Noah's ski adventure

This year my parents bravely invited Noah to join them on their annual ski trip.  We almost canceled when Noah and Max got sick for the THIRD time this year.  But Noah was so proud and excited to pack his own luggage (including his three stuffed animals) that I decided to let him go, fever and all.

Excited to try on his ski gear...

The trip started off shaky with a few tears from Noah and a few concerned calls from the grandparents. At one point, I was ready to make the 4-hr trek to pick him up. But with lots of continuous doses of advil, bribery, and ice cream, he stayed. And then we started getting texts from my parents like this...

Look at that view!

On the last day he was finally healthy enough to go to ski school.  The big finale (he's the one in the white helmet)... 

Our big boy. Can't wait to join him on the mountain next year!

A beautiful day in SF

Our day quickly deteriorated as Max and Noah both have high fevers. But I've spent the better half of this week with some child in my arms so I'm just glad we even made it out of the house!

Max turns 2

Max is two today! What a truly wonderful two years it has been with Max.

In the past few months, we weaned him from his bottle, put away his pacifier, moved him into Noah's room, and welcomed another baby to the family. He has gone through so much transition and I am so proud of him. 

He likes to save his best tantrums for the middle of the night (whew, watch out) but his wandering good-natured happy self makes us just love him even more. 

He is Noah's constant companion, Sam's sweet big brother, Terah's buddy, and my chubby cheeked cuddly boy. 

We love him so and our hearts are filled with joy because of him.

Happy birthday Max! 

Our reality

When I watch our own Christmas video, life seems awesome when condensed to three minutes. But living with our three is currently looking more like this...

1.  Inevitably someone is always crying/whining/in a bad mood. This is not limited to just the children.

2. Never in my wildest dreams did I think I would one day be clipping nails for four.

3. Noah got his first cold at 6 months, Max 4 months, and Sam? Well, I'm just glad he lasted until 2.

4.  I have now nursed with one hand while wiping a butt (not mine) with another. My life is complete!

Paternity leave

Believe it or not, this is the first time Terah took a real bonafide paternity leave. We are so glad he did. 

Most of it was spent passing children back and forth and me stressing about why I have produced yet another baby who does not sleep. But sometimes we mustered the energy to get out and do stuff.

Thanksgiving Day turkey trot 

Annual Christmas tree-cutting

Noah ordering his obedient crew to get in line...

Christmas lights at night 

 Lots of afternoon walks in the rain 

Palo Alto zoo 

Academy of Sciences 

To see the reindeer! Apparently I was the only one excited about this.

No gingerbread house kit was to be found so we made one old-school style

Christmas movies 

Lots of time spent exploring local parks

Castle Rock 

Enjoying the sun on Stanford's campus 

Morning donut run 

Children's discovery museum 

New year eve's pizza (the beanie is his chef's hat)

Our last hurrah - the zoo on new year's day

I can't remember the last time we had such an extended time off together - what a special holiday season it was!