Christmas Eve

For Christmas Eve we had a relaxing evening at my parent's house. We ate yummy seafood ravioli, had birthday cake for Jesus, and opened our stockings. It was a wonderful evening of celebrating our Savior's birth.

Christmas in North Dakota 2010

A few weeks ago we went to Grand Forks, North Dakota to stay with Micah's parents to celebrate Christmas with his family. We had a really nice time spending time with family. It was so fun to see Andrew play with his cousins. And a nice bonus was he became interested in learning to use the potty more. He saw his cousin Violet, who is a couple months younger than him, and she is fully potty trained.

Making Bread

I just made bread for the first time. When we were in North Dakota one of my sister-in-laws showed me a book she has, Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day. I was intrigued and looked through it. When we got home I saw our library had it, and put in on hold. I recently got the book, and was excited to try it out. And I was really excited that I was able to make bread! I have been intimidated by making it before, but this book explains how to make it really well. And you make a big batch, then take off enough for one loaf, and leave the rest of the dough in the refrigerator for another time. Each batch makes about 4 loaves, so one batch would probably give you bread for a week if you baked a loaf every other day or so. I am looking forward to trying out some of the different recipes in the book.

Christmas Traditions

Christmas Eve Eve going to Downtown Seattle

Decorating Sugar Cookies

Weekend of Lights

This last weekend we did some fun outings to see Christmas lights. First, on Saturday we drove to Leavenworth with our friends John, Tricia and their son Aaron. While we were there it ended up snowing! It felt so Christmasy. All of the adults had lots of fun, but the 2 year olds ended up missing their naps, so Andrew was really cranky. And then they both conked out right before the tree lighting. To start out the lighting they had someone come up and talk about the real reason for Christmas and say a prayer over the lighting. It was beautiful to see the buildings light up one by one, and then to see the park of trees light up. What a great way to start our week leading up to Christmas!

We had an early dinner of bratwursts and beer.
Andrew crying and being cranky. He kept saying he was cold, so we got some hot cocoa, but he wouldn't drink he. He was
Josiah hanging out in the Bjorn. He is wearing an adorable hat that a cousin of mine knitted.



Then on Sunday evening we went with my family to the Point Defiance Zoo for Zoolights. We were thankful we are members and get discounted tickets; we didn't think it was worth the full ticket price. Andrew did have fun riding the carousel and seeing the lights, but he kept asking where the animals were.

Decorating for Christmas

We have a tradition of decorating the day after Thanksgiving. This year Andrew got to join in the fun. Although, it was an exercise in patience for Mommy and Daddy.

Setting up the tree.

Helping Daddy troubleshoot the lighting problem.

Setting up the Nativity.

Pictures of Josiah

Here of some pictures of our adorable Josiah.

Winter Wonderland

Last week we got some snow it the Seattle area. On Monday morning there was just a light dusting at our house, but we still wanted Andrew to get a chance to play in it. So we bundled him up in his snow boots and coat, and let him play around in the snow for a little bit. Then I took him and Josiah to my friend Lyndsay's house. While we were there it started to snow more, and Andrew had lots of fun playing with Owen and Jack. You can see pictures on Lyndsay's blog. After a couple hours Micah called me and said the snow was starting to stick to the roads. I didn't think too much of it, and I stayed a little while longer to finish my baking project with Lyndsay. When we left I was kicking myself for not leaving earlier. The roads were slippery and the drivers were scaring me. And then Josiah started screaming. After 10 minutes of listening to him screaming and not getting very far on the road I decided to call it quits and have Micah come rescue us. It took him an hour and a half to get to me, and I was only about 5 minutes from our house (when the roads are normal). Once he got to us we went in the Starbucks to get some hot cocoa. Micah got Andrew his very first Starbucks kid drink. We enjoyed sipping our cocoa, and then headed back out on the roads to go home.
You can see the difference in the amount of snow in the two pictures.
On Thanksgiving we ended up having some snow flurries. It was a picturesque morning with the snow falling, Christmas music playing, Daddy and Mommy making French toast and bacon, and spending time as a family. Unfortunately I didn't take any pictures.

Future Pilot?

Recently we got to go to Micah's work, and Andrew had to go in one of the simulators. He likes to talk about the "flagger guy". He is the guy on the runway who tells the pilot when to move. Andrew loves the simulators and anytime he goes to Daddy's work he wants to fly one of them (off motion of course).

Leavenworth Getaway

Last weekend Micah and I were able to go to Leavenworth for a night. We left Andrew with Nana and Papa and took Josiah with us. When we got to Leavenworth we ate lunch at a crepe restaurant our friend Dori told us about (which was one of the main reasons I wanted to go to Leavenworth). Our crepes were fabulous, but I forgot to take pictures (we had a rough night and were pretty sleepy). Then we went to our hotel to feed Josiah and take a nap. I had no problem napping, but Micah was kept up by some teenagers making lots of noise in the next room. He ended up going to the front desk to see if we could switch rooms. They offered him an upgrade to a suite for only $50 more, and he decided to do it. When we got to the suite I was so happy he did. It was MUCH nicer than our first room. There was even a jetted bathtub, a gas fireplace, and the bed was more comfortable. I enjoyed a bath while Micah went to go get dinner. Then, one of our favorite things to do when we go away is to watch HGTV. We don't have cable, and I love that channel so we always end up watching some HGTV when we stay in hotels. That night Josiah slept really well for us and only woke up once, so we were able to get some good sleep. It was wonderful. We had a great time getting away, and got some good relaxing in.

Carving Our Pumpkin

A week before Halloween we carved our pumpkin with Andrew. Micah had a little saw that he let Andrew use to cut the top off. He made a circle and had Andrew follow the lines to cut. Andrew loved it; he got to use tools! Andrew also enjoyed pushing out the pieces of the face once Daddy cut them out. He kept pushing them out, putting them back in so he could push them out again.

While Daddy pulled out all the insides of the pumpkin I read The Pumpkin Patch Parable book to Andrew. It is one he loves, and we read it year round, but it was fun to read it while we were carving our very own pumpkin. It was a great way to bring the Gospel into a fun tradition. It talks about how the farmer (God) plants pumpkins and picks out one to carve. He then puts his light into the pumpkin, and the pumpkin shines the light out for all to see.

Pumpkin Patch with MOPS

Our MOPS group had an outing to Scholz Farm in Orting. Andrew had lots of fun with his friends, and loved picking out his own pumpkin.

Nana Dawn and Papa Robin

Andrew had lots of fun having Nana Dawn and Papa Robin come stay with us. They were great at entertaining Andrew, and getting Josiah to sleep. We wish they could have stayed longer.

Happy Birthday Nana

My Cute Boys

I just had to share this adorable picture. I just wish Josiah was looking towards the camera, but newborns aren't the most cooperative.

Going to the Zoo

Last week Micah's parents were here to visit, and to meet Josiah. One of the days they were here we all went to the zoo, and my mom joined us for the fun. We had a nice morning, and Andrew loved seeing the animals. Josiah slept almost the whole time we were there. It is always fun taking a trip to the zoo, especially when you get to go with both Nana's and a Papa.

Big Brother Andrew

One question we are asked a lot now is, How is Andrew adjusting to being a big brother? And for the most part he is doing really well. He sometimes likes to give Josiah hugs and kisses, but there are also times he doesn't want Mommy to hold Josiah. Andrew likes to call him Baby Siah. Sometimes he will try to share his toys with Josiah, but most of the time he just ignores Baby Siah.
We are looking forward to watching their relationship grow, and seeing how the interact as they get older. We hope they become great friends.