Talya's First Birthday Collage

I am trying to figure out Photoshop C3. An amazing program, but totally useless if you don't know what you're doing (like me!) I have many more pictures to collage from Talya's party... and I will get to it... hopefully before she turns two. The Universe told me to cut myself some slack... so... that is precisely what I am doing! 

A different kind of sweet

With Christmas cookies and sugar plums dancing in my head, I thought it would be unfair to leave out my other favorite sweet... TALYA!

She melts my heart!

Cookies!

Matthew and I made cookies yesterday. We sprinkled some and frosted some. It was a blast. Matthew was so in the spirit of things that he rubbed flour all over the front of his shirt... for good measure, I suppose. Would you believe me if I told you that they cookies are gone? That's right... Santa might be SOL... if it weren't for a certain Mommy who knows that her son is a cookie monster and saved some ingredients for a batch to be made on xmas eve...

More snow!

MORE...

MORE...

AND MORE SNOW!!!

All this snow is absolutely bizarre! BIZARRE! We got totally dumped on. It's over two feet on flat ground and that's nothing to say about the drifts. I have never seen so much snow in my life. I am just hoping that we don't get anymore so that the fam can make it for Christmas. Since it hasn't snowed since about 5pm yesterday and it's already 30 degrees at 7:00am today, my hopes are high. Please everyone... pray that the roads are good enough from my mom, grandma, sister, and sister's boyfriend to come on Wednesday...

Tai Kwon-Do Tournament

Matthew went to his first Tai Kwon-Do Tournament on Saturday and finished wonderfully. He placed 1st in hand breaking, 4th in foot breaking, and 2nd in Movement and Body Position. I was so impressed with how comfortably he carried himself and how respectful he was of the process. His favorite medal was the 2nd place because it spun in the middle. Gotta love the kiddos. Somehow their priorities are always in the right place!

Once he attends his last class on Friday, Matthew will earn a red stripe on his belt. He is as proud of himself as I am of him.

Winter Storm 2008 Videos

Winter Storm 2008

Snow in December... in Portland!?! Yep, that's right. We got almost three inches on our property. It was so dry and cold we weren't able to make a snowman but we did build a snowpile to jump on and slide down. For added excitement, the wind blew down a 30 foot tree in our backyard. Scary... yes... but we made the best of it. The dog used it as a frisbee-catching obstacle course and we are using the wood for the fire. All's well that ends well.

Matthew and Talya watching the first flakes fall

Snowball fight!

I opted out of this part! Sometimes it pays to be behind the camera

Silly boy... and handsome too

Our fallen tree. I can't believe it snapped right at the base. Amazing too that it didn't crush that rickety shed.

Thanksgiving 2008

Matthew and Vinny playing go fish

Talya thought the ringing cell phone was the funniest thing - She mouthed my sisters phone so much that it took two days from her phone to work again! The joys of being an Aunt!

Remember when I said Talya loves dog and cat food... Well... my mom and I were wondering where Talya was and I found her in my sister's room, with the door closed, in the dark, shoving handfuls of cat food in her mouth. I wish I would have gotten a picture of her face when I found her. She was so proud of her self. If you look, you'll see the cat watching Talya from under the bed.

Each of us made a turkey place card. 

Carlos made Antipasto - an Italian Thanksgiving tradition

What a wonderful Thanksgiving we had this year! My grandma, mom, sister, sister's boyfriend, Carlos, Matthew, Natalya, and I filled my mom's house with love and gratitude to share a great meal and great memories. It was pretty amazing that it never felt crowded. All the pieces of the family puzzle fit together nicely. Honestly, it was the best Thanksgiving I can remember.

Tai Kwon-Do

Matthew is just finishing his first tai kwon do classes. As part of the final class the students trained to break a board. I couldn't even believe that my boy broke a board... in THREE pieces. 

Once again, this video is horizontal. I figured out how to rotate it on my camera and it downloaded to the computer horizontal. Urg! Also, the sound is low because parents aren't allowed to get close to the students and distract them. 

Matthew will be attending his first Tai Kwon-Do competition this Saturday to possibly earn a golden medal. Stay tuned...