Julia woke up crying today. I asked her why she was sad and she gave me a real answer (not her 3 bears stories excuse). She told me it was because I took the Christmas trees! Oh, that was so sad. We bought a set of little fake Christmas trees this year. I was never able to put them away because she wouldn't let me. Finally I did it a few nights ago while she was in bed. She didn't notice until the next evening and was quite surprised and angry that somebody had taken them. I was able to distract her and I hadn't heard anything about them since, until this morning. I told her I was sorry about the Christmas trees but that we would decorate for Valentine's Day. She didn't think that was anything great. The next thing she said seemed out of the blue. "I want a real baby." She had a baby doll sleeping with her and I asked if she meant one like this and she said no and I asked if she wanted one like Henry (my cousins' baby that we babysit) and she said yes. I told her she takes good care of him and if we had a real baby she would take good care of him too. I told her she would be a good mommy. She said, "No, I'm not a mommy." I said, "I mean you're a good big sister." and she said, "Yes, I am." I love sweet morning conversations while cuddled with my babies in bed.

Pics from the Beach

Here are a few pictures we stole from Grandma and Grandpa Wainwright. Unfortunately we lost our camera in the ocean. :( Luckily we still have these beautiful pics of Julia running in the waves. I'm very sad we lost the pictures of Liam crab crawling all over the sand.

Julia in kayak with Grandpa. This picture is too small but you can almost see her cheeks pulled up in a big grin. She's fearless.

Liam was generally far away from the crowd. He liked to explore and walk in the sand and follow birds and dogs.

He was always so excited to see birds. He kept following them, pointing and saying, "nother one, nother one!"

Daddy bringing Julia back from the kayak. If you asked her, she'd tell you she's not cold. Notice daddy's wet suit and gloves!

This is one of my favorite pictures.

Julia loved running in the waves.

Pay it Forward

Pay It Forward

Read closely...this is how it works...
The Rules
1. Be one of the first THREE bloggers to leave a comment on this post, which then entitles you to a handmade item from me.
2. Winners, you must post this challenge on your blog, meaning that you will Pay It Forward, creating a handmade gift for the first THREE bloggers who leave a comment on YOUR post about this giveaway!
3. The gift that you send to your Three Friends can be from any price range and you have 365 days to make/ship your item. This means you should be willing to maintain your blog at least until you receive your gift and have shipped your gifts. And, remember: It’s the Spirit and the Thought That Count!
4. When you receive your gift, please feel free to blog about it, sharing appropriate Linky Love!
If you are not one of the Top Three Commenters on this post, you can still play along. Please take the button and post it on your blog; start your own Pay It Forward chain, and encourage your blogging friends to do the same!

like sister like brother

But it doesn't make any sense!

Liam's answer to my questions now is, "cuz...stories...see...bears."
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I can't remember if I already wrote this.
When Liam doesn't like something he says, "yike it." When he does like it he says, "I yike it." When Liam doesn't want something he says, "want it." When he does want it he sayd, "I want it."

I love when my little ones talk to each other. There is something so sweet about the way Liam says Julia's name, and I adore when she calls him "little buddy."
Liam has become quite a copy-cat. Julia always comes up with cute things to say, and Liam mimics them so we get twice the cuteness around here. Julia has a new phrase for when she is happy or excited about something. "Oh goody gosh!" sometimes, "oh goody goody gosh!" Its super cute. I don't know where she came up with it, but I love it. Liam copied "gosh" last night, and this morning mastered, "goody goody gosh." How can you not love these kids!

Snow is falling all around, on the rooftops on the ground.
Snow is falling everywhere, on my nose and hands and hair.

Has it been snowing all day? I think it has. Each time I look out the window. ugh. I'm ready for some warmer weather.

Well, we made it back from our fabulous trips. We spent a few days at a cabin in Idaho for Christmas with my family. We had a great time. It was a wonderful break. Great time to unwind and just "chill." Seriously it was freezing outside, but nice and cozy inside. I actually enjoyed being snowed in. We also got to go snowboarding - which for me was the first time and I loved it. The kids enjoyed Christmas. Julia knew exactly which presents were hers (the ones wrapped in pink or purple and bows) and made a little stack for herself. Liam didn't really get into the unwrapping, but he loved playing with all his new toys, especially some sticky lizards he got in his stocking. I wish I had pictures to share, but tragically, we lost our camera on our next trip, so, no pics for now, but I'm planning on gathering some from family. I'm most sad about losing the video of the kids playing in the snow. Liam was hilarious. The snow was above his waste, so obviously he couldn't walk. But he loved to roll around in it pretending to be stuck. He kept saying over and over as he rolled, "Oh, No! Oh, No! Oh, No!" It was great. Julia is my little ice angel. The cold doesn't bother her. She would play outside for hours if anyone would stay out with her. My brother built her a snow cave which she loved and spent a lot of time in. She also loves eating the snow. She keeps getting in trouble for eating the shoveled snow on the side of the drive-way, or the snow that comes in the house and falls off peoples shoes.

Our next trip was to California to spend time with Mark's family for New Year's. It is their family tradition to camp at the beach with aunts and uncles and cousins. It was a lot of fun too, though fog and cold kept us a little closer to the fire and further from the waves. We did spend one full day playing on the beach and had a great time. Julia loved chasing the waves in and out and in spite of the cold spent a lot of time in the water. She'd get knocked down by a wave and jump up, shake it off and run and play some more. Liam was more interested in the sand. He spent a lot of time crawling, walking, digging and climbing in it. I think he really liked the texture. He also loved watching the dogs and especially the birds. Poor kid, he kept trying to get close to them but they would eventually get chased away by other rowdy kids. He kept following them saying, "Wait, wait, wait." The kids had a great time with their cousins. I'm really glad we got to go. Just sad I dropped my camera into the ocean.

Well, the new year is now in full swing. Perhaps if I get around to it, I'll mail out Valentine cards instead of Christmas cards or new year's newsletters. =) Maybe. Don't hold your breath.