Merry Christmas!

 

Go down to the very bottom & turn the sound off on the music before you push play!

The Santa Train

Every year at Christmas time the Napa Valley Wine Train becomes "The Santa Train". We took the kids this year for the first time. It is a 1 1/2 hour trip up & down the valley with hot coco, cookies, Christmas carols & some very special guests (and wine for the adults of course!). Both kids had a great time while Mitch & I enjoyed watching their delight. The battery ran out on my camera, so unfortunately I didn't get any pictures with Santa.

Christmas Concert

Savannah's preschool class had a small  Christmas concert yesterday...

"Jingle Bells"

"Away in the Manger"

Savannah & Joey

This is Savannah's buddy Joey. They have known each other since they were babies and are now in pre-school together.  They have a ton of fun playing together!

11 months old

Dylan is officially 11 months old tomorrow-- I can't believe how fast the year has flown by. He isn't showing much interest in walking... I am assuming once he starts running around some of these adorable rolls will disappear :) He has become quite the little communicator over the past few weeks-- he can say mama, dada, CJ (our cat whom Dylan ADORES)and bye-bye. He is also beginning to use baby signs and can tell us when he wants more or is all done.

My Two Little Reindeers

Now that our Christmas cards are out and should be arriving in mailboxes as we speak, I thought  I would post  some of the pictures as I tried to be creative and capture a good shot for our card...

Santa

December 6- We took the kids to Six Flags Discovery Kingdom for "Holiday in the Park". It was ABSOLUTELY FREEZING!!! But the upside was that both kids had a great time & got to sit on Santa's lap.  Savannah also got a chance to meet Mrs. Claus, which she was very much looking forward to doing and I wasn't quite sure how I was going to make it happen :) Dylan loved Santa-- I really wanted the classic picture with a baby screaming on Santa's lap-- but both of my kids love the big guy. Maybe with #3-- just kidding Mitch :)

Thanksgiving Fun

Savannah has really gotten into the holidays this year & is all about celebrating! Here are some fun Thanksgiving projects we did this month. We wish everyone a very happy Happy Thanksgiving!!!!

Turkey Cookies-- thanks for the recipe Auntie Jacquelyn!

We made a fruit turkey again this year for Savannah's Thanksgiving Feast at pre-school

Meeting Baby Gianna

Savannah and Dylan finally got to meet their new cousin Gianna on Sunday. We went out to the farm and had an early Thanksgiving with Jacquelyn, Jarrid & Gianna. It was so good to finally get the kids together & I can't wait for all the fun times they have ahead of them together!

Cousins!!

Savannah has been waiting very anxiously to meet and hold her new little cousin-- we had to wait a bit longer than normal since Gianna was so premature. But as you can see, she (Savannah obviously) was so happy & proud to finally have Gianna in her arms!

Gianna is already getting so big! 

The Feast!

Dylan's 1st Haircut

November 23- Mitch has been bugging me to get Dylan's hair cut, but I just couldn't do it! Once those cute little curls were cut off I knew he would look like such a big boy. Well, Shirley came on Sunday to cut our hair and she agreed with Mitch... so I lost! The baby curls are gone, but he's still pretty darn cute!

Yes, Mommy got a new hairstyle too :)

Going for a ride...

Dylan recently discovered that he could sit on the front of the vacuum while it is in use... who needs a tricycle??

Gymnastics Class

Savannah started gymnastics class a few weeks ago and is absolutely loving it-- and she looks so cute in her little leotard :) Here are some pictures from this week's class...

Rub-a-dub-dub... too many people in the tub!!!

10 months

Here is a video of Dylan at 10 months. As you can see he LOVES to dance and has also learned how to wave bye-bye.  It is amazing how quickly he is growing up!

Baby Coco Visits!

Savannah and Dylan got to meet their new cousin last week-- Auntie KK, baby Coco and Gigi came and spent Halloween with us! Savannah absolutely adores here cousin and can't wait to see her again, she has been telling me everyday how much she loves and misses Coco. Here are some pictures of the visit...

Proud cousin!

Gigi and her girls

Auntie KK & Coco

Savannah & Coco on Halloween

Dylan & Coco

Happy Halloween!

Why is it that they always have the most fun doing the things they aren't supposed to???

Pumpkin Patch

Bathtime Fun

Dylan has discovered the shower and absolutely LOVES it! The other morning Mitch turned the shower on and left the door open. Before we knew it Dylan had crawled right in-- PJ's and all! Whenever he hears the shower turn on, he immediately stops what he is doing and b-lines to the bathroom, where he bangs on the door until we let him in or get out. Here are some pics of him enjoying himself...

Here are some cute pictures of Savannah wearing mommy's towel and wrapping her hair up "just like momma's"...

Tag Tails

October 18- Savannah got this really cool game called "Tag Tails" for her 3rd birthday from Pommy & Papa. There are 4 different animal tails, every player wears one tail and then you play tag by pulling the other player's tails off (they detach really easily). It is a fun game that encourages imagination & physical activity. Anyway... I found Dylan wondering the house last night like this, apparently Savannah wanted to play tag with him.

9 months

October 10- Today Dylan is 9 months old! He weighs about 23 lbs, has 6 teeth and just learned how to wave. He has also become quite the little chatterbox and is constantly babbling. His first unofficial word (because he has no idea what he is saying) was "Mama". He crawls around the house saying "ma ma ma ma ma". Although I know he has no clue that I am Mama, it still warms my heart to hear him say it :)

Savannah's Baby... Oh, I Mean Brother

There is a not a day that goes by that Savannah doesn't try to convince us that Dylan was put on this earth for the sole purpose of entertaining her as her own little baby doll-- at her convenience of course. Tonight she successfully coaxed us in to letting her take Dylan for a spin in her baby stroller. Of course Dylan was a good sport and giggled most of the time, even though he hardly fit in the stroller.

My Sweet Little Boy

These pictures capture Dylan's sweet nature so well that I couldn't resist sharing :) He is a happy, easy going baby with the most infectious giggle I've ever heard.

Girl Time

October 4- Savannah is very in to having "girl time", which basically entails her and I running errands, grocery shopping or doing anything with just the two of us. She is growing up so quickly and becoming quite girly. She changes her clothes about 4 times a day (on average), absolutely loves to wear my high heels(she can walk better than me in them) and carry my purses, and is always begging to have her nails painted or make-up put on her face. Although she is quite stubborn at times, she is so much fun and is constantly making us laugh.

Gianna Leigh is Here!

September 25- Savannah and Dylan have a precious new cousin! Auntie Jacquelyn & Uncle Jarrid welcomed Gianna Leigh almost 8 weeks early on Thursday afternoon. Despite being very early Gianna is doing great and is absolutely beautiful! Jacquelyn is doing well too and recovering after a very tough couple days leading up to Gianna's delivery. We're so thankful that everyone is safe & healthy and can't wait to watch Gianna grow--Congratulations Jax & Jarrid!!

Mommy & Daddy Gone Wild?!?

Everyone keeps asking "What did you do in Cancun?" and our first answer is SLEEP! But we did actually brave the club scene one night. After a nice dinner, we ventured into one of the clubs downtown. We bought an "All-You Can Drink" bracelet and gave it the ole' college try. After a few beers, a few shots and even some dancing on the bar-- we finally looked around at the lovely establishment we were in and the high quality people we were keeping company with-- and then happily went back to our hotel with our tails between our legs. We were all cozy in our pj's before midnight-- but hey, at least we tried :)

Cancun

Mitch & I escaped last week to Cancun for 5 wonderfully relaxing days. Pommy & Papa (Mitch's parents) watched the kiddos while Mitch and I enjoyed lazy days on the beach and nice long nights of uninterrupted sleep!!! As nice as it was to relax and spend some quality time together--we couldn't wait to get back to the kids, of course!!!

Dylan's New Trick

September 14- After a few days of crawling Dylan has learned how to pull himself up. The first object he used to hoist himself up was the wine rack. I recently removed all the wine from the bottom of the wine rack because it was one of the first things Dylan went after when he started crawling-- a true Napa Valley kid, right?! :) Well I guess he decided that he really wanted the wine and cleverly pulled himself up on to his knees so that he could reach it again. He was so pleased with himself! A couple hours later we looked over and he was completely standing up at his Leap Frog table. I am hoping he will be content for awhile with his new ability to stand...

8 months

September 10- Here is a picture of Dylan splashing around in the bath at 8 months. He weighs a little over 20 lbs and has 4 teeth. As he is perfecting his crawling skills, he is quickly becoming a very busy little boy & getting into everthing. It is hard to believe that it has already been eight months since he was born!

Dylan is Mobile!

After months of rocking back and forth on his hand and knees ,followed by launching himself forward onto his face, Dylan finally figured out how to crawl! He is so happy with his latest accomplishment and the fact that he can scoot around and get to things on his own. Savannah on the other hand is not quite sure how she feels about her brother's new ability to go after her toys. I'm pretty much in agreement with Savannah on this one... as cute as Dylan is when he flashes a giant grin of accomplishment while scooting across the room, I am not quite ready for him to be into absolutely everything!

My Messy Kids

September 3- As Dylan was eating dinner tonight and making an absolute mess (top picture), I decided that I needed to capture the moment on film. After taking the picture and looking at it, I remembered a very similar picture of Savannah at the same age...