Thanks and epic picture post

A big THANK YOU to all the family and friends who have given us dinners, prayers, babysitting, and support while we welcomed Aaron into the world.  You have all been so kind to us and given us so much.  We truly appreciate everything, and keep you all in our daily prayers.  God bless you, Merry Christmas, and Happy New Year!

As it's been a while since we've posted, enjoy some recent photos over the past month.

Daniel, the working man.

Play time with the Stamschrors!

Aaron meets Brynn!

Crawl Race: Maximilian and Matthew

 

Aaron takes the Australian wonder-bed "Amby-Baby" for a test drive.  Thank you for the loan, Bernsteins!

Though the sun was out, it's surprisingly difficult to smile in 25F weather.

The family picture smile bribe.

So comfy.

Daniel drops in on one of Aaron's pictures.

It's the night of the big Christmas program at St. Alphonsus, and Daniel pays close attention.

The beautiful sound of 30+ preschoolers singing in unison.

Playing house at the annual Goff Christmas party.

Caitlin and Daniel playing "wedding" with bridesmaid, Cora, in tow.

Role Reversal: now it's time for Daniel and Cora to get married.

The big day with friends, Nick and Caitlin.

The annual kid Christmas picture at the Goffs...but sadly we forgot to take it until after the Marcus left.

Best gift ever: the box.

Daniel reads Aaron the book "Angel in the Waters".  If you have kids and don't have this book, get it.  It's adorable.

Daniel warms up for the big concert with his brother.

Gotta tune before you play.

Daniel and Matthew rock out on their "tu-tars".

Blocks are the best; courtesy Matthew's Godfather, Fr. Jordan.

Merry Christmas, Fr. Jordan!

Aaron grabs a nap on Uncle Victor.

Auntie Laura gets some snuggles from Aaron and Matthew.

Aaron's Godparents: Matt and Katie Eusterman.  Thanks again for making it out to Seattle guys!

Play-date with the Eusterman girls, Ellie and Cecilia.

Daniel and Ellie read together.

PLAY FORT!!!!!

Ellie and Daniel get ready for the Aaron's baptism.

Buddies!

A Foggy Morning on Sunnyside

One benefit of always being awakened at 4am - good fog pictures.  Here's our street "Sunnyside".

Daniel the cook and Aaron's first bath

Mom's purple heart

So we were getting Daniel ready for bed tonight when...

"Daniel, Mommy is going to tuck you in tonight, OK?"

"Oh no, not Mommy!  She smells like barf because of Aaron!"

Michele:  *sigh* "It's true, I can't deny it."

We haven't laughed that hard in a long time.

The victim (left) and the accused (right) share a moment of olfactory peace.

Sensitive nose

Daniel made the following comment over dinner today:

"Dad, did you know that I can smell you before I can see you?"

Flattering.

I also noted that my wife did not come to my defense but just turned her head to laugh.

A random picture of Matthew and Daniel "building" things.  Daniel is sure to mention that Matthew is the assistant.

Brotherly defense

I started a juice diet about 6 days ago - well, a mostly juice diet.  I was inspired after watching the documentary Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead on Netflix the other week.  Basically, for 10 days all you drink is fresh vegetable juice (64oz a day).  I figure if I can drop 15 pounds, I'll come out net zero after Christmas.

Daniel tried a sip of the juice the other night and, with a disturbed look on his face, declared it "bad".  He calls it "sludge" now.  If I ever ask him to try it again, he emphatically declines.

Last night, with Daniel about 10 feet away, I decided to offer a sip to Matthew for the first time.  Daniel was going to have none of that.

Chris:  "Matthew, would you like to try a sip of Daddy's juice?"

Matthew: "Yethsh." (yes)

Hearing this from the other room, Daniel came running into the kitchen and literally threw himself between me and Matthew, and with one hand covering Matthew's mouth, looked at me and shouted:

"NO!  Dad, No!  Do NOT give that to him!"

What a good brother.  Protecting him from the evil of vegetable juice.

Enjoy some pictures of the brothers.

DONATE ME!

Daniel's a good kid, but like any kid he has his "moments".

The other night he was a little too short with Daddy so he got a timeout.  This ended up provoking a small melt down.  Daniel has a flair for the dramatic...

Chris:  "Daniel, no thank you.  That's not a nice way to talk to Daddy.  That's a timeout."

Daniel:  "What?!  No!  Daddy....(insert uncontrollable crying).....NOOOOOOO!  I DON'T WANT TO!  I DON'T WANT TO BE HERE ANYMORE!  I WANT TO BE DONATED!!!!  I WANT TO BE DONATED!!!!"

I lost it and had to leave the room.

Jesus' logo

As someone who loves the world of "brand identity", logos/trademarks, etc. I was particularly amused when Daniel made the following conclusion:

(reading a Christmas story when we arrive at the page with the Star of Bethlehem)

"Dad!  The star of Bethlehem is like Baby Jesus' logo!!"

The scariest sound

Daniel awoke from nap today asking me what that scary sound was at the beginning of the Winnie the Pooh: Heffalump Movie.

"I don't know Daniel, what did it sound like?"

"Oh...it sounded just like Twinkle Twinkle Little Star."

Yes, apparently we've all been seriously misled.  Twinkle Twinkle Little Star has been striking fear into the hears of 4 year-olds the world over for generations.

Day six with Aaron

We're at 6 days now with Aaron at home, and things are going pretty well.  Everyone (except Chris and Aaron) has had a cold since Thursday.  Naturally, the increased use of videos has been directly proportional to the increase in cold symptoms (Thank you, Stamschror Family, for Winnie the Pooh).  Now that we're all getting better, we're trying to settle into a new routine.

Everyone is so loving and peaceful when a video is on.

"People here have colds?  Huh, with all the sleeping and nursing I've been doing I didn't notice"

Having an infant in the house has brought out some sweet paternal tendancies in Daniel and Matthew.  Daniel likes to rock the baby and give him his pacifier, and Matthew runs around saying "BeeBee" and rubbing his head when he cries.  It's all really sweet.

"Bee Bee!"

With Aaron around, Daniel exclaimed the other day that he wants to get married now.  I asked him today how many kids he hoped to be blessed with and he said "40....no, 50...wait, 200!!!".  We've begun praying for his future spouse.  When he's not debating how many kids to have, he's been on a building streak.

Daniel successfully builds a "train".  Matthew begins planning how to destroy said train.