Santa Baby Train

I have lots of events to post, starting with Sadie's birthday. Sweet little nugget rang in the 2's with a supper out with family and a ride on Irvine Park's Santa Train. 

There is certainly great joy in watching this little one celebrate life.

Happy Birthday, Tuna

Sadie William, you're 2! 

How can these 2 years have flown so quickly?

You have us all by the heart strings, wrapped around your little fingers.

all.of.us

At 2, you are The Snuggler. On early mornings when we bring you into bed with us, trying to squeeze in just a few last moments of sleep before starting the day, you're not content unless you are laying on top of one of us, snuggled in close, and we love every second.

You are small, but mighty. You are brave and adventurous, you can hold your own with your sister,  have definite opinions about things, are easy going, listen well and are sometimes shy. You like being near mom and dad best. 

You're done with riding in the stroller/jogger or being carried. You'd much rather walk or run. Although you sometimes have to be carried, none of us can resist setting your free when you look up at us and say, "densh?" (dance)

 You love to move and groove regardless of the environment. We can be at home rocking out to the music, Trader Joe's, the airport, or even Costco. You love to "densh."

You love to play with Rosie, read, color, and yes, eat. You have the same hearty appetite that you had as a tiny baby. You'll often start the day with a banana or 2 and a bowl of cereal with a side of oatmeal. After you're finished you'll make your way around the bar in the kitchen and finish off everyone else's breakfast remnants. I love this about you.

This fall we tried to get you off of the "bink," that beloved green pacifier that was given to you in the hospital. We've tried.... and to show for it,  now you need 2 pacifiers to fall asleep. You have "bink" and "other one."

Great job, Mom. 

You are so so loved, Sadie. You are surrounded by family and friends that are crazy about you. 

I pray that as you grow we can foster your strong sense of self, your accurate read on people, your humor and your sense of wonder. You are a gift to us, Sadie. We are so grateful for you and your place in our lives. May you grow to understand just how much God loves you. May you have eyes to see all of the love and beauty that surrounds you. 

We love you to the moon and back, little Tuna.

Happy Birthday to you.

Missed Us?

Missed Us?

Wondered where we have been?

Me too.

Here is a recap of the last month. Well, a recap of the fun stuff. There has been A LOT of other stuff thrown in there too. I won't show you pictures of that. 

We spent Thanksgiving together with all of the Eckerts. Can I just say that it was perfect? There were 23 of us together at the peak of the weekend. The only person missing was sweet Sierra, who is away at school at Swarthmore in Pennsylvania.  We certainly missed her.

We have been doing our fair share of "Christmas-ing." It is the most wonderful time of the year.

Here we are at the San Clemente Christmas Tree lighting. 

Yes, that's Rosie sledding down a snow covered hill... In San Clemente. 

Oh, Orange County. 

Sadie has taken an interest in the Christmas tree this year.
As a result, the ornaments start about 1/3 of the way up the tree, and I keep finding ornaments in the oddest places.... like in Sadie's crib.

Rosie had her Christmas chapel performance at school. I could not, for the life of me, get a good picture of her singing. Perhaps it's because I calmly put the camera down when she started picking her nose on stage before her song started.
Parenting can be so humbling! 

 Rosie also had her end of dance recital. We started out strong, but her love for ballet and tap definitely tapered off as the weeks went by. I think her face pretty much sums it all up. Now it's over and she's relieved. I'm proud of her because she was cooperative and followed directions even though she wasn't into it at all. 

 Ron and I snuck away for a long weekend in Napa with the Paschalls. It was practically perfect in every way. It gave me a chance to head into the magic and the chaos of Christmas with a little reserve to draw from. I'm so thankful for good friends. 

It was so fun to come home to the girls, who had been under the incredible care of our niece, Allison. I think the girls had just as much fun as we did. All of the Eckert girls cried when Allison's plane took off on Monday. 

 We visited Santa last night. Rosie was thrilled. Sadie was not.
No full blown tears, but we had some definite Santa anxiety.