Thanksgiving

Last Sunday

And these are all from Thanksgiving Day:

(Those are some sort of animal ears).

Jeffrey took this picture of me. You can see my new low-maintenance hair color.

Obligatory olive on finger.

This olive also turned out to be the only thing Jeffrey would eat for Thanksgiving Dinner.

Arabelle is Getting Big!

Arabelle seems to be getting bigger and more sophisticated every day. Soon she will leave her days of babyhood behind, and become... a toddler!

With Jeffrey, I was always really anxious for every new stage and development, probably because I had never witnessed a baby grow up before. Now that I know how fast it happens, I think I am more patient and better able to appreciate babyhood for babyhood's sake!

Arabelle is so good at being a baby, she should probably stay this way for a few more years at least!

My Cute Kids

Arabelle is developing a fine dusting of hair on her head.

The other day Jeffrey insisted on "skateboarding" to school. We finally compromised and drove to school, but he got to skateboard from the car to the door of the building. That short distance took a long time!

Jeffrey likes to go out in the shop and help Daddy work on his motorcycle.

This is when we let Jeffrey take Arabelle for a ride.

(I'm actually hiding behind the motorcycle holding onto Arabelle).

First Snow of the Year

We just had our first snow of the year yesterday. Jeffrey remembers snow from last winter, and has asked for "snow" a few times over the summer, so he was excited to wake up and see it. We got him into his snowsuit and he was able to go out early before school and play. He even remembered his favorite snow activity, which is to go around the yard using a ladle to scoop snow into a bowl and then bring the bowl inside.

Arabelle received her boots in the mail from her grandma just in time for the cold weather!

They fit perfectly!

And they even stay on her feet---truly amazing!

First Day of School

Jeffrey started preschool at the end of August. He is attending the Berthoud Early Childhood Program. He gets to go for free (yay!) because of his speech delay (boo!).

Heading out the door on his first day of school:

He threw a fit the first day that I left him there. I couldn't stop worrying about him so I sneaked back over 30 minutes later and peaked in the windows and saw him smiling and hopping around on the carpet playing some sort of game. However, he continued to throw a fit every time I dropped him off, and I had to bribe him just to get him in the car. There was one other boy that also cried the first week. By the second week, Jeffrey was the only cryer left in the class. The third week, Jeffrey only cried half the days. Since then, Jeffrey might drag his feet getting ready to go, but I can tell that he really loves school!

Showing off his book bag:

His teachers say they've seen a lot of improvement, and I've seen slow but steady improvement in his speech at home.

Jeffrey's Stew

I was making a vegetable barley stew, and it takes quite a while to put together, so I let Jeffrey make his own stew to occupy him.

He added some barley,

water,

salt,

and stirred it all up!

He got really into it and insisted on making his pot "hot" as well.

After the stews were done cooking, he wanted to eat out of his own pot. When Jeffrey wasn't looking, I dumped out the contents of his stew pot (which was mostly salt scattered with a few uncooked vegetables), and filled it with my stew.

He ate the whole thing and even kept his hand under his chin to keep tidy!

Ever since this time, Jeffrey has wanted to "cook" every time I do. I let him do it because it occupies him, and I feel like it encourages creativity. I let him mix up some rice and wheat and have his own salt shaker, and the idea is for him to use these same ingredients over and over, but I must admit I've lost a couple of bottles of spices to his culinary endeavors and I've had to clean up a lot of messes!

The Beginning of a Tiny and Cute Friendship

Jeffrey is a little over three now, and Arabelle is 1o months old, so there still isn't a ton of interaction going on. Mostly their interaction consists of Arabelle going for a small block or some other insignificant toy because she wants to suck on it, then suddenly Jeffrey decides that that one little red block is the only toy in the entire playroom that he really wants and just can't do without right that second. However, over the past few months, there have been some bright moments where Arabelle and Jeffrey have seemed to really enjoy each others' company. I am really looking forward to more of these!

In a moment of brotherly generosity, Jeffrey gave Arabelle a hat and a cookie. He then wanted me to take their picture.

Arabelle was watching Jeffrey's remote control train, and she wanted to grab that train engine so badly! Jeffrey loved that she was watching him so intently, and he kept watching her face to make sure she was paying attention and wanted the train. Of course he complained loudly when she tried to grab the engine, but then when I picked her up so she'd leave him alone, he made put her back right where she had been. Why they are both wearing nothing but diapers, I can't remember at this moment, but I'm sure there was a very good reason at the time.


This is Jeffrey's current favorite thing to do with Arabelle. He loves to pull her around in the wagon . He makes her stay in the caboose in back. It's very cute but I don't like it because I have to follow them and watch Arabelle closely for any signs of restlessness to make sure she doesn't try to climb out.

John's 30th Birthday Party

On November 4th of this year, John turned 30. I am proud of him, and it's an important birthday, so I wanted to plan a special party for him that was a little different from the usual family get together.

Fortunately, all of John's close family lives within an hour of here, and everyone was able to make it! It is so nice to be able to have them all near and all happy to come to our party!

I planned an 80's/90's theme to celebrate the era of John's "juventud". I asked the guests to come dressed in trends typical of the era and there would be a prize for the best get-up.





And here's Mark's old trademark glasses and mustachio.


We started the day with a BBQ picnic outside in our backyard.

Those that were there and remember, do their outfits look authentic?



Then we viewed some slides of John and his family from back when they were teeny tiny.

Next, we had a good old fashioned dance party. I got to make use of what must be my favorite 90's themed dance party game.

It has all these cards with really funny dance moves that you have to perform in unison. Best game ever.

I wish I could get the videos of this to post, but so far I haven't been successful. Michael and Brittney's family won the prize for best family of dancers.



We ended the event with a favorite dessert of John's and a toast to him complete with sparkling red grape juice and plastic champagne flutes. I must say, the kids definitely enjoyed the sparkling red grape juice...and the plastic champagne flutes. Jeffrey downed his quickly and then traded his empty glass for first mine and then John's fuller ones!



Happy Birthday John!

Arabelle likes to Climb

Arabelle started crawling at about 7.5 months.

A week after that she was pulling herself up.

And a couple of days later she climbed her first stair.

Ever since then she has been climbing on anything and everything.

At first she was always falling down, and I was constantly having to retrieve her and comfort her and ask her why she kept climbing if she was always hurting herself.

But Arabelle didn't give up.

She continued to dedicate herself to her climbing, and now she has exceptional balance for a 9 month old.