Merry Christmas from the Newman Family

Stella and her new favorite "shape game" from Aunt Carrie

New top teeth

Sophia started crawling the day we put up the tree

She's obsessed-I put bells on the bottom so I can hear if she is into the tree. Don't people do that with dogs?

Family tradition-Stella helping daddy put the star on the tree

Stella helped me decorate. She was so careful with the ornaments. She is also my watchdog with Sophia. She is sure to yell at me when Sophia is getting close to it. The other day, she was trying to physically move her away-which was very impressive because she is only 14 pounds heavier than Sophia. That is like me trying to lift something that is 100 pounds! (what are you laughing about?)

If Sophia is not messing with the tree, this is usually where you can find her....under my feet!

In line to visit with Santa-I don't know if they do this with all Santas(this is our first time), but you actually make an appointment to see him and you have a 15 minute window. I actually signed up for the date in October! Anyway, it was a great experience. She wouldn't even go near him last year at school, so I didn't even bother to take her to the mall Santa. This year, she was absolutely bursting with excitement.

He was wonderful. I think I actually believe in Santa now. He talked to them both and was so sweet. Stella first told him she wanted "toys and presents," which is what she has been telling me for weeks. This makes my job pretty easy. He then asked "what kind of toys and presents?" She answered "girl presents." He said "What are girl presents?" She answered "a teddy bear." That is better than the answer she has been giving us. She told me she wanted a rainbow. I can definitely do a teddy bear.

Another favorite place to play-under the coffee table. Apparently she has a really hard head. She bangs her head on the table, the floor, the door facings, etc. all day and doesn't even cry.

O Christmas Tree

December 5th

Daddy and Stella before they blew out the candles

Out of order-Stella helping me bake the cake for daddy. She is such a great helper. She even knows how to crack eggs now. She is great at measuring and pouring in the ingredients. Maybe she will be a better cook than I am and can take over in a year or two.

Sophia has been so busy lately-learning to crawl, pull up (she would pull up at first and not know how to get down), and cutting two top teeth!

Stella is still the funniest person I know. She is a great kid. We like three a whole lot more than two. She is a lot more agreeable and a lot of help with Sophia. She is mostly eager to please and is a joy to be around. (I am her mother, though) It's so funny to hear her say things like "pretty much" or "that's your choice" or listening to her sing a song in the other room and say "thank you, thank you..."

Sophia is growing up too fast. I keep getting sad because she will probably be my last baby-unless we end up getting a night shift nanny for a third baby. That is the only way I would get through another newborn phase. I LOVE the fact that she sleeps for 12 hours. She is such a snuggly baby-she loves to just sit in your lap. This will change soon because she is crawling, but it is great for now. I keep having to remind myself to just enjoy the moment and that she will be a baby for a long time.

Stay tuned for our 2009 Top Ten List! Looking forward to seeing our Texas people in a week!

p.s. It occurred to me that in most of these pictures, the girls are wearing pajamas. There is a reason for this. When we are at home, they do wear their flannel pajamas a lot. It is not because we are lazy-it is because they are warm and we live in a drafty old house! We love our drafty old house, but it is COLD! We do own real clothes and wear them every day.