A Very Merry Christmas

We had a Very Merry Christmas in Tucson. Scott's parents hosted 14 people in two houses and we had lots of fun. It was a little cold the first few days, but then it warmed up after Christmas and there was lots of time to play outside.


Aunt Sharon, Calla, and Lynda having a few chips during Happy hour.

Hannah and Papa Bob had a great time "talking" outside one evening. Hannah kept sharing her water with Papa.

Hannah even shared her water with Nana Lynda a few times.

Mommy and her girls getting a little sun while playing outside. It felt sooo good to feel the warm sun!

Nana and the girls taking a break from playing for a picture. Calla said her favorite part of Christmas was spending time with Nana. Times we will never forget.

Nana and all of her grand children.
Calla, Jake, Hannah, and Eric

Opening Christmas presents was a blast! Calla got a t-ball set from her Uncle Steve. He taught all of the kids how to play, Calla was a natural!

Hannah and Uncle Steve

Jake and Uncle Steve

Aunt Charlotte and Calla taking a break from the chaos to catch-up!

We let the kids open a few presents before going to church, a few before they went to bed and the rest in the morning. It was crazy, but really great to see Christmas through the eyes of children again. All the adults found it magical.

Calla and Hannah with their new "Cat in the Hat" hats.

Calla and Hannah with their new purple dancing dresses and AZ t-shirts.

Calla, Hannah, and Eric opening their first presents before church. We bribed Calla to get all dressed up and take picture with the promise of opening one gift it worked!

A little sisterly love!

Hannah got a music set, all the kids loved playing with it and making music together. I think Nana misses her little music makers!

The big kids helping Eric open a Christmas present.

Hannah trying on Scott's glasses and hat after he went for a run. Both Scott and I found time to enjoy running in the sunshine. Since we have returned home we both have had some very wet runs.

Papa Bob, Scott, Courtney, Calla, and Hannah hit Sabino Canyon one afternoon. It was great!

Papa Bob, Calla, Courtney, and Nana Lynda enjoying the elephants at the Tucson Zoo.

Calla admiring one of three young lion cubs. We arrived at the zoo just as they were let out into the yard and it was so much fun to watch!!

Marry Christmas to all! We had a blast in AZ and miss all of the family already!

Cloths Wrestling

I need to go through Hannah's cloths this weekend and remove those that no longer fit (passed on to Airlie) and get out more 18-25 month cloths. How do you accomplish this task with two little girls that want to help? I let them take everything out of Hannah's dresser and put it on the floor. The pictures below tell the story of what followed. I did manage to get cloths put back eventually minus those that no longer fit and will be shared with little Airlie.

Budding Artists

The girls had a great time painting this evening. Hannah even got some paint on the paper.

Keeping the paint away from Hannah.

The proud artist!

Princess Morning

Here are some more pictures of Daddy and the girls morning adventures before school. Today we had a very Princess themed morning. Not too much more than usual, but we did get dressed up! Sorry I was taking the pictures so you missed me in my dress :)

Where did I leave those glass slippers?

Found them, off to the Ball!

My little Princess Ballerina!

You look beautiful! No YOU look beautiful!! No, No YOU look beautiful!!!

Fun in the morning

Most morning I (aka Daddy) have the girls to get them out of bed, dressed, fed, and out the door. We usually have a pretty good time, not all the time, but most of the time. Now that Hannah is walking and can chase Calla around, it has gotten to be much more amusing. Here are some photos from one of our mornings a few weeks ago. Thanks for the great Moose shirts Nana Lynda!

You sure are tall big sis!

Boo! I am a scary ghost!!

Laughing at something? They can just look at each other and start laughing, it is pretty fun to watch!

More laughing!

Hannah "reading" one of her favorite books.

Birthday Celebration

So it was my birthday choice to spend the weekend at the Portland Children's Museum and we had a blast! Calla was a little tentative at first but by the end we had a hard time keeping up with her as she ran from room to room.


There was the rock climbing wall,

The water room for a start.

There was also a children's theater room and Calla had a blast with the drums and Hannah was entranced watching her.

Hannah and Mommy watching Calla on the TV monitor.

Mommy and Hannah exploring the Lego exhibit.

There was also a face painting station, we let Calla do her own face painting.

Hannah checking out the Lego castle.

Both sisters in awe.

And there was more. Calla and Hanna drove a bus and drove Mommy and daddy around. They thought it was great fun. We sang the Wheeles on the Bus song most of the drive home.

And there was a veterinary hospital. Calla worked the desk,

and then she and Hannah teamed up on the examination.

And finally these are for Papa Rex. Calla actually told me this morning that I was not good at fixing things, but that was OK because Papa Rex was good and he could fix it when he came to visit.

Thanks for a great Birthday Girls! I love you!!

17 Months - WOW

So better late than never, but here is my little 17 month old! Once she decided to walk (16.5 months) she has never looked back. She runs after her big sister everywhere. They play great together, most of the time, and Hannah is eager to play Calla's pretend games, such as teacher or tucking everyone in at night. Hannah is a little talker, or should I say mimicker, as she seems to be able to repeat back many words we say, she also says things on her own. She has quite a vocab and is beginning to put two words together, such as "one more" when I read books to her at night. We swear she said "happy birthday" last week after Calla sang me the happy birthday song. She can also say "milk", "papa", "more", "doggie", "mama", "dada", "boo", "book", and "Calla". She slept in until 6:30 last week and Scott and I laughed at our version of sleeping in, oh how has life changed with two kids.

Up and down the stairs all on her own!

Gazing out into the pumpkin patch!

All dressed up for Halloween!