Christmas Day

Good Morning!

Notice the red tool in Liliana's hand... it is a tape measure... they each got one the night before ($1 from Home Depot!)... they love measuring tapes and were measuring everything they could and they even slept with them..........and........

We seriously have the SWEETEST HEARTED kids in the whole wide world... look at what they were doing to their presents first thing on Christmas morning!!!

Heart-melting SWEET!!!

Daddy couldn't believe it when he saw Mommy hand the kids each a cookie for a breakfast appetizer!

Our kitchen walls really are NOT watered down split pea soup colored!

The tiny Christmas tree craft we made on Christmas Eve.

I put Elia in the sweater, hat and blanket Mary from church made her. Mary is 90+ years old and is amazing! She is fashionable and does not seem her age at all! She is so inspiring and as sweet as sugar, vigorous and full of life! I want to be like her when I am 90! :o) We are so blessed to have something handmade by her. Yes, I did get a tad carried away here on the photos... hehe...

We were so much looking forward to having our neighbors over for Christmas dinner and fun (we are so blessed to have so many wonderful neighbors), but had to cancel due to the pink-eye outbreak in our home... we had a wonderful time nonetheless...

Polar Express

An attempt at a Christmas 2010 finale photo before bed...

Christmas Eve!

Daddy woke up not feeling to great... he finally got the virus we all had over the past 2 weeks. He still ventured out to a nearby town with a friend to pick up a kitchen table and chairs we found on Craigslist. It is solid oak and was only $50!!! We LOVE it!!! It feels so country and homey and fits perfectly in our kitchen! :o)

We hung out at home preparing the house for evening guests, but ended up having to cancel since daddy was under the weather...

Elia looks so much like Liliana in this picture!!! Wow!

Christmas Eve Candlelight service:

Daddy and Elia stayed home but he insisted we go and enjoy the tradition and sentiment of the service. Liliana had major ants in her pants but Noah did great!!!

We LOVE you, Jesus!!!

2010 Christmas Letter

Customized Stationery bt L & N! Click on it zoom in and to see it larger.

Ballerina Baby

Elia is ready to be a Sugar Plum!

Check out that bellyyyy!! hehe! I love it!

Potty Trained!!!

I kept forgetting to post this, but Noah is fully potty trained!!! Yay! Congratulations, Noah!!! :o)

It was a looong journey that began months ago, probably around April. He would first just pee in the toilet right before bath time, well, because that was a good convenient time to say, "hey, your diaper is off & the toilet is right there, go ahead and pee in it before you get in the bath tub". I guess part of me did it to prevent him from peeing in the bathwater he shared with his sister and loved to drink on occasion.

Then... it was a looong summer... and fall... of "naked boy" and pee on the floors and me saying "these are the last size 6 diapers I am going to buy", only to buy some a few days later being tired of feeling like I had a new puppy in the house. :o) It was NOT at all that the guy couldn't use the toilet, it was that it was SO NOT important to him, so he didn't put his full effort into making a commitment to doing it.

Then, he was partially there, he decided, yes, the toilet is for ME, but only for PEE! (haha, I just made a rhyme) But, he would not use the toilet for the other purpose... until about a month ago he passed over the threshold from toddler to big-boy! AWE!!! He still uses a pull-up at night time only. He naps in his underwear and with no problem!

Good work, Noah, our BIG BOY!

Life is Tough But GOD is GOOD!

The saying "Life's Good" has always erked me a little because even for those of us who have a "good life" or even a great one, or even the best life EVER, it is God who makes it good when we walk in the light of the truth of His word. God is the giver of Life so yes, in that sense, life is good, but it is good because God is Good and Life is a gift from God... so, I like the saying I heard today: "Life is tough (or can be at times), but God is Good!"

All this to say that I have pink eye and tonsilitis.

I hope to be better for a little Christmas party the kids are having with their little friends this Tuesday!

Project 365

My sweet friend, Lisa, has been so faithful to Project 365 and I have enjoyed watching her do it for... forever now... well, I have overcome the fear of failure (ha!) and it was SO much easier than I thought and it was fun! Thank you, Lisa you are a FAITHFUL person and friend in many ways! :o)

Monday, December 13th

We went to see Bright Lights in Forest Park, MA

Tuesday, December 14th

(See Elia's 3 Month Birthday Post)

Wednesday, December 15th

On the LOVE seat... AWE!

Thursday, December 16th

Elia fell asleep here, there and everywhere... here is one of the spots... Notice the box of crayons beside her... hehe! I was just sitting beside her eating a post-breakfast banana bread snack and finally enjoying my cup of pumpkin spice coffee and I looked over and she fell asleep on me. Too SWEET!

Bath-time, later that day. Yes, they still take a bath together. They tend to fight a lot in the bath-tub though, so we have been trying to get into more of a routine of having them bath alone, but a lot of days it is just easier to put them in there together. This picture makes me think of Men in Black. Ha!

Friday, December 17th
Floor time in the play-room/office! Wooh!
Evening snuggles and "A Christmas Charlie Brown"... The next day Liliana said to me, "Mommy, we are never gonna watch that show ever again cuz it says the "s" word too many times and that is not good". Funny how people say old cartoons are worse, I think the opposite is true... for me... anything pre-mid-90's is so not good for kids... too much hitting, the "s" word and just useless information... Haha... my opinion. :o)

Saturday, December 18th

The kids had a blast making their own peanut butter and fluff sandwiches for lunch!

FLUFF must meet tongue immediately!

Sunday, December 19th

Belly time! Trying to do this at least a little each day! The kids all love it... Noah says "It's belly time" and he says "belly" SO cute! Liliana is so helpful to play with her through it to help entertain her as it is at this stage more work than fun for Elia. :o)