Christmas Pictures

This was the first year we took "official" Christmas pictures!

We are very happy with how they turned out!

Thanks, Godfrey, for taking these great pictures!!!

Thanksgiving

The events of Thanksgiving are pretty much a blur at this point in time & as I look at these pictures, I am not exactly sure why there are so few.  Hmm...?

Well, we did have an enjoyable time hosting Nana, Aunt Laura, and Uncle Jonathan for a few days. They came in on Tuesday night and we spent Wednesday hanging out, shopping for food, and generally preparing for the big cooking day. On Thursday, we enjoyed yummy snacks in the afternoon, but by the time the main course was ready to eat at dinnertime, Keira wasn't feeling well. She started complaining of stomach problems, wouldn't eat any dinner, and fell asleep on the couch at 6:45. It wasn't exactly the type of Thanksgiving meal we were expecting, but we made the best of it. The food was good and it was great to be with family.

On Friday, it was Nana's birthday and we took her to lunch at The Prado and walked around Balboa Park. Keira was feeling better, but unfortunately, Jonathan was not well, so he did not join us.

Bummer!

Here are the few pics we got...

Short-sleeves, skirt, and barefoot...

Yep, this is Thanksgiving Day in San Diego

Tether ball fun with Nana

Keira's favorite little buddy, Willy!

I love how they are both smiling for this picture.

The lunch spread!

Yummy!

Despite the inconvenience of illnesses, we have so much to be thankful for!

Thank you, Lord, for the abundance you provide for us!

Fall Fun

Usually, fall is a fun time of year as the weather starts to get cooler and we get to do fun fall activities.  Unfortunately, this year was a little different due to pregnancy sickness and the non-stop blazing hot weather outside. Although this fall didn't have quite the same *feel* as previous years, we tried to make the most of it.

Ella, being the party animal that she is (or is it Mackenzie??), hosted a fall-themed party, just a week after her Halloween party!

WOW, are sure are blessed with some amazing friends!

Of course, what starts off a party better than food?!

Yummy snacks!

Friends!

The epic craft of the day was a handprint turkey T-shirt!

Decorating a frame with fall leaves

Playtime!

After all that crafting and playing, the girls worked up an appetite for lunch!

Pure silliness!

Can 3-year-olds bob for apples?!

Yes, they can!

Showing their hard-earned apples

The completed turkey shirt!

If this isn't pure cuteness, I don't know what is!

Thanks, Mack and Ella, for hosting another stellar party!!!

And thanks Mack and Laura for taking the pictures!

On another day, Keira & I went to Ella's for another round of crafting.

This time, the goal was to make place cards/name cards for our Thanksgiving table!

Painting glue on the fall leaves was super fun!

Next, we had to glue the leaves around a toilet paper roll

Crafters hard at work

The finished product

Success!

Thankful Tree

This was our 2nd year to do the thankful tree with Keira.  Unfortunately, I didn't get any pictures of the actual tree this year, but here's a list of things Keira was/is thankful for this fall season in 2012 (in no particular order):

*Digging with Daddy and doing yard work

*Elmo

*Playing the paper game
(which consists of going through a stack of art projects/crafts in her closet one piece at a time)

*Running around so fast with Daddy

*Snuggling the baby really tight

*Snuggling Mommy and playing

*Playing the Run Around game with Ella

*Playing games with Nana

*Carving the pumpkin and I like it falling in

*Playing with Uncle Jonathan

*Strawberry medicine that makes me feel better

*Jack

*Aunt Laura

*Going to Mimi's Cafe and eating chocolate chip pancakes

*Riding my bicycle really, really fast

Tiny Dancer

 Keira has been thoroughly enjoying her dance class that she started in Sept.  It has been so fun to see her blossom in this type of setting where she engages with the teacher and other students and I am outside of the room (I get to observe through the window!).  Of the 2 types of dance (tap & ballet), she says she likes tap the best (of course, who wouldn't?!).

At Halloween time the kids got to dress up in their costumes for class and, consequently, it was also "parent observation day" so we actually got to go inside the classroom to watch the kids perform!  Daddy was able to come too and take these awesome pictures!

While you're dancing, it's important to wear a smile!

Choo-choo train!

Time to switch into ballet shoes!

Little ballerinas

Catching some air in the obstacle course!

Dance class is so fun!!!

We had to take a little break in Dec due to Keira being sick a lot and us going on a couple long trips out of town. We are looking forward to getting back to class in January!