gingerbread houses : two ways

We got to take part in TWO gingerbread house events this month!  First up was Grandma Maggie's gingerbread cabin, led by Heidi. 

Alli provided much-needed auntie assistance.

Mmmmmm...candy

 Henry admires Opal's masterpiece.

TaDa! Here's mine!

 We also got invited to our neighbor's gingerbread event.  They had baked the house pieces using molds that made some super-fancy houses!  Jamie was in charge of building this time.  Of course his house featured a pet dinosaur and a pond.

 

 I don't know what was more fun, the decorating or watching the 7 toddlers run around like crazy.  We're so lucky to have found awesome neighbors yet again!

Merry Christmas all!  We are off to celebrate with the Wiecks+Howell crowd.  Hooray!

OFF my knitting needles: The Clara Dress!

Finally finished : : the Clara Dress!  This adorable lacy baby girl dress was THE HARDEST thing I've ever knit. And the very last steps, which were the easiest, probably took me the longest. 

 This was knit with Isager Strik Alpaca 2 yarn.   More details here.

I'm really not the biggest fan of knitting with fingering-weight yarn.  But I love how it turned out and can check this off my list!

Back detail:

Are you a fellow Raveler? Follow me here! 

santa!

Yesterday we had a Sissy Christmas Brunch and went back to Swanson's Nursery in Seattle to see Santa again! 

  Simply cannot believe the changes in all three of these littles since last year.  Oliver especially looks 3 years older at least! 

 Blitzen, Dasher, and Curley (the camel) were back to assist Santa.

 We can't wait for Santa to come visit us in West Linn in a few days!

snow day

It snowed yesterday!!  Just enough to be pretty, and then it stopped and we were able to go to our Christmas party at night. :)

As we were exploring the yard, we heard happy shouts coming from the neighbor's house, so we went to say hello.  Not only did we finally get to meet the family across the street, they let us borrow the sled their twin girls had outgrown!

Big kids are so amazing.

Snow plows are also amazing.

 So thankful for our cozy house!

Wheeeeeee!

november...

We kicked off November with a trip to Grandma Mary's!  Two major things happened: Jeff and Jamie got Grandpa Fritz's "Hank" truck running (to be Henry's first vehicle), and we went to Fazzari's (of course). 

 

 

We tried to take some nice outdoor family pics, but this one isn't really into sitting still when there's a ball to be played with.

 

While we were in Eastern WA, there was a big storm at home.  We came home to find this giant branch impaled in the lawn!  Yikes! 

 We got some good use out of our zoo membership in November with three trips!  Henry's favorite thing at the zoo?  Water (WaWa).  Who cares about the animals--where is the water in each exhibit?  And did you see that PUDDLE over there?

Why won't these kids play with me, mommy?

 Probably the most exciting thing that happened in November was hosting Thanksgiving!  It was a GORGEOUS sunny and cold day and Jamie made an amazing turkey!

More outdoor pics.  One of these things is not like the others....

More smile-coaxing (ineffective):

We hope you had a Happy Thanksgiving!

october!

Oh hi!  I'm back.  Let's catch up, shall we?  Here's what was going on with us in October!

 We spent a lot of time playing (and raking) in our new yard!

 

  It was fun just to gaze at our gorgeous yellow-orange-and-red tree!

Henry's slide

The puddle love begins.

Helping Daddy (airplane!)

Deer!

Backyard farming

Our dear friends Sara and Greg got married at one of the most beautiful venues ever, on the nicest fall day you could ask for!

 

Once we were finished unpacking after the move, there suddenly seemed to be a LOT of "spare" time.  So Henry started a Co-Op preschool (1 day a week--I go with him.  It's like playtime you pay for).  It was fun celebrating Halloween and going to the pumpkin patch with his class!  

Halloween fun with PEPS friends

And a wild Halloween party at our place -- including watching "Ghost Busters" in the barn (brrr).

Other than all those exciting things, it was just a whole lot of this:

 

Life with a toddler!