Christmas girl and her new red wagon.

Mittens

I understand that it is cold out, but how the hell do you expect me to do anything with these things on my hands?

Prezzies

THANKS EVERYONE for all the wonderful prezzies. The girl was spoiled rotten but seemed to enjoy every moment of it.

Santy Clause

Santy Clause came and filled Sofia's stocking. He was too knackered to drink the Guiness and eat the cookies though!!!

Merry Christmas to us

Sofia and Grandpa hanging her special ornament on Christmas Eve. I can't imagine a more perfect picture or a more perfect Christmas Eve.

Sof & Buzz

Now this is the way to make sure Buzzy Bee is with you when your hands are tied up.

BJ's Loot

Barclay John raked it in this Christmas. He must have been a VERY good dog.

Christmas Visitors

I love all the ribbons and bows. This Christmas thing is alright.


Paper too. Cool! What do you think is in the box?


A Christmas kimono from Nobuko and Adam.

Gingerbread Houses

Sofia received an invitation to a gingerbread house making party. My friend Gladys had about 20 kids over to decorate houses with all manner of candy and goodies. It was a riot. Sof was a wee bit little to really get involved, but she did her part cleaning up the icing off her fingers.


I have the sneaking suspicion that this girl has a serious sweet tooth.


Sofia's baby gingerbread house. Too cute!!


The final line up for judging.

Project accomplished.

This is Miss Sofia modeling Peter's birthday present. I finally finished it this morning and only a little over a month after his birthday!!!! Oh well, those of you who know me, know that the fact that I actually finished it at all is a bit of a miracle. And the good thing is that it is a bit big so should last him through next winter as well. You are a wonderful, patient model Sofia.

The order of things!

Do you see how things work around here now? Clyde and I are watching TV from the floor and Jeeves and BJ are watching from the cushy stadium seating. All they need now to make it perfect are some snacks!!!!

A little bit of this.....

Does this face not scream "Mother, must you really take photos this early in the morning?"


We knew this house was meant for us when we saw the bi-level "Critter Cafe" and the fact that our critters actually use it is a bonus. Tonight, since it was raining, Jeeves and Barclay decided to dine together. They are, however, very poor tippers!!!!


Sof's cousins sent her a big box full of wonderful Christmas goodies. She was allowed to open her ornament early and put it on the tree.....a Christmas pukeko. Now how many girls do you know who have a Christmas pukeko? And a fat one at that!! Lucky girl.....thanks L,S,J & M.


Remembering our wee boy at Christmas. We thought it was perfect to put both his and Sofia's ornaments together at the top of the tree.

Blah!

Well, here it is, Sunday night again, and we are getting ready for the new week. We have had a rather blah weekend. Sofia and I are still trying to kick the rear end of this nasty cold that we have had, and Clyde looks like he is just in the beginning stages of it. There has been a lot of time spent in pajamas, drinking hot lemon and honey, the house is a mess, the laundry is still piled high and I am about to throw a frozen pizza in the oven for dinner. So, there you have the current state of things!! But, as I look through the pics from this weekend, I am reminded of how blessed we are to have our Sofia home with us and I'll take a weekend of blah with Sofia and Clyde anytime.


Tired girls ready for bed. Yes, I did question how wise it is for me to post a picture of me in my pink PJ's. Pretty stunning, huh?


Cleaning up. Uncle Marc.....this one's for you!!


Ahhhhhh, cuddles. I love it even if it does mean my shoulder gets snotted.


Testing Peter's trike at the neighborhood party. Loved the red tassles.


Yes....there are always smiles for Barclay John.

Christmas Stocking Guatemala Style

Sof's stocking.

Waiting for Daddy

YIKES!! Please try to ignore the grime on the windows!

Two Trees, One Day!

So we came to a compromise with the whole getting a tree thing. Ususally I make Clyde walk around the Christmas Tree place on tippy toes with his arms in the air. "Why?" I hear you ask? Well, that is the exact height from floor to ceiling and I want to make sure I get every centimeter of tree I possibly can. But, given the reasons in my previous post, we decided that a pint sized tree would be just the ticket this year and that we would just decorate it with our special ornaments. So, as you can see, Sof decided the tree tasted good enough and we decided the tree looked good enough so we packed it up and took it home.


Hanging Sofia's first ornament. Daddy got dressed up especially for the occasion....just kidding. He actually is a working musician right now.


Which brings us to the whole tuxedo thing. Grandma, Grandpa, Sofia and I attended the Singing Christmas Tree to hear her Daddy play. For those of you not in Sacramento "The Tree" is a huge lighted Christmas Tree filled with a choir. Yip, that tree is filled with people. It is probably about 11 stories (body stories) high and quite impressive in real life. Anyway, Clyde has played the show for the last 4 years or so and we go each year. I was a bit anxious as to how Sof would do but she loved it, especially when the music was playing. She bounced up and down, clapped her hands (sometimes even in the right spots) and had plenty to say about it all. In fact, we had to leave during the second half, not because she was bad, but she was still having plenty to say and quite loudly and that is when the show gets to the serious stuff.


Intermission. By this point Sofia had ditched both shoes under the pew in front of us as well as her Marylou doll. Mum had to crawl around gathering up belongings. Sofia also flirted with all the people in the row behind us, blowing kisses to everyone. Unfortunately, they blew them back, which she thought was very funny.


My work here is done! Think I'll take a walk. Do you think that smile could possibly get any bigger?

Where's the tree?

It was hard to get a picture that shows just how beautiful this ornament is. I had been on the lookout for Sofia's first Christmas ornament and when I spied this one, I just couldn't resist. The entire thing is made from glass, including the picture inside the ball. Now if we could just get a tree to hang it on we would be in great shape!! It is not through lack of effort. We ventured out last weekend but seemed to be blocked at every turn. Then this week Daddy has been playing every night and wil be all day Saturday and Sunday so we might be pushed again. Maybe it is a sign that this year is just not our year for a tree. Or, maybe curious hands on crawling little girls are reason enough not to get one. In any event, if we do not end up with a Chrissy Tree, for whatever reason, this ornament will always make me think of our first Christmas with Sofia.

New mates and flyaway hair

Sof's new mate - ELMO


Tonight, I had to dry my little girls hair. She has had the sniffles for the last few days and I didn't want to send her to bed with wet hair. I turned the blow dryer on low and held it up to her hand so that she could feel it. Well, no need to ease in slowly with this girl.....the louder and faster the air flew through her hair, the bigger the smile. It was hilarious.


And I just have to tell you that Sofia completed her first project at school. With the help of Miss Wendy she fingerpainted a Christmas Tree. We haven't seen this amazing work of art yet as it was outside drying when Daddy picked her up but we have been told that it will be on the wall on Monday. Grandma Terri and Grandpa Clyde.....keep your eyes peeled.

These shoes.......

.....with a little help from my Daddy's fingers, were made for walking.


Let's go Daddy.