Grown-up Christmas sucks! (And a catch up of goings-on)

Hello, gentle readers!  I'm right on schedule for my once a month blogging.  Maegwin is watching Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood and Joshua is hanging out with Daddy so the time is right.  To quickly explain the title, this year for Christmas Josh and I bought ourselves brakes and rotors, removal of the dead ash tree near the house, and slate on the roof!  Very uninteresting, no?  On the bright side our car continues to stop, a tree won't crash on our house and we have more wood for backyard fires, and we are on time with slate maintenance.  I really do love having a slate roof so I can't complain there.  They are cool!  If they are properly maintained it's just $300-$500 a year and then flashings every 30 or so years.  Ours was not the best cared for previously but with our tender ministrations it is on the road to recovery.  Really other than the worst condition slate and the top of the roof flashing it's all great up there.  I know, boring slate roof talk?  This isn't what you all came for!  Bring on the children!

Miss Maegwin had a birthday and is now five years old.  She is quite proud of this fact.  We told her when she was five she could get a real Lego set.  We haven't gone to pick one out yet but probably will next month.  Just too much crazy during the holiday time.  I took my last two days of PTO for the year to make a super long birthday weekend and she got to do whatever she wanted.  We got her a doctor outfit with kit which she had tons of fun with.  Currently she is saying she wants to be a surgeon so she can help our family doctor when she needs to go home to be with her family and so that they can be best friends.  hehe



She removed a splinter from my hand.  Definitely a risky procedure but I pulled through.



She then switched to being a dentist and used a circular block as her prophy paste.  I had to hold it while she polished my teeth.  Planck was her assistant but he really just observed.



Then she did a full costume change and was an explorer.  At one point she combined the two outfits and said she was part of Doctors without Borders.  She said she was an explorer doctor so we told her there really are explorer doctors who help people in places where there aren't doctors.



The biggest hit of the day was her easel from Grandma and Grandpa in California.  We have since moved it into the dining room because we can already barely move in the living room as it is with all the baby gear plus the Christmas tree.  She paints every day with it.  She has consistently asked to do paints but we always have to set up a whole station and get out the splat mat but now she can do her own paints.  We just have to figure out a brush washing solution but overall it is working out fabulously.



Per her request we went to Grammy's house for cake and more celebration on the weekend.  She chose to wear this beautiful grey dress that we received from my friend Autumn.  She sewed it for her daughter but it was too small.  I'm so happy that she shared it with us.  It is one of Maegwin's favorites now!

Maegwin helped decorate the giraffe cake that we took to Mom's.



She's such a goofball!  We love our little Maegwin and it is so fun seeing the person she is becoming.  She is very sweet and precocious and silly.  We had a wonderful birthday weekend together.



I also got to do a photo shoot with the Christmas sweater I finished for Joshua.  We've had the weirdest winter weather ever lately.  It's really more like what the Bay Area used to be before the drought.  No snow and just rain with cold.  I HATE it!  People at work are excited about the dearth of snow but I find it disturbing and un-wintery.  I've been able to wear what I consider a light spring jacket the entire season so far.  It doesn't even have insulation!  But I digress....We had a rather sunny morning and I told Josh we were getting the kids out to take pictures.  It was only 8 am but it called for rain later.

Remember that tree I mentioned that we chopped down?  Perfect photo props!  We especially love this bit of tree because it is two seats together for the kids.



This picture is hilarious!  He looks so stoic!  I was so happy with the lighting we got for these too since the sun was just rising.



Joshua loved that he got to explore a lot of nature whilst we took photos.  I just let him crush the grass and leaves.





This one is one of my favorites.  I love how he is brandishing the leaf.



Maegwin had fun too.  She played while we were doing that first set then she sat with him and we got some together.  These are the best I think.





I took a few in the slide as well to mix it up.





I have to say I am so proud of how these turned out.  I've been listening to a knitting and photography podcast which I've mentioned before called Knitting Butterflies and it has really helped me use my digital camera better.  Check her out because Emily is fabulous!

For the knitters who are so inclined, the sweater is the Anders pullover.  I knit it in conjunction with my friend Autumn who has the blog cottington's so crafty.  She's a sweetie and we had fun comparing notes and encouraging each other to finish.  Hers is adorable as well. Here's the deets:

Yarn: Malabrigo Arroyo in the Fresco y Seco colorway (dark green) and Miss Babs Yummy 3ply in the Frog Belly colorway (light green)

Pattern: Anders by Sorren Kerr

Needles: Size 5, 6, and 7-I had to use tons to get the different gauges between working flat, in the round, and with two colors.  Do your swatches, kids!

For Christmas we went to my mom's house and craziness ensued.  We got some good pictures of me with the kids and Mom with the kids but I realized when we got home that we didn't get any with the four of us.  Next time we are at Mom's we have to remedy this.







I will have to write more later about the Christmas party at my work.  This post is getting long and it's time for breakfast.  Thank you to everyone for all the wonderful gifts and generosity.  It is so appreciated.  We love and miss you all that we couldn't be with this season.  Have a happy New Year!