holiday crafting

Over the weekend in Greagle the kids (and adults) got to craft, holiday style.








It's really fun that the kids are old enough now to all participate in the making of gingerbread houses and puff ball pine cone trees.

Thanks Aunt Ra and Aunt Lo for getting all the supplies-
These are traditions in the making, I love it.

reno rodeo

I went to the Reno Rodeo with my girlfriends last night.

It's an annual tradition and one I absolutely love.

There was gossip and giggles.

There were (lots of) wrangler butts, cowboy hats and shinny accessories.

There was junk food eating,

and a Coors Light (or three) consumed.

A perfect night out with my girls.

Nine in, Nine out

It's official, she has been out as long as she was in...
and man do we have our hands full with this little girl.

Last night I announced we were headed upstairs to do Fifi's chair pictures and O said, "Oh wait, let me get my camera! I want to help."
and off he went to get his Fisher Price digital.

As with most things in our family dynamic, O is
the organizer and the one calling the shots.
I think he might have a future as creative director, no?

But this little sister of his, she might just give him the biggest run for his money he has ever seen.
If there is anything that I remember from this month,
it is the fact that Fifi likes to test the boundaries and push things to the limit.



She is a flirt and a joker.
If you tell her no, she is going to head right back to the forbidden fruit,
with a "Tommy gun" laugh just to touch, taste or destroy (or should I say, "srcumble"?) whatever you just asked her not to.

May was a month of new adventures. We went camping and Fifi put her feet in the ocean for the first time. She helped us celebrate Jojo's birthday, our 8th anniversary and I got to not only be recognized as a mother, but as a mother of two. (It's official since displayed on the mantel is a dried clay hand print from O and a foot print from Fifi).



We hung out with friends and family at home and away. We went on a girl's weekend to the Bay Area and listened to a LOT of Katy Perry and Miley on the way. We also took her to her first Ace-ball  game. She loved all the clapping (and the hot dog bun we fed her for dinner).
Other adventures, of the more domestic kind include pulling up on things to come to a standing position AND wandering around (sometimes one handed). She uses the couch, the ottoman, the dog's back, the wall, mama or daddy's legs or what ever is handy in order to get where she wants to go.



She has mastered the stairs (so scary for me) and can hardly be left alone for a second. She loves the water and if you set her down in the bedroom she is instantly in the bathroom pulling up on the side of the tub, squealing in delight at the running water.



Fifi got her first ear infection this month and we are all trying to shake "the cold" right now. There might be two more teeth popping through on the bottom very soon , but for now she is happy to chomp away with just the two she has. Ears and teeth could explain why she has gone from drinking almost 20oz of milk a day to just 8 or 10oz and takes on average, only one nap for about 2hours each day.
Night time sleep is hit or miss as well. Last night I was in her room for most of the night trying to get her to fall asleep. Let's just say the chair in these photos has seen a lot of use lately. Despite the small amounts of food and rest, this girl is full of smiles and giggles and silly.



Sometimes I have to stop and catch my breath at the fact that I have not one,
but two,
 amazing, wonderful kids.



Fifi, you have fit into our world so well.
We love you to bits and pieces.


A look back, this is why I love this tradition. look at the change!

Chop It Down

We had a very busy day on Saturday. After we piled both kids, our housemate, my mom, the dog and all our gear for the day into the truck, Daddy-O and I hopped in and we headed to Plumas County, California to hunt for a Christmas tree. The forest service allows you to cut your own for around $10 or $15, a heck of a deal for a nice big tree!

We met up with our neighbors and good friends about half way there in Chilcoot, CA and caravanned the rest of the way to the turn off onto forest service land.

O could hardly wait to get out of the car and into the snow. He was instantly wet and refused to wear his jacket. (note to self, make getting into water resistant snow clothes a non-negotiable issue. A cold, wet kid is no fun).

The first order of business when we go tree hunting is to get a little 'warming station' set up and ready to go. This means hot water for cocoa and cider and bratwursts on the grill. There were marshmallows for the kids cocoa and peppermint schnapps for the adults.

This year we also had to make sure the littlest hunters were toasty warm, so a bit of snuggling and bundling up was necessary.

Then the hunt begins

Scouting out trees (and making/dodging snowballs)

photo by my mom

And some family pictures have to be snapped. The Geo-family:

and us:

photo by my mom

See Fifi's little feet sticking out by my belly. Love the ergo carrier and so glad she finally fits in it now. She was fast asleep while we hunted for our tree.

At last,

 a tree is found and agreed upon.

TIMBER!

This is the part in the story where I am glad that Daddy-O is strong. O got really cold and SUPER fussy. He HAD to be carried and he had to be carried by Daddy. So the entire way back to the truck Dad lugged not just the tree, but the boy too. See that little blue peaking from the bows of the tree- that's the kid! We need to remember a sled next time!

 

Back at the truck, we swapped into some dry clothes and shoes and piled in to get warmed up while the guys strapped the trees to the roof. As you can see, sleepy time wasn't far away for O, he was out within minutes of this photo.

photo by my mom

We headed to Greagle where we met up with Daddy-O's family for dinner and then headed to Portola for the Santa Train. I will post about that on Thursday.