Guitar infatuation

This is a common Saturday occurence....She loves the guitar. Every time Dan gets it out, she is on his lap in an instant.
It doesn't help his prep for Sunday morning, but he truly enjoys that his daughter wants to play with him. We wonder, will she be musically-inclined like her daddy? Or just a wanna-be like her mommy? (Well, at least I can mostly sing on key.)

1st Bath Together

Aren't they so cute in the tub together? After a weekend away spending time visiting lots of family, it was now bedtime. I really needed to get them to bed sooner rather than later--since it already was later! So it was a quickie bath for him with his sister. She seemed to enjoy showing him how the bath is done, and as you can see, they were having a great time at it! Maybe we have two water puppies...and not just one...(we already knew she LOVES "tath-time"!) :-)

Speaking of puppies, we are quite sure that our Lucy is expecting her first litter in April! It will be fun (and lots of work!) More to come on that as her day approaches, and with pictures of course!!

When I get some pictures of their visit sent from Grammy, I will be sure to share some of the precious moments that these two cubs had with their Papa and Grammy. Unfortunately, I regret that we forgot our camera on this weekend trip, so there were none taken to remember their last visit on the farm with their Farnsworth cousins before they move across the state (9 1/2 hours away!) We are going to miss having them only an hour away!!

Lots of changes!!

Wow...our household is certainly undergoing lots of good and new changes. Since the last post, over a year ago now, we have had significant changes! Yes, the first and foremost of all being the addition of our new little cub. He was born on October 29, 2006...now almost five months old! His big sister is growing more accustomed to his presence, and is actually becoming more of a big sister. She greeted him this morning as he awoke (with her in his face), saying "Hi, Baby! Hi, Baby!" Over and over. It is sooo sweet!!
It has been a transition going from one small child to two...but it is getting easier everyday. We don't regret our choice to have them close together one bit! They are already growing up together so much. It is a joy to behold. He is so happy, cheerful, talkative (downright noisy at times!), and a wonderful laugher. I joke that we should have included "Isaac" in his name after his uncle because he laughs so much. :-) Since his birth, our little princess became a "big girl" practically overnight. That's what it seemed like! He was so tiny and vulnerable...and now she felt HUGE and so grown up!! Amazing what a little change in perspective will do.
Our family continues to change daily...but I'll have to say more on that later. There is plenty to talk about. So today I'll start with this...and then off to completing our taxes! Oh the joys...!!!

Celebration of a family

Last week we celebrated our second anniversary. We had a wonderful time together. Much needed time away was spent at the coast in a cute little chalet for 2 nights. We agreed that the best part of all was leaving everything behind. No appointments, no alarm clocks, no schedule. Just the 3 of us. (Yes, we were very happy to bring the Princess with us...and it was necessary!) Oh, if you include Lucy, then there were 4 of us! We chose a place that was dog-friendly so Lucy could chase sticks on the beach and play in the water. There was a private beach for us to walk down to, but it was high tide. Of course, that didn't stop the dog. She was so happy to be able to run and splash around. We just hugged the rocky cliff and we walked along the edge of the beach. Neither of us are TV watchers, so being able to spend hours watching "Lost" episodes on DVD was a treat. We'd get up in the morning, and invariably, one of us would ask the other, "want to watch another episode?" Which led to another...and another. Very addicting. But it was our time to rest and relax, and we did just that.

We also visited the place (the road to the left) where Dan proposed to me...it was fun to walk down memory lane.

We decided on this "weekend" away that we would like our anniversaries to include our whole family, not just the two of us, as is usual. Dan pointed out that our wedding served as the starting point where our family began, and it should be celebrated as such. We realize that we have Valentines Day soon following our anniversary, and can use that, amongst other dates to get away as a couple (eventually...like in 20 years when all our kids are grown...just kidding.) We know we will need the time away for the two of us eventually, but at this point, we like having an anniversary be a celebration of a family.

First Christmas

It was a week of Christmas festivities! Our Princess' first Christmas season proved to be a success. We all visited lots of family...drank egg nog (well, her only indirectly through Mommy)...got our first tree as a family of three...opened a few presents...sang Christmas carols...celebrated birthdays...and drove lots of miles.

Overall, it was fun having a first Christmas with our Princess. We enjoyed shopping for her first Christmas present...and for just the right "baby's first Christmas" ornament. We were delighted to watch her as she enjoyed playing with the box her gift came in more than the gift...or that she was more interested in tasting the lights on the tree more than getting her Christmas picture taken.

It certainly felt like we experienced Christmas more this year. Perhaps because we now have a little more understanding of what Mary experienced as she brought a baby Savior into a dangerous world. Or perhaps because we now get to choose how we want our family to experience the meaning of Christmas...since we are responsible for shaping our child's world.

Determination

Determination.
You must have it in order to accomplish just about anything. I've learned that life doesn't get harder... and certainly not easier. Our challenges grow as we do.

The Girls

It is fun to be a girl. I like having my own little girl, too, who gets to do what I do. In this case, we both dressed up on Halloween. I was not as concerned about my costume. I was more preoccupied with getting the little girl dressed up. Not that she needed the costume to be cute...she's already that all on her own. Without even trying! And isn't she an absolutely adorable little ladybug? We borrowed the bug suit from a friend of ours, and it just fit perfectly! Well, once she was taken care of, I had to decide what I was going to dress up like for our little harvest party we were attending. Thankfully, I rummaged through the closet to find the simple mouse attire I had leftover from a birthday party last year. It was easy to wear in a pinch, and I eventually added a few whiskers on my cheeks. The best part--the tail--wasn't included here. You'll just have to take my word for it.
Ooooohhhh...I just love our little bug!