12.23.2010

furnace.

in an attempt to beat out our 39yo furnace from its inevitable end, not to mention the year-end deadline of tax incentives for high-efficiency furnace upgrades, we replaced our furnace this year. kj helped. a little. ;)


12.22.2010

one.

a winter ONEderland party for kj! we had such a blast celebrating this first birthday with our little girl. we invited almost all of her favorite people, set up a red-turquoise-snowflake theme, prepped all kinds of refreshments and decorations befitting said theme, and finally partied it up with all who came from near & far to bless this birthday girl. 

favorites of the afternoon included balloons, storytime, the hat & mitten collection, white hot chocolate, and jello jigglers. kj was less than enthused with the sticky icing on her cake, but nobody else seemed to complain.

kj's newest trick, designed for this party? "kj, how old are you?" and sure enough, she holds one finger high in the sky. that girl is ONE!










12.20.2010

matching.

matching christmas reds. matching auburn locks. matching blue eyes. matching cheery smiles. matching last names. matching admirer named rj. these are happy times right here.

12.18.2010

leftovers.

leftover pizza is a wonderful thing. although pizza is really quite wonderful any time at all, if your name is kj.

12.17.2010

girls.

remember this fantastic shot from circa six weeks?













she's grown up a little bit in the past year ;) and this is only year one!

12.15.2010

ride.

this girl can imagine a ride in any vessel... vroom-vroom! let's go, mom!

12.10.2010

blowing.

the chore of the evening: blowing off the deck before another foot hits. can you tell he's enjoying it?

12.09.2010

blue.

not sure why, but this picture captivates me... i think it's those beautiful blurry blues. any way they come, i adore them.

12.07.2010

bear.

brown bear (bare), anyone?

12.06.2010

trimming.

we made the requisite popcorn balls while trimming the tree this year. i forgot what a yield that recipe makes and we have popcorn balls coming out our ears. not at all a bad thing!

have i mentioned how much i love our tree this year? and kj is already an expert at putting ornaments on the branches. she practices by first removing them, then replacing them, oh so "carefully." this tree might just get this girl walking...

12.05.2010

tree.

for the first time in our family's life, we tromped through the woods, shook snow off many oddly shaped evergreens, eyed them up, and finally cut down a 15' balsam fir which we claimed as our very own christmas tree. merry christmas to our house!

of course such a specimen could never fit in our living room, but apparently the best strategy for procuring a good-looking five foot tree is to glean it from one three times its size. bigger is better, right? well, lucky for us we were allowed to cut down any size balsam fir we pleased, since it was helping the forest for a nearby environmental center's property. to top it off, they offered hot chocolate, cookies, and a warm bonfire for our reward!

i am in love with this new family tradition. a day out in the brisk air, moseying through the snowy woods, together with my favorite people, sipping warm drinks, bringing some seasonal cheer & aroma into our home... what's not to love?



12.01.2010

common.

common views during these days of play...





cookies.

wish i had a photo of the delicious christmas cookies i baked rather than the havoc sweet little kj wrecked in my kitchen meanwhile! welcome, christmas season, or at least december!