Stand Up and Walk My Son

Will has been practicing the last two or three weeks and has decided that walking is a fun way to get around. It warms my heart to watch but I feel like walking makes him not a baby. What did we do so that both our kids felt they had to walk before 10 months? Goodbye babyhood, hello new adventures.

Also of note--waving bye bye, playing peekaboo with one precious hand over his eye, becoming very vocal about the toys that constantly get ripped away (who can balme him?) and still not quite figuring out how to go down the stairs.

Will says Happy New Year!

David is Two!

Oh David. You are two. You've been sleeping in a big boy bed for months because you decided to crawl out of the crib this summer. You know how to open doors and the refrigerator with "baby proof" locks on them. Sometimes you spend your days taking anything Will decides to pick up, vrooming your cars on the walls, eating toothpaste, unrolling toilet paper, and dumping out every toy you have just for the fun of it.

Happy Birthday!

I love the big elephant tear streaks in this one, he was unhappy that we were waiting and took the temping cake away.

Oh David. You are two. You sit and quietly and look at books with an air of amazement and wonder. You never forget your brother and when we are leaving the house or when he is sleeping. You ask "please" for everything, even things you shouldn't have. You soften our hearts when you point out the picture of Jesus or when you recognize your grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins in photos or on the phone. You say "beep" when you walk backwards...in fact sometimes we wonder if we are raising a truck instead of a little boy! You spend hours with your cars and trains. You like holding a hand going down the stairs--not for the help but for the company. You are your Daddy's little boy who still to loves Mom a whole lot too.

The red "You Are Special" Plate (trust me, it says that under the food)

Cars cake compliments of Dad

So excited! It is hard to believe he was ever a little baby.

Blowing out the candles; now he can officially turn two.

Christmas Day

David woke up somewhere in the 5 am hour...we were prepared with the movie Cars on Brad's laptop. David watched his show while we tried to snooze. William woke up at a much more reasonable 6:30. Brad was more excited than anyone and reports that he couldn't sleep well last night. Just like when he was a kid.

David walked over to his chair and promptly sat in it after clearing space by sliding the cute pile of presents off. He then demanded that Will sit in the chair next to him.

I think the chairs were a hit!

We lazily opened gifts until the afternoon. David did ok at unwrapping. He would always for "help please" so he could play with whatever he had opened. He didn't really care much about moving onto the next thing. Will ended up liking some of David's gifts which worked out when big brother decided he wanted what Will had.

Much of the day was spent playing with GeoTrax or as David says train tracks.

It was a relaxing Christmas with a few surprises and a lot of fun for the kids. We are converted to not traveling during the holidays.

Jammies, Books, and Santa

Christmas Eve wouldn't be Christmas Eve without opening our jammies and books and calling our parents/grandparents to let them know what we were about to do.

Grandma Kathy asks David to touch his tummy.

Mom helps Will open his first Christmas PJ's.

Merry Christmas!

Don't ever let anyone tell you it is all about the gift.

Only the box and paper actually matter.

My boys. All three.

David hasn't had feet in awhile but he kept pointing out his "shoes" so I think they were a hit.

Santa was SO EXCITED for our first New England Christmas he came early....

We discovered his gifts and realized that we'd better go to bed!

David and William slept soundly and had no idea that "Ho, Ho, Ho" had been here.

One cute reindeer rear...Happy 1st Christmas Will.

The Sweedish Dinner

Proof that year one of the Lyon family tradition of a Swedish dinner on Christmas Eve happened.

Couldn't pass up the formal place settings--mixed with paper stuff for the kids of course. Don't mind my table cloth that doesn't quite make it to the end of our "fancy" dining room set up.

Authentic Swedish candlesticks. I didn't know it then, but they were a sweet gift.

It was a success! We didn't get the bread perfect, but it was still edible. Brad loves being in the kitchen cooking and baking my family traditions into reality. Lucky me. Am I becoming too dependent? I'm not sure I could be a host all by myself.

Note Ryan in the back between his two boys in red shirts. (Our beloved former home teacher and friend.) We forgot he served his mission in Sweden. It was scary thinking that we didn't really know how Swedish our dinner was...but he'd had the rice pudding before. Phew.

The Holt's brought their chimes and duets. We chimed, they played piano, I fluted, and the adults sang. That made it feel a lot more like Christmas. I'm not sure we even missed being home.

Mom,

I just wanted you to know that the horse (still can't remember his name) is now a delight for Will. Watch as he bounces along to the trotting noises.

Love, Dee

Missionary Give Away

The roads were clear by the time dinner rolled around and the missionaries came over as planned. They told us about the ties they love to collect; I told them not to assumed they could keep all their ugly ties after they got married!

Brad decided to gift his horrid hand-me-down clip on Savers or DI tie from his mission....5 and 1/2 years later (without coaxing or pressure from me) and boy was I glad to see it go!

Thanks Elders! Just be sure to pass it down the line.

SNOW DAY

Snow is still a novel thing for me. I wasn't surprised when church was cancelled this time. I'm sure we got about two feet. I'm sure I didn't go out. I'm sure I missed enjoying the before Christmas music program. I'm sure it was a quiet day of relaxing at home.

David ventures out--his Dad rescued the car and brought it inside for the winter

I'm not gonna lie--this is the most I've ever seen here.

I think I'm glad we didn't travel this year.

Congratulations Jan!

My friend Jan (middle) just finished her MA in Public Health. She has been diligently researching, writing papers, and doing an internship at a nearby middle school. All while caring for two small children while her husband is often working out of town. We are so impressed Jan! It was a fun get together to honor her and learn a little more about what she has been doing.

The sparkling pomegranate juice was a great excuse to break out the seldom used fancy glasses. Thank you Brad for all your help with the party, you saved the day.

BU Christmas Party

Last year my Dad came to the BU Dental Christmas party with us and won a sweatshirt. I must have been thinking it would be a happening party again this year. My friend babysat for us and I headed into Boston to meet Brad at the school. It had a lot going...the city views from the library were amazing, the food was catered and good, the atmosphere was nice with live piano and video of fake snow falling outside.

With a huge final looming the next morning Brad counted about 10 people from his class that dared to show instead of studying. I guess we aren't alone together all that much because we both kept looking for other familiar faces to talk to!! I left wondering why I was so excited to go.

Brad and I

With Bob, Emily and their little guy

Thankfully Bob and Emily saved the day at showed up at the end. We have not seen them in almost a year, they befriended us when we were seriously needing it during the great move of 2008. We met their sweet little boy Ezra who is almost one.

Do we go next year and take the kids with us or just forget it and have a date night to ourselves?

Ward Christmas Party

Absolute Torture?

Since Santa at the mall was a bust (read the train was much more interesting) we tried again at the annual Christmas party but this is the best we could muster. David likes anyone who gives him candy but that doesn't necessarily mean he'll pose for the camera.

The Nativity; our shepard is munching on part of his costume that fell off.

See our friend Nathan in the Cheetah costume?

The little shepard and the cheetah spent a good minute or two growling at each other. David was so excited to see Nathan's costume he couldn't contain the appropriate animal noises. At least they were sweet and friendly growls.

Putting the Empty Bag to Use

Dear Danielle,

Don't worry we are taking good care of your luggage while it is here.

Love,

David, Will, and our friend Nathan

Grandma Sends Christmas

Give my Mom one empty luggage bag that ships for free (courtesy of Southwest) and she'll spoil her grandchildren and kids in return.

You are looking at several handmade gift bags, all from Grandma Kathy. Chic, lovely, and eco-friendly they are sure to bring the Christmas spirit to a tree near you.

Thanks Mom, it was unbelievable to find a suit case filled with love from home.

Brad's Utah Trip

Brad headed out to Utah for his brother's sealing. He felt blessed that he didn't have classes on the chosen weekend and could attend without school hassles. He left for a whirl wind trip that included more traveling than anything.

Saying goodbye--thank you public transportation, we didn't have to take him to the airport.

The boys and I spent Saturday at the Pheasant Lane Mall in New Hampshire

Will's 9 month photos, Christmas cards, shopping and browsing, and of course a train ride kept most of the crabbiness at bay. I pushed David and Will about as far as they could go. After two dramatic diaper changes at JCPenny we headed for home; the snow was just starting up. Both boys were asleep before I pulled out of my parking space.

I wasn't thrilled to be the one cleaning snow off of the car on Sunday morning but we did enjoy a spectacular ride to church with freshly fallen snow glistening on all of the trees. Even I will admit it was breathtaking...as long as we were inside.

A friend and her husband helped me out during sacrament meeting and another friend and her husband watched David and Will while I picked Brad up at the airport and THEN fed us dinner. I was thankful for the helping hands.

Clay and Jorden

Another shot of the happy couple!

I felt sad I wasn't there when Brad mentioned how special it was for his parents to have all of six of their children (and all but two spouses) in the temple together. Congratulations Clay and Jorden; we are thrilled for you both.

Leaving Leesburg

This little girl was so interested in William! Probably because he is a baby, she is a little girl, and she'll have a new brother or sister in a few months.

I think he liked the attention

David is asking the dog to lick his tummy...he was in hog (or rather dog) heaven. Two dogs are twice the fun. We were a little worried he would love and feed them to death.

I can't remember anything too frightening to report about the trip back. It gave us a lot of confidence to travel with two small children but I don't think I'd be anxious to drive a trip much longer than this one either. We were sad not to see much of Gettysburg or the Crayola factory but decided we'll do those another time.

Washington DC in 2003

Danielle and Brooke just outside of the Lincoln Memorial;

Looking toward the Washington Monument and the then under construction WWII Memorial.

I keep thinking of the DC trip my parents took us on right after I finished high school. It was May of 2003. I was 18; the Iraq war had just begun.

Noteworthy experiences included:

1) Watching the supreme court render a decision. We saw all the justices in their robes. For a young woman full of dreams and ideals seeing Sandra Day O'Connor and Ruth Bater Ginsberg in person was incredible.

2) Watching the annual PBS concert and fireworks at the US Capitol on Memorial Day eve. We'd watched it on TV a bazillion times and now we were there. It was a bit rainy but Lonestar preformed (Danielle and I were freaking out) and the capitol building served as our backdrop. Very cool.

3) Tours of the library of congress and the capitol (among others) were the most memorable along with a visit to the Smithsonian American History Museum. I think my parents had to drag me out of there....

The three of us with Mr. Lincoln

Washington Monument

Danielle, Brooke, and I at the White House

Danielle and I at the White House again...

Iwo Jima Memorial; the three tiny girls in the middle are us

Brooke and I

Arlington National Cemetery on Memorial Day--every headstone had a flag

The FDR Memorial/Park

I really liked this one even though it is often overlooked because it isn't a monument

Me on the steps of the Supreme Court building...maybe someday...

A lovely photo of us...near the Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland?

I'm not sure just how my Mom pulled this off, we saw and did so many things! Thanks to Mom and Von for giving us such a wonderful trip. I remember it fondly.