Thanksgiving and a Visit from Aunt Amanda

We're so happy that my sister, Aunt Amanda, came to visit for Thanksgiving. On the morning of, we thought we might get a good shot of the family to send out in Christmas cards so we did an impromptu photo shoot. The following photo just about sums up how it went...

Here's what I'm most thankful for right here.

Amanda and Van

Here's the feast. There were so few of us and so much food that we literally didn't eat even a fourth of any dish.

Early the next morning we all went to the most precious little Christmas parade at Barrak's Shopping Center. It was darling and really got me in the Christmas spirit.

Van was more than impressed with the giant Elmo that he saw.

...Athen freestylin on the curb...

And here they are, straight from the North Pole

While Amanda was still here we decorated for Christmas. We would have waited longer but Athen was in physical pain due to anticipation. We could deny him no longer.

Then, before she left, we made a few of the obligatory C'vill stops.

Michie Tavern

Blue Moon Cafe

(these are Athen's pancakes)

And Moticello

All in all it was a great holiday!

Happy Birthday Van!

Sweet Van was a much anticipated member of our family.

Here is our "Vanimal" the day he was born.

And here he is again on the morning of his second birthday.

Some of our little friends came over to help us celebrate.

Van loves doughnuts, so we had doughnuts instead of cake. Here he is with a mouthfull, hamming it up.

You can tell they are so into getting this picture taken.

Vannie's main gift was this easel. He gets lost in his drawings for 20 to 40 minutes at a time.

Van energizes our family. He's Mr. Funny and always up for a good time. He takes to things quickly and has an amazing sense of self and the effect he has on people around him. We are so grateful for the past 2 years we've had to get to know him, love him, and help him grow.