what she said

(daddy and libby playing a "video game" that grandma shelley gave libby. they're spotting letters and catching them.)
D: L? Where's the L?
L: right there!
D: P? Do you see the P?
L: it's right there!
(this continues for a couple of minutes)
L: (exasperated and confused) daddy, are you having trouble seeing?
D: no. .. ?
L: well, why do you keep asking me where the letters are?! can't you see them yourself?
D: yes I can see them! I just wanted to play it with you and see if you could see them!
L: oh.

(Libby and Aunt Brett are sitting at the table eating lunch.)
L: Aunt Brett, what are you doing!!!???
B: eating chips, Libb.
L: Well do you have to eat them so fast?!

Meantime, Xander said "shock" (sock) and "aaaaahl GONE" for his new words of the day. What a fun job I'm blessed to have!

traditional nebraska christmas celebration

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Celebrate Jesus!

Merry Christmas Loved Ones!
We hope you have a joy filled Christmas celebrating the birth of Jesus, our Savior.

(if you click on the individual images they'll get bigger...)

step-by-step

Xander is walking. There, I said it. Now, he's not walking always, and he's not walking very fluidly. But he does a Frankenstein walk and he does it more and more frequently. He regularly takes 2-4 steps to get here and there, and will occasionally take a couple more before he gets too excited with himself and finds himself on his bottom, with a big grin and a "boom." But today he set his own record, a lot of steps. :) He walked from one end of Libby's bedroom to the other. She watched him do it, and called for me to come, hurry! I peeked down the hall and asked, "what is it?" "Mom! Come Quick! Xander is standing all by himself!" "Is he walking?" "YES!!" So, I scurried to her room and sure enough, he was not where I left him and he was on 2 feet. However, when he saw me, he got giddy and after another step he was down. It was really sweet though, that he did it for her and she was so entirely excited for him. :)

kiddos

So, a couple of things.

1. Brian and Libby did some Christmas shopping on Saturday, and they bought mama a special present. When asked what ideas she had for gifts that would be good for mama, Libby suggested a new phone, that would help give mama ideas for decorating, like at the church.

2. Saturday evening as we drove across town Libby spontaneously announced, "Daddy, even if you weren't my daddy, I'd still love you." Really, really sweet.

3. Libby suggested we get daddy a gift too. A new alarm clock so that he knows what time he needs to get up in the morning. But it can't be too loud that it would bother her.

Oh Christmas Tree, Oh Christmas Tree

Last Saturday was Christmas tree day, and what a fun day it was! We decided to get our tree from a tree farm this year, and we had such a great day making memories and continuing and establishing Christmas traditions.

Libby blazes the trail. We will find the PERFECT tree.

Here she is, in her natural habitat. The farm. Right by the retirement village.

We'll take the big one. And daddy cut it down! Libby supervised.

We managed to get it in the door and Libby decided

to take a picture of daddy and mama getting it nestled in it's new home.

The tree is huge. It had to be anchored to the wall. :)

having a jolly time with cookies and hot cocoa,
ray charles Christmas music and decorating the tree

going glam with the strand of pearls

:)

libby delighted in finding a perfect bough for every ornament.
barnabas liked being involved, too.


like i said, finding the perfect bough for each ornament. she takes decorating seriously.


aunt brett was our photographer, but she got to do some placing of her own.

the finished product. we missed you xander (while you were sleeping... and let's face it, that really was the ideal time trim the tree.)

Going with a Pro

So, little Xander may not have much hair on his head, but what he has had gotten...shaggy...again. The time came for us to take him to a professional, no more hair trimming out on the deck. Saturday morning, Libby, Xander and I each got hair cuts. Libby snapped some pictures of Katie cleaning up our handsome man.

This picture pretty clearly depicts the morning at the salon. Xander couldn't have cared less that he was getting his hair cut, but he did NOT want to be held for the whole 10 minutes it took to trim. Here, he shouts out to let us know he'd like to be down there with Libby. Meanwhile, she poses for the picture, just like a good girl, showing off her natural highlights, making the ladies at the salon quite jealous.

Our Thanksgiving Photos (in reverse order)

Okay, here they are. A few of the pics snapped while we were in Chicago, celebrating giving thanks with our family. We had a great time, cooking, eating, playing, shopping, tea partying, painting pottery, shopping, hitting up a museum, dining.... and everything in between. I know Jon and Sarah got lots of other great pics, so if you two email me any that stand out, I can post them too.



gross (at the museum of science and industry)

not a bad family photo, considering how many of us there are
and the fact that we assembled in record time. we miss you dan, daniel, and victoria!

libby's just been learning about the wright brothers, so this was timely

xander reading on the way home

lucy caring for xander

libby and em had lots of fun with these mirrors. okay, we all did!

sign these kids up for the circus!

libby and em in the john deere

em and libby at the museum

libby takes the wheel

in matching pink vests

libby drives a smart car

painting pottery on friday

libby had a BLAST

she painted a hot chocolate cup with a heart on the front. and lots of polka dots.
(she takes after mama)

xander climbing in a drawer at ikea

aaaaaaaaah, i don't think so mom.

checking for approval...

digging in. happy thanksgiving!

now that's a mouth full

cheers!

grandpa larry carves the turkey

lucy and dan, our gracious hosts

aunt em reads her thanksgiving story at lunch