Christmas joke from Mary

This morning while I was slicing a banana, Mary asked, "Mom, what's a bananta?" I laughed and replied, "I don't know what a bananta is."

She waited a minute and then announced, "A bananta is a banana that Santa Claus eats!"

Family picture at Grandma and Grandpa's

Merry Christmas!

A little déjà vu

I climbed up onto my parents' counter as a baby to sample some pumpkin pie.
Yesterday, Mary said, "We should make pumpkin pies!" So we did. We ate one pie and left the second on the stove. Today I heard a funny slurping noise coming from the kitchen. Here's what I found:

Mary initially tried to clean up the mess, but when she saw I was just taking pictures, she joined the party.
I'm still laughing about this one.

Visit with Santa

The girls were very excited to meet Santa at the ward Christmas party. Their favorite part was when the elf gave them a rainbow candy cane.

We love Anna's hair!

Before:After:
Ready to go!

Anna's photo shoot

Here's our little angel.

Halloween

We hosted a little Halloween party for our babysitting group on Friday. The kids had lots of fun and were so cute.
We also went to Daddy's work to trick or treat. The girls have been waiting for this all year. Here's Daddy's new office. He has a window!

Pumpkin patch and ward Halloween party

Our local pumpkin patch was a big hit.

Usually Anna calls Austin "my friend the baby." Tonight, she said, "The baby is my friend the bee!"

The costume parade:

"Belle" interviewed the girls, "Which princess are you?"

Anna's Third Birthday

A few days ago, Anna changed her mind about having a "pink birthday cake." She requested a "rainbow cake with a rainbow duck." Here's what we came up with:

Anna got a new baby dolly, a Bambi book, and a stroller from Grandma and Grandpa. We sure love our grown-up Anna!

Austin's one-year portraits

Austin was pretty somber for his photo shoot. After lots of clapping and singing, we coaxed a few little smiles out of him.

Here's the winning shot. What a sweet little boy we have.

Swimming!

Our rec center has a fun little toddler swimming (more like splashing) area. The girls loved the kid-size shower. On the way home, Mary said, "Now I smell like a waterfall!"

Mary summed up the day, "Quack, quack!"

One year old

The girls decided Austin needed a "blue cake" because he's a boy. So we colored the cream-cheese frosting on his carrot cake blue.

Austin had help opening his presents.

Anna showed off her riding skills.

Eating cake: the "before" shot.

Eating cake: the "after" shot. Austin wins the award for sporting the cleanest birthday face yet. He was less interested in eating his cake than in smashing it.

Our big boy is pretty happy to be walking!

Mary's photo shoot

Here's my grown-up Mary. She is such a sweet girl.

April

"Bunny rabbits eat carrots!"

Almost ready for church on Easter (note the shoes).

This is Mary's first masterpiece in chalk. The figures are, from left to right, a robot, a little boy, and an ice cream cone. She gave me a step-by-step narrative as she drew.

Sand in the shoes! We love the brown slides, blue slides, school slides, castle slides, and clock slides....

Resting in Liberty Park.

Austin has had a month of firsts. He learned to crawl, he cut his first tooth, he had his first haircut (just a trim above the ears), and he learned to clap.