Grandma's most recent visit

My mom has been visiting us in Washington almost every other month since Jude was born (and before that really).  Each time she comes, she brings new books, clothes, and activities to do with Canaan.

This time, she brought Canaan these dress up clothes and a tea set.  So one day we had a tea party (with apple juice and Nilla Wafers).  I'm not sure if the dress up clothes (including the crown and a necklace) or pouring the tea was her favorite part.  Either way, she loved it!
 

 

We'll have to work on tea party ettiquete.  Here you can see her drinking out of the tea pot.

While Grandma was here, we also picked a dry day to go to the zoo.  Canaan loves animals and asks to go to the zoo all the time.  I haven't been brave enough to take her and Jude by myself yet so having Grandma here was a great time to go. 

 

 

Here are some new outfits for Valentine's Day.  I gotta say that Jude definitely looks more like a little boy with a button up shirt on. 

After church this day, we went to some friends' house for lunch.  You should have seen Canaan's white pants after we got home.  I would say she definitely enjoyed playing in the dirt at our friends' house.

This is one of the few pictures I got of my mom with the kids. 

We love to have her visit (as well as my dad)!  We can't wait until next time!

December 2012

I have got to get better about posting regularly.  I was looking through our photos from December recently and wanted to post some of my favorites.

 Somebody took off walking during December.  Big sister was all too happy to help.  In fact, I think Jude picked it up more quickly because Canaan wanted him to practice so frequently.

 We spent Christmas with family.  I was anxious about flying with both kids, but they were fantastic.  Canaan couldn't be happier when you let her watch something.  And Jude loves to be held so he was just fine sitting on our laps on the airplane.  I was so thankful my worry was for nothing.

 I can't believe Jude is already 1!  I will have to do another post about that.

 While visiting family, we went to see Santa on Christmas Eve.  We didn't talk much about Santa or gifts during the month.  So the day before we went to visit him, we told Canaan she would need to tell Santa what she wanted for Christmas.  Matthew asked Canaan what she was going to ask for and she answered, "a bell and a lollipop."  Matthew was so proud.  And that's exactly what she asked for.  I love this picture of her talking to Santa.

 After opening gifts and then the craziness that ensued the rest of Christmas day (with the kids all excited about playing with new things), Jude was completely tuckered out.

 The day after Christmas we were able to get out of the house and spend some time at the Children's Museum.  It was nice to have a different atmosphere and for the kids to expend some energy in a new place.

Before Christmas while my mom was in town, we drove to Leavenworth for the day.  I could not believe the number of people there.  It was a cute little town that I would like to visit again some day.  We walked around for a bit, ate lunch, and got back on the road. 

I've seen photos like this before and wanted to get Canaan's reflection in the ornament this year.  This totally cracked me up.  She can be so fun when she's in a cooperative mood!

Our annual Santa hat photo!

Happy Valentine's Day

I had so much fun watching the kids with these mustaches!  I got more laughs than I have in a while.  Canaan and Jude had no idea what I was laughing at, but it was hilarious.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hyak Sno Park

For the very first time, Matthew had a holiday on MLK Day so we found a place nearby to go sledding.  We left the house after lunch and spent about an hour and a half in the snow.  It was cold but sunny!  After spending 4 or 5 days in the fog, it was wonderful to see the sun.

We took a bunch of pictures, but it is hard to spot us among all the other people.  It was definitely crowded.  With all the kiddos excited about sledding, we had to get out of the way once we got to the bottom of the hill.  Canaan was plowed into once and did not find that to be an enjoyable experience.

 

 

 

 

 

I only went down the hill with Canaan twice.  I never figured out how to control the sled and both times we ended up going backwards about halfway down.  It was a lot of fun!

Canaan really enjoyed going down on Matthew's back.  He got a lot of snow on his face which she thought was funny.  These next shots are of them going all the way down the hill.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We hope to go back sometime soon for more sledding...and hopefully more sun too!

Loving his Cheerios

Jude is growing so much.  I have not been good about giving him finger foods to try yet, but he loves his Cheerios!  He started making this face where he crinkles his nose very recently.  I'm not sure where it came from, but it is really cute.  Like Canaan at this age, he is a really good eater.  He doesn't care much for the baby food with meat in it other than the turkey.  But he is really good at eating all the fruits and veggies.  He has been eating 4 jars of baby food per day for several months now.

 

 

 

 

1st field trip

This week I joined Canaan for her first field trip.  We spent the morning at a local pumpkin patch.  It was fun and not-so-fun all at the same time.  Canaan was an absolute mess!  I am not sure what was going on.  I don't think I've ever heard so much whining.  We made it home with a pumpkin so I guess it was a success.  Here's hoping the next field trip goes much better.