More pictures of Molly

Playing with her new mirror toy

and her new baby doll

Pretty in pink

Molly with Nana

More pictures of the sweetie

I love the chubby little feet

And I love those big smiles!

Just a list ...

... of random things. I thought this one was interesting, so here is mine:

[Just boldface the items that you HAVE done, and leave the rest normal ...]

1. Started your own blog

2. Slept under the stars

3. Played in a band

4. Visited Hawaii

5. Watched a meteor shower

6. Given more than you can afford to charity (skipped)

7. Been to Disneyland/world

8. Climbed a mountain.

9. Held a praying mantis

10. Sang a solo

11. Bungee jumped

12. Visited Paris

13. Watched a lightning storm at sea

14. Taught yourself an art from scratch

15. Adopted a child

16. Had food poisoning

17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty

18. Grown your own vegitables

19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France

20. Slept on an overnight train

21. Had a pillow fight

22. Hitch hiked

23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill

24. Built a snow fort

25. Held a lamb

26. Gone skinny dipping

27. Run a Marathon

28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice

29 Seen a total eclipse

30. Watched a sunrise or sunset

31. Hit a home run

32. Been on a cruise

33 Seen Niagara Falls in person

34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors

35. Seen an Amish community

36. Taught yourself a new language

37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied

38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person

39. Gone rock climbing

40. Seen Michelangelo’s David

41 Sung karaoke

42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt

43. Bought a stranger a meal in a restaurant

44. Visited Africa

45 Walked on a beach by moonlight

46. Been transported in an ambulance

47. Had your portrait painted

48. Gone deep sea fishing

49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person

50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris

51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling

52. Kissed in the rain

53. Played in the mud

54. Gone to a drive-in theater

55. Been in a movie

56. Visited the Great Wall of China

57. Started a business

58. Taken a martial arts class

59. Visited Russia

60 Served at a soup kitchen

61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies

62. Gone whale watching

63. Gotten flowers for no reason

64 Donated blood, platelets, or plasma

65. Gone sky diving

66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp

67. Bounced a check

68. Flown in a helicopter

69. Saved a favorite childhood toy

70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial

71. Eaten caviar

72. Pieced a quilt

73. Stood in Times Square

74. Toured the Everglades

75. Been fired from a job

76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London

77. Broken a bone

78. Been on a speeding motorcycle

79 Seen the Grand Canyon in person

80. Published a book

81. Visited the Vatican

82. Bought a brand new car

83. Walked in Jerusalem

84. Had your picture in the newspaper

85. Read the entire Bible

86. Visited the White House

87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating

88. Had chickenpox

89. Saved someone’s life

90. Sat on a jury

91. Met someone famous

92. Joined a book club

93. Lost a loved one

94. Had a baby

95. Seen the Alamo in person

96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake

97. Been involved in a lawsuit

98. Owned a cell phone

99. Been stung by a bee

Too cute

I love him.

How could anyone resist that sweet little face?

He's just too cute.

Molly Kisses

This video is from a few weeks ago, I just haven't had time to edit and post it. Please disregard my PJs and morning hair - this was just too cute not to share because it is unflattering of me. Molly gives kisses with lots of energy and lots of slobber - I usually end up with a very wet face (and sometimes minor injuries when she gets carried away and head butts me in the mouth or the bridge of the nose!), but it's so fun!

Random after-Christmas news

Well, we're a week into the new year now - Happy 2009! I didn't make any resolutions this year, but here are some things we're doing around here in Shmuffin land.

First of all, Elijah celebrated the new year by giving up his pacifiers altogether. He was using them only to sleep (and a few exceptional circumstances) for over a year, but he was still very attached to them and showed no signs of ever giving them up on his own. We decided it would be better to break the habit now than to wait until ... well, whenever. We talked about it for a few weeks through December, and Elijah agreed that when Nana came to visit he would throw away his pacifiers. When the big day came, Elijah very happily ran and threw his pacifiers into the trash all by himself. He was happy and proud of himself at first, but a few minutes later when it was time to go to sleep he was quite sad. It took longer to get to sleep for the first few nights, and he was pretty sad, especially for the first two nights. But the really difficult part was nap time. Elijah went almost a week without sleeping during naps. I was really starting to think he was never going to nap again! But he's slept for the past two days now, so I think we're past the hardest part. I guess this means that he's really growing up!

For Christmas, Elijah got his own little backpack and some quiet toys to take to church. We are working on being quiet, and stretching him longer and longer before going to nursery. He lasted at least 10 minutes longer than usual this week, hooray!

I got some new little bins for Christmas that fit in the bookshelves to keep the kids' toys more organized. It really helps the living room look neater (at least when things are put away). Patrick and my mom helped me get both the living room toys and the kids' clothes sorted and organized last week, which was really nice. We also got out some of Elijah's paper books, and he has been very good with them so far - another sign that he's growing up. I am excited to have things more organized and tidy around here, especially since we spend so much time stuck inside in the winter.

We had some very cold days last week, and the other three apartments in our building had trouble with their heat. Finally a pipe burst in one of the downstairs apartments in the middle of the night - another fun night for Patrick. The broken pipe made our apartment really cold too, especially the kids' room, so we had to put space heaters everywhere for the night. It seems to all be working now, and everything should be dry and cleaned up when someone comes to move in down there this semester. I am so glad that our heat never went out!

Some random December pictures

Here are just a few fun pictures of Molly from last month.

Splashing!!!

Love the Bunny

Sleeping

A week with Nana

My mom was here for the last week to visit us (OK, mostly to visit Elijah and Molly!). We had a really nice, quiet week. Patrick had most of the week off of work, and it was good to have him home, too. The weather here was kinda crummy, so we mostly stayed home. It wasn't a very exciting week, but it was very relaxing. How wonderful! We all enjoyed our visit. Elijah and Molly loved playing with Nana, and Patrick and I got to go out on a date, too!

Elijah's first try at finger paints. He had so much fun!

Nana brought more Christmas presents, which the kids loved

Elijah and Nana read lots of books, played with trains, and even got to go to the park a couple of times.

Baby doll

Here are a few pictures of Molly wearing her Bobbi sweater and hat. Look at those sweet cheeks!

What a doll.

Lots and lots of trains

While we were in Pennsylvania, we got to go see a local model railroad club's train exhibit - Elijah was in heaven! He's been looking forward to going to see the trains since Bobbi told him about it in October. It was really cool.

Elijah, Patrick, Danny and Evan

Papa showing Elijah the trains

Going over bridges and under tunnels

Check out the Ma Family's blog and photo albums for lots of great pictures of our week in PA.