We returned from spending the holidays in Yellow Springs and had our own little "3rd Christmas morning" at our house in Cleveland. Elise got a new baby that pees (it pees a lot and very quickly!) after you feed it...
Nora got the castle she always wanted (we think)
Naomi got her ice cream maker and Jeni's cookbook (which is great for everyone!)
Chris got some awesome stuff too, including beer brewing equipment, but more on that later.
We had a silly dinner with lots of photo ops:
Big smiles!
Silly faces!
Surprised face!
We call this one "girlfriend!"
Papa & Nora
Kisses from Lisi:
Elise carefully honing her craft (you've got to watch this one - she goes from peaceful artist to crazy paint throwing toddler in the blink of an eye!).
Nora & Elise cuddle up for a movie:
Grandma & Grandpa B got us a couple new sleds for Christmas. This one has been the early favorite:
Chris probably did about 30 laps around our backyard!
Elise is becoming quite the chef...
And mama!
Naomi took the girls to the Science Center after Nora decided to take a "mental health day" off from school. Elise has really taken a liking to the huge ball pit.
Elise also really likes going "naked bum" and making more silly faces!
Naomi & Elise shared another birthday weekend this January and our little Lisi turned 2!
Naomi cranked out another awesome cake and a whole mess of yummy cupcakes
I'm happy to report that Elise did not make it through this whole serving, but she gave it a winners try!
Celia helped Elise along, but in the end, the cake won
Grandmas & their girls!
Elise got a special package in the mail from Grandpa Rex... her very own iPod!
With complete objectivity, I must say that Elise is the most amazing 2 year old I know. She speaks like a 4 year old and is silly and strong willed and creative and smart. She has an amazing ear for music and seems to have new songs memorized after hearing them only once or twice. She knows the alphabet and can count to 20. She and Nora fight occasionally, but have found a nice comfortable place lately and often play for hours together - their current favorite game is "Mama and baby" where one of them is the Mama and the other is the baby who just crawls around and wants to nurse all the time (Elise as Mama can be heard frequently stating that "Mama Mums have to go to work now"). Those two are exhausting, but man oh man do they bring us joy.
Elise's stats at 2 are 32", 23lbs (about 8th percentile in the standard chart or 25th percentile on the WHO chart). What a little munchkin - small but mighty! Nora is 40.5" and 37lbs (50th percentile).
So, about that beer brewing kit... the first batch of home brew (a porter) was ready for bottling in late-January. Steve & Nora helped Chris siphon from fermenter to bottling bucket.
Beer five! It's a success!
Nora and Elise say you deserve a nice snack and a cuddle after getting through the whole month of January!
See you in February!
What's that? You want to know about Chris and Naomi too? Well...ok.
What are we listening to this month? Stars ("Set Yourself on Fire"), Mumford & Sons ("Sigh No More") and Iron & Wine ("Around the Well").
What are we reading? Chris read his beer brewing books and Naomi read practically her entire ice cream cookbook, but we also both started Hunger Games and Chris read Liar's Poker.
What are we watching? Catching up on The Office, got into Once Upon a Time and The New Girl, and Naomi continued her obsession with vamps, wheres and other supernaturals via Vampire Diaries and the Gates (the latter didn't last, which was for the best).
What are we thankful for? Our beautiful family most of all. Secondly, our big old house b/c we got A LOT of stuff over the holidays! We're in desperate need of a good spring purging. And, of course, we're thankful for you!
