Christmas Time in Minnesota!

We had a great trip to Minnesota for Christmas! 

Seattle Holidays

A&J have been celebrating Christmas by decorating a gingerbread house, having brunch with Grandma and Grandpa F. and opening presents with their cousins.  Everyone is having a blast!



Santa's Drive-By

A and J had a quick visit from Santa at their friend TJ's house. When Santa first arrived, Alex hid under the dining room table and Julia ran to Mommy. Later on, Alex overcame his lifelong fear of Santa. Alex sat on Santa's lap and had a very quiet chat with him. I think a "soccer trainer" and an "Easybake Ultimate Oven" were on his list. Julia was a little tentative at first but then she walked right up to Santa in front of the big crowd, sat on his lap, and told him that she was two years old. She was not ready to say what she wants yet, but she said yes to a dollhouse when asked. We think Santa will visit again closer to the 25th. We also did some races in snow pants as you can see below.

A and J did a great job helping Mommy bake cookies for some school and work parties.

Holiday Activities

I downloaded the photos from my phone and found some of Alex and Julia engaged in fun holiday activities. Alex did a performance at school. And they both had fun on the carousel.

When Julia is frustrated, she has started saying "Come On!".  We think she learned it from Arrested Development.  We are trying to get a video.

Happy Thanksgiving!

We had a nice, quiet Thanksgiving. Alex and Julia enjoyed playing with their grandparents, putting up xmas decorations, and eating pie. Julia LOVED her new twirly skirt and insisted on sleeping with it. She also had a minor fall requiring 2 stitches on her lip but she was really brave the whole time and quickly recovered back to her normal energetic self. What a tough kid!

Alex Writes a Story

Alex decided to write his first story earlier this week. He thought of everything on his own and only wanted help spelling a few words. He was very proud! The story reads "A four year old boy. Teh boys name Alex. Wink. Went to Power Play and got M+Ms + got 10 M+Ms".  Power Play is a game arcade in Bellevue.  Mom and Dad thought it was a great start to writing.

Alex and Julia also took soccer photos this week. They were both too cool to do the funny face.  Julia is with Alex's team.  We did not get pictures of Julia's team.

At soccer on Saturday, Julia showed how brave she is by taking on all fifteen 4-year-old boys in Alex's class at once.  All the 4-year-old players were lined up to scrimmage vs. the adults and Julia.  When Daddy said "go get them, Julia", she ran across the gym alone to charge their line.  She delivered a punch to a surprised boy and then ran back to her team.  Daddy then explained that he meant "go get them" at soccer, not fighting. 

Ice Show

This weekend we went to see Toy Story 3 on Ice. Everyone had fun. Julia was so well behaved (for the first 90 minutes) that we're wondering if she's ready to go to a movie. Last night, Alex and Julia had a lot of fun at the play area at the mall. Also, here's an old video of Alex playing tennis.

Julia the Superhero

Julia has been wearing her cape a lot the last few days, including all day at school today. She got it at a bowling birthday party on Sunday. Alex was the high scorer in his bowling group!

Halloween 2011

Halloween was great. We carved a kitty pumpkin and a scary pumpkin. Grandma Brady sent a care package with candy, play-dough, and a card. Thank you!

On Halloween, Alex and Julia first did a parade and party at their school. Then, they did a party at Mommy's office. Then, at home later, we went trick-or-treating in our neighborhood with Nathan, Brock, Kayden, Sophie, and Caroline. Both Alex and Julia were really good at trick or treating and they each got a lot of CANDY! Alex dressed as Batman. Julia dressed as a puppy. Julia picked it up right away even though it was really her first time. She said 'trick or treat' and 'thank you' at each house. Last year (when she had just turned 1), Julia needed to be carried most of the time. This year she ran just about the whole way. Alex was good at being Batman and helped fight bad guys while he was getting candy. He was also very polite as he was trick or treating.

Below is a Picassa web album. I hope it works on your computer.

Halloween 2011

Alex Reading

Alex and Mommy finished a book of short lessons and stories for early readers. Mom an Dad are very proud of his hard work and focus. As a reward, Mommy and Alex worked together to make a pie that tasted like Oreo cookies! Well done Alex!

Below is a video of Alex reading the last story, a story he has never read before.