Stinkeye!

Libby learned from one who should remain nameless (me) to give a very dirty look that Derek labeled the Stinkeye. She now gives it on command. Awesome!

Sarah and Grandpa

Grandpa loves to entertain the little ones by giving them rides on the table. Sarah was a bit dubious, but in the end I think she liked it.

Christmas Traditions

One of my favorite traditions is making gingerbread houses with the family. Here are the amazing results. We aren't purists, by the way. We use graham crackers and hot glue for the base. But the rest is pure sugar!

Sarah and Grandma

Sarah finally got to meet her Grandma Louise. Here is Sarah Louise Norton with Louise Randall.

Woof!

My brother Nick has 2 mini dobermans. They are pretty yappy, but if you like pets, they aren't too bad. Libby has a hilarious love/hate relationship going on with them. She loves to look at them and say "Woof!" "Doggies!" She LOVES to feed them her food at meals. She gets kind of freaked out, though, when they come too close. I think this picture captures the moment quite well.

Christmas Pageant

Every year since I can remember, we have gotten together with our Harris cousins and my Grandma and Grandpa Randall to put on a Christmas pageant and celebrate my Grandpa's birthday. Last year due to weather and illness we didn't get to have the nativity. This year we did it in grand style. My Grandma has made amazing costumes and it is so fun. This year my 2 kids had important parts. Libby was a sheep (although she pulled off the "sheep" costume and turned to her favorite job, leading the singing). Sarah was baby Jesus (although she missed her big entrance because she was eating and had to replace the body double part way through the nativity). It was a pretty perfect evening.

I WASN'T DREAMING..

of a white Christmas. In fact, I was praying not to have a white Christmas. But, the snow came, it came just the same. So, our dreams of driving our beautiful Honda Odyssey to UT were buried in the powdery white stuff. Instead we bought last minute plane tickets. So off we go (without daddy of course--he has his wrestlers keeping him company) to deck the halls with the Randall crew in UT. It will be Uncle Budd's funeral, then Josie's wedding, then the cousin party...then we will start breathing again. Whew. Thank goodness my amazing brother Dave is here in Seattle now so he can fly with us.
Here is a clip of Libby experiencing the snow. As you can see, she is not a big fan...especially once she fell down and it got on her hands.

Libby's Baby

Today I came into the living room to find Libby playing around with Sarah's carseat. I thought it was cute, and since I haven't taken a single pic of Libby lately, I ran to get the camera. When I got to the carseat I realized what she was doing. She had taken her "baby" and put it in the carseat. She had even covered it with the blanket. It was SO cute. When I got there she was trying to climb in too. Also when she was pulling baby out she was whacking the doll's head on the bar...so she has some learning to do before I would let her put our real baby in the carseat, but I am always so amazed when I realize how much she does know.
Also, the last few nights Sarah has been sleeping in the swing because of her cold. When Libby comes out of her room in the morning and sees Sarah in the swing she says "Sarah!" in the cutest most excited way. It makes me love being a mommy of 2.

Feeling Old?

I have continued to tell myself that despite the fact that I am in my 30s I am very young. I am a young mother. But today I discovered that
I HAVE A GRAY HAIR!
And where there is one, there are bound to be more. Wow. Aging is crazy.

Our Growing Girl

Here is a picture of Sarah in an outfit that she is now growing out of that was SO big for her when she was born. (She looks suspicious of me here, I love it.) I am so happy that she is growing! She has a super stuffy nose right now, and now she is coughing too. Poor girl. I am starting to feel a little bit better and so is Derek. I can't decide if Libby is feeling better or not. She is certainly into throwing little tantrums.

Our Turtle

We think that Sarah looks like an adorable little turtle when you hold her close and she looks up at you.

It's Beginning to Look a lot Like...

...Cold season at our house. Yuck. Libby has been sick for 2 weeks + at this point. Sarah is sniffling like crazy. I have a sore throat, and Derek has body aches and chills. Hmmm. Gotta love that stressful time of year when everyone gets sick.
Last week was Derek's first big activity as ward activities committee chair. Two major problems. He has a disfunctional commitee (only 3 helpers) and he had wrestling all night the night before and all day on the day of. So I called on the faithful Fillmores, my brother Dave, and my in-laws and we got it all done. Whew. Actually, all of the participants in the Nativity helped set up and take down or we would have died trying to get it all done. It turned out pretty good, but we learned a few tough lessons.
Now, on to Christmas!

Bathtime Sarah

She just looked so cute when I gave her a bath the other night I took about 10 pictures. Here are my favorites.