Merry Christmas from us to you!

A Very Merry Christmas from our Family to yours.
We hope that you take the time to sit at the Lord's feet
this season and this coming year.
Jesus came to demonstrate amazing love and
bring amazing joy
to all who will receive Him.
Find out what that means today.

Anzo the Christmas Man!

We have been going to see this same Santa for the past five years. We usually found him at Prudential where I used to work. However, that office was closed and I wasn't sure if we were going to be able to find 'the' Santa. Fortunately I did my research early and remembered that he usually came to the South Kitsap extravaganza. Even thought the extravaganza was canceled... they still did the pictures. All in all, I thought the fact that we found him was pretty amazing! In the future... to those of you who like this Santa too, his website is www.kitsapsanta.com

The day we saw Santa happened to be the first day that I had show Cecily a Shirley Temple song and dance movie. When she saw Santa she burst into a full out tap dance for him.

Before we saw 'our Santa' Cecily ran into Santa at the mall. She was the only kid in the mall at the time so he said hello, and called her princess (she loved that). At home while we were getting ready for bed we were talking about what she had done that day. I asked her if she saw anyone who had a white beard and sat in a green chair. "Yes I did," she replied, "I think his name is Anzo the Christmas Man." And so he shall forever be called.

Thanksging 2009

Thanksgiving Eve was a day that was filled with amazing joy and thanksgiving. We held our first service in our new church building. It was a great time of worship, celebration, visiting and delicious amazing desserts. And-- the parking lot was filled! There are lots of glitches and still quite a bit of moving in to do... but it is so great to be there!

Due to lighting constraints and being completely distracted I did not get very many pictures of the event. But here our a few to give you a flavor of the look, color and feel.

Pretty Megan next to our colorful walls!

The nursery.

The Kitchen.

The amazing desserts I told you about!

Thanksgiving day we spent the day with Rory's mom and step-dad and Grandparents. We had a delicious meal and enjoyed a day of relaxing and visiting. In the top picture we have our Turkey Vision at Rory's parent's house. Here is Grandma Bear with her girls.

Christmas is Coming!

Dance! Dance! Christmas is Coming!

Okay, So I'll admit it... I broke the "Wait 'til after Thanksgiving rule" This year I ascribed to the "Any month ending in 'ber' means you can listen to Christmas music and watch Christmas movies- rule". For me November is cram time. I try to get as much done for Christmas as possible, that way we can just enjoy the whole month of December, and attend all those fun holiday events. I don't want to worry about Christmas cards, or presents in December. So I feel like if I am doing all this Christmas related work, I might as well enjoy some of the finer parts of the season. Don't get me wrong, Rory and I LOVE Thanksgiving, it is the day we got engaged. I just like to mingle the two a little bit!

Well, since I was in the mood, I dug out all the Christmas related hand-me-downs that we had. The girls were eager to try them on. So we popped the Enya Christmas album in and let them have at it. We are extra excited for Christmas to come, because my sister and brother in law (Cara and Phil) are coming!

The Christmas mood was contagious... next thing I knew Cecily was running around the house shouting "Christmas is Coming." Then we had to back track a bit, because in a two-year-old's world... a month and a half is practically forever!

Sunny November Moment

This was a momentous November day. We experienced a brief break from the storms (later that day we lost power due to the unruly weather.) So the girls and I made a break for it, and decided to get some out door playing time. It was momentous for another reason... I finally was able to get some actually shoes on Rosemary! That little girl makes it impossible to get shoes on her. She curls up her toes, and I have tried every trick in the book to make her cooperate. Robeez are the only kinds of shoes I can get on her. Well, I was able to get her in size 4 tennis shoes-- so she could go out in the cold and play. She could hardly walk in them, but they did the trick! She had lots of fun playing outside with her Sissy!

Sleeping Artist

Cecily was coloring a picture for her Auntie Cara and Uncle Phil after a long day playing outside. Sometimes she likes to color in Rosemary's high chair so that Rosemary won't ransack her pictures.

Pretty sweet!

Rory Face

There is much discussion over who Rosemary looks like. Rosemary and Cecily are looking more and more alike. However, I think Cecily looks a bit more like Rory and his sister Genesis-- I think she takes after the Adams' side. In this picture I think Rosemary looks just like her daddy. Until this picture Rory didn't believe that she looked like him at all. I think that Rosemary favors the Cannon side and looks like her Grandma Bear (Rory's mom). However, truth be told she also looks a great deal like me when I was little. Our baby pictures are very similar. And from her side profile she really looks like my mom. All this to say that Rosemary has a look all her own, and depending on who is holding her, really influences who she looks like at the time.

Rocking Out!

A favorite spot in this house is definitely the little rocking chair. Rosemary is in and out of it a hundred times a day. She loves to go sit and sing to herself-- she sings a little tune that sounds a lot like the I Love You song from Barney. It is cute because she mostly sings the same little song and she busily plays around the house. I hope you enjoy watching the video of her in her little chair.

Above is a picture of JJ the little boy I babysit and Cecily sharing the chair.

Here is another video of Cecily feeding her baby. I found this cute little shawl for her. When I showed it to her she said, "Oh a nursing shawl." Now while she is playing with her baby she will say, "Oh the baby needs to eat, where's my shawl?" Here is a video of her taking good care of her baby.

Angels

These lovely photos are by Korina Whitmarsh.

Friends and Food

Rosemary got a slow start in the solid food department. She didn't really starting eating anything until she was 12 months old. She would not take a bottle either. So you can imagine what I have been doing pretty much non-stop for the past year...nursing. Then as if a light switch came on... she started to eat and has not looked back. In fact, I would classify Rosemary as a rather aggressive eater. She is not the least bit picky, loves things with a lot of flavor, and out eats Cecily on most days. She has not gotten the hang of drinking much yet, but we are working on it.

While on the subject of eating, Cecily and Rosemary have started doing a cute thing. They love to sit down and feed each other. It is really cute to watch. Cecily tells me often that Rosemary is her best friend.

Tutu Cute!

On most days Cecily prefers to dress as a ballerina. She loves to wear this tutu with her leotard. However, if I have convinced her that ballerina's wear leggings (or as she calls them "Leggies") and if a shirt or skirt has enough twirl potential, then she will gladly put it on.
Cecily loves to watch ballet. It has been fun, because this is something that I really enjoy. We have rented some wonderful ballets from the library, and we are currently enjoying the Nutcracker. (Nanny and Poppy bought her a Nutcracker that she loves to dance around with just like Clara)

Rosemary is a very musical baby. She has good rhythm and can hold a tune. And something else I have noticed of late is... she is really paying attention. While big sister Cecily was napping, Rosemary brought me the tutu to put on her. She had a wonderful time dancing around just like big sister, even moving her arms in a way that looks a lot like what Cecily does.

Spin Cycle

You know you have reached a new point in life when you start fantasizing about washer/dryers. I had been dreaming of a front loader that actually spun the water out of the diapers (and remained on balance in the process). Then out of the blue it was made possible... Rory's step-dad found these and talked the price down. He's letting us pay him back over time. It has really made a difference. Our old washer could only hold three towels comfortably before it started to kerplunk- slam-wham- dunk... if you are familiar with the sound, you know what I mean.

The washer has not only provided greater laundry, and water efficiency it has also provided the girls with hours of entertainment. Here they are waiting for their clothes to wash. (Just kidding, they just both happen to be in their underwear!)

Cessy Tells a Bible Story

Pumpkins and Angels

Here are a few pictures to highlight Halloween and some fun we had with pumpkins this year. Check out the video in our previous post to see more.

Funtastic Fall!

Happy Birthday!

It's Birthday season in the Adams/Hartshorne household. My mom kicks it off on September 28th, then comes October- Rory's sister and brother in law's anniversary September 30th- and their birthdays- Jimmy on the 2nd, Rebekah's on the 16th, My cousin Heidi on the 5th, My Birthday on the 19th and Genesis' on the 30th. Then Nov. 21st is my dads, followed by Jesus's Birthday on the 25th!

Pretty much everyone in Rory's family lives far away or prefers to not celebrate corporately so we just made a lot of phone calls. Cecily is an expert Happy Birthday singer.

Most years as long as I can remember Heidi, my mom and I try to celebrate together. The past few years Heidi has come up. We had a fun girls day this year and got pedicures. Ru and Steve are living with my parents until they go back to China. (Ru and Steve are long time friends from church, and incidentally very good cooks.) Ru spoiled us with Chinese food for mom's birthday. Then on my Birthday she and mom made amazing Thai food, and rum cake for me (two of my favorite things).

Ru and Mom, don't they look like sisters?

Yummy Chinese Food.


The whole gang ready to eat (Except poor Steve was at work). Heidi and Uncle Howard were up for the weekend.

My Birthday Rum Cake (yum) this was after our amazing Thai feast!Uncle D and Cecily having fun!