December 2013

December was a fast and fun month!  We welcomed our new elf, Wink (named by Jimmy), who came to visit us from the North Pole.  I wasn't sure about the whole Elf on the Shelf thing, but when some other moms talked about using him as a means to help teach the boys about the real meaning of Christmas, I realized it would be a great addition to our Christmas traditions. 

 The boys loved having Wink around, and though I didn't do much with the hiding him and making him do crazy stuff, they were very excited on the handful of days when they found him in an unusual place around the house.  Here is a little of what he was up to...

Caleb and Landon LOVE grapefruit (pomelo) so Day 1, Wink set one out with our grapefruit spoons for breakfast.

(You can't tell very well, but the boys are both trying to jump up to get Wink)

"Uncle Eli" is visiting and the boys are having a great time playing and reading with him.

Play date and cookie decorating in Clovis with my friend, Cat, and her son Harper.  Baby Bryn was hanging out in the kitchen... maybe next year :)

Christmas stamps, Santa, and sleighs with Nana Gigi

Caleb's preschool had a Christmas Sing-Along two weeks ago.  Forty preschoolers, four songs, and a poor little girl's pony tail being yanked like the reins on a sleigh!  Never know what is going to happen with such a large group of 3-year-olds...  Caleb sang a few words of Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer, and probably Happy Birthday to Jesus, and other than that he was kind of just taking it all in, looking around, scratching his head, etc.  The kids all looked so cute dressed up together, some singing, some not, and Cooper Mettler helping 'conduct' in the front row with one of the teachers (hilarious!).

Caleb is in the back row, third from the right.

Not sure where he learned this but it was so cute when he pointed to Jimmy out of the blue during the program.

Our Christmas festivities were spread over five days this year - all the fun was tiring for the boys, but we had a great time hanging out with family, and it made for a more relaxing Christmas day since we were able to spread things over more days.  Sunday evening we had pizza and made Gingerbread houses with Nana Gigi.  Caleb did a good job with the fine details of placing the candies onto his house.  Landon did a good job of smearing and eating the frosting with his pointer finger.  Although as you can see below, he did grab the tube of frosting himself and get into the frosting part for a while.  He was focused very intently on his work.

Playing with some early Christmas presents...

Baking cookies with Aunt Lindsey

Playing 'airplanes' with Uncle Ben and Aunt April.  Caleb knows how to keep his body stiff so he is much easier to lift, but Landon collapses quickly.

Making gravel and rocks with Play Doh

We didn't actually ask Caleb until about two weeks before Christmas what he wanted, and when we did he said "I want a green race car with a black remote control, nothing else. That's all."  This request came because Jimmy's old RC car was found recently and it was a yellowish green, with a black remote.  It no longer works, so Caleb was really excited when he opened this one on Christmas morning.

Visiting Grandma Stanford...  Caleb tried to 'fix' the broken handle on her walker with Scotch tape, and had fun sitting on the seat part of the walker, too.   Landon loves to play with a little crocheted owl that has a baby owl in an egg that comes out of it.  Grandma just had fun watching them have fun. :)

This year we had a fun birthday cake for Jesus made... 

...and the boys sat front and center (nearest to the cake) to help us sing. :)

New monster bath robes!

While saying bedtime prayers with Caleb on New Year's Eve, he seemed to agree that this was a wonderful and very blessed year - living in Chile and making new friends, starting Preschool and having so much fun with more new friends, our home, our health, and lots of time with family during the holidays.  It was a great year, and hopes to starting another good one!

November 2013

Leaves, leaves, and more leaves this month!  I love the colors of the fall leaves.  I know we live in California, and it is nothing compared to some parts of the country, but every year I am reminded again of how amazing our Creator is, and how beautiful it is when our trees' leaves change to deep reds and oranges. These pictures don't do it justice.. The boys loved running around in the backyard before daddy blew down all these leaves.  They were thick, dry, and no worries of messing up someone's tidy leaf pile so they had a grand time.

This pile was an exception - the neat pile had already been ruined by a big truck driving through it, so I let them have at it.

It's a lemon year!  Our orange and lemon trees alternate years with one always producing far more fruit than the other.  I love it when its a lemon year.  :)

Yardwork and leaf collection day - Though Jimmy was able to lace these tight enough for them to stay on Caleb's legs, he could hardly lift his feet they were so heavy for him!

We have neighbors on our block with a beautiful garden and a huge Koi Fish pond in their backyard, and every now and then the boys will go back and look at the fish.  This day Caleb was enjoying finding the fish Barbara pointed out and named for him, and he told me all about it when we left.  Jack and Barbara are in a club for Koi owners and they know a lot about them so its interesting for Caleb when they share things and he can see the fish in the water.

Caleb is playing with something called 'Kinetic Sand' - coolest stuff ever.  It looks like real sand, but it doesn't stick to you, it moves in a really cool way (almost like its alive...), and can be molded and shaped without being damp like real sand.  Its super cool.  A great winter activity inside of a metal casserole dish to contain the sand!

Loved this one of our nephew, Beau!  Go Giants!

Clapping out a beat for the boys as they play their 'instruments'

On a night when I was out to dinner with my girlfriends, Jimmy decided to have some fun with the boys and set up our four-man tent in the living room. The boys loved playing in it, but after Jimmy carried out all their bedding and mattresses, too, they decided they weren't so into sleeping in it.

Landon is working on getting the hang of his balance bike...

Landon had his 2-year checkup.  Its clear he knows where his belly button (ombligo) is :)

Caleb's preschool had a Thanksgiving feast, which the kids helped prepare during school that day, rolling out balls of dough for the bread, grating potatoes for a casserole, and making place mats with something they are thankful for.  Caleb's says he is thankful for "Going to Landon's Birthday Party."  When I asked him why he was happy he got to go to the party, he said "because there was cake."  

Side note:  In general I feel like Caleb has more of Jimmy's features than mine, but is it just my perception or does he look a lot like me here??)

David, Dana, Deacon, and Delanie were in town for the Thanksgiving weekend so we enjoyed lots of time hanging out with them, loving on sweet Lanie (she's filled out so much since we last saw her in August!), and watching how much fun the boys had all playing together.  Looking forward to seeing the rest of the fam at Christmas. :)

Caleb took a moment to try to love on Delanie a little.  He's a busy 3-yr-old who doesn't usually take time to talk to the little ones as much, so it was cute to see him checking her out. 

You can see a cute little smile behind that paci...

Had lots of fun having Deacon, Aunt Dana and Delanie, and Nonni join us at the WOW Science Museum.  It was Deacon's first time and he was so excited he didn't know where to go first.  :)

Sometimes we forget how musical my Grandpa Howard is because we don't often hear him playing, but he can play the accordion, the harmonica, and the piano.  On Thanksgiving the kids got the old harmonicas out and grandpa played a few songs for them.  It was so fun to listen to him play, and Deacon was fascinated watching him.  Afterwards, grandpa, Caleb, and Deacon all played at the same time. :)
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Happy Thanksgiving!!  We are so thankful for our family, even when they wiggle and won't sit still long enough to even get ONE good shot! :)