'Tis the Season

The Christmas season just gets better and better every year with our family.  With Sophiya getting older, the spirit of Christmas, the excitement in the air, the anticipation of Santa's arrival makes the holidays so magical.  We were blessed with another visit from Santa Claus himself this year, which was a highlight to see the thrill on Sophiya's face and watch the special moment with them together.  Siena celebrated her first Christmas, and as always, went with the flow and enjoyed all the fun along the way.  Cousin Arabella, only a couple months older than Siena, made the house complete with girls galore!  It's fun to think of them all growing together, so close in age and getting to play together for years to come.  We were blessed with so many lovely gifts for the girls, delicious food and of course lots of laughs with everyone.

 

 

"Can't catch me I'm the Gingerbread Man" (one of her favorite books right now!)

Sledding practice before the REAL thing in Bend, Oregon with Songstad boys!

Our little Siena, this is typical of her, smiling and happy go lucky.  2012 was a year full of firsts for her and she's moving towards becoming a biped, crawling less and taking more and more steps on her own!  Her personality blooms as each day passes and my little baby is now moving toward toddler-hood, which is a bittersweet transition for me.  Her flexibility and adaptability never ceases to amaze me and she's proving to be a good traveler like her sister.

Loving the Christmas Carols and trying all of Nana's different instruments!

Lots of new dress up clothes!  Her favorite is her Cinderella dress and she is remarkably good in heels at age 3....

Couple shots of Siena before she spilled juice all over her beautiful Christmas dress :(

New kitchen set from Grandma and Grandpa!! She loves cooking and playing house with all her play food.  We are constantly having birthday parties with her cupcake set!

After all the craziness of Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, the fun doesn't end there, as it's Sophiya's birthday on December 26th!  We had a small fairy birthday party for her, complete with cake pops and breakfast spread, more gifts and attention for the birthday girl.  I absolutely love this photo of her, I feel like I captured the second when she realized that we were all singing "Happy Birthday" to her and how special she feels!

I still can't believe she is 3 already.  She has done A LOT in her short three years.  She's a frequent flyer, moved across the world and blossomed into a little girl.  She is a strong willed, confident little thing, not afraid to tell it like it is and let anyone know what she wants.  Her sense of humor is developing rapidly, along with her thirst for knowledge and vocabulary!  She has been our shining light the past three years, made our life rich in so many ways.  We love you Sophiya and HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU!

Following Sophiya's birthday party, more excitement to come as Dana and I head off for Australia, another post to follow SOON.....

Gratitude

In wake of unspeakable tragedy this week, I have very little words for this post, except for gratitude for life and focus on moving forward and remaining positive.  My heart breaks for the families in Newtown, Connecticut.  May our country never experience such malicious evil again.

"The cure for all the ills and wrongs, the cares, the sorrows, and the crimes of humanity, all lie in the one word 'love'. It is the divine vitality that everywhere produces and restores life. "
-Lydia M. Child

Thankful for my family.

Thankful for my country.

Thankful for beautiful fall weather.

Thankful for my girls, who make me smile and give my life meaning.

Thankful for my husband who makes me laugh and keeps me balanced.

Thankful for reuniting with old friends.

Thankful for my oldest friends visiting and presence in my life.

Thankful for my amazing in laws.

Thankful for healthy food.

Thankful for becoming a parent.

 

Thankful for having such joy each day.

Thankful for a Happy Halloween, Thanksgiving and soon a Merry Christmas in Seattle!

Thankful for my amazing parents' new adventure in Australia and Dana and I getting the opportunity to visit them with my brother and sister!

Happy Holidays to all and a Happy New Year!

Summer Finale

You know it’s been a while since I’ve posted a new blog entry when the photos are from the sunny summer season and the leaves are now turning fiery reds and golds and the air is getting brisk.  I’ve been pretty consistent with monthly posts, but this one has slipped away from me.

Oh summer, how is it over already?  That being said, during the summer months, the Mid-Atlantic is scorching and at times suffocating, seemingly never ending.  We ended our summer with a breath of fresh air for a week at my parents’ cabin on Lake Michigan.  We couldn’t have scripted a better holiday.  The weather was perfect, we filled the days with endless activities – boating, paddle boarding, kayaking, sailing, picking blueberries, relaxing in the hammock, sipping wine at sunset, biking, perusing the farmer’s market and of course quality family time together.

 

 Looking good for being a "Grandma" and "Grandpa" !

The girls had an absolute blast.  We felt like Sophiya turned into a different child because she had so much stimulation and constant activities day after day!  She willingly hopped on the jet ski without reservation, so clearly has inherited a bit of her Mom and Dad’s fearlessness.  She then proceeded to take a ride on the jet ski each day with a different family member!  She loved the beach, getting buried and swimming in the cool, clear water.  She went blueberry picking for the second year in a row and the reaction was the same – silence.  Now, this is a very rare occurrence for this child, and her reaction was silence only because she proceeded to stuff her face with blueberries for 30 minutes straight!  What a joy to watch her mouth turn blue full of antioxidants! :)

 Blueberry picking with Uncle Jamie!

   

 

Not the happiest photo, but how sweet is this beach chair for these two?

"This is fun..."

"Daddy buried me!!"

"Manicure with Auntie Co-Co"

Sibling Love

Farmer's Market Downtown Traverse City 

Siena started crawling at a little after seven months which was a HUGE shock as Sophiya crawled much later.  So, she is now all over the place, getting into everything and at the stage where all she wants to do is move.  She’s pulling up and cruising along all our furniture, it’s a busy stage but so sweet!  She just wants to keep up with her big sister and I have a feeling she’ll be walking before her first birthday.  She’s starting to adopt a bouncing “dance” move whenever she is excited and also began to clap!  Dana and I can’t help but be blown away on how easy going and calm her demeanor is.  She won the hearts of all our family members and certainly was not lacking in the attention department!

We had two very special family reunions.  One with my mom’s Horton side of the family, where all four sisters were together for the first time in a long time!  It was wonderful to see everyone and we had a lovely time catching up.   

Aunt Sharon and Aunt Janice 

Special Guests Cousin Michael and Indie from Arizona!

Smiley Auntie Allie!!!

Our second family reunion was with my Dad’s side of the family, which was quite a huge get together as he is one of 5 children, so many uncles/aunts, cousins and second cousins.  I actually had to make a family chart for Dana to keep everyone straight!  Sophiya loved meeting all her cousins and having instant playmates for a few days!  It was tough having to say goodbye after such a short time.

Great Grandma and Great Grandpa Crum

Tire Swing with Cousin Maddie and Cousin Olivia!

 We stayed with my Grandma and Grandpa Crum; it was very special to have my children there at the home that I grew up visiting as a child and the home my Dad grew up in!  It was nostalgic to watch Sophiya and Siena playing with toys and books that I had played with growing up with my cousins and siblings, some of which dated back to the 1950’s!  Sophiya thoroughly enjoyed playing in the pool and was obsessed with picking/eating cherry tomatoes from their garden!  I now have a new strategy to get her to eat vegetables – grow my own garden next year, something more feasible now without a newborn!

 

Tomato Picking!

Being with family meant many options for babysitters!  This allowed Dana and I to slip away guilt and worry free to celebrate a belated five year anniversary.  I can’t BELIEVE it’s been five years since we exchanged vows on Kommeitjie Beach in Cape Town.  What an amazing five years it’s been with so many wonderful memories to look back on.  We explored every possible place we could in South Africa, our work with Projects Abroad, summiting Mt. Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, two beautiful daughters and moving back to the USA to start yet another chapter in our marriage.  I’m so blessed to have married my best friend, the man I always know I can count on and stand by my side.

 

 

“Nothing is more beautiful than the love that has weathered the storms of life” 

[ Jerome K Jerome]

Saying goodbye to my parents, knowing their upcoming move to Australia was going to be semi-permanent was not easy!  However, it was more tolerable with the knowledge that Dana and I were going to be visiting them in Melbourne during the December holidays!  The girls will be staying in Seattle with my amazingly BRAVE in-laws while Dana and I enjoy our first trip together without the little ones tagging along.  It’s an exciting, liberating yet daunting thought as we’ve spent so much time as full-on parents the past few years.  It’s going to be wonderful to be able to do all the things that we haven’t been able to do since having babies and spend time with my family in their new home away from home!

Probably one more blog post on Halloween and Thanksgiving festivities, then Melbourne here we come!!