Looks like Tad - Acts like Stefanie

Like all children, Molly is a unique mix of her parents...she looks like Tad and acts like me. She has always been busy, but now she has figured out how to climb. She is really quite good at it and if you leave her unattended for even a brief minute she will push the chair over to table, climb on it and then onto the table. As you can see she has also taken to looking for new heights and is trying to figure out a way to get to the light over the table. She has not yet fallen, but I do believe her day is coming. Another one of my traits she is lucky enough to have gotten is that she breaks things quite easily....a tree ornament at Aunt Katie's, her sister's toys, her foot, dishes she pulls off the table....you get the idea. However, I think my favorite trait is her eating. She has officially become the messiest eater in our house. She is very cute, but after every meal she needs a new outfit and we need to sweep and mop our floor. Maybe it is just a phase? My family is enjoying this very much as for 35 years they have been telling me I was "busy", a climber, someone who breaks things and a messy eater. How did we all survive?

I do think she is lucky to have inherited such special qualities as she stands a good chance to be a confident girl with bumps and bruises to remind her of her adventures and to become a person who values people over things and good food over clean clothes. I am sure she will thank me when she can talk.

A New Kitchen

When we got home we found that Santa had left one present here for us....a new kitchen (well a play kitchen). The girls were very excited and we were excited to see them so happy. they have played and played with it since they got it. Clare takes orders and makes lots of food for us. Molly mostly bangs the pots and pans, takes out the shelves, and bothers her sister. They both enjoy the kitchen in their own way.

Visiting with Grandpa Leonard

While in Spokane we got to visit with Tad's grandpa Leonard. It was a bit short, but still nice to see him. Molly was again a bit squirmy during this picture, but you can see them all together and certainly see the Heinen genes in three generations. The one of Tad and Leonard turned out great, too....both of them were well behaved during the photo shoot :)

Christmas morning with Grandma & Grandpa

We woke up Christmas morning to find that Santa did indeed find us in Spokane and leave us gifts. It was a fun morning and both girls were so cute opening their gifts and helping everyone else open theirs. Grandma and Grandpa made a delicious breakfast...all the Heinen favorites, sausage, eggs, and hashbrowns. It was a fun morning followed by more play in the snow. This last picture is my attempt to get a picture with all four of them...a feat I could not quite accomplish. One of them was always looking away or squirming around. Anyway, I think this one is actually cute and shows a bit of each of their personalities.

Christmas Eve at the Brooks' House

We celebrated Christmas Eve with Papa Steve at the Brooks' house and had a great time. We had a meal of appetizers and I think it was enjoyed by all....it was not too much work and the food was delicious. What did we do before Costco?

Both Clare and Molly got new "cell phones." Clare's is a pink princess phone and after she opened it she didn't put it down. I think it is in almost every picture. Molly was busy as usual and loved all the ornaments on the tree since they were actually at her level, not all hung on the top third like the ones at our house.

I am so glad we took this picture with Papa Steve. I think it might be the first one we have taken with all four grandkids. They were all good sports and we almost got Papa Steve to stop talking long enough to get a good picture :)

A Winter Wonderland - Spokane

After some days of worrying that we wouldn't get there and a long, slightly stressful drive, we arrived in Spokane on December 23rd just about dusk. It really was a winter wonderland with several feet of snow. We played in the snow at the Heinen's house. I tried to capture the massive amount of snow, but it was tough. The snow was taller than Molly...if you look closely at the first picture you can see that she is standing in front of a wall of snow that is much higher than her head. another comaprison point is the Stop sign in the 4th picture...notice how little of the post you can actually see.

Anyway we bought a new inner tube and Tad showed Clare all the finer points of running and jumping on it to slide down the hill. She loved it and stayed out for at least an hour running and playing. Molly made an appearance too and took a ride down the driveway. She had fun, too, but didn't so much enjoy the snow on her little hands.

Snow in Auburn!

The week of December 15th we had snow in Auburn! Not just our regular wet snow that lasts for a few hours, but real snow! We got about 7 inches in all, had 3 last starts at school and 2 days closed. Tad had to shovel our very steep driveway several times and we went out a play a little bit (both our girls were getting over colds, coughs, ear infections, etc.... so we stayed inside more than we would have liked). I did get this picture of Tad with his coal/snow shovel and one of Molly sitting in the snow.....little did we know that the next week we would head to Spokane for adventures in many feet of snow.

Getting Ready for Christmas

To celebrate the holidays we made Christmas cookies and a gingerbread tree. It was fun and a good way to begin the eating of December...Clare and Molly have both gotten our love of sugar and treats, especially cookie dough. It was also a good way to fill the snow days at home. Clare is also very into "silly pictures" so here is one of the best with her and Tad.

New Year - New Template - Tad's Teeth

Since it is a new year we have chosen a new template for our blog...we hope you like it. anyway I haven't gotten around to posting our Christmas adventures to the blog, but stay tuned. They are coming soon.

This week we have been busy nursing Tad back to health. He had all four of his wisdom teeth removed on Monday and it has been a bit of bugger. I do think he has turned the corner, he is even planning to go to work tomorrow. Of course, I have to drive him because of the pain medication he is on, but none-the-less he is going. I think it will lift his spirits a bit to get out of the house and hopefully will give him something else to think about. Thank you to those who have prayed for him and us. Please keep it coming. He goes back to the surgeon on Tuesday to get his stitches out and hopefully a clean bill of health.