Samuel Josiah

We have a new nephew, Samuel Josiah! He was born on December 30th and is already 3.5 weeks old. Congratulations Esteban, Tifiny, and Belle.

Samuel meeting Uncle Bill.

Isabelle content with toys!
Olivia checking him out. She can be quite thorough.
A good cuddle with Belle.

The only picture of 3 of 4 cousins...
Pizza!
and pie. A little excited for pie.
Belle got to spend the night last week, and here is a great picture of them in the morning. To get them to smile, I told them not to.
My kids love their Uncle Ecky. Olivia is more proficient on an iphone than we are. She likes playing "mean birds" on their phone :)
An attempt for Gabe to hold the baby.

Tree 2011

We decorated the day after Thanksgiving, so 2 weeks later, here are the pictures.

Picking out the tree

Gabe is seeing the antlers and red nose for the first time. Can't wait to get his hands on those.











Olivia is reading Rudolph to Gabe. This sweet moment lasted 3 minutes.

New Diet

We have had one sick little guy on our hands... Gabe has had a cough since Sept. and the journey has been long. Last week I had him checked to make sure his double ear infection had cleared up, and it hadn't so we started round 2 of antibiotics. I talked to our Dr. about Gabe's skin and she said he has mild eczema. He also has asthma and possibly some allergies. We got an inhaler for his asthma and she said to go dairy-free and see if that makes a difference in his health and skin too. It has been exhausting, but I'm hoping we'll get into a good rhythm soon.

So, here is my sweet boy on day 8 of no dairy eating a grilled, vegan cheese sandwich. He licked his fingers clean! Vanilla soy yogurt was also a hit this morning, along with oatmeal made with almond milk. On Monday, he had his 15 month check up and the Dr. said one ear was still mildly infected, but that his wheezing was at least 50% better. So, the journey continues to getting him well.

p.s. he doesn't really let on that he doesn't feel well. He's very good natured.

Come to me non-dairy cheese!

During the same meal, Olivia scarfed down sushi. I love that my kids embrace different things!

Tired but happy boy.

Hair

I know most 3.5 year olds have had more than 2 haircuts, but hair is becoming a bigger deal in our home now. Olivia clipped her hair back herself today...

Ribbon
My hair... Olivia needed an excuse to take a picture :)

"Hair train." Tifiny was very gracious and allowed the girls to use their creativity on her head.

Life

A little bit of this and a little bit of that.

Bill and Gabe playing a game.

Olivia took this picture.
And this one too...
Such an inspiring artist with a camera...
"Hehwoh"
One night when Gabe was not feeling good (not uncommon) he kept saying "Dada" and pointing downstairs. I finally took him to see Daddy and he just snuggled right up while Bill was studying.