Baked

I hope that this cookie party becomes a tradition. Just pick any Sunday in December- I'll hang with Vansen and watch football, maybe walk around Telegraph Ave if it's sunny, and you guys bring home some sweet treats fresh from Grandma's oven. 

Yup, sounds good. 

Sit-ups

So we inherited this chair from Kainoa. I've seen them around, but we never used one with Huelan so I'm not sure if we're doing it wrong or he's just top heavy. 

Probably both. 

Mirror Mirror

Like many kids, both of ours just love the mirror.  Huelan uses any reflective surface and we'll frequently catch her scoping herself out dancing and posing in our mirrored cabinets, sliding glass doors, even the glass window in the oven door.  Vansen so far is the same- he just lights up when he sees himself in the mirror (though to be fair, he has no conception of his own reflection... yet).  We've supplied him with some kiddie mirrors he plays with, and if we want him to be in a good mood, we know that putting him in front of a mirror is a great way to do it- the vid above is a good case in point.  It's also captures his weird reverse-laugh.

We didn't use the baby carrier a lot with Huelan- one of us could be with her and free the other one up to do something.  But with two kids we've been using the carrier more, since Vansen's heft makes it so that neither of us can carry him in our arms very long.  The carrier frees up both hands, allowing us to at least clear the dinner table and tidy up around the house while holding him, so it will probably get a lot of use.  Thankfully, he seems to dig it, especially the occasional dance jam.

Multi-Lingual

Since about Thanksgiving, Vansen's definitely showed that he wants to join the party. Tons of social smiling and giggles galore. He doesn't quite have the laughing thing down yet- he makes most of the laugh noise on the inhale. Either that or we've been doting on his baby asthma....

The other new thing is this tongue- he  rarely has it in his mouth. He's just flapping it all around. Flat, pointy, up, down. The only constant is the drool. 

Logan James

Sunday we also got to stop in to meet Vansen's new little buddy Logan James, who was just three days old- THREE DAYS OLD!  He wasn't too interested in meeting us, but since we invited ourselves over he didn't have much of a choice. 

We popped in on Vivien, Jason, & Stella just in time to watch the last two minutes of the 49er game- the last game Jason will watch in its entirety for a while. 

HBD

With the two kids and the holidays, which feel a little more compressed this year because of the short time between Thanksgiving and Christmas, we feel like we've been hustlin a little bit lately. But we were able to celebrate Liz turning thirtysomething with a rich chocolate cake, a couple of scoops of eggnog icecream, dinner out, and a movie in a theater (thanks Grandma, Papa, and Sophia!). It's the little things....

We followed that up on Sunday with our first family trip to a Christmas tree farm. We bundled up the kids (it's been chilly here- like ice in the driveway chilly) packed up the car, bolted on the roof rack, and made our way to Sebastapol. It's kind of out of the way, but we thought it'd be fun. 

Not only did we cut down our own tree, but Huelan got a tractor hay ride, a pony ride, and a candy cane from Mrs. Claus. At the end of the day, when I asked her what her favorite thing was, she considered cafefully and answered, "I think all of it."  Yup worth the drive. 

One Track

The kid has just one thing on his mind. He knows when we're at the counter where I make his bottles. He'll hear me prepping up the formula and crane his head around to spot it. Once he does, he's locked in.

I'll lean him back, then let him reach his little overstuffed sausage link arms out to grab the bottle. He'll guide it, shakily like he's got the DT, to his pre-pursed lips then go to town. 

Ding Ding Ding A Ding A Ding Ding

Whatever it is the fox is saying, Vansen is digging it.