Our 2008 Holiday Season

Many belated Christmas wishes to everyone! The fact that it's been almost 3 weeks since I've blogged pretty much explains how busy it's been! (That and the fact that we haven't had access to the internet). We had wanted to start decorating our home right after Thanksgiving, but were swamped with our semesters ending (grades due!), that we didn't get around to it until the following week. We didn't let the season completely pass us by- we did some Christmas-y things like walk Christmas Tree Lane, decorate a gingerbread house, read Christmas-themed books every night before bedtime, and Grandma was able to come and bake cookies with Grace. Our last day of teaching was Friday, 12/19, and with school "behind us," another rush was on- we are one of those families who doesn't think Christmas is the same without the hustle and bustle of last minute Christmas shopping (that's our excuse). We went up to Jennifer's house on 12/21 for a Christmas party with some of her close friends. It was a fun evening, and we stayed after the kids went to bed to play Pick 4 (I won!). We stayed overnight at Jason's mom's because his family's Christmas get-together was the next day. It was a relaxing amd enjoyable day. We ate a special breakfast in the morning, snacked on appetizers throughout the day, and then had soup for dinner. We thought that Jeremy would really get into the presents since he's such a curious kid, but we'll have to wait until next year. As usual, our family was extremely generous.
Our family's (the four of us) tradition with celebrating on Christmas Eve started before our kids were born. We made and ate a fantastic dinner (beef tenderloin, asparagus with Hollandaise sauce, bread, and garlic red potatoes), then headed off to the Christmas Eve service at church. I grew up always going to church on Christmas Eve, so it has now become part of our tradition. When we got home, we wanted to open gifts with some hot chocolate and cookies. It was a great idea, but got to be hard with Jeremy getting into everything and Gracie getting really hyper from all the sugar. We'll have to rethink that idea next year! We did absolutely nothing on Christmas Day, and it was great! First thing in the morning, the kids found that "Santa" had left them a present and stockings. For dinner, we met up with Jennifer and Jason's mom at Dai Bai Dang. No one wanted to cook, but we all wanted to be together. We came back to our house and played games after putting the kids to bed. (We took quite a few pictures over this holiday season. Click on the picture on the right to see them).

This is my last post of the year!!! It has been an amazing year for our family and we are grateful for God's continued guidance and provision. Thank you for being in our lives- many wishes to everyone for a healthy and blessed 2009!

Children's Christmas Program

Last Sunday was the Children's Christmas program at church. I was really hoping that Grace would actually sing, and I was also hoping that she wouldn't pick her nose, wander around the stage (that was last year), or completely flash the audience. Well, none of those things happened. She still entertained us though- instead of singing, she made silly faces, played with her dress, partially lifted up her dress, put her fingers into her mouth, played with her hair, and stared at other kids. Maybe next year she could entertain us with her singing!

Christmas Tree Lane

Every year, Christmas Tree Lane in Fresno closes to car traffic so people can walk down the street to enjoy the lights. We went with the Wiens and Lee families this year. It was a rather cool evening, but it wasn't long before we warmed up as we walked. A good way to kick off the holiday season...

Jeremy warmed up to Adam & Jill's dog, Sammi, immediately... Notice Gracie in the wagon!

Jeremy kept trying to get out of the wagon... Oh how it is to have a little walker (he's not content just sitting anymore)! Grace and Charlotte

Our Thanksgiving Week

Jason and I got to have a whole week off for Thanksgiving break! It was sooo needed... Grace's preschool and Jeremy's daycare were both open until Wednesday, so we really did get some time for ourselves. Usually, we're working when Grace's preschool holds their parties, so I was thrilled to be able to go to her school on Monday for their Thanksgiving party. On one of the bulletin boards at their school, the teachers had asked what the kids were thankful for and posted their answers. Some said, "my family," "the park," "for Christmas presents," etc. What is Grace thankful for? "The river." Huh? We've asked her several times what that refers to, but she doesn't know. Maybe she's a higher level thinker- her favorite song is "Peace like a River" which she sings over and over again. Maybe "the river" refers to that? We don't know!

On Wednesday, we headed up to the family cabin at Shaver Lake for Thanksgiving... We enjoyed a great time with Jason's family. The kids got along wonderfully (we barely had to mediate), and we didn't have to continually stop Jeremy from climbing up the stairs (he tried a few times, slipped from the second step, and didn't try too hard after that).

The boys building with MegaBlocks (well, actually, Jeremy tore down everything Noah built)

The girls played so well together (pictured here with "Ned's Head").
Jeremy and his food- here he is with some homemade apple pie

Grace is an excellent Wii bowler

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday because it helps me to reflect on how much there is to be thankful for. Life hasn't always been easy for us, so when there are good times, I value and cherish them even more. This year, my thoughts revolve around my marriage relationship with Jason, and on our two blessings, Grace and Jeremy. I am so grateful...

This morning, while I was unpacking stuff from our trip, our little bear was at it again! I was putting kitchen items away and within seconds, he got into a plastic container containing flour. Yup, it went everywhere, especially when he decided to get up and go find something else to get into.

We hope everyone had the chance to spend time with loved ones! Happy Belated Thanksgiving!

Bear

Jeremy moves... He's really fast! He roams non-stop around the house, so we don't follow him around every second. He likes to take things and move them from one place to the next. Tonight, I was sitting nearby making a grocery list and when I glanced up, Jeremy was innocently playing with Gracie's pink slipper and a yellow sippy cup. Within minutes though, well... After tonight, we should watch our boy every second, knowing that since he's our bear, he gets into everything! Case in point: Desitin diaper cream... It's interesting that he'll throw his dinner on the floor, but will have no problems eating cat food and diaper cream! (We called Poison Control and they assured us that he'll be fine).

Turkey Ballerina

Now that Grace is in preschool, we have had to get used to her having homework every week! One of her Thanksgiving homework assignments was to disguise Tom Turkey (Incognito Turkey). What a hard assignment (and that's coming from 2 teachers!). We asked Grace what she wanted to do with her turkey, and she confidently answered, "I want it to be a turkey ballerina." This was a family project, which meant that all of us could pitch in to get this done. She did all the coloring and helped with the gluing, I did most of the cutting and gluing, and Jason glued the ballerina's bar for the background. Before

During

After (the pose was totally her idea)

Didn't it turn out great?!

What a slacker- Jeremy didn't contribute anything, other than trying to make more of a mess! Ha ha ha

Small Group Reunion

For years, we met every week with 4 other couples to learn more about how to strengthen our relationships with Christ, build up our marriages, and encourage each other in parenting. We all have kids around the same ages, so having this tremendous support has been incredible. Due to hectic lives, we all decided to slow down a little this year.

We were able to get together this past long weekend for a reunion! I call it a reunion because one of the couples, James and Ann, moved to Edmonton last year, but were in town this past week. We got together for a potluck at Allen and Kristen's house. Altogether, we had 10 adults and 10 kids. We also hired a babysitter for several hours to help watch the kids so we could have some time to talk and catch up. We enjoyed such a great evening. These couples have been a big part of our lives and we are grateful for their friendships!The kids ate first, then went off to play while the adults ate dinner together

Later in the evening, each family took turns sharing about what we've been up to so that we would all know how to pray for each other in these upcoming weeks

It's neat to see how much our kids have grown up since we were all together last- they can actually sit and play a game together (without needing much help from an adult to constantly referree).

Despite only seeing each other every so often, Grace and Melody are great friends

Baby of the bunch

Haircuts (Jeremy's 1st!)

I have been debating this for over a month... We need to get Jeremy's 1 year pictures taken in these next few weeks. Should I leave his hair uncut (to show what he looked like at 1 year), or do I get his hair cut so that he doesn't look all shaggy and unkempt? I know it's not really that big a deal, so I finally decided to just go for it.
I had heard from Christa about this place called, Cool Cuts 4 Kids. They're a hair salon chain that's specifically for kids. Since this was Jeremy's first haircut, I wanted to go somewhere that had experience working with squirmy little ones. They didn't disappoint! I was very pleased. Everything was geared to the kids- the waiting area, the actual chairs the kids sat in to get their hair cut were little cars, and each one had its own TV (the kids get to choose which DVD to watch during their cut). Too bad these weren't enough for Jeremy. He was very upset and started crying the second the stylist put the cape on him. It took our whole family to distract Jeremy long enough for the hairstylist to cut his hair. She didn't need very much time, either. Wow!

Before- Check out how long the sides are!

During

After- well, kind of

This is the actual "After" because this is what we left with... What is it with people styling Jeremy's hair into a faux hawk?! (No, we did not request this! But I do have to admit- he is so cute)

Grace also got a trim today. She chose to watch Wonder Pets (what is that, anyway?) during her hair cut, and with that distraction, she sat the stillest I've seen her during a hair cut. She definitely earned her lollipop today! Without all the usual hassles, and an overall positive first experience for Jeremy (me)- coming to this salon was totally worth it!

Before

During

After

1 Year Wellness Check

I took Jeremy in for his 1 year wellness check today... Here are the newly updated stats: he is now 25 lbs, 4oz., and 29 3/4 inches. He's at the 75th percentile for both weight and height! We've been wondering why he's had some trouble sleeping these last few nights. Turns out that he's actually had a pretty bad ear infection! I had no idea- he's shown no other indication that his ear was bothering him. Aside from that, Jeremy's doing great! He babbles quite a bit, but hasn't actually said any words yet. I was hoping that his first word would be "mama" but since his favorite sounds are "dadadada" sounds, it's probably not going to happen. He consistently refers to his ball as "da." I guess that's something. He was taking steps earlier in October, and then actually started putting several steps together on his birthday. Really honestly, I haven't been able to capture a "good" video of his walking. Still, I need to include one so my parents can see, so here's a clip.

Jeremy's become much better at feeding himself, but boy does he leave behind a mess! Unfortunately, he has also become a lot more picky with his food. I can't say that he has any favorites- they seem to change every week.

He loves to play with his new truck (thanks, Ong and Ba)

(Yes, that is Jeremy on his truck, waving Grace's princess wand...)

Party Time!

This month was so busy that we couldn't find the time to have two birthday parties for Grace and Jeremy. Since we would've invited the same people to both anyway, we decided to celebrate both kids' birthdays with a joint zoo animal-themed party. Today, we met everyone at Roeding Park for lunch, cupcakes, and presents and then headed over to the Chaffee Zoo for a few hours. With the threat of rain, we have been checking the weather forecasts again and again these last few days. We are so glad that it turned out to be a very nice day. Though the skies were overcast, it was very comfortable outside. We expected to get rained on later in the afternoon, but only got sprinkled on here and there while we were in the zoo.

We really appreciate everyone who came out to help us celebrate our children! We would also like to thank those who came to the zoo with us after lunch- our family really enjoyed your company and it means a lot that you were willing to brave the threat of rain with us! There are tons of pictures in the photo album! The kids who came to the zoo (missing Micah and Talia)