Sledding!

Merry Christmas!

Morning girls.... love the curls on that girl!

The big hit of Christmas morning is her horse!

This was all she wanted for most of the morning!

Grandma Nancy and Grandpa Jim got her an easel!

Deep in concentration sewing on her new sewing apple

"oooh, animals!"

Papa and his girl with their Terrible Towels

A fun bug book!

Sledding fun!

Snow chicken... They actually hang out in the snow quite a bit.

What a wonderful day we had! Fiona wasn't ready to open gifts for a good 45 minutes or so after waking up. She watched Brian and I open a couple things and then decided, "OK Nona's box". She was delighted with each thing and wanted to play with everything a bit before moving on to the next gift. It was fun to see her reactions to the gifts.

We spent some time in the backyard sledding too. Fiona loves the snow so much. This was the first time sledding. I was amazed how brave she was going down the hill. "More" she's yell! Definitely a hit! The weather is cooperating with her new love of snow sports and we're getting more snow today. Woo Hoo!

We had some good friends over for a dinner of appetizers. It's fun to have so many different things to munch on. Fiona was such a social butterfly. We've noticed that she is more and more brave these days in these types of settings. She even talked to Mike which is a big deal! Mike is around our house quite a bit but Fiona has always been very shy around him. Last night she worked up the courage to tell him Merry Christmas! I like seeing her develop more confidence. Pretty fun!

Today we are lying low. Fiona is pretty burnt out from all of the excitement of yesterday. She seems to always need down time after exerting herself in ways that aren't her norm. So lots of hanging out at home, nursing on the couch and reading books is in order for the day.

We hope you had a wonderful Christmas as well. Our day was perfect! :)

A Beautiful Solstice!

After tucking "the girl" into bed Brian and I stayed up to watch the lunar eclipse. Totally cool! It was a perfect night for it in Kodiak with clear skies.

The next morning we woke up to snow! All day long the snow kept coming. It really was a beautiful way to wake up on Solstice morning. McKenzie spent the morning with Fiona while I hid in the garage wrapping presents. It was fun! Then we waited for Papa to get home from work. Fiona bundled up to help Papa shovel snow. She loves the snow! It was really difficult to get her to come in. I just loved being out in the dark with my family playing. We got her in by reminding her that she had presents under the tree from the Solstice Fairy.

First was a gift for Papa from Fiona. A nerf football that she latched onto at the store and told me "for Papa." How is a Mama supposed to resist that. So we brought the football home. Papa loved it! Then Fiona opened her Solstice Fairy gifts, a new pair of pajamas and an ornament for the tree. She tried to ride her horse ornament! I'm glad the fairy picked a felt ornament this year!

Happy Solstice!

I've been neglecting the blog! Things have been busy around here. We had a wonderful visit with Emmy. I did not want to let her go back home! It made us all feel better that we'll be seeing each other in January. She was a huge help in getting ready for the bazaar. I can honestly say that I couldn't have done it without her help. She was able to really see Fiona in her element which was fun. Not the shy Fiona who most people see when we are out and about, but the feisty, loud, and intense Fiona that Brian and I get everyday! And feisty she is! She is very sure that she needs to get herself dressed and not wear diapers. Basically she wants to do it her way! I do love her independence but have to admit it can be a lesson in patience for her Mama and Papa! I hope that you enjoy the videos below. More coming.... I won't neglect the blog for this long again!