Holiday Greetings to All

One morning last week Lyell woke up saying, "There's snow outside, mama.  It's snowing."  The only thing I can figure is that all the seasonal books we are reading made their way into his dreams, and subsequently into his first waking moment.  As he ran to the window to look for the freshly fallen snow from his mind's eye, poor Lyell was greeted by yet another crystal clear blue sky California day.  We have had the driest December in 100 years, according to the various almanacs, and Lyell's dreams of a white Christmas may have to wait until next year.

Somehow, amidst all of this sunshine, we are still managing to have a lovely holiday season.  Lyell has still not totally sorted out what is going on with this Santa character who flies around in a helicopter (we had to introduce the "sleigh" concept gently, as Lyell was convinced that Santa had a special convertible helicopter at his disposal.)  To make matters a bit more confusing, we celebrated many birthdays in November, so Lyell still thinks that every event we go to is somebody's birthday.  When he doesn't see the "happy cake" and candles, he just starts singing "Happy Birthday to Me."  His favorite song.

Lyell is also catching on to the Caroling selections, and while he wasn't ready for a complete concert, he did allow me to tape him while he was doing puzzles.  Whitney enjoys her role as backup vocals and helps with some improvisational sections.  She also has a solo at the end of this video...

Whitney has no idea why her mother keeps wrestling her into all of these green, red and white outfits.  She has started to protest the lengthy dressing sessions, as my little nine month old baby has suddenly developed her own agenda!  Whitney is piloting a new and special form of crawling- which consists of a large collection of random movements that somehow projects her where she wants to go.  She has a regular circuit around our house to take in all the exciting objects within 6 inches of our floor.  The other day she gave me a mischievous grin before disappearing around the corner at a rapid scoot to go check out the bath mat- one of her favorite textural discoveries.  In general, Whitney entertains us with her multiple forms of cuteness- including babbling to herself and erupting in laughter at the sound of her own voice.  Her less cute, but developmentally necessary, habits include cutting teeth, rubbing food into her hair, and putting everything else into her mouth.

Here are a few photos from the past three months since our last bloggy post.

Fishing on Gull Lake

Taking in the fall colors on the Eastern Sierra

Sleepytime in the bike trailer.

Eating and throwing rocks are still some of Lyell's favorite things in life.

First time picking apples at the Pumpkin Patch

Potluck Preschoolers in all of their cuteness

Nariz looooves to jump in to Whitney's crib when no one is looking.  He has become an expert on hiding in the bedroom and waiting until I leave to hop in and nap with her.  

Lyell got to ride his own carousel horse for the first time (actually he choose a carousel ostrich.)  He remained very focused throughout the ride.

Whitney goes for a ride in the stroller.

We went to Ocean Beach and Lyell couldn't believe that the sandbox went on for miles and miles.  

Whitney and I made it to the top of Yosemite Falls thanks to my motivated hiking friends.  

Making gingerbread man (and tree and star) cookies, and being silly.  

We participated in the Bracebridge Dinner again this year.  It was a bit more work to keep the kids happy backstage, but once they stepped into the lights, they loved it.  The best part was seeing so many friends in the audience!

Playing trains and snuggling in the parachute with Potluck Preschool friends.  We have been so lucky to join an incredibly motivated group of families who have created a preschool program in El Portal.

Whitney and her buddy Luca dressing up for the season.

Through the roller coaster of parenthood we are so grateful for the support and companionship of our community of family and friends.  We send our love out to all of you! 

Kim, Matthew, Lyell and Whitney