Christmas Time is Here

December is upon us, and we are gearing up for our first ever Christmas in Montana. It is amazing the we have lived in Montana for almost 8 years and have never celebrated Christmas here. For all of Addisons life, we have not had a tree in our house, or hung stockings. We are excited to start some of our own traditions with our kids this year. So far we have been out to the "wild" to cut down our tree. I had very low expectations, but our tree is one of the most beautiful I have had ever. I think the process of tromping through the woods with the kids, and finding the perfect tree makes it all the more beautiful to me. We have also started the count down with our advent calendar, and are trying to do daily advent readings along with lighting the advent wreath. This becomes a little difficult with a three year old, but we are trying.

This also marks the first year that Addison has not been terrified of Santa, and was even excited to have his picture taken with him. Abigail on the other hand screamed her head off (as you can see.)



We went on the Santa Train again this year, it is fun for Addison to get onto a real train, and although the train does not actually go anywhere, he had a blast sitting in the seats and looking out all the windows. Like last year, they gave every kid a hat, gloves and scarf.




Abigail seems a little oblivious to the whole Christmas going ons, she won't even touch the tree, I don't think she likes how it feels. But she looks very cute in all her Christmas duds, some of which she has been wearing for the past month because I was afraid she would grow our of them before Christmas arrived.


Here is her new favorite sleeping position


This past weekend, we had my company christmas party up at the Double Arrow Lodge at Seely Lake. Despite the weather (it was snowing and -4 without the wind chill when we arrived there)we had a wonderful evening and stayed the night in a great cabin. Bart played Santa for the second year in a row, and although he didn't let on at the time, Addison did know it was daddy. I asked him where daddy was, and he said "Santa is daddy." Evan Abbi warmed up to him, looking a little confused that her daddys voice was coming from a very weird looking man in red.




Another fun thing we have done this winter season is put up a bird feeder outside out front window. We are apperently the only one for miles, because there are literally swarms of bird that decend on it throughout the day. I counted 8 birds on it at one time today. At this rate we will be filling the bird feeder about 2 or 3 times a week. Aren't birds supposed to fly south for the winter??

More Christmas Pics to come!!!

November Already

Where does the time go. It seems that Halloween was just yesterday, and now I am realizing that November is almost half over, and Christmas is only 6 weeks away. What is even harder to believe is that Abigail is almost 9 months old! She is changing so much each week right now. She is now crawling all over the place, and pulling up on anything that is within reach. She has taken several tumbles because of this, and I am sure they won't be her last. We are placing bets as to when she will start walking. She is crawling about a month and a half sooner then Addison was, so if that transfers over to walking..??? Let us know what you think. Bart's money is on 12 months, the same as Addison. I am betting on closer to 11 months.
Addison is also changing. His imagination is taking off, and I get to witness his turning into a rocket, or a dog at any given moment. I have also learned that we now have a toy store in our house called Freddies. The location changes with where Addison chooses to build the store each day. Some days it has a bed and kitchen, and other days it is just a pile of toys in the middle of the living room. Today he is Buzz from Toy Story, and he is jumping (flying) off the couch, chairs and his bed. Crazy boy! I can't wait to see what he becomes tomorrow.

MOVIE TIME

Our kids are growing up so fast, here are some new tricks for both of them. We cant wait to see what is next!!

October Pics

This has been a crazy month, and it has flown by. Here are some pics we have compiled from the month.
If you look closely at Addison's lip, you will see the result of his headlamp snapping back into his face. It was the first injury that really had me worried, not because it was really that bad, but because I knew he would forever have a scare from the incident. It is not that noticeable in this pic, but you can now see the beginnings of the scar to come.

My parents and brother came to visit a few weekends ago. It was great having them here, and Addison is finding out how much fun Uncle Tim is.

This was Abbi's first tunnel experience, she loved it, and would squeal every time Addison would crawl in at the opposite end from her.


Addison was much more into carving pumpkins this year, and even helped clean out the inside. It didn't hurt that power tools were the carving tool of choice this year.


We took the following pictures at the farm down the road. We tried very hard to get a good pic of the two kids both looking near the camera and smiling, but it didn't happen. Getting a three year old to hold still for more then 3 seconds is almost impossible. Especially when there are pumpkins to look at and hay bales to climb. We got some cute pics anyway.

Abbi on the move

Yes it is true, Abbi has started crawling, well she is scooting around on her belly comando style. She also is officially in the middle of her first ever cold, and cut her first tooth, what a week! She is now 18 lbs., and cuter then ever. Here she is showing the world!!

Big Day's for Addison

The begining of this month marked two big days for Addison. First, the day after Labor day, Addison started preschool. He is going to a Christian preschool run by a lady who goes to our church. He is going two days a week, and absolutely loves it. In fact, the first day he was out of the car and to the door of the school before I even had my door open.


Then, on September 6th, he turned 3 years old. It was quite the day. We had our first Gymnastics class of the year in the morning, then were joined by friends at our house for a afternoon of sun, fun and of course, the waterslide. There were 4 boys age 4 and under, and it was so much fun watching them play and interact. It was amazing to me to look at the boy Addison has become. He is no longer a baby or a toddler. He is a little boy, Mr. Independent, and loving life. We are so blessed by him, and so excited to see what God has in store for his life.

To Seattle

We had a great trip to Seattle the last week of August. Great in that we were able to spend some quality time with family and friends. Not so great in that it was sunny only two out of the ten days we were there. Here is a glimps at our time there.

Abbi's first time at the Summer Home on Mercer Island

Daddy and Addison playing in the water

Uncle Tim taking Addison for a swim

Addison and his good friend Colin. Colin is the son of Barts friend Aaron, and these two boys play together so well and so hard, you would never guess they only see eachother a few times a year.

This is the last picture that was taken of my Grandma before she passed away on Sept. 7th. She is greatly missed, but I will cherish the fact that she was able to see and enjoy both of my children before she passed.

Our good friend Janet lives in Kingston, WA, and it is always an adventure going to her house, with a ferry boat ride, and exploring the beach out in front of her house.

Grandma Carnes

Uncle Tim and Abbi

Grandma Nygard