New Year's Eve date

Jason and I went to dinner at Pierpont's restaurant for New Year's Eve. It was a beautiful setting in the historic Union Station downtown. We like going there. Wish I had felt better that night (tummy troubles) but the dinner was good and the company the best ever! (and, sorry about the grainy cell phone pic...)

Playground in the Winter

Yes, it's the dead of January and we're going to the playground often. Can you believe it? Love it. I have also discovered how much of a "girly" girl Kate is. I sat her down in the dirt for a minute while I helped Jackson climb up onto the tallest slide and she looked at me like I was doing something terrible. She refused to touch it and plead (well, cried) for me to come get her off of it. Funny girl.

Scared of the train

Jackson loves trains. We can't read enough about them, watch enough "Thomas the Train" (although his favorite is James), and play with them enough. So, why when we took Jackson to see the amazing train display at Union Station in downtown Kansas City, did he refuse to ride on the train? No idea. But, he wasn't having it. Oh well. Maybe next year.

Christmas decor

I love Christmas. I love decorating for this wonderful holiday but found this year that I really dislike when Christmas lights don't work. Anyone ever seen Christmas Vacation? You know the part where Clark drumrolls and tries to plug in his lights and they don't work? Yes, that happened to me. Not once. Not twice. But so many times that most of our Christmas lights are in some city dump. But, when we finally got the lights to work on the tree (well, most of them anyway) and the stockings were hung, I loved how it turned out.

"See You Later, Sa!"

December 1, 2011 was a difficult day for our family. Our dear friend Theresa who's been helping care for Jackson and Kate since March 2010 returned home to Australia to help her ailing grandmother. I don't know who it was harder on: me or the kids. Lots of tears were shed at the airport. We love Theresa. She has been such a source of strength and comfort to us. The kids adore her like an older sister and she has become one of my very best friends. We are so grateful for all she has taught our children while she was here. Jackson always says "Sa, Back" when he wants her to come back from wherever she is is going and has said it numerous times since then. We wish Sa all the very best in her new adventures in Australia and can't wait until we see her again!

Christmas Lights and Jackson

Jackson is really into Christmas lights this year. I admit I've encouraged it. I love Christmas and all that comes with it and I guess I'm passing that excitement along to Jackson. Nearly each night we go out on foot, bike or in the car to look at Christmas lights. He is so thrilled when he spots them. He'll yell "Christmas lights" then say "beautiful." It's very precious. One late afternoon I took him to look at the lights on the bike. He wasn't thrilled because it was a bit cold and he had all of his snow gear on to keep him warm. His expression sums up his attitude towards the bike ride, but in the end he actually enjoyed himself. Jackson weighs about 30 pounds and is a bit over three feet tall. He knows and speaks as much Russian as English. His favorite things are fire engines, Thomas the Train anything, and bikes. He loves nursery now (Phew!) and making Kate laugh. He enjoys swimming, biking, climbing, running - all things active! He sings songs (I Love to See the Temple is his favorite) and says his prayers.

Update on Kate

Kate is now 10 and a half months old. Hard to believe how quickly she is growing up! She is cruising on furniture and crawling upstairs. She loves eating table foods and so far doesn't have any food she dislikes eating (although she's still allergic to rice and oats). She wants to do whatever Jackson is doing like reading, driving cars, talking on the cell phone, etc. She says "Da-Da" and "Mum, mum, mum". She likes to wave and clap. She loves getting her hair done and wore pig tails for the first time today. She weighs about 20 pounds and is about 28 inches tall.