This post is a jumble for a variety of reasons. I'm compiling photos from two different computers. Photos taken by two different cameras. Photos that were taken over a month ago! So things aren't so much in order, and I'm sure I don't remember the punch line for each one...but here's my effort to catch up!
We did enjoy a happy holiday season. Very busy, but very fun. :) But this post dates back further than the holiday season. First, we started off December with a "bangs"...
That's right. My bangless Mattaya was caught with a scissor in the bathroom. Thankfully, she hadn't been at it long and her hair was back in a ponytail and she was cutting "with the grain". I saw the pile of hair and started to lecture. I took her ponytail out...and started to panic when A BUNCH of hair came out in my hand.
Yep, looking completely out to lunch. :) You can't really see the damage. And thankfully it wasn't as awful as it could have been. If I part it on the left and put a couple clips in, people can't even tell. :)
As to what inspired her, it was Elmo's World that morning. It was all about hair, and there was a segment where a little boy went to the barber. Apparently that looked terribly intriguing to her, and she was compelled to follow suit.
Burger time!
Baby's first burger
So this is how bad your window has to be before they will replace it. It was completely rotted through and hollow...all kinds of ice (and some wind) coming through. I thought they were going to take care of it last fall, but they called in DECEMBER to come replace 2 windows! Bit chilly for that, don't ya think? ;)
Little Miss Taya sat on her stool, eating her frozen peas...
"Pig-tails make me want to SING [opera]!"
Makenna was starting to get her feet beneath her and was enjoying pushing the cart around...but needed some help with steering.
Grampa Dave and his girls
(As you can see in the background, we got some new neighbors...)
In the tub/pool, these sunglasses sub as GOGGLES.
Makenna: "You are always such a ham."
Makenna: "Well, just watch me whistle..."
Rub-a-dub-dub
Makenna was great with the tree. She enjoyed looking at it but never had any issues with touching it. Whew!
Mattaya LOVED the Christmas tree this year.
Matt's desk at work
Matt has a few friends at work who like to send treats home for the girls. Mr. Torr sent this lollipop home for Mattaya. (She liked it.)
So Mattaya sent Mr. Torr an orange lollipop thank-you note. :)
The picture is blurry, but it's the only one I have of this particular must-mention event. Mattaya was on a Jonah kick. She would load up a sofa or a chair with stuff then tell us it was her camel and that she was going on vacation. :)
Riding the motorcycle with her faithful friend, George.
Using George Foreman Grill drain trays as skis!
During our holiday baking stint, she was pretty sure she needed to be wearing an apron at all times.
I heard some distressed cries and found this. I had every intention of helping her, but I wanted to get a few pictures first. ;)
With a little verbal encouragement, she actually figured it out on her own!
Making a mess under Mommy's desk.
Makenna: "Maybe if I don't make eye contact she won't see me."
Mattaya was helping me make peanut butter cookies. Somehow her "cookies" did not [in her mind] appear in any way different from my own neatly-rolled ones. :)
Makenna was pretty sure she needed one of the potatoes I was working with for dinner, so I shared.
Initially, she was excited to have gotten what she wanted.
But she discovered she really didn't like the slimy texture.
She kept trying, though!
First taste of popcorn.
And she's so sure she can do something with that remote!
Here you can catch just a glimpse of the mohawk/bangs.
Kenna's curls
This girl loves, loves, LOVES to leave the house. And ya ought not leave without her, or you'll get an earful. When we do hand her the coat, she is THRILLED...
Clapping for coat time!
Matt's birthday is tricky since it falls just before Christmas. We tried to plan a mini party, but there were just no good dates. So I planned a super tiny surprise party for him. And he was SURPRISED! My parents...Luke, Becca, and Benton...Keaton and Valerie...and Micah were all able to make it.
Matt got a little silly with the pictures while we waited for Dad to go vouch Luke and Becca onto Base.
Matt and Valerie
Matt and me
Matt and Keaton
Matt and Micah (aka Moka)
And Micah whipped out a surprise of his own: Groovy Cake.
Our girls were already in bed, so Benton got to soak up the attention of all the ladies. ;)
Makenna's first crayon experience
Makenna: "Maybe if I scribble with my right hand, she won't notice I'm eating one with my left hand."
Mattaya continually wanted to decorate and redecorate the tree...and admire her handiwork over and over and over...
Connect Four was a new experience for Mattaya. She refers to it as "checkers" or "money in the bank". The main attraction is dropping the checkers into the grid. Glad she's easily entertained. Guess we'll work on reasoning and strategy somewhere down the road. ;)
She loves her some frozen peas!
First real ponytail!
This makes me smile. :)
Our little ladybug loves to brush her teeth!
The few that she has, anyway. She cut her bottom two teeth a while ago. And while I was anxiously watching for those top two, she sneaked in another one on the bottom! And THEN she cut a molar in the top right quadrant! Whaaaaat?
Mattaya called this "playing chocolate factory". :) She got to unwrap all the Hershey Kisses for the Peanut Blossoms.
And as you can see by the faint brown ring around her mouth, she was allowed to sample (one, just one).
Makenna was allowed to sample the finished product and went straight for the good stuff!
Wearing the kissy-pants outfit from Gramma Pam.
Let the record show that I did in fact make a restitutionary mitten cookie for Mr. Ryan R.
Ready to party with Grampa Dave's family for an early Christmas!
She was getting more and more steady--walking with just one hand held.
Biding her time until gift-opening by playing Wii bowling with Gramma Julie.
Makenna: "If I can hold your hand, I'll be your best friend."
Auntie Net gave Mattaya a new art apron that has narrow pockets for each of her markers!
Benton was all about precision. :)
Auntie Marlys gave the girls matching "big sister" and "little sister" pajamas!
Makenna: "Mommy, Mommy, Mommy, see my new puppy?! Press the button and make him bark!"
New lion and blanket from Uncle Larry and Auntie Cindy.
Giving some love to her new tiger.
Two cousins in a box
I think Gramma Mabel enjoys the White Elephant gifts as much as anything else! ;) These were some ooooooold glasses of Grampa Leon's. She just HAD to try them on.
Four Generations
Playing with her new Play-Doh cake factory from Auntie Marlys
To the makers of brown play-doh: "Really?!"
Mattaya often "helps" Daddy do push-ups, so Matt thought Micah should give it a try. The extra 30-something pounds and constant yelling "fourteen! fourteen! fourteen!" is oh-so-helpful. ;)
Mr. Keene (who works with Matt) sent home these Teddy Graham treats for the girls.
We celebrated Matt's birthday on his real birthday with a couple friends (Josh R and Josh H) and some cupcakes. I had taken Mattaya to the card aisle and told her to choose a birthday card for Daddy (I had parked her near the "Father" cards)....and she chose THIS one...for GRANDSON...I'm guessing she was attracted to the little rodent-like characters on the front?
Mmmmm, chocolate frosting!
More cake factory
*wink*
Makenna had more than mastered crawling. She was FAST. She had places to go and things to do, and she often wanted to take someone/something with her. Hard to do when you're crawling. She adapted this 2-knees-1-hand-1-elbow format which CRACKED US UP!
And this is what Makenna would look like with a goatee. In case you were wondering.
Multi-tasking
Matt is breaking in new shoes, vacuuming, and calming Makenna WHILST she brushes her teeth!
This was day 2 after the stomach flu, so Mattaya was still laying low off and on. She asked to sleep on the ottoman, so I set her up with the pillow and blanket. She lay down and said, "This is a cozy manger for baby Jesus." The things that float around in her mind!
Just chillin' in Mom's room, catchin' some PBSkids.
Preppin' to party. Keaton, Valerie, and Micah came early to help us get ready for our Christmas Eve shin-dig.
Keaton and Valerie came bearing gifts for the girls.
Mattaya received Jingle the husky pup (you hold him while you read a story, and he barks/sings/whines at all the appropriate places).
And Makenna received a stuffed turtle...
...who was immediately named "Dude Crush" because of Mattaya's obesession with Finding Nemo and Mattaya's failure to realize that some things belong to OTHER children. ;)
Micah and Mattaya killed some time building awesome bristle block creations.
And we played some Christmas tunes...
Christmas Day was spent at Gramma Julie's house. While the grown-ups were prepping the meal, Mattaya worked on some art projects.
Matt peeled the potatoes...
...while Grampa Dave worked on meatballs...
...and Gramma Julie worked on gravy.
Mattaya supervised Uncle Luke's bow selection.
The "big one". Gramma Julie has been psyched about giving this gift to Mattaya (and Makenna) for a long time.
A grocery cart!
(which means no more using Mommy's laundry-sorting cart!)
And some food to go in the cart.
"Gramma" Deb (Micah's mom) sent matching headlights for Matt and Mattaya
Benton = gift :)
New game from Auntie Linda--lots of fun!
Micah's mom scored big points by sending up some of his favorite movies (esp. the Lord of the Rings).
Changing it up.
After over a decade of asking for turtlenecks (specifically BLACK turtlenecks) for Christmas, Grampa Dave is now requesting MOCKNECKS! So he received several, all in different colors. :)
And various pieces of snowboarding equipment!
And a festive hat. :)
Makenna got to open her presents later after her nap.
Loving her new elephant
Eating Mattaya's new fake food.
New toothbrush!
Treats from Aunt Cindy
The girls were eating a snack together (cutely), so I suggested to Matt that he "please get a few pictures". In his mind, that request was translated to, "Please take LOTS of pictures of Keaton's new helicopter that is flying about the house." *sigh*
Here you CAN catch a glimpse of the kids in the background...
This year we got on Skype so Grampa Gary and Gramma Pam could watch the girls open gifts.
The ladybug was actually a gift to Makenna, but Mattaya took compassion on the poor thing and fed it a banana and a gift for breakfast.
Mattaya, hugging the biggest gift in the room (which, thankfully, was for her!).
First stamp set
I loved that my girls were so excited about their new books that we HAD to read them before we could move on to the next gifts. :)
Makenna received a big gift, too.
So excited!
Not what she wanted? ;) Not sure if she was upset because of all the "help" she was receiving with unwrapping or what that was all about.
Makenna's big gift was a tunnel and tent...which she was mildly curious about but mostly terrified of.
Mattaya tried to encourage her to come through.
And, of course, Mommy tried to just shove her through it, convinced she would love it if she'd just try it. ;) Not true. It was similar to trying to dunk a cat in the bathtub.
Finally her turn for the big one.
An easel! She got right to work.
Testing out her new stamps.
Daddy and Mattaya enjoyed the tent even if Makenna wanted nothing to do with it. ;)
Mattaya received this magnetic dressable doll thingy...and apparently Mommy's sense of fashion. ;)
All done with gifts and enjoying playing with all the new toys!
piano = cure for the witching hour
Back in the day (like summer 2004), Matt and I had this caricature done. And Matt was inspired to photograph it...why? Your guess is as good as mine.
Being a horse, pulling a wagon full of stuff. (Not sure what brought that on...)
White Elephant party with the small group yielded some very yummy caramel rolls...which ended up in my hands. I never did apologize to John, but I did share one roll with him. ;)
Jason won the ugly sweater award.
And peanut-size Analise won a man-size t-shirt from Uncle Matt.
New jammies from Aunt Linda
She liked her gooshy ball!
Ohhhh, love a bear.
A singing puppy!
And a singing teapot!
Had to move the deep-freeze back into Mom's basement. Kind of convenient that the backyard can serve as a deep-freeze.
Learning to blow kisses!
Okay, Mr. Ryan R...you had your chance at this cookie... ;)
Ready for church Dec 26
Makenna doesn't want to be still.
Mattaya doesn't want to listen to Makenna's crying.
Mattaya: "I can catch you!" (I hope.)
Oh love.
We were to church early to get Makenna down for a nap, so Mattaya had plenty of time to chill. We looked over to see her sitting at the welcome desk ready to greet newcomers. ;)
She left her perch to play basketball with the Pastor's sons.
They were great about giving her turns and not clobbering her!
I love it when they play well together!
SURPRISE! Micah's mom sent up the whole snowboard shortly after Christmas!
New cozy outfit from Auntie Net
"Gramma" Deb sent up lots of gifts for the girls as well.
Mattaya: "I made a picnic!"
I told Mattaya to stand up and show me her new jeans...
...it turned into "shaking a booty"...
Yummy
Using her new play-doh stamps from Gramma Deb
Taking turns pushing each other in the "stroller".
I think she might have thought it was going to take her somewhere...
Tasting a shake from Cold Stone
Mmmmmmmm!
Loves it!
She put on her headlight and went to work as a dentist checking teeth. :)
The dentist and her assistant, checking Bobby's teeth.
Loves to swing!
Thanks for the pajamas, Gramma Deb!
Smiles for Deb, please!
Chocolate chip pancakes with whipped cream!
All about it!
"More please!"
Cute as a button!
Wearing shoes (for a minute). She has a tendency to remove them. Often. When we arrive somewhere in the van, it's not uncommon to find her without hat, mittens, and shoes (not a terribly good idea in ND!).
"Mommy, I make a beast!"
(beast = feast)
Using her new Play-Doh ice cream shoppe from Uncle Luke and Auntie Becca. Her favorite part is cranking out the sprinkles! ;)
