Christmas 2009

These are photos from Christmas 2009, the first Christmas we celebrated in our new Lake Pointe house. It was a white Christmas, of course!





Here's Mommy and me and Skye cuddling in our big Morris chair and reading one of her many new books.

Mommy and daddy made an amazing Christmas dinner, with roast duck and cherry-port sauce, endive-pear-blue cheese salad, roasted fennel, and potatoes with figs!

Here's a video of Sophie discovering a new kitchen that Santa left for her!

I love my new kitchen! Thank you Santa!!!

A Wicked Cool Pillow Fort

Mommy and daddy's sofa in their bedroom is well situated for keeping an eye on the forest and watching for my deer and owl friends.  Here's me building a pillow fort and hiding in it. 

Chicago Shopping Trip

Mommy went shopping and Daddy and I hit the Chicago Children's Museum.  It was a wonderous place- I was captivated for 4 hours and didn't want to leave when the guard came at closing time to kick us out!

We had an awesome room at the Chicago Sheraton.  Very cool.  And we ate Giordanos' famous pizza!

This is the amazing view from our room of the Chicago river and Wrigley building

this was daddy's favorite exhibit at the museum:  A tall room where you could put together foam airplanes and helicopters and use a winch to haul them to the top of the room and drop them off!  Daddy and Sophie's helicopter design stayed afloat the longest, of course!  Hey, Uncle Kurt: try to beat our record of 32 seconds of flight time!!

I got to slide down the file pole!

I wanted to feed the T rex- he looked hungry

This was an exhibit where I got to dig for dinosaur bones.  It was very cool

I dressed the snowman- he looked cold!

The Blizzard of 2009

Daddy escaped to Dallas, but mommy and I survived the blizzard while playing inside for a snow day.  Mommy spent hours shoveling- I was so impressed!  After the storm finished, the house and our forest was trasnformed into a beautiful winter wonderland.  So daddy and I hit the slopes with our skis as soon as he got home!

Our front yard was breathtaking the morning after the storm

The house looks good- any season!

Our rain chain in the back has turned into a giant icicle!

Looking from the kitchen down the length of the great room.  It's extra cozy for the holidays

Our backyard- the deer still come around, but a little less freqently now

This is our living room sofa where the TV is.  The light reflecting off the snow and the absence of leaves makes it even brighter and cheerier than ever.

My Tree Tent

Mommy got me this really cool tree tent for Christmas!  I can fit and Skye and most of mommy!

Isn't cool?  Skye really likes it.  She sometimes sleeps in it when I go to bed.  It's like bringing my forest in from outside!

Thanksgiving Leftovers

Before I post the pictures from the snow and Christmas time, I wanted to get these last Thanksgiving photos loaded.

Here's the family on the stairs beneath our beautiful Chinese hawk painting

Great photo of me and Boppy and Dad-dad before they left for the airport

Do you like my party dress?

You do?  YAY!!!

Gran showed me how to make luminarias.  They are bags with dirt and candles in them.  We used them to light the walkway before our big Thanksgiving dinner.  Gran says that they are very common in Santa Fe, where she used to live and she will take me there some day.  Mommy wants to come, too, during Indian Market and the Santa Fe opera season.  Daddy wants to go, but just to eat green corn tamales and drink margaritas. 

Thanksgiving Photos

This is the amazing honey-lavender duck that mommy and Boppy made for Thanksgiving.  Dad said it was the best duck he ever tasted

Here I am with Gran making a gingerbread house.  I was totally obsessed with the idea of making a "house out of cookies"

The Final Product! 

Go Hawks!

On November 15th, daddy took me to the opening game of the season for the Iowa Hawkeyes.  Sure, they're not very good, but hanging out with daddy in the arena was well worth the trip.  I got to see Herky, the Iowa mascot, and got to hear the band play the fight song.  Did you know that I can sing all the words?  Cool, huh?  My favorite part was hanging on the railing at the top of the arena and watching the action go on below.  We had courtside seats, but I preferred to be at the top row- I can run around more up there!

Owl Bed

Mommy got me really cool owl sheets to go along with my owl wall stickers and owl lamp.  I am surrounded by owls!  No wonder my owl stuffed animals in my bed are so happy. 

Here's me tucking in Lundy (named for London, where he's from) into bed.  To his right is the big owl, who I named "Owlasaurus" (Owl-dinosaur!) and to his left is one of my oldest owls, who doesn't really have a name.

Lundy is my favorite and is often my pillow at night.

I Spy Animals!

This photo is just first of many all week long that came out of Thanksgiving.  Boppy and Dad-dad came to visit, then Gran and Ada and Unca Mike came.  I even got to see Granmimi and visit the new baby goats on the farm!  Its been a great week full of signing, dancing, baking, and playing and it will take dad a few days to get all the cool pictures and videos together.  Until then, enjoy this one of me reading with Boppy.  She got me this really cool book called "I Spy Animals" where I get to pick out animals in many famous art painting.  It is so fun, I want daddy to take me to an art museum soon so we can see more!

Thanks, Gran!

Gran got me this great owl dress a while back, but I had been strangely reluctant to wear it.  I guess I was just saving it for the right moment.  Mommy helped me match it with a fuscia turtleneck and some wonderful tights.  Denali liked it too.  I am known at school as one of the most fashionable children there!  Thanks, mommy!

Planting Bulbs

This weekend we had the best November weather EVER!!!  It was 70 and sunny and felt just like summer again.  We were very happy to spend all day outside working in the garden.  We raked, we mowed, we cleaned, we walked the puppies, but most of all we planted bulbs.  Almost 500 tulips and dafodils went into the ground around the house and garden.  Daddy dug the holes, mommy carefully arranged the bulbs in their homes, and I helped by putting dirt on top of the sleeping plants.  Check out these pictures!

After all this hard work, Daddy took me to a musical at the Englert- The Rainbow Fish.  It was awesome!  I sat through the enture hour show, no problem!!

More From State College

Here's some more photos from my trip to play with Aunts, Uncles, and Cousins in Pennslyvannia.

Playing on the hill behind Spring Creek with Laura

Bath time with Harper

Champagne toasts in the wine cave, beautiful decorated with candles by my uncles.

A very yummy turkey dinner.  Harper and I eat better when we're together.  I guess its a competition thing.

"I put a spell on you!"

Carving pumpkins.  COOL!

The pumpkins on display!

Playing with cousins is hard work. . . .whew!