.  A common line when we play is "Guess what, kid? Your mama is going to have a baby today!" Some of her favorite baby's names are as follows: Cora, Gligey, Jesus. Jesus strangely resembles Curious George.)

Getting ready to leave the house "pregnant" with Curious George.

- Today I was watching a video clip of the president talking about the immigration reform and I asked Clara if she new who that was.  She said no, so I told her it was President Obama.  We've talked about the President when the elections were going on, heard him speak on the radio, and recently a few of her books have referenced the White House, so she is somewhat familiar with the idea.  She continued to watch him speak, then said, "I didn't know President Obama was on our computer! He's my favorite character."

- While explaining that all the Presidents live at the White House I said, "Maybe one day we can go to Washington D.C. to see the White House." Clara said, "Yes, I'll go up and knock on the door." I explained that people can only see it from far away and that the President wouldn't want lots of people knocking on his door everyday.  She said, "But mom, I just want to give President Obama a hug." (She also said this about Santa Claus.  She wanted to sneak out of her room on Christmas Eve to give Santa a big hug.)

Stay tuned...more to come!

8 Months +

Sweet Maggie is now 8 months, well closer to 9 really!  The past months have flown by and she is growing and changing by the day it seems.  Her hair is filling in, she has been sleeping through the night, she sits up, stands supported, chatters quite a bit and says "ma-ma" (well, sort of!). She continues to be easy-going and such a happy baby.  We are truly blessed by our two little girls!

Sweet snuggles with Daddy.

Snow Tubing

A couple weekends ago we had the opportunity to join the middle school students on a snow tubing trip at Ski Bowl.  It was a beautiful, clear day, cold, but gorgeous!  Clara was bubbling over with excitement as we left that morning.  We arrived at the mountain around 10am and got all bundled up.  Maggie and I parked ourselves at a table in the warming hut where the students could come & go as they needed.  We were getting ready to go out and watch for Clara and Matt, and they walked in.  They had already gone once! Clara said she liked it, but wouldn't go again!

She hung out inside for a while, then after lunch Matt asked her is she wanted to go again.  After much convincing, he told her they would go on a slower run (apparently they had hit the fast one first shot out of the bag!) and she agreed.  Maggie & I quickly got to the bottom of the hill so we could snap some pictures and listened as Clara screamed her way down the hill.  It was great!

Helping Out

Daddy's little helper!  Always wants to be a part of the project action!

Christmas 2012

Well, it has been a month and a half since I last posted and a lot has happened!  I am going to attempt to catch up a bit...here goes!

This Christmas was a very different one.  We were two days away from moving, so we had put up one box of Christmas essentials: the stockings, a string of lights, a nativity scene and a wreath.  We didn't get a real tree this year, which was really hard not to do since Matt and I both LOVE trees.  Since Christmas isn't Christmas without a tree, Matt brought home the fake tree that was set up in the Youth Center on Christmas Eve.  He said he felt like the Grinch as he dragged the tree out, ornaments falling to the ground, shoving it into his car! Clara was quite pleased to see him walking into the house, tree in hand. Santa set up the Polar Express Train around the tree which was a great surprise on Christmas morning.

We had a wonderful morning opening gifts and enjoying time together.  With all the work and time that had been spent on the new house throughout December it was really refreshing to just have a day at home together.  Clara happily opened her gifts and Maggie's while Maggie sat back and tried to eat the wrapping paper!

Santa is so practical! Clara raced in to brush her teeth with her new Dora toothbrush & toothpaste!

 Maggie was super content with the spoons from her stocking!

The princess dress up box from Aunt Emily, Uncle Jerry and the girls was a huge hit!  Each of the 3 outfits was modeled throughout the day.

 The "Cal Poly gear" from Auntie Aly was a big hit too!  Clara put the shirt and pants on and was calling them her exercise clothes.  She proceeded to run races through the living room!  

Annie & Clarabel passenger cars to add to her Thomas collection!

A toolkit all of her own!  She has been really into projects and helping out, so this has come in very handy.  A couple weeks ago Matt took her to the bathroom while out to lunch.  She was looking at the walls and said "I really like this drywall."  All this remodeling has really made an impression on her.  Throughout December she would ask me if I wanted her to email the contractor about the countertops or flooring....Poor girl.  We may have robbed her of 6 months of her childhood!

Our two little loves sitting amongst their opened gifts!

Matt enjoying sitting by the tree and train!

Sweet girl

Another princess dress (over the Cal Poly gear!)!

A new beanie made by a family friend.

Matt had offered to bbq flank steak on Christmas night, which was helpful since I had packed up much of the kitchen.  We had a nice dinner and watched Charlie Brown Christmas. 

After the girls went to bed, it was my turn to be the Grinch.  I quickly packed away the Christmas essentials we had unpacked and then got to work packing up the rest of the house!