We celebrated Andrea's birthday last Sunday. Hannah is exactly a week old here.

She's a little sweetheart & we love her!

Sadie seems so big now! She is starting to verbalize - mamamama! Soon she'll be competing for attention with the boys.

Papa loves to hold his little Hannah. Elliot hangs out with them.

Grandma D comes over for a look...

... and a cuddle with baby Hannah.

She seems so alert for a newborn less than a week old.

Kitchen Demolition

  This is my kitchen as it appeared Friday afternoon.

 

  This is my dining room as it appeared yesterday afternoon.

 

One of the first steps is to move the fridge into the living room. The reason for this, being, that I will continue to use half my kitchen for possibly the next month before new cabinets are installed.

And beside the fridge goes the pantry that I will continue to use as well.

Then, let the demolition begin! Larry is attempting to find the "wire trail"...

... all along the wall.

The rest of the cupboards are removed next.

These will eventually make their way into Jay & Andrea's home to replace their 60's cupboards!

Once the cupboards are carefully removed, Dave & Jay get at the wall.

In short order, the wall comes down. It feels very strange to be able to look from the dining room straight into the kitchen!

Hannah Elizabeth

  Hannah brings her mom & dad over to check out our kitchen demolition! She is sleeping upon arrival...

 ... but begins to wake up! And, she's smiling! Actually, she had a much bigger smile a minute ago, but I missed it!

  Unfortunately, she had to leave and so her smile has faded.

Introducing Hannah Elizabeth!

Hannah arrived 13 days overdue at 1:59 this afternoon! She weighed in at 8lbs 1oz and 21 inches long.

We have fallen in love with her!

What a precious gift from heaven!

The Days Before Christmas...

Jonas & I got together one afternoon to do some Christmas "baking". We decided to make some puppy chow. It turned out quite tasty!

So tasty, that we packaged it up nicely and shared it three different ways. First, we went to see Papa at Decor, where we had apple juice & puppy chow. Then, we went over to grandma D's and gave her a little present. Then, we headed home and gave Jody a "surprise package"! I had intended to take pictures of each visit, but the moments passed too quickly. Well, at least we have proof we were together!

Andrea & I had talked about having lunch at Gingerwood Lane for quite some time. So, finally, the right opportunity came. Unfortunately, they were totally booked and we were without reservations. So, we decided to try 127 Mountain in Winkler. It's a house that's been turned into a cute little coffee & lunch place. They have simple, but tasty food.

We'll definitely go back there again and also, Gingerwood Lane! But, I think first we'll have a baby!

Preschool Christmas program

It was fun to watch Jonas perform with his classmates. Last year he just stood and observed everyone else. We can tell he is a year older! This year he was fully engaged - very seriously singing the little songs and reciting the cute poems! The program was a full 10 minutes long and jam-packed with action.

I was hoping to get a close-up picture of him in his cape and hat, but the teachers quickly removed them and whisked them off the minute the program ended! Probably very wise on their part as juice and goodies followed immediately!

Papa telling Jonas how proud he is of his performance.

Enjoying butter tarts together, Papa's favorite!

Family pictures

What should be so simple, turned out to be quite a challenge. We just wanted a picture of us with the grandkids. With 5 people in the picture, any number of things (at least 5) can go wrong! On this one, Jonas was spontaneously silly!

So now Elliot gets shy and Sadie is watching him.

Now I have my eyes closed. Sadie is still watching someone.

There were more eyes closed in the next ones, but finally - we have a picture with which we have to be contented! At least everyone is looking at the camera! Oh the joys...

We traditionally pick out our Christmas tree the first Saturday in December. This year was no exception except that we didn't get it decorated until a few days later. Of course when the boys came over, they had to examine the ornaments closely and carefully.

They did well and not one ornament broke. Oh wait, maybe there was one that mysteriously lost a part of it! And then there was the one I dropped and broke. OK, that's not too bad!

Sadie seems to enjoy the tree, too! She received this little Christmasy outfit from friends in Texas who came to visit back in November.

As you can see, Sadie is sitting by herself, but fortunately, she cannot get at the tree on her own this year! But look out, next year!