Merry Christmas to all!

We're hoping everyone has enjoyed their Christmas.
Esther has been enjoying her new toys all day.
Here's a few pictures from her new digital camera that she took. The flash is really bright and the pictures are grainy, but it's made for a toddler's "delicate" touch. Here's a picture of her forehead and hair, upside down (or as E would say, "upslide down").

Mommy's wrist.

Daddy's arm.

Her foot?

Her "Diego" camera has a self-timer, too.

Looking like a little Alaskan.

Playing swords with Dad.

So poor Gene has been stuck at home for over a week now. His a little stir crazy already. But the snow has brought some beauty and fun. Here's some cute little bird tracks.

We haven't been able to drive anywhere, which helps with the cabin fever.

Maybe this is the little birdie who made the tracks.

Our teeny tiny snowman.

Indoor exercise: jumping on the trampoline.

Building a robot out of blocks.

Here he is.

Apparent-ly this is where your rain boots go, according to Esther.

Opening presents.

We officially had the first pee pee in the potty.

Care to do the "pee pee in the potty" dance with me? It seems like forever since we've waited for this moment and after sitting on the throne for about hour and a half (and bribing E with an icecream cone) she finally went! She wasn't even scared at all. Happy day!!

Join me on a trip down memory lane...

...I'll try not to cry on you. I can't believe it's already been two years since we became a family of three, and yet it seems we've always been together. Esther has blessed our lives in so many ways and we can't imagine our life without her.
Our first meeting on Dec. 18, 2006. Wow, looking at this picture brings back all those emotions I was feeling at the same time: Immense gratitude, utter fear, complete relief, and of course immeasurable joy.

Proud Papa

Getting to know each other.

First feeding.

And today. "Robot" by Esther.

Snow day. Gene was home from work (what an awesome gift to help celebrate our 2nd Forever Day anni-versary).

E making her first snow-angel.

Ta da!

Cheesy grin. We showed Esther her dimples in the mirror, so now when you ask her to show them, this is the grin you get. Priceless.

So full of joy about the snow.

Showing off the snowball Dad made for her (wearing Mom's gloves).

Later, snuggling with Daddy.

Tickle time.

Wow, a grown-ups night out...

with the Loose Cannon crew for their Christmas party. We went to the Teatro Zinzanni for a dinner show. It was truly bizarre and truly fun! (Is it weird that I have a crush on Chef Caesar?) Thanks to Gene's parents for watching Esther. Of course, she had a blast, too. The grandparents brought an early Christmas present..."Wall-E," (for those that don't know, it's an animated movie about a robot). The next day, we had to watch "Wall-E" twice. So pretty much our condo is all robots, all the time.
Look what I found in the dryer!
Apparently E was going out to do some errands. Check out her new Wall-E shirt (from Nana and Papa).

Warning: this blog post reveals what your Christmas present will be. Read at your own risk.

December just keeps rolling along...at a very steady pace. Esther is more into it this year, but still doesn't understand all that it means yet. She likes our tree, but seemed confused when we put it inside our house. She doesn't appreciate Christmas carols as much as me, but then again neither does her dad. She likes our nativity but doesn't understand the significance. And it's "Baby Deedee", not Jesus. She enjoys taking off the ornaments that she can reach (all unbreakable).
Drawing in her Christmas coloring book with all the pencils at once. She hasn't been into coloring lately but one of these pictures was a robot...so of course she was interested.

Getting artistic with powdered candy. Yes, it was messy, but what isn't with an almost 3 year old?

She was very intrigued by Sydney eating his food. Luckily he isn't food aggressive at all and will put up with almost anything Esther can dish out.

E had her first candy cane recently, so we had to bring some home. I found some different flavored ones with Spongebob, Patrick, Diego, and Dora on them. As you can see they were a hit.

This weekend Santa was coming to town, so of course we had to go find him. Esther really wasn't that interested, she seemed to wonder what all the fuss was about. She did, however, enjoy the merry-go-round.

It was fun watching all the dads pushing the kids, while the moms just watched (and took pictures).

We had some family pictures taken and here are some that we aren't using as Christmas presents. (Yep, now you know what you're getting!)

This weekend's going ons...

future blogger (probably plotting all the things she can write about me and her dad)

sporting her shades upside down

The day after

Thanks-giving, I had the bright idea that our family should go get our Christmas tree. Of course it was raining and really muddy. But I was not to be deterred...much to the chagrin of Esther and Gene. We tramped out into the field of trees, getting soaked and very dirty. Esther got scared when someone used a chainsaw and really wanted to go back to the car. Gene indulged me, but I'm pretty sure I heard some mumbling under his breath. So all in all we had a grand ol' time.

Looking for the perfect tree

Looks like she's wondering if it's time to go yet.

Friday evening, a.k.a. Black Friday, we headed to Target to buy some white Christmas lights. Gene, always the good sport, looked at me a little askew when I suggested this trip. Luckily, most of the crowd had already ravaged the store and left. While there, we picked up a booster seat for Esther...so she's now a big girl at the table.

This picture is a little misleading...Esther looks like she's posing sweetly for me. Actually, she was tickling my feet when I caught this shot. No matter...it's still a pretty picture.