Santa and stuff

Up until this year, Noah hasn't been a huge fan of Santa.  We did a Santa picture for his first Christmas, but the past two years we just didn't bother.  We decided to give it a try this year and Noah loved it!  Elliana?  Not so much. :)  We started with just the kiddos and Santa...

 

Hoping to get a little smile from E, we added Mommy and Daddy...

 

Realizing that a smile probably wouldn't happen (no big deal :) ) We took one of just Noah and Santa...

 

Noah and Sydney (one of his best friends)

  

It's been a full month.  Really full.  Like, 8 Christmas parties, 3 weekends of overnight guests, cooking/baking for 25 dinner guests, shopping, wrapping and trying to stay sane in the midst of all of it full. :)  Don't get me wrong, I love it (esp having overnight guests!)!  But it has been full. Even though it was full, we made time for our annual Tom's Farm trip with Hylke's mom and dad, brother, sister and their families.  The kids always look forward to riding the train with Oma and Opa!

 

 

Our last TMOMs of the semester the kids came in and sang for us.  It was the first time either one of my kids had "performed" for me.  It was such a special morning.  Here's a quick glimpse of my cuties.

 

Noah refused to wear his "Christmas Chain". :)  Oh well.

Fall and Dress-up

If you've been around me much in the Fall, you may have heard me complain at how warm California is in the fall.  I am ready for cool, crisp weather on September 1.  If you are familiar with California (esp. Southern California) weather, you know that this makes for a very unhappy girl for about 2-2 1/2 months (it is currently 79 on December 11!).  You may have even heard me complain that though CA is wonderful we fail big time in the "pretty fall leaves" department.

Well, this year has kind of been an exceptional fall.  We have had some cool days (beginning in SEPTEMBER!) a good amount of rain (I LOVE rain) and the trees look beautiful!  If you've been around me this fall, you've certainly heard me comment on how pretty the trees look.  I have enjoyed driving all around beautiful Redlands admiring the fall leaves...some on the trees, and some on the ground.  If you're not familiar with Redlands, it's a very established city, with lots of mature trees.  In fact, I happen to live on a street with lots of mature Liquid Amber trees, and they are GORGEOUS.  Here are a few pictures I took from my front lawn.  Thank you, Lord for such a beautiful Fall!

On to dress-up.  My little girl is such a little girl.  That may seem obvious, but it kind of surprised me.  Let me clarify.  First, she is as rough and tumble as they come.  She LOVES dirt (remember this?), puddle jumping, mud splashing, and she even loves to play with her brother's trucks and trains.  BUT...she also LOVES shoes, clothes, purses, jewelry and make-up.  Now, I'd like to think that it's because she sees how cute and trendy her momma looks each day, or because she sees me faithfully making myself up in the morning, maybe because she knows how much her momma loves shoes and purses.  But alas, that is sadly not it.  You see, I'm kind of a jeans and sweatshirt girl, I do wear make-up (from time to time), and sure I love shoes (I'm desperately in need of new shoes!!!!! and can count on one had the number I actually wear) and purses (the two that I own are awesome!)  So, this little one is naturally a girl...choosing a purse and shoes over tools (most of the time) and more interested in dress up than dinosaurs.  I couldn't resist snapping a few photos of her latest fashion show, I hope you enjoy!

Sneak Peek

We just got home from visiting our friends, Terry and Bethany, up near Santa Cruz.  We had such a nice time.  Will, their 3 year old, and Noah played like they had been best friends forever.  T and B are redoing their backyard and the boys had a blast "helping" the workers.  Bethany and I contemplated paying the landscaping crew for childcare on-top of what they're being paid for landscaping.  There are some great pics on Bethany's camera, I'll post as soon as I get them.

While we were there we also took advantage of the great location and Bethany's photography hobby and had her take some family pictures.  Here's a sneak peek of a few of my favorites:

 Noah looks grumpy in this one, but I still love it. :)

 This was a candid of Elliana dancing; I love it!

One last trip

Last night my sister and her girls came out for a quick overnight trip.  While she was here, we decided to make one last trip up the mountain to pick the last of the apples at Riley's Farms.  It was cold and windy...perfect in my book.  We made it just in time because yesterday was the last u-pick day of the season.  We left with a bag full of delicious Rome Beauty's.  Since Hylke's so tall, we left the picking stick behind, knowing that Hylke's shoulders would be waaaay more fun for the kids.  Elliana designated herself as the official bag carrier and refused any help along the way.  She had a few spills along the way, but it never once slowed her down.  Her very independent, very determined personality was definitely shining through.  After some picking we went to the petting zoo, ate fresh bbq'd tri-tip sandwiches, drank fresh pressed cider and let the kids run all around.  What a great time!

Who needs a picking stick?!

 My big sis and her kiddos

 The cousins

 Our attempt at a family picture

 little miss independent

 Oops!

 

Auntie Amy helping E

Halloween

We had a great Halloween.  It was so fun to watch the kids enjoy trick or treating this year--the first year that Noah was really excited about it, understanding exactly what was going on.

Elliana was hilarious!  When Noah decided that it was time for him to go back in and check out his loot, Elliana was insistent on staying out and "tick-a-teet(ing)" more.  So, Hylke and I took her out by herself while Noah helped hand out candy with our friends.  They were certainly the cutest panda and elephant I've ever seen.

 I had to stop to get at least ONE picture with the kids...you can tell Noah wasn't excited to stop...he was ready for the next house. :)

 Elliana got the hang of it and was doing it all by herself...she couldn't wait to go to each house

 Noah and Spidey...his buddy Joel

 Panda, Elephant and Spiderman

 

  Elliana all on her own

 

 This has to be my favorite picture of the night...my little escaping panda

Little Drummer Boy

There are few things that Noah enjoys more than playing the "drums" while Hylke plays guitar.  He has great rhythm and a stays on beat really well.  Looks like we may need to invest in a real drum set sometime..for now this is great!

Overdue

These pictures are over a month old, but I haven't picked up my camera in almost that long!  The battery charger is MIA and so the camera has stayed put for way too long.  It's a good thing my girlfriends are such talented photographers or else I'd have no cute pictures of my kids from this past month!

I finally downloaded the pics that have been hanging out on my camera for awhile and just had to share a few.  When our friends, Tim and Amanda, returned home from their honeymoon, we had the privilege of having them here for a few nights while they waited for their new place to be ready.  Tim could hardly wait to show Noah and Elliana what he brought them from their trip.