Little Elf

Today was Elf Yourself day at Cy's school. We had nothing that was great for an elf costume unfortunately and I was definitely not going to buy something or see something after practice so we made due. He looked adorable and was super excited to show his friends at school;) he is so adorable!!

Little Rock Climber

Cy has finally taken to rock climbing. We've been taking him, a bit intermittently, since he was 2 and he has never enjoyed it. But, last week Brad brought him after school and he loved it. He is not afraid anymore and really enjoys climbing up to the top. Last week, he did a few of the lower wall climbs but was not interested in hitting up the 52' wall in the back. So today, he told me he wanted to show me that he could do it. And, he did. All the way up to the top of the 52' wall. Good lord, he is a rock star:) The whole gym was clapping for him, which was cute. Cracks me up when people were saying what a natural he is at 4…aren't all kids natural climbers?! We just become less so when we let fear sneak in as we get older and start to think about all the "what ifs". I just love that he enjoys it because I have always had visions of climbing with my children. In my mind, there is no greater family bonding experience than being out in the mountains, relying solely on each other. I look forward to doing that with both of them as they get a bit older :)

almost ready

Now, perfect!

"I'm ready to climb, Dad"

making sure that I am watching :)

Needed a little rest

Yep, seems secure :)

Up the 52 footer...

Still going...

ding ding! He made it.

Just swinging around :)

love my adventuresome boys!

Baby Tag Photo Shoot :)

I will be 71/2 months pregnant tomorrow, although I think maybe my due date is a bit screwed up and I'm further along than anticipated. I weigh exactly the same and am measuring exactly the same as I did when I went into labor with Cyrus. I had two mothers at the swim meet on Friday tell me that they think the baby has dropped already and that there is no way I'm making it to mid-February. I was surprised they noticed b/c I too think she has dropped. I caught a side profile of myself in a window at school on Friday and was like, "Holy smokes, I swear she's moving down". I go in tomorrow for what will be the beginning of the every 2 week visits and will see what Dr. Hirata thinks. I hope I am going to have this one early. I am so uncomfortable!! Plus, Cy was 8.5 pounds at altitude (which has been shown to produce smaller babies). I do NOT want to push a 10 pounder out! Especially a little girl. What the heck, I have preconceived notions of a tiny, dainty little peanut.

Anyway, I wanted to get some shots of Cy and my belly and decided today was the day:) I have scheduled a true photo shoot for Tag when she arrives so I can do a collage in her room with her new born photos like I did with Cy, but as far as a maternity shoot, I decided not to do that. It's pretty expensive and I don't rotate pictures out around my house enough to actually do anything with them. And, I don't care if they look professional. I just wanted to get Cy loving on his baby sister while she is in my belly for a photo book that I will make for them to have one day.

So, here we go. Brad got some great shots:) He wouldn't get in any of them bc he was feeling scruffy but that's ok:)

Feeling goofy

trying to make contact

listening for sounds of life in there :)

He swears he heard her

He needed a crazy break :)

belly to belly

that face, he is so cute

umm, that about sums it up:)

another break ;)

too much fun

probably my favorite one, such a sweet photo

this child has my heart

And Tag has his

He kisses and hugs my belly every time he comes near me. He's very excited to be a big brother

Brad's appearance 

Cy tried to get one of B and me, missed his head a bit I'd say:)

Gingerbread Village Advent project

Cy's Advent today was to make our annual Gingerbread house. The kit I got this year was for a Gingerbread village, which included FOUR little houses. Yikes. I really need to read the package a little more closely! It's not that I don't love these projects with Cy but I am not a crafty woman, I just don't love it. It's ironic because my grandmother was an artist but those genes passed me right by! Anyway, we got going on this project today and it was fun:) Cy was super excited about helping, for about 20 minutes;) He helped me "glue" the pieces together and decorate the roofs. I did the small details around the doors and windows. 1/2 way through Cy decided he wanted to eat one of the houses. Of course I told him to go for it. The house promptly fell apart when he tried to bite it and he got very frustruated at how "hard" it was.  

The little houses came out really cute and we had a good time. We finished up the evening with Curious George's Christmas Special. It was such a nice day to spend with my little man since it was so icy and snowy outside!!

Buddy's back!

Our good friend, & Elf, Buddy has returned:) This is the first year that I think Cy will really know what is happening and care about it. We decorated the house today so I decided to have Buddy come tonight rather than on the 1st of Dec so we can kick this holiday season off right:) Buddy made mini pancakes for Cy tonight (I'll warm them up quickly in the morning) just in case Cy gets up earlier than us in the morning:) Buddy also brought a new Christmas movie, a letter from Buddy, and, of course, the Elf on the Shelf book. I love making mischief with this little guy :)

Day 2: Bubble bath to rest his weary bones after the long flight.

Day 3: Buddy's fishing for goldfish

Day 4: Cookies! Buddy made cy some delicious mini cookies ;)

Day 5: Buddy was found playing in Cy's sandbox.

Day 6: Buddy made a parade

Day 7: Buddy brought Cy a new choo choo train from the North Pole. He found it under the Giving Tree;)

Day 8: Buddy was found cleaning up his mess :)

Anders's Holiday Party!

The annual event of the year was last night;) The Anders's Christmas party! This is our third event but the 13th annual event for the Anders. It is so nice to get together with all our friends, who we see way too infrequently at this time of the year. It was a little tame for me this year as I obviously was not drinking but I hung in there and we didn't get home until 2am. It was a blast, as usual:) Cyrus had a sleepover with Nana & Pap and had a wonderful time with them. We are so fortunate to have all 4 grandparents here so that he is able to have time with them like that and we can get away for the night without rushing home to a babysitter or worrying whether or not he was ok while we are out :)

Winter!

First Snow Day!!! Hooray! Come on winter, we are ready for you;)