teacher gifts...

this is the first year we had teacher gifts to buy- it was tricky deciding what to get! i didn't want to do a traditional christmas cookie plate. 14 students x 4 preschool classes = a looooot of cookies.
so me and another mom got these cute mercury glass vases from tai pan, added some ribbon candy and giant candy canes and tied them up with some thick bakers twine, cellophane and vintage gift tags.  the candy is just to display in the vase, not to eat (unless you really want to). they were so cute i kept one for myself!  plus i think they made darling gifts for about $15 a piece. our boys have three teachers, so we went halfsies. =)

oh christmas tree...

we were a little sad that we didn't get to cut down our own tree in island park like last year, but the christmas tree lot didn't disappoint! we went with our neighbors the sorias and the kids had lots of fun finding the perfect tree.

little besties

 our tree! max was thrilled to be posing for a photo, obviously.

the soria tree! sid picked it out himself, which was a big deal. he was raised jewish so this was his first experience picking out a live tree... we were so proud of him. haha! 

clark w. griswald drives home from the tree lot, and our other family picture! heather decided she needed to be in it with us too. so funny! max forced himself into one of their family pictures earlier, i swear our kids probably don't know for sure who their real parents are. we always joke that we live in a commune with the sorias!

oh, and if you're wondering where lucy is, she slept in her car seat the whole time. she's a thrill a minute, that girl.

my lucy, 4 (and a half) months.

four months already? i could just die. time is going so quickly with the second, it's not fair! lucy is so sweet and happy, nothing beats a good snuggle with her. baby girl, you are just perfect and we can't imagine life without you! here are a few little things to remember about lucille this month:

- she discovered her toes and is constantly grabbing them.
-her first giggle was at mommy last week, it was the most adorable sound! her laugh reminds me of max's, isn't it funny how siblings sound alike, even as babies?
-she's all about the boob. she takes a bottle, but isn't too happy about it.
-she has been fussy the last couple times i've been gone for work/church duties, and to be honest, it secretly makes me a little happy that she misses me. =) i can't wait to get back and squeeze her whenever i'm gone!
- she is chunk-a-licious. rolls upon rolls on those thighs. i can't get enough of them!
-she's as smiley as they come, always winning over strangers with that big, open mouthed baby grin.
she sucks her fingers alllll the time- it's so cute, not to mention convenient! she usually likes a few fingers at a time, she's not too particular about which ones though.
-she's still a good sleeper, but she does wake up a little more than she used to though...? i think? the truth is, i just pull her into bed with me and feed her when she wakes up, and usually i'm not coherent enough to know what time it is. haha!


here are a few photos i took of lucy for the SASSY BABIES ad. one of the pics should run in the january home town values. yea, she's big time around here. haha! hat and diaper cover available at sassy babies in bountiful and gardener village.

and of course, one with max. who hates getting his photo, but can't let lucy have a shoot without him. ;)

a rands thanksgiving

how could i not lead with this picture? i about died right after i took it, doesn't it look exactly like a martha stewart cookbook cover from the late 90's? not that you look like the 90's mom. just the pose and the turkey and such. 

anyway, it was our year for thanksgiving in seattle, and of course, we had a ball. i was there for a full week but no matter how long i stay, i always think my trip needs to be 3 days longer. ALWAYS. it snowed a LOT (a LOT in seattle is like 3 inches FYI) while i was there and so we did a lot of relaxing at home and watching movies by the fire... it was perfect. plus because of ALLLL the snow, mackenzie's school was cancelled an extra two days. yay! not that i didn't make sure to hit up my usual favorite spots- a seattle trip just isn't a seattle trip without visiting u-village and eating all kinds of thai food, teriyaki and yummy treats. anyway, here are a bunch of pictures. as usual.

lucy- aka paris hilton's chihuahua? i came home from shooting an engagement session to find that my mom had been preparing for thanksgiving guests while toting miss lu around in her PURSE. they had just gotten in from a walk to the neighbor's when i got home.  i died laughing!! i promised mom i would teach her how to use the moby wrap after this.

kenz entertains my kids about 90% of the time i'm in seattle. and i love it. and they LOVE her!!

T H A N K S G I V I N G 

 i swear to you on all that's holy, my mom made the BEST TURKEY ON THE PLANET. (clearly, dad and jordan agreed). it was insanely juicy and delicious, i honestly have never had a turkey even close to as good as this one in my life! all the food was to die for. in case you didn't know, my mom is a gourmet chef. seriously, her food is out of this world, everything she made is 100% from scratch and delicious. we only had one problem, the mashed potatoes went gluey. causing mom and i BOTH to have a near nervous breakdown. i'm only kind-of kidding. we were beside ourselves.

me, pretending that i had been helping the whole time. ;)

mom and lucy enjoying dinner

grandma and grandpa rands

jordan taking pictures of himself.

and of course, my two little butterballs. ;)

i love these two.

lucy + mac

what can i say?

the four kettles

nana and bapa and their two youngest children  grandchildren. sometimes i think they forget. haha!

they LOVE their nana!

me and my little lady.

our whole clan. my parents, grandparents, sibs, kiddies, husband, and peruvian imported sister, who's facebook profile pic i secretly switched to this picture.... 

i love the holidays.

i have a few more to post, but they're on my little camera, which isn't working with my card reader for some reason. shall we take a bet and see if i ever post them? HA.