Once in a Blue Moon

Once in a BLUE MOON something special happens:
Like a Steven turning 11.

Steven began his day with his breakfast choice: French toast with cinnamon and buttermilk syrup. Then, we packed a lunch to be eaten in the car and drove to San Francisco.
First stop-Ghirardelli Square for some yummy ice cream. Steven shared "Mint Bliss" with Justin. And Dave-o had his first taste of this yummy cold dessert.

Next, we walked to Pier 39 to see the sea lions, but they have mysteriously disappeared. The boys insisted we go inside the NFL Shop. They pointed out many items that they *sigh* "wish" they could have. There was even a retired Raiders Football player (Jeff Barnes) signing autographs in the store. We being 49er fans of course snubbed him.

By this point, everyone's little and big legs were tired of walking. On our trek back to the car, we picked up some clam chowder "to go" for dinner.

From the warmth of the car we said hello to the the Golden Gate Bridge promising a visit soon.

And got home in time to welcome Uncle Michael, Emily, Grandma and Grandpa Zinn, and the missionaries who came to help us eat the clam chowder and birthday pie.

Presents were opened: Link DS game, Nerf gun, hover soccer disc, remote control car, Shark shirt, bug vacuum, toy frog, and toy dinosaurs.

Steven said goodbye to his guests and excitedly watched the 4th Harry Potter movie for the first time.The movie ended with time still left till the new year. We spent this time trying to figure out how to burn down Steven's gingerbread house. It's harder than I thought it would be. Lighter fluid would have come in handy, but alas, we were out. So, with hair spray, a LOT of napkins and oil, Steven finally got a nice fire started. We watched the house collapse while the candies turned to "molten lava" (as James described it). Kirsten and Steven roasted marshmallows over the flame.

Soon we heard shouts of "Happy New Year" along with fireworks and horns. Hugs and kisses were exchanged, all under the light of the magical Blue Moon.

The kiddos went to bed along with a staggering and hiccuping David (and he wasn't even drunk). I laid on the couch to wait for my Justin to return home from the New Year's Eve dance. When all of my children were safely in their beds, I went to mine silently mourning the end of 2009.

Happy Birthday

my Steven!

Earthy Food

It appears that Dave-o is into "Earthy foods" these days.

* I know...I should have stopped him, but my momma always said that God made dirt, so dirt don't hurt.

Seven Months

What is Dave-o up to now that he's seven months old?

• Eating baby food: So far, Dave-o has liked everything we've put into his mouth.
• Drinks from a sippy cup
• Can sit without toppling over (most of the time). Dave-o will occasionally do a face plant because he's trying to figure out how to grab something far in front of him.
• Can click his tongue.
• Says, "BaBa" and "DaDa"
• Loves Peek-a-boo
• Loves watching cars pass by
• Hates his carseat and stroller, still
• Loves bath time (especially Mr. Rubberducky). For Christmas, I bought Dave-o a cool monkey that you wind up to swim in the water. I thought he would love it. But he could care less about the monkey. He just wants to suck on Ducky.
• Hates getting his clothes changed
• Loves hitting things with his right hand (only if it makes a sound), like the kitchen table or a chair. Dave-o won't do this with his left hand though.
• Gets very upset if we eat in front of him without sharing
• Can get into the crawling position, but doesn't know what to do after that
• Plays with my hair while nursing
  

• And, Dave-o now sucks his thumb. A couple of weeks ago, it was his two middle fingers. But, this past week he has rediscovered his friend. I've never had a child start sucking a finger this old.

Christmas 2009

This Christmas, Santa brought:
Kirsten a camera .........Justin a football and gloves

James and Steven a ripstick

And Dave-o a ride-on/push wagon

I got boots and David got rare earth magnets.

Justin, James, Steven, and Kirsten got up at 6:30am Christmas morning.
By the time Dave-o awoke (7:30am), we were finished opening our presents.

Christmas would not be complete without David making his danish pastries.
And in the evening, we drove to Atherton for Christmas dinner.

Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve dinner was spent at our house this year. I was so excited to have all the family over. The original count was 22 people, but then we got a call that day from Michael saying that he and his family wouldn't be able to come because Emily was sick (although Michael did end up coming with Owen for a little bit). The meal was Kahlua pig, rice, salad, and rolls. And for dessert, apple pie, s'more brownies, and key lime pie.

Love this picture of Grandma and Owen!
Now that's a bottle!

After the food had a chance to settle, the kids performed The Nativity
(Mary-Megan, Mark-Joseph, Kirsten-Angel, Mary-Shepherd, James, Steven, and Melissa-the 3 Wise Men, and David as the narrator).

When everyone left, we hopped in the car to reveal our identity to the LaCroixe family. They were the recipients to the 12 Days of Christmas that we like to do each year.
Once home, I laid a VERY tired Dave-o down for bed. Then we opened our secret pal gifts. I had James this year and David had me. He got me the BBC Jane Austin movie set. After this, the kids voluntarily went to bed, knowing that Santa can't come with them awake.

Tide Pools

On the Eve of Christmas Eve, our family met the Shaw family at Natural Bridges. Most of their family had never been there. It was a lot of fun seeing them experience sticking their finger or whole fist in a sea anenome for the first time. A few (Justin and Mary that I know of) took a few spills on the slippery rock. And a lot of us got wet from waves splashing us when our backs were turned. But it was a lot of fun exploring.

The group...........................Melissa challenging the power of the ocean.

Our easy going Dave-o..................James' cool discovery

The newlyweds (Becca and Mitchell)

Megan and Melissa

Steven and Mark enduring numb feet as they braved the icy cold water.
(Awww...To be a kid again.)

And you can't go to the beach without leaving behind a message in the sand.

Fun in the Sun

Megan and Melissa

Mary, our ballerina

Steven

At one point, I was taken off guard by a wave resulting in my pants and shoes getting soaked. My camera lens was affected as well (although I didn't know it at the time). All of these pictures have blurry areas where my lens had water spots. Oh well.