Snowy Christmas Eve

We had a very nice Christmas Eve at home. Grandma and Grandpa Lund and Uncle Pete were with us.  It was snowy and rainy and windy, so we stayed inside for the most part.  The girls loved playing with all their visitors! And those of us over the age of 10 months also had fun playing -- with the Wii. Several games of bowling took place.  

We ended the day with the Lunds' traditional Christmas meal of Swedish meatballs, mashed potatoes and lefse.  We were very full at the end of the meal and promptly collapsed on the couch and fell asleep in front of the TV. Here are some snapshots from the day...

Emma convinces Grandma Lund to let her try a Christmas cookie.  She even has that "hand caught in the cookie jar" look on her face.

Emma checks out the cool rain stick Mia is playing with. 

The girls play together on Christmas Eve in their festive outfits.

Mia is on the move!

"Ha!  I got Daddy's remote!  Now I can watch whatever I want," says Emma.

Emma and Mia enjoy their teething biscuits.

Snow Days

Mia and Emma check out the snow up close with Mom. 

The five of us were basically homebound for the last 4 days. And we're still smiling! Well, the adults anyway. Mia is looking up at the tree and Emma is just skeptical about the whole thing.

Our house Sunday morning. More snow was on its way - it snowed from 11am to 11pm!  We estimated 6-8" total over for the last several days.  That's a LOT for Seattle - especially Ballard!

Our front steps and walkway Sunday morning. 

Snow-covered branches in our backyard. 

Braving the Cold

Since we stayed inside most of the day yesterday, we decided to brave the cold, snow and ice to walk down to Market Street. First we had to get all bundled up... 

Mia and Emma bundle up to go out for a walk to fight cabin fever.

Mia is less than amused by her cold weather gear.

Remember that scene in "A Christmas Story" when the kid licks the frozen pole on a dare?  Emma is warming up.

Friday morning shot of the house as we headed out for our walk. There was plenty of snow left over from Thursday but the streets were clear. 

After a little local shopping in downtown Ballard, we take a break for lunch.  Grammy has a hold on Emma (note tongue is still out) while Mia lunges for the camera.

The girls are all tuckered out after our big adventure in the snow.

Teaser Photo

Mia and Emma get bundled up for school.

I finally got our photo program fixed,  but realized I'd lost the USB cord for the camera to import the photos.  We got a new one so now I have no excuse.  There are many photos I'd like to share from the past month, but seeing as it's 10:30pm and sleep sounds pretty good, I'll just post one teaser photo for now.  Enjoy!

Snow Angels

We woke up this morning to snow!   I had to snap a few photos of the girls in their first big snowfall.  We dressed them in their warm, one-piece suits and stepped out into the backyard.  I snapped quickly as it was cold and wet!

Flu Season Begins with a Bang

Everyone warned us that this first flu season would be a rough one since the girls are in daycare. And boy were they right! If this is any indication of the next few months, we're in for a long winter.

The girls came down with a nasty stomach flu bug in early November, which ended up lasting for about 10 days! Some of that time they were unable to go to daycare, which meant Mom and Dad taking time off work. And because our kind, little girls love to share, Mom and Dad both caught the bug too. Yuck.

We were very fortunate that Grandma and Grandpa Lund came over to help us out. It is always helpful to have extra hands, but it was especially helpful when we were all sick.

The timing of all this coincided with an especially busy time at work for me. And then we received the sad news in mid-November that my grandfather had passed away. He had been through a long bout with cancer, but he did get to meet his great-granddaughters during our trip to San Diego in July, thankfully.

Once again, Grandma and Grandpa Lund came to our rescue, and left their house literally with an hours' notice to come help us out again. I was able to make a quick trip to San Diego to join family for my grandfather's service. It was nice to have a couple days to spend with my dad, sister, grandma and extended family to honor Grandpa and share stories from the past and make new memories.

Oh, What a Night!

The girls didn't stay awake long enough to see Obama's official victory, but they were confident enough that he'd done it before drifting off to la la land.  Matt and I were glued to the TV all evening, watching the returns. When it was finally official at 8pm PST, we talked to friends and family on the phone, and then toasted with some sparkling cider as we watched his amazing victory speech.  What an exciting time this is!  

I've never been this engaged in a political campaign before. I've been more interested in recent years thanks to Matt, who is a junkie. to say the least.  But this time was different. The excitement for this candidate and the fact I'm a new mom really made the difference.  

I remember being so impressed with Obama at the Democratic convention in 2004, and have been cheering for him since then.  While in the hospital on bedrest last January & February, I had a lot of time to watch primary coverage on CNN. Barack was just so impressive - smart, eloquent, cool and calm.  The more I saw and heard from him, the more I liked. This is the most important election I can recall, and I can't wait to tell the girls about it someday.  I think it's so awesome that in the world they grow up in, anyone can be President.