Breakfast with Santa

In Houston this year for Christmas, we went to the aquarium for Breakfast with Santa with the Wood family.



Audrey geared up for Christmas by watching Wonder Pets Christmas episodes non-stop on the drive to Houston.




There was a tank right by our table with Santa in it. Audrey and Kylie are both still skittish around Santa, so we weren't able to get a good Santa picture this year.



Ethan in his carrier while we ate breakfast.




There are a bunch of outdoor, carnival-style activities. Nunner and Uncle Allen both won prizes!




And a train! Here's the kids on the train (Audrey looked more excited in person).




Audrey had to go into the bounce house. Kylie was uncertain at first, but eventually gave it a try also (ah, peer pressure starts early!). They both ended up liking it.

Lil' Gymnast

There's a place near our house that has those giant, inflatable bounce houses for kids to jump around in. Amber and Audrey go there fairly often, and Audrey now plays exclusively in the "big kid" area, being bored with the age-appropriate toddler area.



This slide is way too big for her, but she loves it and we can't tear her away :)


Ethan and Daddy waiting in the wings, with a first aid kit and apple juice.


A video of Audrey on the crazy slide!

Winter Wonderland

We went to a little event here in Cedar Park before Christmas called "Winter Wonderland". It was a cold, cold night, but the promise of "snow" was too appealing to pass up. The "snow" turned out to be some sort of synthetic, jello-like substance, which was very slippery. But it was still very fun!

Audrey's Table & Chairs

This isn't the best picture of Audrey, but it's a good picture of the table and chairs that Grandma Karen gave Audrey. Audrey loves them! Here she's coloring, but she also often eats lunch and dinner there.

Conversations with a Toddler

Amber and I are still processing pictures from the Christmas break.... I'll put some up shortly.

In the meantime, I figured I'd entertain you with random funny things Audrey says these days.

• If Amber is sleeping in on a Saturday morning, Audrey will ask "Where Nunner go?" and exclaim "I found you Nunner!" when Amber wakes up.
  
  
• I think her longest sentence to date is still "Where old car go?" when we rode in the Odyssey the first time.
  
  
• The other day I caught her stuffing her toy Dinosaur into a magazine rack saying "I hiding". Indeed, she hid it so well we both forgot where it was for a week.
  
  
• Spontaneously she'll say things like "I luh you, daddy". This is often accompanied with a back rub.
  
  
• When I was sick over Thanksgiving, I remember coughing in front of Audrey. Afterwards she patted my back and asked "Ok, daddy?"
  
  
• Grandma Karen got her a doll house that has a little family of dolls. She understands that one doll is the "Nunner" and one is the "Daddy" and so on. One time she was playing with the child doll and the Daddy doll and recited the following conversation:
  Child: "I stuck!"
  Daddy: "I help you!"
  
  
• She's easily excited about food. For example:
  Amber: "Honey, do you want some cheese?"
  Audrey: "Yeah, chi! I luh chi!"
  Unfortunately her enthusiasm is often just lip service, and she ends up not eating the food after all.
  
  
• On the topic of food, here's two other Audrey words:
  cummer = cucumber
  ah-ju = apple juice
  
  
• It's funny how sometimes her broken English employs unintentional satire. Yesterday I took her jogging and she made fun of me the whole time. She'd ask "ok, daddy?" when I got winded and mimic my panting with her own deep breathing. Then there's the occasional "you did it!". The worst, of course, is "good girl!".
  

Mommy's Little Helper

We're very fortunate that the kids seem to like each other. Audrey loves "the beebee". She's always patting him on the head and hugging him. He likes her too, and smiles and laughs at her antics.



Tummy time together





Watching TV together



Huuuuug



Sometimes she helps him bounce in his jumper. We have to keep an eye on her so she doesn't get over enthusiastic.



Here's a brief moment of her feeding him. Man, I wish she did this more often...



We started bathing them together now. Sometimes Mommy puts Audrey to work washing Ethan's hair.




Audrey's been very affectionate lately (maybe it's being sick?). Kisses and hugs for everybody!



Audrey likes to jump with Ethan. He thinks this is absolutely hilarious.



Here they are on his play mat together. Yes, Audrey can eat an apple by herself now.





More tummy time... SMASH!

Gobble gobble; cough cough

Here's some pictures from Thanksgiving day, which Audrey and I spent sick.



It was Ethan's 1st Thanksgiving!




Amber went ahead and made all the food, since we already had it on hand. Everything turned out wonderfully.




"Daddy, daddy, come play. Eating is for wimps"




The kiddos together in their Thanksgiving garb.



Ethan relaxing in daddy's chair. The lamb behind it is new--Audrey broke our old one.



"Move out of the way, Mom; you're blocking the game. Oh, since you're up, why don't you grab me a beer."

Early Christmas Photos

We set up the tree a few weeks back. Amber immediately took some pictures of the kiddos under the tree :)