Christmas 2009

I never quite understood as a child when adults complained about Christmas being so much work and being relieved when it was all over but I definitely understand now. December has been a fun but exhausting month! After bugging Ben for an entire week I finally got him to buy a Christmas tree for the living room. Liam and I took over the task of decorating the tree.

After having a family party at my house and going on the polar express we also were able to meet up with Sam's family and go to The Nutcracker.

I even had enough parties to attend that I purchased a bright red blouse.

Christmas morning finally came and Liam and Lila enjoyed receiving numerous presents.

To top it all off the day after Christmas Sam put on a beautiful party at the Grand America Hotel.

Phew, glad that's all over with.

Family Photo Album

After Jenny put in a hard days work here are some of her best shots. Thanks Jenny!

Merry Christmas 2009

Smohnson Events

One of the great things about living in our new house is the great trees on our street. You can see that Liam is thoroughly enjoying the big pile of leaves that I raked up.

Here are a couple shots of Lila modeling some of her new fall outfits. Check out the elf shoes!

And last but not least the reason why I have to plan another family photos shoot later this week. Someone wasn't cooperating and it wasn't the kids.

My Little Strawberry

A few halloween pictures for your viewing pleasure.

Halloween Party

After weeks of planning Liam and I successfully hosted a Halloween party for 10 of his friends. We made these invitations from an internet template and then did a lot of brainstorming and shopping.

Some of the best party favors were these wax mustaches, I'm glad Liam can't grow one of these quite yet.

Liam dressed up as Babafet and took his new role very seriously (a character from one of the new star wars movies).

We had a good time bobbing for apples after dinner. I didn't realize it was going to be as funny as it was, all the boys put their heads in at once. Needless to say they weren't very successful at first.

I also found some monster teeth for the kids for which Liam eagerly volunteered to be the model.

Having dry ice at a kids party works great and provides endless entertainment.

Although I'm not sure I want to throw another party anytime soon I think all had a good time. Aren't they cute!

Fall Time

I know we have posted a lot of Lila on the blog lately but she just happens to be at one of the cutest ages. She is 15 months and her hair has finally gotten long enough to put in pigtails. Here are a few shots of her new transformation from a baby to a toddler. Don't pigtails just seem so grown up?

A neighbor was talking to me and confessed she forgot Lila's name so her kids have been calling her cute little strawberry. I liked the nickname so much I got her a a strawberry outfit for Halloween.

Liam can't wait for Halloween to come. It is only September and both Liam and Lila have skeleton pajamas. Liam wants to get all the decorations out but Ben has a rule we can't bring anything out until October 1st. Needless to say Ben's rule has been broken.

August Events

Just a few photos of Lila in her cute apple dress her Aunt Laura gave her last year. Can't believe she fits in it already. She just figured out how to go up and down stairs and is everywhere and into everything in the house.

The end of August Liam started first grade. Not sure he looks ready to go back here in this picture but he is liking being back with all of his friends. He tells me he scored 100% on his first spelling test this week.

Here's Ben and Liam making some birthday cupcakes for me. I had to take a picture, I've never seen Ben actually cook anything, especially for me. This was a true landmark day for our family.

Liam's Summer Adventures

So after 2 years of asking for Heelies Liam finally got them. He is getting the hang of them and wearing them everywhere we go. He even wanted to wear then to bed the first night but Ben and I convinced him they might be a little uncomfortable to sleep in.

During a neighborhood party Liam also got to climb on a fire truck and try out the gear. He later got soaking wet after being sprayed with the fire hoses.

Trying to mimic his dad Liam tried to help finish a few projects around the house.

The best part of the summer was having so many houseguests. Liam got to meet his new cousin Anise and spend time with his uncle Stan and aunt Nga who came to visit from Vietnam. If only Liam had a little bit more time with Uncle Stan he would have mastered juggling and a few magic tricks.