Santa

Last week was our Church Christmas party. Santa was there to see all of the kids. Zoe was on his lap just long enough for us to take this picture. She had a look on her face like, "who is this stranger and why are you so willingly handing me over too him?" We tried to get Jacob to sit on his lap but it was a not happening. As we carried him over, his body went rigid and he would not bend at the waist. It's ok, we have a book that we read every night about Santa. Jacob doesn't call him Santa. Instead, his name is "toys".

Zoe was so good at the Christmas party and Jacob was having a great time running around with the other kids. I don't think I got a good picture of him because he was always on the move.

We are leaving tomorrow for Texas. We are so excited to see everyone!! I have been counting down since Christmas and think I am about to jump out of my skin!

Flu Season

Well it is that time of year...flu season. Yesterday we went out as a family to get the last necessities before we leave next Saturday for our Christmas vacation. Unfortunately, Zoe and I got a cold. Nothing too serious at this point but we are trying to rest up so we are healthy for our holiday travels. I am just glad that we got sick now and hope we will be healthy while we are in TX. I really don't want Zoe's first Christmas to be like Jacob's first. For those who don't know, we all had the flu and didn't celebrate Christmas as a family until after the new year. Happy Holidays to all and I hope everyone is healthy!!!

Oh the joys of parenting.

Yes, that is a fire truck and yes it is parked in front of our house. I had a very fun filled afternoon yesterday. After getting the kids up from their naps, I was in a hurry to pick Brandon and one of our friends up from school. I had to get the usual things in the car...purse, diaper bag, coats, and of course the kids. My usual routine is to get everything but the kids in the car then come back in the house for the kids. Everything was going as planned. The car was ready Zoe was in the car and I told Jacob to go get in his seat. He now knows how to open the door, climb up and sit in his seat. We are still working on him being able to buckle himself in. Anyway, I realized I had forgotten my coat, so I went back inside and got it. In the 20-30 seconds I was inside, Jacob turned my very well planned outing into chaos. He likes to play with the buttons on the driver side door and sit in the driver seat. In literally 20-30 seconds, he opened the driver door, pressed the lock button, then closed the door. This wouldn't have been that big of a deal except for the fact that I had already gotten everything in the car and ready to go...including the keys and Zoe. If Jacob had stayed in the car it wouldn't have been as bad because I could tell him to unlock the door or just wait till he hit the button again, but no, he got out of the car and was playing in the carport. Once I tried all of the doors (on the shear chance one of them didn't lock) I went to my neighbors house and asked him if he knew how to break into a car. When he told my the only thing he could think of was to break the window, I called the fire department here on base. When I told them my son had locked my 6 month old daughter in the car with the keys, they simply asked for my address and said they were on the way. When the got here Jacob was so impressed with the fire engine he just stood in the driveway pointing. They had Zoe and my keys out in just a couple of minutes. The Firemen were very nice and took pictures for us so we will always remember this day...yay. After all of that, I was only 20 minutes late picking the guys up from school.

Fun Times

While I was putting laundry away in Zoe's room, Jacob pulled over a stool and climbed into Zoe's crib. He decided that the doll needed to take a nap. He tucked her in and gave her a kiss goodnight. It was so cute!

Zoe sat and watched Jacob. Every once in a while she would fall over, but she is getting pretty good at sitting up.

One of Jacob's favorite things to do right now is build leggo airplanes. He will pull out the box of leggos while constantly saying "pwain! Pwain Daddy, Pwain." Brandon made a small plane for Jacob, then got a little carried away when making one for himself.

This past Saturday we put out all the Christmas decorations and listened to Christmas music all day. Brandon thought this outfit was appropriate for the festivities. She had so much fun kicking off the little boots while Brandon was fighting to keep them on her to take this picture.

Thanksgiving

This is the first Thanksgiving I have ever spent without my family. Luckily I survived. We went to our friends, the Bushmans', house. Jess and I split up the cooking and ended up with waaay too much food. Dan kept asking me how many people I expected to be eating and if I knew that a recipe could be cut in half. They are from Utah and don't know the Texan philosophy, more food is always better. I am thankful for so many things that I know I couldn't name them all. I can't believe how happy we are with the life we are living. I am so grateful for my family and how we have stayed close even though we are far apart. I am also grateful for our friends who have made California feel like home.

Trick or Treat

This year Zoe was a Chinese Doll. We got this outfit in China Town when we went to San Francisco last month. I wanted to put make-up on her but I decided it would be way too hard to get it off.

Jacob was Buzz Lightyear. He absolutely loves the "Toy Story" movies.

We had two Halloweens this year. On the Saturday before Halloween we went to a Trunk-or-Treat at our church. We were supposed to be there at 5:00 but didn't get there until 6:15. We thought we allowed plenty of time to get the kids in their costumes but were not prepared for Jacob's complete melt down. When Brandon started putting his costume on, Jacob screamed and went into the fetal position. I don't think I have ever seen him get so upset. We finally got him to calm down by letting him play driver in the van (his favorite thing to do). Once we got to the Church he was fine and ended up not wanting to take his costume off. He figured out that when he wears it, he gets treats. On Halloween night we went to a friends house for a party. There were a lot of kids running around in costumes, so he had a really good time. On the way home, Brandon drove Zoe and I trick-or-treated with Jacob. He thought that every house we went to, was a party. He would ring the door bell and as soon as the door opened, he would run past the person and the candy. He almost got to the living room at one house before I caught him. When we got home we realized that Jacob hadn't gone to the bathroom since we put him in his costume. We also found out that there isn't an easy way for him to us the bathroom with the costume on. He started saying tee-tee and running to the bathroom, but when Brandon tried to take his costume off, he got mad. It was a very interesting catch 22. No need to fear, we got the costume off in time. I hope every one had a Happy Halloween.

Our First Earthquake

Well, tonight we had our very first earthquake. Brandon tried to tell me it was just the wind so I wouldn't freak out...Ha! The light fixtures were swinging and the mirror on the wall was shaking. Jacob and I were on the bed and the bed was shaking too. We could hear the rumble come and go. Immediately after, a friend of mine called to make sure we felt it too. It was a 5.6 in San Jose which is about an hour North of us. Well, it is nice to say that I have felt and lived through a real earthquake.