Merry Christmas!

This year we celebrated Christmas with lots of good eating and family love. My dad is here with us and celebrated with us for the first time in many many years. It is also Hayley's first Christmas and Ethan's third Christmas. Here are some highlights from the day.

Holiday Baking

I managed to do some holiday baking tonight. I ended up making zucchini bread, oatmeal scotchies and shortbread bites. They all turned out yummie. Check out my holiday goodies wrapping. I still need to learn how to wrap it nicely, but I think this will do. The holiday shortbread bites with the holiday nonpareils turned out pretty cute. Now, on to the rest of the gift wrapping...

Strike a Pose

Hayley is army crawling and is also starting to sit up on her own, but before she tries sitting up, she likes to pose on her side and hang out for a little bit. Check out her few poses!

Happy Thanksgiving!

This year is dad and Hayley's first Thanksgiving with the family. We celebrated with a yummie home cooked meal on Black Friday. We spent Thanksgiving at a friend's house for a potluck meal and there were lots of food! I made a Hash Brown Casserole and it turned out delicious.

This year my turkey turned out beautiful and the house smelled so good. It is not too dry, but could be more moist. I got the recipe from the Food Network. It is very easy with not a lot of work at all. Ethan was also a helper in the kitchen. Hayley just sat back and enjoyed the smell of good food. We also had our friends over and they brought over some yummie treats of spinach dip, honey ginger glazed sweet potatoes and a mango mousse cake.

Another Milestone

Hayley is able to sit up on her own without support. It started out where she would sit up and fall right back down, backwards, sideways, etc. Then all of a sudden she decided that she can sit up without falling! Yay!

Happy Halloween!

This year we have 2 kids to dress up and we stuck with Ethan's previous years' costumes. Ethan is a wizard for the second year and Hayley is a pumpkin, just like Ethan was for his first Halloween. Ethan actually enjoyed trick or treating and walked quite a distance around our neighborhood. He got lots of candies and tried his first gummie lifesavers, boy, was that yummie! Hayley stayed home while Ethan went trick or treating as she had a runny nose and was not feeling too well. Maybe next year, she will join in the fun.

A New Hairdo

After all the photoshoots the past few weeks, daddy is ready to shave off Hayley's hair. Hayley did really well and just sat in the bathroom sink quietly while daddy used the buzzer to shave off her hair. She looks like a little Chinese nun! Ethan got his hair shaved when he was about 5 months old and he looked so cute! Don't they look the same?

Push Ups

Hayley is not quite mobile yet, but she does scoot backwards and can rotate on her tummy. This week she started to push herself up and is ready to charge forward...well, maybe not quite, but she is getting there. Check out her push up pose! Go Hayley!

Wildlife World Zoo & Aquarium

Today I took Ethan to the Wildlife World Zoo & Aquarium. It took us almost an hour to get there and it was worth the drive. There is a lot to see and we will probably go there again in the future since we only went through half the zoo. The aquarium is pretty neat with many different species seen. What I liked the best was the giraffe feeding station which was so cool! The giraffe was right there at our fingertips. I think Ethan enjoyed the aquarium more as he can get close to the glass and see all the fish. He seemed to be really interested in the American Paddlefish. Too bad, my camera battery ran out, or I would have taken more pictures. I need to be more prepared next time.

Solids?

We started giving rice cereal to Hayley today and she really liked it. She is probably thinking "What have you been waiting for?" She has no trouble with it at all and just ate it all up in no time. Check this out!

Finger Lickin' Good

Lee made some yummie ribs last night - Bourbon-Glazed Ribs with no Bourbon as we didn't have any at home. But it turned out delicious and even Ethan liked them!

6-Month Check-up

Hayley is 6 months old already! She is now 14lbs 7oz (25%) and measured 25 3/4 inches (50%). She probably lost some weight due to catching the flu and her appetite has not been her usual. Fortunately, she pulled through quickly and is back to her old self! She even endured another 4 shots at her well-baby check-up. She is more interactive and loves to play. As soon as you go near her, she would kick her legs so fast, ready for you to pick her up. She is rolling over back and forth and can't quite crawl yet, but she does scoot backwards.

First Day of School

Ethan started school today at the Montessori Christian Academy and he did great! He has been looking forward to this for a while. We were working on the potty training and finally in the last 2 weeks, he has been potty trained. He seemed to have enjoyed himself today. We'll see how he does the rest of the week. He also got to put on his first uniform. Doesn't he look handsome?

A New Skill

Ethan started using the "chopsticks" and really got into it. He is so proud and happy whenever he picks up his food. This is a great way to learn how to use the chopsticks and to get him to sit up in his booster seat to eat his lunch or dinner!

My Beautiful Necklace

I found Lisa Leanord's website from the Parenting magazine a few weeks ago and decided to explore it as I like the jewelry she makes. I decided to buy one and I just received it. It is absolutely beautiful!

Who is the Baby?

We were having lunch and usually Ethan sits in his booster chair, but he decided today that he wanted to sit in the high chair and wanted Hayley to sit in his booster chair. What a cute pair!

A Good Habit to Start Flossing....

We took Ethan to the dentist a couple of months ago to get this teeth checked out and it was the shortest visit ever. The dentist took a quick look at his teeth and said that it all looked good and to continue with the brushing. He also said to start flossing and we were not quite sure if he would actually let us do that. Surprisingly when we tried, he was very cooperative. He is very good at saying "aahh"!

Our New Art Gallery

We finally found a good place to put up Ethan's art work from daycare. We decided to start displaying them in our study. We have had 2 rotations so far. Check it out!

Happy Birthday Dad/Grandpa!

We have not celebrated dad's birthday in person for many many years! Now that he has moved here permanently, we are celebrating his birthday with some delicious home cooked food.

Best Buddies

Ethan is starting to play with Hayley and Hayley seems to enjoy his company. They like to hang out on the gymini and just chill. They take turns making noises; Ethan imitates Hayley's shrieking and it's pretty good. Ethan is also teaching Hayley the alphabets and sings her the ABC song. Hayley is definitely getting entertained :)

Rolling Over

Hayley rolled over all of a sudden today! She has been sort of trying for a few days before, but did not really succeed. She is funny, when we are all watching her she doesn't roll over, but as soon as we look elsewhere, she rolls over!

I'd Rather Write....

We noticed that Ethan has been interested in writing or drawing or doodling for the past few weeks. He is also holding a pen pretty well. It started out with his left hand and now he is holding a pen in his right hand. We're not quite sure which is his preferance yet. When given a pen or marker, he can sit in one place for quite a while. Doesn't he look very focused and serious here?

Happy 70th!

What a beautiful day! Mom turned 70 today and we celebrated with a nice yummie lunch at The Greene House at the Kierland Commons. Mom looks great and I hope that I will be as happy and positive as she is when I am her age. Happy Birthday Mom!

Future Gymnast?

Ethan has started his Toddler Gymnastic class a few weeks ago and he seems to like it. Ethan is actually pretty flexible and can pretty much do the forward roll and backward roll with ease. His balance is not too bad either on the Balance Beam (on the floor). We'll see how he does in the next few weeks. Check out his moves!