I thought about splitting all these photos into separate posts, but I’m just going to save myself some trouble and share the best pics from January all in one big photo extravaganza. So here goes:

Our three sweetie pies

1st Saturday of each month at Home Depot = Kids Workshop!

Sleeping baby picture – so cute!

Every time we go to Bellevue now, Jonathan says, “you know where we should go? Cupcake Royale!” Of course he gets no complaints from me and the boys.

Silas has quite the sweet tooth

Avery’s first tubing excursion with Daddy – he was sooooo excited!

Building his Lego SpaceShuttle with Daddy

Who can resist this face?

Wiggling his loose two front teeth

Quick, let’s get a picture before they fall out!

Poor Avery must really want a pet. He decided to adopt a dust bunny from underneath one of our cabinets (totally his own idea). He then built it a Lego home, complete with a hamster wheel, toys, bed, water tank, etc. For the next few days he checked on and took care of the dust bunny. He even found another one for Kieron and built it a home too. It was actually pretty sweet.

A birthday card he sent to Nicole

Silas loves eggs!

Playing in the backyard

Kieron looks like such a tough guy in this one

Silas enjoying the swing

With Daddy – serious face

Now smiles!

Now with Mommy

Mmmm, Avery’s slippers taste good

Another cute one of Kieron

Still working on that Space Shuttle…

As many of you already know, Kieron is, ahem, a picky eater. He has yet to eat a vegetable. I have found a loophole though, this boy loves to juice! His favorite is carrots, kale, chard, tomato, apple & ginger.

He has to be cut off!

Nana came to visit one weekend. She brought up a knitting kit for Avery, and he loves it! They made a hat for his stuffed pug over the weekend and even started another.

Nana also brought a couple of gorillas who sing “The Macarena.” I think these were Jonathan and Ashleigh’s back in the day. Apparently she didn’t need them anymore, so they now stay at our house. The boys thought they were such a hoot!

And as you can see, Avery lost his two front teeth! One day while he was wrestling with Kieron, his face was drug along the carpet, and out came a tooth. I think Avery paid Kieron a commission for that one. Then he wiggled the other one out two days later at kindergarden.

And here’s Silas, already trying to reach for the doorknob.

We continued our annual tradition and visited Santa at the Reindeer Festival at Cougar Mountain Zoo, in Issaquah. The boys really enjoyed feeding apples to the reindeer on the way up to Santa’s cabin. Avery was excited to ask Santa for a “Matchbox shark boat” like his cousin, Andrew’s. Kieron didn’t want to talk to Santa, or go near him for that matter. And Silas was cool with anything as long as I didn’t venture too far away.

While we waited to see Santa, Avery observed that he “looked different” this year. “Oh?” I asked cooly, “how does he look different?” I was a little worried, because he was, ahem, a few years younger than the previous year. “His beard is shorter,” Avery replied. Whew!

After visiting Santa, we strolled around the zoo and said hello to all the other animals. We always look forward to this Santa visit. It’s very laid back, and way better than waiting in a long, overpriced line at the mall. And we get to support the local zoo too!

Kieron loved the reindeer, but wasn’t keen on visiting with Santa. So I ended up in the picture… again.





“Hey boys, hop in the sleigh! We’ll get a cute picture of you all together!” Uh huh, sure.

The alpacas, this was one of the prettier ones

Another alpaca (not pictured) scared Avery with his nasty underbite and rotten teeth. I think Avery will always brush well from now on.

Pretty bird


An elf took a family photo for us

Most of early December was spent preparing for late December. Lots of crafts, shopping, baking and freezing food. Here are a few cute pics from the calm before the holiday storm.

The boys during their first real sleepover in Kieron’s room

Looking through a mall window at Santa’s elves

It’s almost bath time!

What is Kieron smiling at?

Cupcakes, of course! Yum!

Silas waiting patiently for food

Tiny hand and feet

Kieron washing his hands at the sink

Avery painting Christmas ornaments


Silas crawling around the family room

Black Friday is one of my favorite holidays! Not because of the shopping deals (I prefer Small Business Saturday or Cyber Monday), but for delicious leftovers, putting up Christmas decorations and listening to carols all day long. Avery and I even watched Pacific Northwest Ballet’s “The Nutcracker” (starring one of my favorite dance instructors, Wade Walthall). The boys loved helping set up the Christmas decor and had no problem getting into the spirit of things!

Avery inspecting a preschool project he made a couple years back


Avery pretending to be a crazy Santa… that’s a bag of dirty diapers over his shoulder

First Kieron tried to put the angel on the tree…

Then Avery tried, but eventually Daddy had to stand on a chair and do it

Kieron posing for some shots




Kieron is completely in his element with a whisk and ladle


Avery teaching Silas to climb stairs