Christmas Morning

Nana and Papa Gubser got Hannah a huge Piglet that talks. She is obviously happy with it.

Looks a little apprehensive right?

Hannah is there to help...whether you want it or not!

Hannah opens a princess doll. She was SO happy!

Hello...a bit of sticking plaster...

Another doll.


We had a small Christmas as Brock was not home and Brian had to work. We got up together and the girl were opening a few presents. This was Lauren's first run-in with unwrapping. She was thrilled to have free rein to shred and shriek! The girls enjoyed themselves. Hannah was particularly happy to hear that Santa would be coming back to our house for the following weekend's Christmas with Auntie Erica and Uncle Sid!

The Night Before Christmas

Santa came to visit Dori's Christmas pageant. Lauren wasn't interested in making eye contact with him. She was more focused on the Mom that was walking away. :)

Hannah (who kicked off her cute shoes by this point...) was brave enough to get her stocking from Santa. Not quite ready to sit on his knee and whisper her wish list. Maybe next year?

Singing Jingle Bells. Love the hats!

Hannah was supposed to be Vixen from the reindeer team. Her antlers went the way of the Dodo at some point. Ah well. Can't win them all right?

Lauren's part in the Night Before Christmas was the mouse that was not stirring.

That is until she found her ears to be tasty...

Another great performance headed by the most amazing mother, teacher, home-maker, hero etc Dori! How that lady manages is beyond me! We are so happy to have our girls in her care! Thank you Dori!

Mommy and Me Princess Tea

The Balloon Man at the Roadhouse is GREAT! He made each girl a balloon tiara and corsage! They had a great time.

The girls at the Roadhouse.

Hannah is dressed as Cinderalla. Her Aunt Julie and Uncle Scott sent an entire Disney Cinderalla outfit! Thank you!!! She LOVES it!

Having to take off the tiara to order and eat? What gives Mom?

Princess Lauren...hmm...looks kinda bored by the whole thing.

Food! Hannah is not the least bit shy when it comes to grub! EAT EAT EAT!

Hannah's dance class and preschool were invited to a Mommy and Me Princess Tea. We went to see the Princess and the Frog, then went to the Roadhouse for dinner. It just happened to fall on the day that the Balloon Man was there! Awesome! It also coincided with the Roadhouse's Kids Eat Free deal. Heh heh heh...Mommy wants to save some green! Anywho, the girls were all dressed up like princesses and the waiters/waitresses made such a fuss over them. It was great fun!

Christmas with Pack 480

The Rowan family has been kind enough to let us borrow their awesome shop for the pack meetings. For Christmas, we had several craft tables set up for the scouts to make ornaments and share in decorating the Pack tree. Ms. Tina is helping Hannah with the paper chains. Brock loved being able to wear his new red sash with all of his patches!

Akela's goodbye pledge. It is so cute to see the serious looks on those boys' faces as they chant. So fun!

Pack 480 posing with their leaders and their newly decorated tree!

Brock sporting his new patch sash. The white patch behind his hand is hit shooting patch. That boy is a natural! No mother could be prouder. Sniff!

Brian helps with hole-punching the cardboard star ornaments. That was the least desired table to work! Harley is such a ham for the camera! :)

The Christmas part was a lot of fun. The boys made several crafts, played some games and had some well-earned snacks. There were a lot of young siblings there to add some spice to the evening. Lauren was very entranced by all the racket and motion.

We're almost done with our official Pack 480 website! I will post the link when it's finished so you can check out all the latest on Brock's adventure in Scouting!

Halloween Fun!

Happy H-Day all!

We had a tough Ninja
a pretty Tinkerbell (shown here as needing a nap...)
and a Sweet Pea this year


Hannah carved a silly face pumpkin and Brian cut outlines of Lauren's hands and feet into the smallest pumpkin. Brock's pumpkin was a silly face but he did his earlier enough in the month that we didn't want to move it. They mold so fast!












Our Halloween day started at 11 when Hannah and I went to Fred Meyer for their cake walk. She decorated a small cake which we took to the jail for the officers to enjoy. I am sure they scraped off the mountain of sprinkles and sugar decorations! Hannah had a great time decorating! We also scored some discount Disney dolls for $5.00 each! Yahoo!

We dropped off the cake and took a Very Cranky Tinkerbell home for a well earned nap. She was SO miserable! After a very short nap, Brock come home with Brian and we got costumed up for our Halloween. We went around downtown Ellensburg. It was STUPID COLD! The wind was going and all the kids were in their winter coats. Except our Ninja. He insisted he was fine without it and didn't want to be bothered with a coat. A few blocks later he hastily changed his mind. :) We went into the museum to warm up and get pictures of the kids without their coats on. After that, Brock went t o stay with his other mother while Brian, the girls and I went to CWU's BooFest.

It was so nice to be indoors! YAY! Hannah made all sorts of crafts, learned that people can rope cows,

fished for treats and had her picture taken with Sleeping Beauty! It was so much fun!

After BooFest we went to a friend's house for trick or treat. Hannah and I went along the street where people gave her way too much candy! That kid made out like a bandit. We got home about 9 where Hannah promptly passed out.

It was a good night!

Hannah's Kitten...and it's name is?

Grandpa Carlson recently gave Hannah a new kitten. As opposed to an old kitten I suppose? Anyway, this new kitten had a rude if not abrupt welcome. After howling all they way from Yakima to our house, the kitten was greeted by anxious toddler hands. Hannah was THRILLED to have "kitty".

The poor kitten smelled awful so it got a bath right off the bat. I should mention that it continues to get baths as I am horribly allergic to cats. I don't think it likes me much as a result. Hannah helped dry and comfort kitty after I scrubbed if from stem to stern.

She held it like a baby doll and soothed it with kind words. This little kitten is so patient with the kids. She is a pliable ball of fuzz and tolerates Hannah's mauling love.

Hannah has named her kitten several times and depending on the day, it will be known as Kitchen, Biscuits or Jasmin. We shall see what sticks.

The chair Hannah is sitting on is her Time Out Chair. Hey...it was handy for this picture! :) Anyway, Hannah likes to put the kitty in the seat part of the chair. The green lid comes off to reveal the perfect cubby for kitten storage. *sigh*

In the mean time: I did find this small list of expectations that kitty left. Hmmm....lemme know what you think..


1.) All laundry (clean or dirty) is my plaything and shall be spread throughout the house at will.
2.) Drapes are items to be stalked, pounced upon and scaled at great velocity.
3.) Baby bottles left unattended will be drug off to my lair to devouring.
4.) Shoelaces, hair ties, string and any other irresistibly wiggly objects shall be stalked, pounced upon and drug off to my lair for devouring.
5.) The couch is my scratching post and shall also be scaled at great velocity.
6.) Your feet are meant to be hunted. It is your fault if you trip over me as a squirt between your feet at ludicrous speeds. The fact that I am fuzzed up to 2 x my size and hissing should be enough warning.
7.) All food items are mine. Not the dogs. Mine.
8.) It is mandatory that I scritch around in the dirt of all your household plants. The more dirt I get on the floor/in the carpet the more points I am awarded.
9.) Purring will be addressed in a timely manner. I will not wait for attention and will wind around your feet until you fall on your face. You will acknowledge me at all times I decide.
10.) The dog will stay out...indefinitely.

-Kitty

Updates? What's that?

OK. I am updating this. Leave me alone Russ! :) I kid. He hasn't harangued me too much...

We are doing well. Just really really busy! Here's what's new with the kids:

BROCK:

He's learned to ride his bike without training wheels! YAY! He is SO happy! He wants to start going on 20-30 mile rides. I don't think he grasps just how far/long that really is. He said that Lance Armstrong did more than that. I mentioned that Mr. Armstrong also has spendy bike with a posture-pedic/padded seat. Brock is all confidence as long as he is wearing his various pads and helmet. He is very safety concious! Brock is always on the lookout for cars and has "earned" the right to ride to the end of our street and back. I can't believe he has soared by another milestone! He makes sure that Hannah minds the traffic and safety rules and doesn't hesitate to holler at her if he sees a car coming a few blocks away.

Brock is starting 2nd grade today! We get him this evening and I cannot WAIT to hear how his first day went. This is his first year with a new teacher (had the same teacher in K and 1st grade). Brock is definitely well liked by the staff. I was at the school's reader board changing letters last night when the principle came out to talk. He helped set up letters and close the sign. After talking about our summers, we spent a few moments talking about Brock and how much Mr. Abbott liked him. I doubt this is just the speech he gives to all parents as I have heard it from other teachers and the secretary.

My dad recently built a log bunk bed for Brock. We are waiting to set it up in his room until I get the walls/ceiling painted. Brock chose a selection of blues to make his Transformer room. What fun! He is so grown up! Cub scouts is starting soon too. My word he will be a busy man!

HANNAH:

Hannah is pushing 3 (9-21-06...wow) and is still very busy. She has learned to be quick with her "nonnies" (naughty behaviors). I was making cookies the other day and had to stop to get Lauren. I left the dough paddle from my KitchenAid on the counter as I was scraping the sides of the bowl prepping for forming cookies. Hannah knew very well what I was up to and snuck into the kitchen to help herself to the paddle. She didn't see/hear me return, get the camera and snap some pics. The last one she looked up and made eye contact. This is my sneak ninja girl when it comes to treats.


Hannah is starting dance class on Monday. She may even make the Year End Performance! I am so excited. Yeah...more so than others I think. :) I hope Hannah enjoys it!

We are also starting her 3 year at Dori's Learning Place. Hannah has thrived with the ciriculum and has grown so much! We are looking forward to another year of wonderful time spent at Dori's!

Lauren:

Lauren is 5 months old soon. She is a smiley bunchy little baby! So cute! She rolled over early, is trying to stand when held upright and is kicking her way around the floor. She is going to be an early mover and shaker like her big sister. I dread this yet am looking forward to it at the same time.

Lauren loves her bottles, bundling and of course her siblings. She hates having her nose wiped and wails to be bundled when she's ready to sleep. Brock can get her to smile at the drop of a hat. Hannah can get her to laugh by acting like a clown in her line of sight. Both kids seem to like Lauren well enough. We anticipate this adoration will last until Lauren is mobile and getting into their things!

Lauren had her first taste of solid food this last month. We've been plugging her full of prunes and other...uh..."relieving" foods as she is prone to constipation like her sister was. We were already in the ER once thinking her intestines were in distress. What fun! Lauren didn't seem to mind foor that much...
Lauren is also going to Dori's with Hannah. It sounds like she is quite popular with the kids and gets a lot of "presents" from them. We are looking forward to dressing Lauren up for Halloween and watching her take in Christmas. What fun!

Our summer has been full of friends and family. We went to the park to share in cousin Mirian's blessing picnic celebration.

With the exception of Hannah and Lauren both having a sad moment at the same time, it was a great time!






So this is what the kids are up to at least. I will fill in more as I have time (Russ). Hugs to all!