Santa Claire

Santa Claire came to visit our house today. She was all dolled up in red and ready to take requests for Christmas presents. Gabe didn't want to tell her what he wanted though since he was too busy trying to steal her hat. She kept motioning him to come sit on her lap but he would just grab her hat and run away.

Finishing the tree

We finally had time to finish decorating the Christmas tree tonight. Claire sat on the couch patiently waiting for us to finish.

While Gabe hung ornaments like a pro.

And here's the finished product!

Snow!

Gabriel went out in the snow today for the first time this year. We tried taking him out in the snow last year and he didn't like it but this time he was mad we had to go inside for lunch.

His favorite activity was making snowballs to throw at Mom. (Thanks for teaching him that Daddy!)

He wasn't so sure about making snow angels but once he saw Mom do one he wanted to join in the fun.

We built a snowman but it didn't really turn out too well. The snow was melting so we did the best we could.

Bouncing

4 months

Claire is now four months old. It is hard to believe how much change she has brought to our lives. At her doctor's appointment, she was 12 pounds 11 ounces (such a little peanut compared to her brother who was 15 pounds 3 ounces at 4 months) and 25 inches long. Gabe is still a little jealous of her, asking frequently to put "Claire down" or "Claire bed" but she just adores her big brother. They play games together like "Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes" (Gabe's version is actually more like "Head, Dooders, Mees, Toes") and Gabe likes to make her kick her legs so she laughs. Life with Claire is getting to be so much fun.

Christmas tree

Putting up the Christmas tree has turned into quite a long project. It has been hard this past week to find a time when all of us are home to decorate the tree as a family. We started on Friday by building the tree. Perhaps we will put ornaments on this weekend. We will keep you updated on our progress.

Gabe was Daddy's little helper. He sorted the branches (with Mom's help) into piles for each tier of the tree.

Gabriel loves to read

This picture was taken 3-4 months ago. We thought it was so funny that Gabe was sitting in the laundry basket reading his books.

These pictures were taken today when Gabriel was in the basement reading. I guess he likes to sit inside of something to read his books. It's funny that he was wearing the same pajamas and reading the same set of alphabet books.