My First Christmas!!

I'm not sure how Christmas is suppose to be, but I keep hearing everything is "upsidedown" this year?! We started Christmas morning all sitting around the table eating a breakfast feast. I got to sit with Omi and Uncle Howard, chew on napkins and wear my little red outfit. Then almost everyone went out for a ski because there had been 6 inches of new snow overnight. I stayed in with Omi, Opa and Michelle. I was so excited about Christmas that I only took half hour naps all day!!! When everyone came in from skiing, we had a big turkey & ham feast. Once that was all cleaned up we got to open stockings! What fun! I had such a wonderful day that I did not want to go to bed, but the padres insisted. I think Christmas is GREAT!

One of my favorite Christmas activites was watching Uncle Howard blow the snow across the yard with his new Honda! I kept banging on the window to get his attention!

Snuggling with Daddy!

Ahhhhh!!!! I am not overstimulated... Noooo!!! I AM NOT!!!!!!!

Auntie Diane and I ended my evening with a Christmas dance!

Note:

There are many more tales to tell of Sun Peaks Resort, so stay tuned for more blogging!!!

Christmas Festivities!

My favorite Christmas ornament that our family has put up for years.

!Ooooh!  The candles are lit and Coco couldn't be more curious!!!

Christmas Baking!  We got a lot done because we were snowed in!

Our first snow fall, which turned out to be the first of MANY!  Snow is unusual here, but it just keeps falling and falling.  So far we have about a foot!  CRAZY!

So, we learned something about Coco today.  There is something that will make her cry.  No, it is not snow, but the snowsuit itself!  We've had it on a few times the past few days and finally we figured it out.  Here we caught her between crying spells!

Opa showing off the height of the snow... there's been a lot more since!

The whole gang!

We've been somewhat confined to our home, so we've had to be creative.  We've played some games, shoveled a lot and we've cooked some fantastic meals.  YUM!  But, our favorite activity has been trying things on the baby!  :)

Exploring Christmas...

Coco has loved watching us decorate our home for the holidays. Ben had put these lights up on the chair near Coco and she reached FAR and discovered that she may be able to pull them down. So, the next few minutes we watched as she discovered how to get the lights into her lap. After she suceeded, she pinched each little light with curious wonder. It was really sweet.

Great Uncle Cal!!!

This past weekend we celebrated the 70th birthday of Uncle Cal!  We all gathered at Kathy's place.  We were expected guests, but the Portland crew was a surprise to Uncle Cal.  Kathy made a fabulous italian meal and Brad provided the wonderful cake.  We spent a lot of time reminiscing and hearing stories of the past!  It was a great time to celebrate 70 years of life and family!  Below is a photo of Uncle Cal, two of 3 sons and 3 of 5 grandchildren.

AND... the Old Fart, himself!  :)

One last photo from MT!

To Grandma's House We Went...

...on Amtrak! Chiara is officially a professional traveler! She's experienced buses, airplanes, taxis, ferries, cars and now trains! Below you can see how they turned down her sleeper bed for her. She thought it was exciting, which was evidenced by her self appointed 1 AM bedtime.

Once we arrived, Chiara was thrilled to find that G-pa was also at Grandma's house!
It was cooler in MT, so warmer clothing was necessary!

Grandma sharing her quart of Pepsi with Chiara.

We helped decorate for Christmas and the greatest attraction for Chiara was the Pyramid.

Montana

Chiara and I went to visit old friends in Glasgow, MT this past weekend.  I lived in Glasgow for 10 years before moving to Europe with my family.  My mom and dad were visiting and wanted us to join them there.  Ben was unable to come, but my sister met up with us and we made the trek out to Glasgow.  What a special time we had.

When Ben and I met in '98, we soon discovered that we had lived in the same part of Montana for some of our toddler years.  Here is a sign to prove how close.  Ben lived in Wolf Point and I was in Glasgow.  (I think I was 1 or 2 and he was 4) 

Chiara celebrated her 7 month birthday in MT!

Opa hadn't seen Chiara since she was 3 weeks old.

There was a whole lot of attention for Chiara in MT!  Oma had the chance to see her one more time!

My International Nanny!

Auntie Diane came to visit for a few days!!! What Fun!!!
We went to work one day and left CoCo to show Auntie Diane around the Fremont area. I do believe our little one may have a future in tourism!
(however, we did hear she fell asleep on the job!?)

Happy Birthday!!!

Today is now also the birthday of my newest little friend, Anya Elise!

Yay! We went to the hospital today and her older brother, Caleb introduced us.  Mom says she is ADORABLE, especially with all that hair!

I think we are going to be the best of pals, just like our mommies! 

Happy Halloween!

From Chicken Little!

Falling Leaves!

Dear God, did you really mean for orange, red, gold and brown to fall from the sky???

'cause I Love It!

Pumpkin Patch!

Our Favorite Pumpkin!

It turned into an absolutely gorgeous Fall day!
What we learned: CoCo's most interested in pumpkin stems, dirt and STRAW!

Shocking!!!

I'm Half a Year Old!!!

Banana Boat's New Ad Campaign!

Hola! From Mexico!

A fun week in Mexico was had by all- 10 adults and 2 babes!  The weather was hot and humid which made the swimming, kayaking, "sharks and minnows", snorkeling and silent marco-polo all the more fun!

Piper giving CoCo a friendly little pat!

The guys spent hours playing "water polo".  The life preserve was the "goal"!

Tropical Rain Storms!  Almost every eve we had gusts of wind, rain, lightning and LOUD thunder.  I took this photo because I saw one side of the palm trees were wet and the other sides were perfectly dry!

  

Whoops!  Still mastering the straw!

A baby chaise longue?