Christmas 2008

the stockings were hung by the chimney with care. or, in our case, they were laid by the wood burning stove with care. The far left stocking is for the new baby. It wasn't stuffed.




Our little drummer boy on X-mas morning, not sure what to do with all this stuff.




Cool! ornaments! let's grab them!




Daddy made some sock monkeys for his babies.





The aftermath

More snow, cuddly babies, and boxes are the best toys

So here are some random pictures from today. First, it's been snowing for the past 24 hrs. Here are the Jemez Mts. in the snow.



Second, James gets very cuddly mid morning and midafternoon. He's doesn't fall asleep, his nap times are different. He just wants to cuddle with his daddy.



and the babies had a blast playing with a box today. so much fun!
Helena is inside this box, they're playing peek-a-boo through the handle hole.












And a final video for your enjoyment:

Birdies!

There were three new additions to our house yesterday. One of the teens from the church was giving away some finches in anticipation of going off to college. here they are in all their finchy glory:

Like father and mother, like son and daughter

The babies love to climb. They'll climb anything: chairs, bookshelves, tables. They can't quite make it into bed yet. Airports are particularly fun because there's so many tables and chairs in the waiting areas. I put together a short photo essay on the amazing climbing babies. keep in mind that no parental help was given at any time (except when Helena wanted to get down)


Step 1: getting up. This generally involves grabbing something with your hands and then hoisting your butt up as high as it will go, hoping your knees or feet can get some purchase on something.

Step 2: Pointing at Daddy and laughing. Hey kid, don't brag. I can do it too, you know. I just don't fit between the shelves.

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Step 3: Try to get down, realize you can't, and laugh some more.

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Step 4: Turn into James. Lounge like a monkey in a tree.

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Step 5: scoot right off!

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that wasn't so hard, was it? Next time, Helena, I expect you to do it all by yourself. Also, pick up your toys, both of you!

snowy skies

Yesterday and the day before it snowed, but those were insignificant amounts that soon melted. Today it snowed steadily alllllllll day. In the last two hours I think 3 inches accumulated on our balcony rail. Furthermore! It is supposed to continue snowing till Friday-- we're going for around 20 inches here. As of right now there is no more than a two hour delay for schools and the lab (that's with at least six inches already down and no sign of letup). What?! If this was Northern Virginia the county would be peeing its pants right about now. The world would shut down and the supermarkets would be devoid of tp and bread.

I (Logan) for one am enjoying the snow. So far. :) When Eric got back from work today we bundled up, babes and all, and went for a walk. We were intending to go a few blocks down the hill to visit the Kohlrusts, but we never made it more than a few houses down because we met some of our other friends who were outside shoveling. We stopped to chat and pet their dogs and soon they brought out their sleds and showed us their sledding hill in the empty lot next to their house. We had so much fun sledding with Helena and James! I'm not quite sure if they had as much fun as we did. . .

Finally we were all frozen and decided to head back home for some hot mulled cider. A very nice time. We joked about it being so cold on the way home, that we're not used to it being snowy and so bitter--just under freezing is all you need for snow in Va. Now we know we're just a bunch of wimps about the cold.

The snow stopped for a few hours Tuesday morning, but it has started falling again, soft and heavy.

Anyway, enjoy the pics from the snow.



Our Deck after 3-4 inches of snow. Taken Monday around 5PM.




Our deck Tuesday Morning. How many inches is that? 12? 14?




"Um... what's all this white stuff? It's cold!" Our neighbor's driveway. They had just shovelled 15 minutes ago...


Helena and Eric sledding. Eric needs to learn how to steer...

Dancin' Babes

The babies love dancing, and we finally caught it on tape! Enjoy these two. In James' video, I think he decided to quit dancing to go play Backgammon with Helena...

and a bonus video: Helena playing dress-up with my coat:

Snow!

Apparently, it snowed whilst we were in NY for Thanksgiving, then melted away. We got maybe 1/2 an inch the night we returned, but that's mostly gone except for the part of our deck that never sees sun.

And, just to reiterate the previous post, today I lifted my arms to get something, and Helena got a glimpse of my belly button and went berserk, in a happy, giddy way.