Christmas 2012

Mid-December Craziness

 Making some important calls

 Doing some light reading - that's Moby Dick she's grabbing!

 Making his silly face

 A very intent and eager cookie cutter!

 Mitchell's decorations

She's conked

Christmas Program

Today was our church Christmas program - the Friendly Beasts - and Mitchell has been practicing for a month. He was going to be a sheep with a few other little boys, but there was interest in being dogs. So, Mitch came home and reported that he was a "dog sheep".

He memorized 2 of the songs to sing, including Hark the Herald and We Wish you a Merry Christmas. He actually sang them, too! For the record, he was much better behaved during the dress rehearsal. Still, there were no tears so I count it as a victory.

Shannon was not officially part of the program. However, she joined in on her own. When the kids were singing, she marched up and squawked along with them. How can you deny that little 'angel'?

Running around on stage, well, that happened too. We can only hope that their cute countenances will spare them the wrath of the director!

Tree Decorating

The kids helped me with the tree this evening. I have now officially relinquished control of the decorations. There are clusters of ornaments in strange places - mostly about 3 feet up. However, Mitchell's obvious enjoyment makes it all worth it!

Shannon seems to think that we were simply putting toys on the tree to be taken off as often as she likes. She will be worse than a cat, mark my words.

The best tree decorating is done in underpants and socks. Just ask Mitch.

It's Christmas here at last!

Farewell to Fall

Fall doesn't really end until December 21st, but I think the end of November is a better split. We haven't done much photo-worthy lately, but below are a few scenes from the past week-plus.

  Mitch (and Bryan) have shrugged off the Apple Cup's loss to the Pac-12 cellar dwellers and continue to sport their colors. Bryan is working hard to brainwash Mitch into becoming a Husky fan, which would make 2 in Eastern Oregon. Mitch keeps responding with, "Go Ducks". It's not looking good.

Mitchell decided to help Bryan put up Christmas lights. Much to Bryan's surprise, MBJ was a big help!

These two are big fans of each other! Tell Santa no toys are needed - just another laundry basket!

Thanksgiving Weekend

We hosted Thanksgiving at our house this year and it was a success! Bryan and our dads got the garage prepped to become a dining room by painting the floor and cleaning it out. Then we had family come from near and far to celebrate.

Everyone brought food or helped with the preparation. It's so easy when you're not in charge of it all! Here's Dad making his modified green bean casserole.

Mom was the head chef and she helped a lot with setting the scene. Here's our tool bench doubling as a sideboard.

And our dining room, which seats 13!

Russ, force feeding himself pie, chocolates and other delicious desserts.

Gram and her children and their spouses.

Shannon was pretty friendly to the revelers.

Mitch had a great time with the visiting pooches, especially little Lumen.

Tired kids. We have SO much for which to be thankful!

Photo Shoot

We haven't done much photo-worthy lately. In fact, we've been pretty sick and crummy around here. However, we did have a family photo shoot a couple weekends ago. There are nearly 100 pictures, but here are some of our favorites!

Birthday Party

We celebrated Shannon's first birthday on Saturday with a soup lunch party. It was lots of fun - and our little house held a record of 23 people! Whew!

The birthday girl was so happy!

The cake. Of course, I am proud.

We were at overflow capacity, so some of the braver souls dined al fresco.

The kids' daycare gal, or "watcher" as Mitch calls her, helped us celebrate. Lorry and her daughters are so sweet to our kids!

A section of the party-goers. We so enjoyed having everyone come help us celebrate!

Shannon claimed her first gift by standing on top of it gleefully! I have no idea where she gets this.

Here's a squeal of delight for her fancy Christmas dress!

Shannon and Avery (7 weeks younger) are interesting to watch together. Shannon is certainly more aggressive at this point!

This shopping cart will be beloved for years. It may also dent the walls, cars, and anything else in its path!

Unlike her brother, Shannon had no trouble diving into her cupcake. She enjoyed the frosting and her cupcake with gusto.

All grins - and who wouldn't be?!

At her 1-year appointment this week, Shannon came in at 20lbs 14oz, 29.5 inches tall. That puts her in the 50th percentile for weight and somewhat higher for height. Not to dwell on the differences, but at 6 months, MBJ weighed 20.5lbs!

Other 1-year milestones: she still has 6 teeth, she says "Mama" (especially late at night or when she's angry), "uh-oh!" and versions of "Dada" and "Baba". She's learning to sign and can do 'please' and 'more' with regularity, and she is masterfully able to scream on cue. We love her!