Portrait Time

Our very talented friend, neighbor, and professional photographer, Laura, agreed to do a quick photo shoot with us while Grammy and Papa were visiting.  She got some lovely shots...

Playing With Grammy and Papa

Maya and Dexter were thrilled to play with Grammy and Papa over the long weekend.

Happy Dex.

Grammy and Maya make a purse for her new doll.

Now it's time to make some yummy soup with Thanksgiving leftovers.  Notice Maya's onion chopping goggles.

Maya performs a magic show with her assistant, Papa.

Where did that rabbit come from?

Maya performs another amazing illusion with her magic coin bank (courtesy of Papa).

Dexter approves.

Thanksgiving With Grammy and Papa

We were so excited that Grammy and Papa came to visit us for Thanksgiving this year.  The arrived a couple days before the big feast.  We all worked together to create a pretty decent Thankgiving spread. What a great day!

 Todd and our turkey (courtesy of Lucasfilm).

The table is ready including place cards made by Maya and Grammy.

A quick rest before the dinner rush.

Momma starts removing the stuffing.

Excited for dinner.

Yum.

Dexter with Papa.

Dinner is served!!

Notes From Maya

Maya is having fun sounding out words and writing little notes.  Some of the words are spelled phonetically, so translations are below.

"Maya wants to talk with Gram."  This was a note she gave me while I was talking to Gram (her great grandmother).

"Can I have some popcorn?"

"Can I have breakfast?"

"I want a snack."

 Our favorite..."I was not eating garbage!"  We play a game sometimes where we pretend that Maya is eating garbage and she says that she isn't.  Don't worry, no garbage eating problems here.

Evening Walk

It's actually starting to get a little cold around here, so evening walks are requiring some new accessories.

Daddy's Stretchy Face

Dexter has found an effective way to hold on while riding on Daddy's shoulders. And, at the same time, he has discovered the powers of Daddy's stretchy face!  Good work!

 Dexter gets ready to demonstrate.

Stretch...

...just a little further.  Perfect.

"Maya's Award" video

Here's a video of Maya getting her award.  Awards were followed by a stirring rendition of the school song...

Maya Gets An Award

Throughout the year, all kindergarten students are honored at some point during the school year.  Maya was chosen to receive a Personal Achievement Award from her teacher today.  She was very proud and we were very proud of her!

 The principal gave each child their award.  Mom, Dad, and Dexter came in the morning to see the awards assembly.  The awards were followed with a thrilling video about proper hand washing.  Awesome.

Proud girl on her way back to class.

The award.

Daddy high-fives Maya's friend, Violet, as they walk back.

Casting Ballots

Time to choose the best person for the job again.  Can you guess who we are voting for?

The handy thing about having kids four years apart: hand-me-down election-wear.  See Maya in the same shirt here.

Fun With Billy

Our friend Billy came over for the afternoon and it was fun.

Billy succeeds in carrying both kiddies...Dexter is suspicious. 

Thanks for coming over!