Pictures from December

Alright, in my effort to get all caught up on the blog, I grabbed some highlights from the month of December. Here they are.

Well there are a couple of pictures from November. This one is of Batgirl ravenously attacking a cooked turkey. Even as a toddler Emma had a knack for attacking a turkey with passion and vigor. What a sweet little girl.

Okay, FLASHBACK! These pictures are from 2004! The girl was a born natural at devouring thanksgiving turkey. I should point out that Emma was not even two years old yet!

We got the tree up and decorated. If our lives had a soundtrack, Allies song right now would be "A Whole New World" from Aladin. Talk about eyes lighting up, it was like a smörgåsbord of shiny glittery and dangerous stuff to play with.

This particular ornament was Allie's favorite. Any time we would look away, she would go for this ornament every time.

So we went to Bucca Di Peppo's. This was just a cute picture of the kids with their "Anna Janna".

A cute picture of Allie.

After Bucca Di Peppo we went to see the lights of Temple Square. Afterwards we enjoyed some hot chocolate.

Andrew had his Christmas Singing program at school. I will refrain from most of my comments so as not to be offensive to any of the kids in Andrews class. But I think the 7th grader in the back was a bit lost. Plus what would a school activity picture be without some kid crying.

Look at this one.... we're screwed.

So Rachel was trying to make a quilt, and Allie instantly claimed it for herself. Every time Rachel would lay down the pattern, Allie would attack and turn the quilt squares into some sort nativity dress up costume.

The Harris Grandparents came to stay at their second home for the Holidays. Grandma Harris loves to back, especially around the Holidays, something we all benefit from. (Note, my corporate Christmas card from the big wigs posted on the fridge)

One benefit to having family stay is pawing off responsibilities like reading time to them. (Thanks Papa Harris)

Once again we find ourselves back at Bucca Di Peppo's. Emma is hanging out with Papa Harris, and why does Emma look so excited...

... she kindly took the bill as if this one was on her. (Do we really eat out so much that Emma knows the routine?)

A fun family gathering with the cousins.

So Christmas morning finally arrived. Despite the plethora of presents and gifts, Andrew was fixed on setting up his model train and nothing else mattered.

Grandma Harris really hit the target on this gift for Allie. All morning long Allie just walked around wearing this scarf. She would refuse to take it off.

Halloween!

So Halloween has come and gone, but we still find the need to show our pictures from Halloween. The commentary will not be too lengthy, so enjoy!

First you start Halloween with a classic school Halloween party!

Teenage mutant ninja Pigs! (she's our little Ziggy Pig)

Emma's dreams came true when given the opportunity to dress as Batman / Batgirl. So here she is posing.

You don't often see a bored ninja.

Allie was a pig, or Ziggy Pig as we have lovingly called her at times.

Looks like the whole barnyard is coming along!

Here is the whole crew. So we went downtown to do the "Trick-or-Treats" that Provo City does. We walk along, and trick or treat at the stores along the way. (The Tattoo parlor was definitely the most colorful trick or treating event.)

Apparently this lady was pretty desperate for candy, look at her shoving kids out of the way. Poor Ethan (Scooby Doo) was nearly trampled! (Notice how everyone was kind of staring at her).

I miss those days of being a kid, dressing up, going door to door, hording all the hard liquor we could cram into our pillow cases.

No no Allie! No hard liquor..... you have to eat dinner first!

There were also some fun and games.

Batgirl away!

I am not sure if real ninjas kept their sai's in their belt like that. Bending over could be disastrous.

Deming kids and Smith kids, quite the crew. Just wait till the sugar sets in.

Back at home, preparing for a spooktacular night! (Note: all carved Jack-o-lanterns and the headless guy were last minute additions. We actually set up the baby monitor in the headless guys shirt, so it was cordless, and we could say things to trick-or-treaters, or play spooky music. It was kind of funny to see how many kids had their reserves about him. At first they think it is a person sitting there, but then they realize there is no head, nor a place for a head to exist. So they would gradually walk up along the far side of the walkway.)

Allie would attack the Candy bowl, and chew on the candy through the wrapper. She did it so much we didn't know what she had or hadn't chewed, so we just threw it all back in the bowl. I guess those were the "tricks".

Just another classy pose from Batgirl.

Our place at night time.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Random October Pictures

So we are catching up with some of our pictures. This set includes some of the random pictures from the month of October.

Allie loves looking out the window. She is hanging out with Grandma Harris and Emma. Note: you can see Grandpa Harris taking the pictures of the event. Seems equally memorable to have a picture of Allie as it is to have a pictures of Grandpa Harris taking the picture.

Here is a portrait of Lowell and Kathleen. As you can see Emma sneaked in.

A fun picture of the kids with Grandma Harris.

Not sure what to say on this one. Looks like Andrew is going to take a dive into the leaves, but exactly where I am not sure. Is he jumping or is he falling out of the tree. He seems to be doing some kind of jedi force float.

This was Allie's typical nap time activity. She would pull at the blinds (basically ripping them apart) so she could watch all the kids play out in the yard. After taking the picture we had to re-arrange her room to keep her away from the window.

Allie excited to be part of the adventure.

Andrew

Nice picture of the kids with their cousins. Minus the random girl in the pink dress. She just kind of showed up for the picture.

You can tell how excited Andrew gets when it's time to take some pictures.

What's a river without throwing rocks into it.

This is about the closest we have ever come to getting all three kids looking at the camera at once.

Andrew is such a good kid.

This happens more than you know.

Okay, Allie loves the dog. She even learned to call the dog by making noises with her mouth. Of course her favorite thing to do is feed the dog which has been a big downside with the dog no longer here (a lot of cleanup on the floor).

This is just a favorite of mine, Emma picking some Autumn leaves.