Antelope

"Mommy, antelope is an animal AND and fruit!"

Pictures

Vacation!

WOOHOO! 2 more hours and I am on vacation. I am writing this during my prep time because I have no grading or planning to do. Ok, I do have those things to do, but everything is ready for the week I get back so that's all that matters.

Since I am writing from my school computer I won't be able to post pictures until next time. Ryan is growing like a weed and Haley looks more like a little girl every day.

All has been wonderfully busy. Last week we (Haley and I) went with the Casillas girls, Garcia girls, Kuhl girls and Barnes girls to see the Nutcracker. They got all dressed up and we took the light rail. It was perfect that the show was one hour, a very fun Saturday!

The kids are great. Ryan is a little love bug. He is calm and observant. He will stare you down, checking you out. Haley has mastered making him crack up every day on the way home from Diane's. He is starting to eat new foods. So far he has had rice cereal, oatmeal, sweet potatoes, bananas, avocados, pears, and he is on day 3 of yogurt. He is a Russell. He loves food. His newest thing is that he turns the pages of the book at bedtime. Of course he will sometimes try to pull it to his mouth, but the job gets done.

Haley is SO excited for the holidays. She can feel the excitement of the season. She has wanted The Grinch every night at bedtime. The other night, after we read it and left her room, Josh heard her "reading" it. She said some of the rhyming lines with the same inflection I used when I read it. I also just noticed that when she "reads" to me she will take her finger and run it along from left to right like she actually is reading it. So funny! Every year the holiday time gets better for her. We tried to find a place where we could help pass out food on Thanksgiving or Christmas, but most places don't allow children under 12. I didn't get it enough together to look into churches, but the intent is there. I think something like that would really be a great tradition to start.

So there it is. The holidays are here and we are doing just fine. Pictures will come soon!

Fridays

I love them.

'Tis the Season

This is my favorite time of year and this weekend was a real kick off to the season. We had our play group holiday party last night at Pump It Up. We had never been there, but just picture a huge room of jumpy houses, slides, mazes, etc. Haley had a wonderful time as did all the kids there. Then this morning we saw Santa! We got some shopping done right when the mall opened and then stood in line to see the big guy. Ryan just stared at him while Haley did the talking. She marched right up and gave him a high 5 and a hug. He told how tall she had gotten and asked if she has been a good girl. Ryan continued to stare. That's how Haley was her first Christmas. The next one was when she flipped so we'll see how Ry does next year. We then went to a friend's holiday party and Santa showed up there too (as seen in the picture)! Haley was in HEAVEN. Ryan...just stared. It was a bit surreal to have our TWO kids sitting on Santa's lap. We know how blessed we are this season. Next weekend...The Nutcracker! There are 5 of us moms taking our girls to see the 1 hour version of the professional show. I love it all!

Singing With Santa- (P.S., lots of people sound like me, but I'm not singing)

The Holiday Weekend

It is Sunday evening and we had a wonderful 5 days off together. We had wonderful time with family and friends and got a lot of "things" done. 

Thanksgiving was wonderful. We stuck to the Russell tradition of a movie in the morning (kids were at the Rasuls') and went back to the Rasul home for a delicious meal. Ryan loved being held all evening long (talk about the opposite of Haley) and he even had sweet potatoes for the first time in honor of the holiday. Sure, they weren't buttered and sugared, but plain sweet potatoes are good enough! 

Our house is now decorated for the holiday season. I remember the first time we decorated after Haley was born, we did it during her nap and she woke up to the surprise. Times have changed. We called her the Holiday Nazi. We woke up Friday morning and she was talking about how we need to get the tree and do all the decorations. We went to take a lunch break and Haley said "but there is more decorating to do!" She absolutely loved it and already knows what she is going to say to Santa. She loves seeing all the lights that are already up around town and in the neighborhood. I seriously could write a story a day about her. She just keeps saying the most entertaining things. We read a book and she said "that witch is mean and spiteful." After every fairy tale ending of "and they lived happily ever after" she will respond with "and then she went to college and got a good job." Josh and I have added that one for awhile.

Ryan has been "talking" up a storm. He has been turning the pages of his bedtime stories and, like his sister, LOVES being read and sung to. He is getting so big and gaining some chub, which we just squeeze all the time.

Yesterday I helped the Garcias a bit with their move to Aptos. Wonderful house literally up the street from the beach. We are bummed they won't be around the corner anymore, but excited to have a beach house to go to! :)

Things are good. Good things are happening for people we love, new babies, new homes, new jobs. I love this season so much. Bring out the Christmas music!