Ho Ho Ho....Merry Christmas....

Christmas has to be one the best days to be a parent. There is seriously nothing better than having a giddy child wake you up and then walking downstairs and seeing his face light up. Priceless.

As usual, last night we left Christmas cookies for Santa on the front porch (Henry is freaked out by the idea of a man he doesn't know coming into his house....he does have a point). This morning we checked the plate outside, first thing, and when Henry saw the empty plate he said "No wonder he has a big ole belly".

The kids were very lucky...they got amazing presents from family and friends. As of today (it will change) the kitchen set and shopping cart seem to be Francie's favorite and Henry has spent hours playing with the basketball game Auntie KK and Gordon got him.

This morning we had brunch with my mom and Grandma, got to talk to my dad in Nigeria and sisters in AK and NY, and skyped with Grammy Kris and Percy (the joys of technology!). Tonight Joanie went to the Blazer game, so it was just the small group of us. Can't wait for Thursday when we get to celebrate New Years with Jenny, the kids, and tons of cousins.

Wish Celebration

Henry's school has "Wish Ceremony" tradition for the last day of school before winter break. The parents make a "wish" for our child in the new year, read it out loud and then they hang it on the wall for the children to see throughout the next year. The "wish" Mark and I made was obviously made by two people with more science-oriented brains....lacking a bit of artistic creativity....but it had a lot of heart.

Cute Skirts and Libraries

Our neighbor is pregnant with a boy and then they are done.....she is nesting and wants to get rid of all her girl clothes from her daughter. Enter Colleen -- the lover of hand-me downs. I was SO EXCITED. I left the house with two boxes of ADORABLE clothes....only to slip and fall on the ice walking back to her house, breaking the boxes with the clothes flying everywhere. Nice.

Above is Francie's 1st outfit from the stash....LOVE IT.

The kids and I are doing a tour of all the public libraries in Portland. Once a week we go to a different library around town. It is so fun - all librarie in the Portland metro area let you return books at any library, so we get a huge pile and then drop them off the next week. It is has been really interesting (in a good way) to see the different neighborhoods and experience the style and feel of the area. I think we are going to just start the rotation again when we are done visiting all 16. Here are some pictures from our adventure to Belmont library today.

Gertie's 92nd

My grandma turned 92. Jenny flew down from Alaska for the day and we took her out to eat for one of her favorite things....STEAK. She ate about 1/8th of the t-bone steak, but enjoyed every bit. Let's hope I get some of those genes.

Santa Baby.....Not for Francie

We went to see Santa. Henry has been working hard on his list (the yellow sheet of paper above) for Santa and he wanted to show the Big Man himself so as to make sure everything was clear. Henry did great....a 1st.....Francie on the other hand liked him at first, gave him a high five, and then when I put her on his lap....LOST IT. At the end, much to Henry's dismay, Santa tried to take the list. Thankfully I could see the horror on Henry's face, so I asked Santa if we could have the list back as we may want to update it and that I would email it shortly. Instant relief on Henry's face.

The Ratio

This brought back some memories of good ol' Clarkson U.

Tram Ride

Gordon had an appointment today so I decided to kill time by taking the kids on the OHSU tram. For my east coast homies, the tram is a "cabin" that travels 3,300 linear feet between the South Waterfront campus of OHSU to the the upper terminal on OHSU's main campus, which is located at the top of a hill. The custom-designed cabins were made by Gangloff Cabins of Bern, Switzerland and the views are insane.

Last time we took Henry he was younger...and petrified. This time....he loved it! Pistol Francie of course loved it and asked if there was a bungee jumping option.

Moments that make me love being parent

Last night when I was putting Henry to bed I asked him "Why did God give me such a great kid". It was rhetorical question that I didn't really intend for him to answer.

And then he did...

"Because mom, sweet kid for a sweet mama".

Seriously....instant heart melt.

Tree Hugging and Santa Kissing

Saturday we made the annual trek to cut down the tree...something I am adamant about and that Mark is baffeled by. Thankfully it was amazing weather, so he didn't mind being out there. We went with Dan, Emily, Ellie, Jimmy and Gordon. Gordon hiked all the way up the hill without needing to take break -- go 24 year old heart! Francie, aka Miss Nature lover, was a bit confused by the whole thing. On the otherhand, Dan taught Henry to say "Timber Down" when a tree went down and he shouted it with glee. Dan cut the first tree and then when Mark went to cut our tree it took him a bit longer. Henry asked if Dan had bigger muscles and that was why it was taking daddy longer....didn't go over well.

On another note, Francie is really liking the Christmas spirit....a little too much. I am thinking she is literally trying to "kiss up" to Santa to get better presents. Ho Ho Ho.

Zoo Lights

Our wonderful Zoo puts a great show with Zoo lights. The put up thousands and thousands of lights and you feel like you are in a light show. We took the kids and met up with Dan, Emily, and Ellie. Good decision to go with that gang....they brought hot chocolate...with marshmallows! Now if we could get them to spike it.... We tried to get the kids to pose with "Dolly" and they were too frozen, so Mark and I jumped in. Perhaps we need another animal for the home?