Wordless Wednesday: Christmas Scenes

Gram and Grandpa B Visit

Gram and Grandpa B came for a visit the weekend of Halloween and we had a great time at lots of fun events and Morgan and Piper got lots of grandparent time. My Dad takes nice pictures, so it's always great to get some of his shots on my blog instead of my iPhone versions. Here's a few from the weekend:

They like to squirt each other as well as anyone else in the room with their plethora of bath toys.

Look at that smile!

A fun project with Mama at Piper's school

Our sweet cupcake

If you look very closely, there is a pea at the end of that chopstick. Piper was fascinated with them as I like to use them when we get take-out. She was so proud of herself!

Presents

Obviously we've been busy around here. Gram and Grandpa B came for a visit. David and I were able to spend a fun weekend in Seattle sans kiddos. We stayed with some friends and had a great getaway that included the U2 concert at Qwest Field. Awesome! We are already hoping to schedule another Seattle trip for a football game in the fall.

Just a little insight into Morgan's mind lately. Just as soon as Gram and Grandpa showed up she started saying "new toys!" At first I thought she was wanting to show them some new toys she'd gotten since her last visit, but soon it dawned on me that she was asking Gram and Grandpa for new toys! She has learned that when they come, she gets goodies! OK, funny...but a little embarrassing as well. Ultimately, she is right, when they come she gets some presents, but we will have to try to teach her that she cannot ask for new toys.

I was reminded of this today as we drove into the garage after our trip to the gym. Morgan pointed out the box with our artificial Christmas tree. She said "There's my Christmas tree, Gram and Grandpa bring presents!"

Lots more spontaneous language  for Morgan lately. As much as we like our routine, it's good when we have visitors or new activities. This helps Morgan be more flexible and her language skills improve. I am in the midst of signing her up for swim classes and finding a dance/ballet class to try. Even if they don't go well they are good for her development.

More updates on therapy, Piper and other items soon!

Aunt Ali comes for a visit

Aunt Ali came to visit a few weeks ago, the weekend of the Super Bowl. We had so much fun!

Ali always brings fun gifts for the girls. She recently returned for a trip to Paris and Morgan and Piper enjoyed their bracelets, coloring books and toys. She also brought some cute "gel clings" to put in the windows. It was funny because I had also bought some similar ones (thank you Target dollar bins)! The girls had a great time decorating the windows for Valentine's Day. Don't forget to check out the new Old Navy duds! Don't they look adorable?!

They are crowded around Aunt Ali looking at the videos on her camera. This entertained them for quite some time. They love to watch themselves "on TV."

California Dreamin'

We are home from almost two weeks visiting family and friends in California. We had a great time! I wish I could always have my camera with me, but I think I got a few good shots that sum things up. Here's how our adventure went...

Morgan and Piper did GREAT on the flights. I do think two hours is tops for flights for a while. Piper was so squirmy on the flight down that David and I switched her back and forth on our laps every 15 minutes or so. We really hyped up the "fun" for the plane journey so Morgan would be comfortable. I was concerned about her sensitivity to loud noises. She did so well!

Even David sucked it up and pretended he was having fun on the flights...though I could see the tension when we had turbulence here and there. We made it!

Morgan with Grandpa B (in red with camera around his neck) at the Lafayette Reservoir. They have a great playground area for toddlers.

Looking tentative at the top of the slide. I think Grandma caught her on the way down.

David took this sweet shot in the tunnel. When I asked Morgan later what she did at the playground, she said "tunnel!" This must have been her favorite part.

After a few days in Lafayette (and David's 25th HS reunion...he had a great time), we journeyed into the mountains to Twain Harte. Here's Piper at "The Lake" with Grandpa A. She sucked poor Grandpa in with her sweet charm. He was smitten!

Morgan's favorite thing in the world, swings! We joked that the lake must be like "heaven" for her...water and swings.

We hung out on the "baby beach" this time. Lots of families and kids having a blast!

Morgan had the best time jumping off the "dock." She even jumped a few times without holding on to David's hands! Our brave girl! She loved her new "puddle jumper" life vest. She even learned how to float on her belly completely horizontal, and sort of swim a little. We just had to keep telling her not to drink the water...ick. She also loved pushing Piper around in the floaty bear.

Morgan with her cousin Keilah. They took turns "jumping" off the fireplace hearth. Cousin Jack liked to play this game too.

Look at these big kids!! Morgan , Keilah and Jack. Last time they were all together they were eight, five and seven months old. Now all 2 1/2....what a fun bunch they were!

Cousin Keilah shared her alligator float with Morgan, who chose to call it a "dinosaur."

Floating into shore. She had so much fun on that toy. You also should have seen all the other fun floaties at the lake, a HUGE duck, a shark...Morgan would point all of them out when she saw them.

Back in Lafayette...giving her best scrunchy face while eating lunch. Piper really made some strides with her eating during the trip. Bye bye baby food and hello table foods! We had her eating Grandma's lasagna at the end of the trip!

This is "The Playhouse" in my parents' backyard. My Grandpa built this for my sister an I when we were about 7 or 8 (is that right, Mom?). My parents spent a lot of time fixing it up before we arrived for this trip. Morgan LOVED having tea parties in here with anyone who would participate.

My parents also hosted a lovely "Open House" at their home for us to invite our friends to. We had a nice group of guests who enjoyed yummy food, refreshments and the California sunshine. It was so nice that week. Usually late July and early August is hot, hot, HOT. But, this year it was unseasonably cool, but still warm. Perfect for us!

David and I were able to enjoy a few jaunts and meals out and about without the girls. The Grandparents loved getting more time with the girls and we had a much-needed break or two. Of course we ate too much, but how can you pass up home cooked meals as well as "home town" favorites that we cannot get in Spokane?! Thanks for every one's hospitality and it was great to see all our families! We look forward to seeing you all again soon.

"Great" Aunts and Uncles

Well, it turns out my Blogger problem is only under my account on our computer. I have to log in under David's account to make pictures upload (and currently do anything online). So, that's what I will do for now until I can figure out what is going on with my account. Annoying.

So...last week we had a nice visit with a few of the Great Aunts and Uncles. David's Aunt Trudy and Uncle Dan live near us in Coeur d'Alene. Uncle Jim and Aunt Sandy came for a visit from California and dropped by to see us...or of course, Morgan and Piper. We know they are the REAL draw. Here's a few pics, not great, but what I could get without making everyone pose.

Piper charmed Uncle Dan and Uncle Jim

Aunt Trudy built Morgan a lego house!

Here's Aunt Sandy too! For some reason David called her "lady" at one point and from then on Morgan called her "Lady" instead of "Sandy." Silly!

Interesting note: Morgan started one of her "stranger tantrums" as soon as everyone arrived. This is an odd thing she does lately when any adults she doesn't see daily show up in her house...unfortunately this also means Grandma and Grandpa B whom she sees every few months. Last time they came in with their suitcases she immediately threw herself on the floor and wailed. Nice welcome!

Well, Aunt Trudy figured out the "trick" to calming her down. Just show up with a present!!! She brought Morgan a pretty doll and Piper got a stuffed Winnie the Pooh. Morgan calmed right down and checked everything out. Morgan might be "working it" to her advantage here more than we think.

Catch up

Aack! It's been over a week since I blogged. Sometimes the days just get away from me. Here's a list of some things that have been going on since I last checked in:

- Piper started crawling on her hands and knees! "Real" crawling I call it. It's still about 25% of the time, but good progress! She even likes to pull up to her knees on the fireplace hearth and bathtub... thus we are making some adjustments to counteract little miss "grabby hands." She's pulled over the diaper basket on her head a few too many times.

- Aunt Ali came for a visit over Memorial Day. Morgan was much more interactive with her this time. She let Ali read her LOTS of books and made visits to the guest room to try on her Aunt's pretty jewelry.

- We had our dear friends Pete and Kathy come to visit Spokane for a wedding this weekend. They stayed with us and we had a great time catching up as well as meeting their 18 month-old precious daughter, Leilani. With baby #2 on the way for them we had LOTS to talk about. I have some pictures I'll post soon.

- We're venturing into more "finger foods" for Piper. She really likes to hold them in her pincer grasp, but not eat them. She has munched on a few peas and carrots...but much of it comes back out as she is still getting the hang of chewing them and swallowing.

- We are still waiting for Piper's upper two front teeth. Two weeks ago at her 9 month appointment the Dr. said they looked like they were coming soon, but they are nowhere in sight. she's even drooling a ton and got a runny nose... but still no teeth.

Loving Grandma and Grandpa B

Finally able to get my act together to talk about Grandma and Grandpa B's visit. Grandpa B blessed us with so many pretty pictures with his new camera. A nice camera (and a good eye) makes such a huge difference in the quality of the photos. I know you will enjoy these as much as we have.

Unfortunately our visit brought a lot of cold, rain and a little sickness. We toughed it out and had a great visit. Look at this blue-eyed baby:

One of Morgan's regular activities is "feeding" her yellow bear in Piper's high chair. Lately she's taken to feeding Piper a little too. David was holding Piper when Morgan shoved a piece of graham cracker in Piper's mouth. Uh oh! We're working on it...but Piper's not quite ready for that.

Here's another shot of the two girls in the ducky tub. Piper was sitting in it and Morgan climbed right in with her. I think she was squishing her a bit and possibly sitting on her legs, but Piper didn't seem to mind.

Another opportunity to catch the sisters together. This must have been one morning before I got up. I was spoiled by being able to sleep an extra half hour or so. Morgan was trying to hold Piper's hand. Too cute!

Morgan and Grandma did a lot of "drawing lines" together. Morgan is still fascinated with letters and numbers and is always asking us to draw them for her. We decided it was time to get her on the path of doing it herself and "lines" seemed like a logical place to start. She's doing great at it!

Gorgeous black and white shots of Morgan drawing and her sweet ponytail Grandma put in her hair. Piper still loves her jumperoo...and Morgan still loves "Pat the Bunny."

Grandpa planted us a garden...tomatoes, peppers, basil, pumpkins and watermelon!! While the work was going on Morgan played and blew bubbles. Her physical therapist wants her to work on her kicking, so we kicked the blue ball around the yard.

Oh, the bubbles, the BUBBLES! Love how fast the shutter speed is on this camera so Grandpa could get a cool shot like THIS...

It looks sunny, but there was a bit of of chill in the air, thus the hat. I just love the colors in these shots. Also check out the "bubble bucket." We had a few bubble accidents where we lost lots of the bubble "stuff." This little bowl with newspaper kept things much more stable.

We got to conclude our visit with a nice trip to the Old Spaghetti Factory. It's such a kid-friendly place that I didn't worry at all about the girls making a bunch of noise. Morgan especially enjoyed the ice cream she got for dessert. She barely touch her grilled cheese for dinner, but there was not a drop left in that ice cream bowl. Yum!!

Thanks for coming to visit Grandma and Grandpa B. We had a great time!

Grandma and Grandpa B May Visit

Here is just a preview to more from Grandpa and Grandpa B's May visit. Grandpa got a fancy new camera and took some beautiful shots of the girls!! I can't wait to post more here. Above is one of them together in Morgan's ducky tub. Piper was sitting in it and Morgan climbed right in with her. They are interacting more and more each day.

We won't see Grandma and Grandpa B again until we visit them in California in July/August. We can't wait!

Coming out of the fog

I think I'm seeing some light through the newborn fog. We've been sleep deprived and adjusting to two babies in the house, but that is to be expected. We've had wonderful help from family, Grandma and Grandpa B left last Thursday and Gramma and Grampa A arrived on Saturday. We don't know what we'd do without them. Here are a few shots from the last 5 days or so.

I'm soooo big!!

Piper's first "sponge" bath

Snoozing with Daddy (wasn't this Morgan just yesterday?)

Morgan LOVES her baby sister!