When John hears the garage door open...

this is what he says:

This is how WE go sledding

Brielle in back, John in front- facing backwards :).

This arrangement has been working great for sledding. Brielle is too little to hold John up in her lap. We tried it that way, but John leans back too much and it causes Brielle to fall back. Then you've got 2 kids falling off the back of the sled! So Tim came up with this arrangement, which works for pulling them around the farm and for sending them down the hill at our house.

Speaking of hills, they have already run into their first tree. Had to get a tree collision out the way, right? Thankfully it was a very young tree, the trunk is only a few inches in diameter. And neither the kids nor the tree were hurt.

100%

Doesn't he look tall in this photo? :)

John had his 18 month check-up. He is 100% for height. Tim & I like to guess how tall he might be some day... 6'3"? 6'4"?

John & his spaghetti

There's something cute about a 19 month old slurping up his spaghetti noodles- it makes me smile :)

Shoot it!

Make sure you look at his cheeks in the middle two photos, as he is concentrating on his shot :)

John has fun with his mini-basketball hoop from Jenny. Thanks Jenny!

HELP!

A couple of days ago Brielle came rushing into the kitchen with her puppy "Pebbles". The running footsteps and the concern in her voice told me-- this was an emergency.

"MOM! MOM! HELLP! CAN YOU HELP ME?

PUT THE BATTERIES BACK IN PEBBLE'S BUTT!!"

Pebbles had stopped breathing.

Just a little bit of static

This video is kind of dark, but if you hang in there you'll see it.

"Tim, take a picture of Willa, our friend Willa"

John & Brielle were SO excited that their cousin Willa came over to play for a little while. They made sure she was surrounded by toys :).

And for those who we haven't seen in awhile, yes, Brielle calls her dad by his first name-- she's been doing this for a few months now. My parents said I went through a similar phase, calling them Ted & Carol. Brielle calls me Kristen probably only once a week.

Grandpa Ted's birthday

We celebrated Grandpa Ted's birthday last weekend. Brielle & John worked together to put the candles in the cake... and then they helped blow them out. The clusters of candles created some big flames!

YUM!!

Check out this delicious cheesecake that Tim made. mmmmm....

Clowning Around

Brielle thought of this on her own :)

"You're cute" ... "No, you're cute"

This is a little 'game' we've been playing with Brielle...

It didn't take long for John to catch on :)

P.S. They've been enjoying the tricycle & scooter that Santa brought.

The boys

Tim did a nice job with this "self portrait"

A little more room for our growing boy

John has been sleeping in a big bed for the last week. He's 18 months old. Brielle was about the same age when she moved to a big bed. We decided to move a mattress into his room shortly after we were home from our Christmas vacation. He has transitioned really well-- so well that we officially took the crib down and put it in storage. He looks much more comfortable on his big, soft bed. He doesn't end up with a foot sticking out or his head in the wooden rail corner, like he did in his crib. After we put him in his bed, sometimes he comes to his door and cries for a minute, but then he crawls back into bed and falls asleep on his own. yippee :)

One day I tried to lie beside him at nap time, but he got out of the bed and was tugging on my foot. I thought he was wanted me to play instead of "sleep"... but turns out... once I got out of his bed, he climbed back in, cuddled up with a blanket, and was quiet. I guess he just wanted me out!

... and a "scrapblog" for Brielle too ...

because I want to keep it fair :)

Hey cutie

John & I were having fun with the camera this day! :)

Waimea Canyon & Hike #2

Here's a view of Waimea Canyon, the largest canyon in the Pacific. The canyon is 10 miles long, 1 mile wide and 3500 feet deep. Many helicopter tours go through this area. From our view at the lookout, the helicopters looked like little bugs buzzing through the canyon.

Just past the Canyon Lookout, we went for a 4 mile hike in search of Waipo'o Falls. We encountered light rainshowers, and didn't quite reach the 800 foot falls, but it was a beautiful hike. We think we saw the falls in the distance through the mist, but we're not sure. John & Brielle did a great job staying entertained and staying in the backpacks the entire time.

We were up really high at this point of the hike, with an amazing view of the canyon. You can imagine how the rain is blocking the view.

...and on our way back through the forest. Thanks for the cool photos Alexia!

Trail Hike #1

On our second day in Kauai, we hiked the Kalalau Trail-- which runs along the beautiful Na Pali Coast. We did a lot of trail running too, but slowed down in some areas for the rocks & mud, and to take some photos.

Here's a glimpse of our adventure:

4 miles later, we reached the 300-foot tall Hanakapi’ai Falls, where Jef, Jenny, Alexia & Tim went for a cool swim.

The trail is known for its red dirt & mud -- so we looked like this by the end.

Mele Kalikimaka

Mele Kalikimaka! (Merry Christmas in Hawaiian!)

We had a wonderful week in Kauai-- at Great Grandma Betty's timeshare. The weather and the island were beautiful! We enjoyed all the family time together; not to mention going to the pool and the beach every day. Here are a few pictures from Christmas Day...

John & Brielle walking to the pool with Grandma Carol:

Brielle getting ready for the pool:

Brielle in another pool:

Alexia & John looking at the roosters that roam free. Looking for (and chasing) the roosters & chickens became one of Brielle & John's favorite things to do while we were there!

I borrowed this from Wikipedia to explain the roosters:

"1992's Hurricane Iniki may have caused an indirect change in Kauaʻi's ecosystem. The origin of Kauai's chickens come from the original Polynesian settlers, who brought them as a food source. Kauai is now home to thousands of wild chickens, who have few natural predators. Wild roosters have been known to disturb evening quiet time at very early hours with their crowing, a normal function of all roosters stemming from their need to define territory."

That last part is true-- some of them crow almost all day long! John got pretty good at saying "cock-a-doodle-doo!"

Alexia & John on the beach:

A giant sea turtle was resting on the beach for a few hours Christmas morning...

John :)

more to come...

He's.... almost... got... it

On Friday, the kids & I spent 2 hours at the mall-- playing in the kids area (which we had all to ourselves most of the time), riding the "alligator" (escalator), climbing into the cars & trucks that move when you put 75 cents (but my kids don't know that part yet), and visiting the pets at the Humane Society. It was a fun morning for all of us.

We picked up Happy Meals on the way home (another thing they don't know yet is that toys come in the Happy Meals-- we'll save those for another day). Brielle ate her cheeseburger and half of John's. John slowly worked on his burger & fries, and also ate a bowl of purple grapes. Later, I noticed John was putting his french fries into his milk. This is the point of the meal when we know he's full and that he's just playing. I left the kitchen for a few minutes and when I came back I saw his milk--and the fries he put in-- all over the counter. John was SOO excited to grab the milk-soaked fries and gobble them up. "YUM!" was written all over his face. Here he is reaching for the very last one: