Sunday, December 28, 2008

'Tis the Season



Saying her new favorite word...NO!
Our little angelic child...
"NOOO! Not in your EAR!" The smorgasborg of sprinkels.

Mmm...frosting!
"What the heck is this thing for? Must be a frosting holder. Just give me the bowl, will ya?"

We had a fabulous Christmas, and we hope everyone did as well! We spent Christmas Eve night with our good friends. We had a nice candlelight dinner, frosted cookies for Santa, and watched the Nativity. Brooklyn had frosting EVERYWHERE! I'm finally letting my reigns out a little bit and letting her get messy. She really seems to enjoy it, as does Daddy. He likes to get her to touch her hair, ears, eyes, etc. when she's messy. Hence the picture with her finger in her ear (there was still frosting in there in the morning!). Anyway, Brooklyn loves going over there and playing with their dog Roxy, and their two kids Bailey and Gabriella. Thanks again Rigtrup's!

Brooklyn woke up Christmas morning at 5:30. She was just too excited (right, 'cause she totally knew what was going on, ha!)! We weren't as thrilled, as you can imagine. But we finally dragged ourselves out of bed at 6 to open presents. Brooklyn got a rocking horse, but her favorite present is definitely her new crayons. She can't put them down! Needless to say, we are now having to discipline as to WHERE she can color. Like most kids, she thinks the walls, her face and hands, and the floor are good to color on. Luckily they're washable. Troy got a couple chew toys and a teddy bear and is completely content with them. In fact, he was "playing" (or eating rather) with his new teddy bear yesterday and Brooklyn stole it from him. You would have thought she punched him in the face because he SCREAMED BLOODY MURDER! Poor guy, he's always having to put up with his big sis. But he sure knows how to get his mommy's attention!

We took the kids to see "Marley and Me" this weekend and Brooklyn really liked the first half of the movie. But when the dog started showing up less and less, she became restless. Troy enjoyed the WHOLE movie though. Good times!

We are so thankful for this wonderful time of year and the opportunity to reflect upon our Savior. We are looking forward to a New Year! I can't believe it's already here. 2009, here we come!!

Wednesday, December 24, 2008

Troy's First Haircut

Troy had been begging us to cut his hair for a few months now....It was getting very unruly. So we gave in... Here are the photos.

Thursday, December 18, 2008

Troy Oliver...4 Months Old

Our little baby boy is becoming not so little anymore. Despite the downfall of snow and the consequential mass confusion it caused to any native Washingtonian we made the trek to the Pediatrician only to find out that the call verifying the Dr would be in was filled with deceit and lies. So we took the opportunity to weigh the kiddos, with clothes on though. Troy weighed 18 lbs fully clothed. And Brooklyn weighed 22.5 lbs fully clothed. Troy has become such a pleasant child, constantly smiling and only crying for us to stop walking by him and pick him up. His eyes light up any time we pass him by or even direct one simple word or glance his way. But no one gets a larger smile from this sweet little boy than his sweet big sister who is constantly showering him with loves and kisses, and the occasional smack to remind him who is boss. We really have the cutest, sweetest, smartest, funniest, most loveable, and stinkiest (troy, that is) children in the world, which is the direct product of such a wonderful mother!

Does that first photo look like a mugshot or what?
Brooklyn Joy at 4 Months
They definitely have the leg rolls to match!!

Wednesday, December 17, 2008

Snowflake Lane

While the malls here in the Seattle area aren't quite up to the same caliber as the Boise Towne Square Mall, they do have there own certain charm and attraction. The calendar kiosks, the shootings, and of course what mall would be complete without an Orange Julius? There is one fun family oriented marketing event that the Bellevue Square Mall has that the Boise Town Square mall does not...Snowflake Lane. For the 3 or 4 weeks preceding Christmas they ooze holiday spirit, which only could compare to the live ballerina and toy soldier music boxes that the old Parkcenter Mall had in it's glory days. They recruit high school kids to join their "marching" band down the main street outside the mall and play holiday music, complete with Drummer Boys, Winter Princesses, Rudolphs, Frostys, Penquins, some rather Creepy looking Polar Bears, and bubbly snow. Troy had no idea what was going on, other than being warmly nestled in the baby bjorn, and the loud music did not interrupt his mellow, yet happy, personality. Brooklyn, however, was wide eyed and curious. These costumed characters didn't look like Barney or Baby Bop, although I must say they have to be ten times better! She did have a bit of an anxiety attack when Frosty made a move toward her from his perch on the stairs. But she later forgave him long enough to make a solemn face while standing next to him in daddy's arms. They do a great job of instilling the holiday spirit, as was evidenced by the smiles on everyones faces. Brooklyn may have even danced for a moment or two on top of one of the boxes. In all, it was a fun family "out" evening!!



More Photos With Santa

Here are some photos that one of Erik's cool coworkers (Stephanie) took of us. It's funny to see the progression of terror brought on by such a meanie. How dare he be jolly and hand out gifts.

Sunday, December 14, 2008

Teatro Zinzanni!

Last night was Erik's work Christmas party. Oh my gosh, what a blast! They had it at this place called Teatro Zinzanni. It's a dinner and show, kind of like Cirque de Solei meets burlesque. So fun! We put on our best duds, left the kiddos with our good friends the Rigtrups, and hit the town! The entertainment was top notch (including a contortionist, amazing tumblers, tap dancers, and hoola-hoop experts), the food was 5 star, and the company couldn't have been better. It was so nice to have a few hours with my best friend and sweetheart alone! Erik thought the place would be totally lame (actually his word of choice was gay), but he actually really enjoyed it! I told him I would have LOVED to have worked there in college. Unfortunately we didn't take our camera inside the place so we didn't get any pictures, but oh well. Thanks NAES for a great night out!


Troy also FINALLY rolled over today. Just 2 months behind your big sis bud! I know, I know, I need to stop comparing. :) The other picture is Brooklyn in Troy's swing. Well I guess it's technically HER swing, but she lets Troy sit in it. I can't believe it took her this long to climb into it on her own. She's definitely into climbing these days. Yesterday when we dropped the kids off at the Rigtrups, we turned around and there was Brooklyn sitting on top of their desk just looking at all the papers, doing her work. What a goof-ball. Her new favorite thing is sitting at the computer and "typing." We brought out the jumperoo for Troy this past week too, and he loves it! He hasn't quite mastered the jumping part (since he can barely touch), but he likes to look at the lights and grab the toys.



































Saturday, December 6, 2008

Ho, Ho, Ho!

Today Brooklyn and Troy had their first visit with Santa Claus! Erik's work has a kids Christmas party every year, and we were able to go this year. They go ALL out and even give gifts to every child! Brooklyn got a new car/bike, and Troy got some sweet bath toys! Anyway, the kids weren't too thrilled with Santa (as you can see from the photos), but they still had a blast. Brooklyn thinks she is such a big girl and had to color with markers like the big kids. We LOVE the company Erik works for. Stay tuned for pictures of the ADULT Christmas party next week. I can't wait!! Thanks NAES for such a fun time!!


























Sunday, November 30, 2008

Thanksgiving in B-town

We headed to Boise for a fun-filled and busy week. We never seem to have enough time to see everyone we would like, even while running ourselves ragged. Brooklyn had a BLAST playing with all her cousins and friends and LOVED being around her grandparents. I wish I would have taken more pictures with my parents and the kids, but I did get some good ones with Brooklyn feeding the cows with my Dad. She loved feeding the cows! Little does she know, but we will be eating those cows in a few months. : ) We blessed Troy while we were there in my parents home and had a huge showing (and circle!!). They lulled him right to sleep with their bouncing. While we were in town, my neice Katie broke her femer (poor little girl!!), so we visited her in the hospital. She has a cast on both legs up to her waist, but it's hot pink, so she doesn't seem to mind it too much yet. We had dinner with Erik's siblings, made pies with my sisters, I chopped my hair off (YEA!), watched the BSU game with our good friends, shopped at the SUPER Walmart (we don't have one here), and enjoyed the beautiful sunshine (even though it was FREEZING). For Thanksgiving, we ate with Erik's family at the church (in order to accomadate the huge group). They had a pinata for the kids which was really fun. I enjoyed it since I didn't have to cook the whole dinner (like I have for the past 5 years in a row!). I actually got to relax! Then we had dessert with my family at my parents. All in all it was a great trip, but we were glad to be home again in our over-cast "little" town. Although, we already miss all of our family and friends, but we hope to be back soon to visit again. Thanks to my Mom and Dad for again letting us use their car all week and for letting us crash at their place. And thanks to Dee and Terry for watching Brooklyn while Erik and I enjoyed a little date out with his siblings. I have more pictures to post, but they aren't letting me now for some reason. To be continued...

What Troy did while we ate TG dinner.



A little photo shoot at the train depot before TG dinner.






Brooklyn was NOT a happy camper.








Riding the swing, and feeding the cows with Grandpa Hill. The cows let her get REALLY close.















What does a cow say Brooklyn? "Mooo!"















With Grandpa Paternoster before getting blessed.



Our 2 kiddos. I made their outfits. They aren't perfect, but I'm still proud. : )
























Grandma Hill, Grandma Paternoster, & Troy











Our little happy family!








A picture of my neice Katie 2 days before breaking her leg.