Dec 20-26 (Merry Christmas)

Merry Christmas!

We celebrated Christmas in Oregon.  On Christmas Eve Day we went cross country skiing at Teacup Lake at Mt. Hood.  Stacey pulled Cadel in the ski trailer, while Justin skied with Senja strapped to him in a front carrier.  After our ski, Cadel tried out Justin's skis.  We think he's ready for his own pair.

Christmas Day we enjoyed a delicious breakfast, opened gifts, and went for a long walk up to Mt. Tabor.  We brought Cadel's push bike along and he biked up to the top.  Many of you have asked, after seeing him on his bike in our Christmas card, "Is he really riding a two-wheeled bike with no training wheels?".  Answer is "Yes".  However, if you look closely, you will notice that there are no pedals.  He scoots along with his feet and once he gets up to speed he lifts his feet or props them on the frame and coasts.  His balance is getting quite good.  He crashes once in a while, but so far has always gotten back on and continued happily on his way.

Senja and Cadel opening their gifts.

Happy First Christmas, Senja!

On a non-holiday note, Senja got her first tooth this week!  Her bottom right tooth poked through on the 22nd, at 4 months and 1 week old.

Dec 13-19 (Senja 4 mo)

Senja celebrated her 4 month birthday this week on December 15th.  Her latest trick is laughing.  So far, Justin is the expert at getting the best chuckles out of her. At her 4 month doctors appointmentment she weighed in at 16 lbs and is 27 inches long.  In this photo her face is looking especially round -- as you can tell, she seems to be storing much of her weight in her cheeks!

We spent our week getting into the spirit of the season by baking lots of Christmas cookies.  Stacey was glad she didn't splurge on the fancy decorations when she turned around to find her little blond elf experimenting with the law of gravity and pouring the entire contents of the red sugar crystals on the kitchen floor.  Senja watched in quiet amazemet at how many crystals are in one small container. 

Look closely and you'll see Lyle the sheep snacking on a clementine while Cadel works the mixer.

Senja practices for her spot in our Christmas photo.

Dec 6-12 (Cadel 2.5 yrs)

We got our Christmas tree this week.  Here are Cadel and Senja in front of our tree before we cut it down.  Senja can't really sit as well as it appears in this photo, but when stuffed into enough layers, she pretty much stays in whatever position we set her!

Cadel and his favorite sheep, Lyle, helped out with the lights.  Various little friends help out with all our household tasks lately.

Cadel celebrated his half birthday this week on December 7th.  We celebrated with homemade corn muffins -- he was thrilled to be eating 'corn cakes' just like the moose in "Annie and the Wild Animals".  When going through animal sounds (a cow says 'moo', a sheep says' baa') when asked "What does a moose say?" Cadel responds, "A moose says, 'May I have another corn cake, please?'"

Nov 29 - Dec 5

Senja, 3 1/2 months now, practices holding her head up.  Our week was full of our ordinary outings to the library, walks, and other adventures.  Having the extra help with Gimpa around made things much easier.  As you can see below he has quickly become and expert!

 Justin makes sure he keeps his skills up and doesn't get too spoiled by having Gimpa around.