Random Pictures

OK, I don't know how we ever managed to keep this thing updated in the past, but now it seems quite impossible. So, here are some of the most recent pictures just to keep the documentation going. Nyla and Callie are, at most times, the best of friends. Callie is a mini Nyla, who is a mini teenager, it seems. Which means Callie runs around in her oh-so-cute 2.5 year-old voice saying things like, "Actually, I wanted this one" and "Ya, I noticed that." Nyla loves to create games to play with her sister. They usually are Gemma and Emma coming to visit Grandma (me) or Nyla is dropping her baby off at the babysitters on her way to work. I am left with a list of instructions on how to handle various situations. We all love spontaneous dance parties and the house if constantly filled with new artistic creations the girls have made. Of course they do not ALWAYS get along, which is when I get to hear conversations such as this:

Nyla: Callie, you are in BIG trouble!

Callie: I am not!

Nyla: You are too!

Callie: I am not! I'm two-and-a-half!

Nyla, always the good mama.

Singing and painting...

Weekend in central Oregon

Sending sister off to her first day of kindergarten

Getting ready for ice cream post first day of kindergarten.

Oops, missed that year...

This pretty much sums up what life is like at our house right now.

Callie's on the Go (with a little help)

Callie and her 96 year old Great Grandmother now have something in common...





Callie Gettin Down...

Merry Christmas 2008 part 2

The girls had a very fun Christmas at home.

Callie loved playing with the wrapping paper...

and her new rocking duck.

Nyla loved her Skut bike...

and Callie's duck.

And, we had more snow. So, Gabe and Nyla made an igloo.



And, we had 19 inches of snow. So, Nyla came up with a fun game with her new Skut bike and the rocking duck.

Arctic Blast 2008

Most snow in December since 1950 - 19 inches over about 10 days. Lots of fun if it only happens once every few years!

Merry Christmas 2008

This year we made a point of trying to demonstrate what the spirit of Christmas was all about. We went about packing up bags of toys and clothes and donated them to Goodwill and homeless shelters. If we had two of something or if we had something that wasn't used very much anymore, off it went. We read the Barenstein Bears Too Much Stuff book. Nyla and Gabe made a trip to the store and filled the cart full with canned goods which we donated to a food bank. We were all feeling the giving spirit this month. So, I guess it should not have been too much of a surprise when Nyla started giving away her good toys to her friends (I had to ask the mother for them back) or when she suggested we get rid of one of the cats (we do have two, afterall). One night at dinner Nyla was complaining that she didn't want to eat the (healthy and delicious) meal I had prepared. I told her she needed to eat because this was all we had [for dinner]. She looked thoughtful for a minute then asked, "Mom, are we poor?"

Winter

Nyla is always dressing up or pretending to do something or be something. Lately the game is "vacation" where she packs her suitcase full with every random piece of anything she can find. She is also fond of "doctor" and we commonly have baby dolls lying all over our house covered in band-aids or hiding under every blanket. Here the fairy is working quietly at her desk.

Winter Craft Fair - A visit with Old Mr. Winter. Each child sprinkles magic dust into the bowl then pulls out a wishing stone.

Candle Making

The Callie Crawl

Little Callie is mobile. Demonstrating her brilliance already, she has adapted her crawl to better fit mobility on the hardwood floors. Because, after all, when crawling on hardwood with pants on one tends to get slowed down with all the slipping of the knees. Hence, the knee-foot crawl...

Nov happenings

It's been quite a month (and it's only the 15th). When Uncle James was visiting recently with girlfriend Becky and he asked Nyla who her favorite football team was she shouted, "OBAMA!" That's our girl. Yes, we are all very excited about the CHANGE to come. Callie is excited about change too. She didn't get her first tooth, she got her first three teeth at the same time. Hardly a peep out of her about this. A couple days of complaining, but those teething tablets work like a charm. Not that we had to give them to her, but she really loved shaking the little white container. We actually found that a little clove oil (diluted in almond oil) rubbed on her gums took care of any tears right away. After scooting around backwards on the wood floors for several days we actually saw three tiny little forward crawls today. Watch out Nyla, Callie is mobile. Nyla is a great big sister and always on the lookout for Callie's safety. She's the first to announce when Callie is eating paper or that she wants to nurse. And she loves to tell everyone that passes that Callie is her eight-month-year-old sister. The fun just keeps coming...



Did I mention Nyla is taking gymnastics? She hangs and jumps on everything and I keep telling her, "that's not for hanging on" so we finally signed her up somewhere where she can get it all out.
AND she really wanted to do ballet too, much to my surprise. I gave her a week of this before she realized there wasn't enough jumping, but she is on week 8 or something and sticking with it.

"I'm smarter than the president" T-shirt. Callie wore this shirt on election day. Thanks Auntie Sara.

Oh, and for those of you that saw Obama's "infomercial" where he mentioned McKinstry, a Seattle company that is a leader in alternative energy, that is the company that Gabe works for. So we pretty much are close to being on a first-name basis with the new pres of the US. I'll post pics after we have him over for dinner.

Halloween 2008
The Skunk and the Wish Fairy

Trip to the Pumpkin Patch