Happy New Year's Eve!

Seeing this on our phone just made it seem more real that we are about to begin a new year.

Lopsided At 34 Weeks

This little one loves to stay scrunched up in my lower left side, but he just decided to curl up - and out - even more. I can't tell if he is head up or down today, but it seems as though he is facing my back, which is good. We have a midwife appointment tomorrow afternoon, and we will, hopefully, have a better idea of his position.

'Twas The Week Before Christmas

It is the week before Christmas, and we are in full holiday bustle.  Last week, we visited the Sleepy Hollow Christmas Tree Farm so we could choose our tree for this year.  We quickly found the perfect tree, but G also found our perfect tree for a year or two hence.  We have to wait for it to grow up a little, but we think it is going to be a beautiful tree for us one year.

Chip with his favorite tree.

This year, he can touch the top with help.  We'll see how much it grows this year.

Our perfect tree for this year.

The lumberjacks.

Two little cuties getting ready for the annual family Christmas photo.

 On Friday night, we had our annual Christmas celebration with our great friends the Whaleys and the Soergel-Harrises.  All of the kids had a great time together and enjoyed the privilege of staying up very late - and the Blueberry got his very first Christmas gift from the Whaleys!

Five little ones who are sure to be on the Good List.

The littlest one's first-ever Christmas gift - adorable soccer star pajamas that say, "Mommy's Champ."

On Saturday, we celebrated the holiday with the bell choir.  I couldn't find the perfect gift, so I decided to make my own.  I went to Pinterest and found an idea under the heading, "25 Handmade Gifts Under $5." While thinking about how to go about creating coasters, I happened to turn on the television in the kitchen to an interview with the actress who played Zuzu in "It's A Wonderful Life."  At the end of the interview, they asked her to say her famous quote, and I thought that would make a wonderful start.  Here are the coasters I created:

Maybe next year I can make a 2012 version.

The famous quote from "It's A Wonderful Life."

Our church.

Another beautiful quote I found.

All bundled up and ready to gift.  Thanks to M for the beautiful photography.

After mass today, we visited Santa in Marietta Square.  It was quite a long wait - just shy of two hours - but as G declared afterward, "It was totally worth it."  Chip was able to ask Santa for the few things he wants this year - an archery set with target, a skateboard, the Pokemon Leaf Green game, the Pokemon Emerald game, and the Lego Star Wars Slave I set.

The Good boy with Santa Claus.

When we got home, Bun and Papa came over.  My dad helped M build the baby's crib, which turned out beautifully.  We'll share pics when a little more of the nursery is completed.  My mom came over to decorate cookies with me and Chip.  Everything came out tasting delicious!

The fruit triangles and the gingerbread men.  The one on the left with the "Mr. Bill" mouth is only a head.  G had stories behind a few of these cookies. 

The peanut butter and sugar cookies.  Notice the one miniature cookie on the left.  Those sugar cookies were cute little Star Wars pressed cookies that expanded just a little!

So now, we are in the home stretch before Christmas and wrapping up (no pun intended, but we kind of like it) a few last minute loose ends for the big day.  We hope you are having a wonderful week of preparation!

Hard At Work

G is keeping me company while I work. He is very good company. 

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All From One Junk Drawer

I found all of these in the drawer under the coffee pot while looking for a paper clip. I didn't pull out all the pencils, but that is a pretty impressive collection, as well. 

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Never Waste A Perfectly Good Day

Today was a wonderfully warm Monday, so Chip and I decided to postpone homework for a while so we could enjoy the fresh air.  We headed over to our local park, where G wanted to visit the little playground for a while.  He quickly found a friend who wanted to play ball with him.  After a while, we wanted to see what was happening on the big playground, so we went over and found a school friend there.

Around 5:00, it started getting dark and cold, so we came home.  G is now diligently completing his homework, and we're about to sit down for the beef stew I made this morning in the crock pot.

Special Delivery, Extra Special Boy

Now, here's what you want to see when you open a package!

It's actually the Tiffany china we ordered for the baby.  Matt's grandpa sent us a "congratulations" gift a while back, and we wanted to use it on something that would be a keepsake for the baby.  We are so happy with our decision and can't wait to see the little guy eating Cheerios out of that bowl.

In other news, the Chipster has been working very hard on his behavior lately.  On Sunday, we both left the kitchen after breakfast, and I heard the sound of dishes.  I went into the kitchen to find that G had cleared the breakfast table.  He put all of the dishes in the sink, put the family plate of pastries away, had washed the table, and was drying the table and washing the light over the table.  Sometimes, he is really, really wonderful.

A Very Pink Tradition

This is the third year that we've attended ridden the Pink Pig.  It has become a tradition with the Soergel-Harris clan, and this year we were lucky to have Wowo with us, as well.  There was no line for the ride, so we had time to shop a little (Hello, Godiva Candy Cane truffle!) before we headed out to dinner.  We even had time to stop by Tiffany at Phipps Plaza to order a very special gift for our son-in-tummy:

This year, dinner was at Maggiano's in the Buckhead section of Atlanta.  The food was so delicious, and we all had a great time.  We had a large round table in front of the piano player, who was very talented and even played the Charlie Brown theme song when the kids gave him tips.  Since I am trying to minimize my contact with alcohol during pregnancy and nursing, the waiter was kind enough to bring me a taste of chianti as a treat, which I really appreciated.  All of the others around us smiled a lot at our table's three kidlets, so they must have behaved themselves well.

As we have misplaced our digital camera, we decided to give the Nikon P7000 a try.  Thanks to our Amazon Prime trial membership, we ordered the camera on Wednesday and it arrived today.  Although it looks and feels like it's cheaply made, we are really impressed so far with its performance and capabilities.  Actually, we should say that its performance will be really great when we figure out how to use it!  Here are some pics from today:

First pic with the new camera.  These flowers were actually in shade, and I didn't use a flash. 

The pinkest tent in the world.

I hadn't yet figured out how to use the flash, but I think this one turned out pretty great.

Matty and Wowo.

Dani and Lindsay, with the Chipster in the background.

Making faces at themselves in the mirror tunnel.

Happy riders!

Three little piglets.

I believe he had just said, "Quincy, this is a serious picture!"  G with his ice cream.

What a crew.

We are looking forward to next year already!  We hope that you are also getting into the Christmas spirit already, and that you are finding ways to make this season extra special.

Cool

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Sent from my iPhone

Thanksgiving "Breakfast"

Matthew has a theory that we will get the most out of our Thanksgiving dinner if we stretch our stomachs at breakfast. Ever the obedient wife, I am doing my best to allow him to test his theory [by the way, I used that word the other day and G blurted out, "hypothesis.". That kid, I tell ya.]. I made the blueberry one yesterday and cranberry orange and chocolate muffins and cinnamon rolls today.

The turkey is brining, and the old-fashioned apple tart is in progress. The chocolate marvel pie is next. We are watching the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade on TV and having a great morning. Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

First Literary Reference

We are so proud.  G just made his first literary reference.  While playing Cuponk with his Daddy, he said, "You see, Saxonberg, I just moved my cup."  He was referencing From The Mixed Up Files Of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler.

That Time Of Year

Well, this year I have been banned from hanging the Christmas lights, what with my "condition" and all. However, the show must go on, so Matthew is hanging the lights for our annual lighting on Thanksgiving this Thursday. We can't believe how quickly Christmas is approaching.

First Real Game Of Scrabble

Chip and I just played "real" Scrabble, although we didn't keep score, for the first time. Yes, I helped him with the word at the bottom. Hey, a point is a point!

Star Student

This week, G is the star student in his class. He will get extra privileges, like lunch in the classroom with a friend on Tuesday. We hope that he feels special all week long!

Corkscrews And Canvas

Last night, I went with some friends to make a Christmas painting at Corkscrews And Canvas. I thought that it was a difficult painting, but since G's reaction this morning was, "Woah! Cool painting!" I guess I did okay.

Calm

On Sunday, I found G meditating in the shower to calm himself down.  He said that he likes the sound of the water because it's "quiet".  After his shower, he told me about some of the benefits of meditation.  For example, "When you are trying to figure out a math problem, you just meditate, and it helps you find the answer."

Time Change

With the time change, it is now light at the morning bus stop again. It's amazing how energetic the kids are at 6:58 am, with just a little light to wake them. Here they are playing football. Most of the kids are to the left of the frame, running around like maniacs.

Rewarded

After a day of FANTASTIC behavior, G earned a trip to Stars And Strikes. As it turns out, he is a fantastic bowler! Maybe all that practice on Wii Sports Result helps!

Happy Halloween 2011!

Here are some photos from Halloween.  This year, we had a little Ewok.  His little brother was "dressed" as the Death Star blowing up Alderaan.  

We carved our pumpkins before we went trick-or-treating.  G designed both pumpkins and helped to cut them; the first one says "Monsters are scary" and the smaller one has fangs.  

When it was time to go down to the annual neighbor get-together, G took the Star Wars pillowcase off of his bed to use for a candy bag.  When the sun set, he hit every house in the neighborhood with a group of other kids and had a great time.  Bun handed out candy at our house so we could both go walk the neighborhood with the Ewok.