8 to 16 inches

It is still snowing and the forecast for today is 8 to 16 more inches.

This is the side of our driveway.  Notice all the snow on the roof!

And here is a pic from inside!  There is so much snow it is even covering some of the windows!

 I don't mind it though because it is so darn gorgeous!  And probably also because I am not the one out shoveling snow :)  It hasn't snowed this much ever, so I am just trying to enjoy it!

Milestones for Madeline

We have noticed Madeline eyeing our food lately, and realized that it is about that time to be introducing her to a larger menu selection.  These are photos from her first time eating.  I bought the organic carrots at a farmers market, steamed them, tossed them in the food processor and froze them into baby portions.  Luckily she loves them!  I mean really loves them!  She was grabbing the spoon, trying to get more and more! 

Chloe even got a chance to feed her baby sister!  I just made her pureed butternut squash last night (week 2) and she also loved that!  So far no allergies, so we will stick to the squash this week and try maybe beets next week.  It will be interesting to see if Maddie will favor the same things Chloe did.  

 The second milestone for Maddie was watching her first Rose Bowl!  Go Ducks!

She loved watching them win!  Chloe was napping but got up for the last quarter.  She really likes the touchdowns, and also repeating EVERYTHING her Dad says, and also the way he says it...... His comments to the refs become her comments.... He edited himself pretty "darn" quick :)  It was pretty funny to hear a tiny little girl voice echoing Andrew's commentary though!  

Andrew also celebrated a milestone:  he joined the club of those of us missing our wisdom teeth.  If you can believe it, he never had any pain.  Doesn't that just kill you?  He took the pan pills for a few days, because the dentist told him it is way better to take them to keep the pain away than to chase it, but when he weaned off still no pain.  Some people have all of the luck.  I don't mean to make it sound like I wanted him to suffer, but come on, it was like he had a filling!  So not fair to the rest of us!  

By the way it is still snowing up here.  SO MUCH SNOW!!!!  That is the BBQ hidden under 3 feet of snow.  This is crazy!  I have to get a picture of our house too!  I will try to get it tomorrow!  

A Hawaiian Christmas

This year's Christmas Eve party theme was Hawaiian Christmas.  We had leis for everyone, mai tai's, and endless supplies of Hawaiian food, like Jim's amazing kalua pulled pork sandwiches on sweet Hawaiian rolls, teriyaki chicken with grilled pineapple,  fruit, cookies, cakes, it goes on and on......  It was wonderful!  Lots of friends and family came over to share in the evening.  It is just a wonderful event that Andrew parents put together each year. 

 It is nearly impossible to get a serious picture out of Chloe.  Always a silly face!

 Then after Christmas Eve was over, next came Christmas morning.  Chloe opened a lot of presents.....I mean a lot!  She loved every single thing!  She also loves all of Madeline's toys, which is a bit of a challenge, but manageable so far with a little redirection :)   

 Here is a cool magnetic airplane block kit.  Chloe had Andrew make probably 10 different airplanes that morning!

 Lacing games for dexterity were a fun surprise as well!

 Of course she now has new stuffed animals that she takes everywhere, names and talks to.  Here is "other bear" and "special bear".  She named them all on her own, and keeps their names straight.  She knows just who everyone is! 

By the way- Christmas eve is so much fun as a parent!  (yes we have been parents for two Christmases before this, but this was the first year Chloe knew what was going on, so it made it extra special for us).  We helped Santa stuff the stockings and put together a massive doll house.  We stayed up pretty late- maybe 1 or 2 am, but it was just so fun, we couldn't help ourselves!  The presents lasted for a week after Christmas.  We let her open a few each day, just so that she would really appreciate everything people got for her and not get too overwhelmed.  I try to pull out a different activity each day for her so she gets to play with everything, just not all at the same time.  The toy mess would drive me totally crazy otherwise!  Next year I think I will ask Santa for more storage!

Zoo Lights!

 We love the zoo.  In the summer time we go at least every week, often times more.  In the winter it is a bit tougher, since it takes a lot more prep to get out the door.  For zoo lights we thought it would be worth the extra effort.  It was a "warm" night.... about 25 degrees and snowing like crazy!  The zoo had lights up everywhere, and it was fun too see it festive and snow covered.  All of the animals are cold climate animals so they love it too!

You can see Maddie all bundled up in a snow suit, in the babyhawk, inside my jacket.  She stayed super toasty!  Chloe is in her new snow suit, loving the snow.  She would have been happy if we just stayed in the parking lot; she was less into the lights, more into the snow.  

 This next photo was my attempt at capturing Andrew and Chloe, but with all of the snow it was difficult to get a shot not obscured by snowflakes!

And just in case anyone was worried, here is the after shot of Madeline.  happy, safe and warm!

It was truly a white Christmas!  In fact I heard on the news that we are headed toward an all time record for winter snowfall in Anchorage.  It has been snowing pretty much every day, and I love it!  Of course I am not the one who snow plows the driveway on a nearly daily basis.... Andrew may have a different opinion about this snowy record :)

Christmas activities

It has been the busiest holiday season I can remember!  Here is a recap of some of our activities:

Chloe picked out our amazing Christmas tree!  They are spendy up here but worth it.  Especially since ours is a month old now and going strong!

 Maddie helped by sleeping and being adorable.

 She did wake up to help us start decorating but her early bed time kept her from finishing with us. 

 Chloe however could stay awake all night, and LOVED putting up ornaments!

 She also loves being without pants.  It is a good bet that if we are at home there will be a full moon out.

 putting up the star

 Playing in the newspaper pile left from unwrapping all of the ornaments.  This was our wintertime version of playing in the fall leaves.  Due to Chloe's nudist tendencies this was the only picture I could post, but imagine her throwing the newspaper in the air, kicking it around and jumping in the pile.  

 Everyone says Christmas is best when you have small children, and finally this year I know what they mean.  Kids find joy in everything!  Chloe was fully aware of the whole thing this year from the carols to the stories to the presents.  It was awesome!