Dog Sledding

While we were in the UP for Christmas, we had the opportunity to go on a dog sled ride (I know - you thought that's how we got to school every day being soooo FAR up north!).  Aaron got to drive the sled while Amita and I rode together, snuggled up tight in a sleeping bag.  We had an amazing adventure and we would gladly do it again sometime!

Here's all of us getting ready to head out on the trail.  My bro and his family, my dad, and the 3 of us all got to go out together.

Grandma stayed behind with the babies and Ansel had his own version of a sled ride.

Sledding is hard work!  Somehow, Grandma got both babies to sleep while we were gone!!

Christmas Break-Down

We had an exciting, albeit busy, Christmas holiday.  We got to see family and friends from near and far and it really is the most wonderful time of the year.  Since a picture is worth a thousand words, I thought I'd tell the story with mostly pictures this year.  And with kids this cute, who could blame me?!?!

Here we are at Papa and Nana's house.

Amita was compelled to bring along an old-school frog backpack that used to belong to Mama.  At least it was still a Christmas color combination!

The kids were excited to open gifts and try out their presents.

And this car got the biggest smiles of all!!

Next we travelled to the UP for Christmas.  They had plenty of snow for us to play in.

This is Amita holding a snowman (her words, not mine!).

We also did some sledding... and Amita really loved it this year.  She went with cousin Piper and all by herself!

Ansel and Priya got to share lots of toys.

And someone is finally ready for Mustache Friday!

Ansel loved hanging out with Grandpa!

And Priya posed so nice with her mama too.

And if you think it's tough getting 2 kids to look at the camera at the same time, just imagine the Herculean effort it took to get 6!  Ok, 4 kids plus Grandpa and Grandma.

Daddy and Ansel were rocking plaid flannel for the big day.

And speaking of rocking... Ansel really loved his chance to rock this boat (when Amita finally let him try it out!).

This was the look of pure joy when Amita discovered she got a mermaid costume.  She took some convincing to open the gift in the first place, but she was sure glad she did!

Behold!  The tiny mermaid in all her glittery details!

And Ansel loved the costume too... he got to play with the box it came in!

Amita's second favorite gift?  A shovel!  Not sure why, but she's obsessed with shoveling any time it snows out.  She's been using a sand castle shovel up til now... so this should help her do a little more!

Mama and Amita catching a free ride from Grandpa.

Testing out the shovel.  It works!

Modeling a Christmas tree hat.

Getting ready for some Christmas fun.

Mama and her little man!

Another view of the mermaid and shovel spectacular!

Priya enjoyed hanging out... as long as Cousin Ansel wasn't screaming in her face!  She really did not care for that (he made her cry more than once!).

But you'd never know it seeing them both here!

And this is proof that I couldn't get 2 pictures the entire trip of all 4 kids looking at the camera.  Instead, I present to you the ladies...

... And Ansel!

This was one of my favorite pictures... the kids were exhausted after our big trip and they finally slept on the ride home (nothing on the ride up!).  It made for a faster and much quieter return trip!  And cars traveling southbound could hear us quietly exclaim, "Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night!"

Snowy Day

Last weekend we got more than enough snow to cover the ground.  Too bad Amita was napping through all of it!  So we went in the backyard with Ansel and took him sledding for a little bit before bedtime.  It was fun to see his reaction to the white stuff, since last year at this time, he was a newborn and we didn't spend a whole lot of time outside!

Here he is testing out the sled.  He seemed like he had a pretty good time riding around.  And yes, those are hand-me-down boots!

Here's Ansel and Daddy after a successful run down the sledding hill.

And this is Santa's littlest reindeer.  He got his antler hat turned around and this was the only picture I could get before he pulled it all the way off his head!!

Nervous November

The week after Ansel's birthday, we took him to the doctor for his one year checkup.  He continues to grow and is a healthy and robust 21 pounds 6 ounces and is just shy of 32 inches long.  Our doctor (who has 5 kids of his own) has never said anything other than, "I wouldn't worry..." about whatever concern we have brought him in the 3 years of visits for both kids, so when he suggested we see a specialist at Children's Hospital, we definitely started to worry.  

Ansel has great balance and can sit on his own fine, but he isn't moving (no crawling, standing or walking), which apparently is a little abnormal for this age (called a missed developmental milestone).  Luckily for us, there was an opening this past Friday at Children's and we gladly took it.  Tom Petty is definitely right - the waiting IS the hardest part.  

Fortunately, we were blessed with good news at our visit - the doctors don't think there is anything neurological or structural that would be causing the developmental delay.  We're not entirely in the clear and we need to monitor Ansel's progress closely over the next 3 months, but for now, they have given us more ways to help encourage his movement at home, no extra doctor visits or physical therapy required.  We celebrated the fantastic news with some homemade pizza (and beer, for the legal adults!) after we returned from the hospital!

And now, some photos of some lighter moments in November.

Here's Amita with the jack-o-lantern she helped Daddy carve.

And I couldn't take a picture of Aaron with a pumpkin without flashing back to our wedding photographer... so I insisted he put the pumpkin on his head, just like we did 10 years ago!

Here's Ansel modeling a smock from Grandma.  I put it on backwards like a vest the first time!

This is Aaron opening our last bin of formula for Ansel.  Now that he's a 1-year-old, he is switching to cow's milk!

Amita loves Ansel and is always showing him affection.  He adores her hugs and kisses too!

Ansel and Daddy playing together.

This is Ansel standing on his bouncy scooter.  This is one of the devices that we will be using a lot more to encourage him to stand on his legs.

Here is a little progress... Ansel slid backwards on the floor (I'm pretty sure the slippery fleece pajamas helped a lot!) from the TV all the way to the hearth in the living room.

This is Amita showing off a headband in her hair.  She loves accessories!

Birthday Boy

It's hard to believe that another year has gone by, but already my sweet Ansel is one!  We had a small party for him to celebrate and my favorite part was the photo montage of how he has grown and changed in just one year.  Ansel's favorite part was his celebratory birthday cake and he gobbled all of it down with a little help from Daddy!  

 Here's Ansel showing us how old he is!

Both kids were very excited about the birthday balloon.  This was the ONLY picture where both of them were sitting still!

Here's what the birthday cake looked like before we cut into it.  A handsomer cake has never been seen!

Ansel and Daddy with their party hats.

And the rest of the revelers!

Opening gifts - Amita was thrilled to help Ansel.  She kept asking if she could wear the striped jammies.  I'm thinking that by next year, they will be in the same size!

Mama had to help with the unwrapping too.

In talking with all the parents we know, there is one fact that holds true for all children.  They love the packaging more than the actual toy!!  This continues to support our theory that cats and kids are surprisingly similar!