9 months

not yet on the move-but getting closer

eating more and more foods

smiles with his whole body

using fingers to explore toys

2 top teeth are SO close

plays turn taking game with grant-ah ah ah

LOVEs the water

cuddle bug

christmas at last

i love taking pictures. capturing the faces and feelings that are happening right now-so i can look back and remember and appreciate that time. sometimes it comes back even stronger-you feel that moment with more reverence than you did at the actual time.

editing and compiling the pictures does not come as naturally every time. some experiences feel light and easy and others feel like they need more time to rest.  

christmas is expected to have traditions. i want the kids to have good memories of this time of year-but i struggle with the decoration and preparation part of the holiday. i watch as everyone else posts pictures of their house all shiny and sparkly-and i just wonder how they get that all done. i feel lucky to have the laundry 1/2 way caught up or the table cleared off-
this is one reason why our tradition of going to my parent's for christmas makes me happy. i like leaving our mess behind, making the road trip and being welcomed into a house that has a tree up with ornaments and everything.
the cousins play together, read books with nana and papa, we can all go to christmas eve service together and have lots of lovely family dinners. i just can't imagine wanting it any other way.

 the first day after we arrived the weather was awesome. the kids played all day outside-we offered them some chalk to write some messages for santa.

 the night of the 23rd was the annual 'grandma gerrie' christmas gathering. this tradition was started by grandma lots of years ago-as a mexican dinner followed by gifts and fun. when her great grand kids started arriving she decided it would be a good idea to buy them matching pjs. the first picture was roy, jacob and grant in little red fleece sleepers. i remember sitting at her kitchen table (which is now our kitchen table) looking at a hanna anderson catalogue. she was big into catalogues-and we were both enthralled by the christmas jammies they had to offer. hanna is now the go to for this tradition. we keep making this happen thanks to nana kay and aunt debbie's generosity :)

thank you to my wonderful cousin becca for her willingness and skills in taking pictures!

 the annual mexican holiday dinner became a little more fun when grandma shared her family recipe for margaritas. john and ryan make sure this batch makes the cut.

 ryan and becky hosted the party this year at the farm house. they have been renovating it for awhile-and moved in last august. everyone enjoyed being together at the farm.

anneliese, emily, jacob, wesley, sarah, heidi, dale, grant, sean, roy, ben and james

finding a nap with a crowded house is difficult

my friend thuy and her family had their 2nd annual christmas eve visit. it was great to see them and the kids had fun playing with gifts that auntie thuy brought them.

the remote control helicopter sparked lots of laughs

that night we all went to the christmas eve service-we filled a whole row. the candles are always our favorite part :)

the kids woke up around 8 and dug into their stockings.

it was a wonderful christmas-2012!

play

we know how important play is-but it is often hard for me to sit and enjoy it. the kids now can play together fairly well-i unload the dishwasher or make dinner as they run around, pretend and just act silly with one another. this is a good thing-

but i love when time moves a little slower. i love to sit on the floor and watch ben play with a string or head outside and talk to the girls about what kind of spells they can cast on truman. 

january feels nice. and when that is combined with above 50 temperatures-we can get the most out of playtime.

grant is playing on 2 basketball leagues and loving to play point guard.