Snow storm!

The most exciting news in the Wilkinson family this past month has been the arrival of the first Swap cousin/nephew.  Cliff and Susana welcomed their first baby, Brandon (Brando) Webster about a month before his due date.  He is doing great, and is so amazingly cute.  Here he is coming home from the hospital.

Cousin Brandon

You can see more photos of the little guy on Susana's blog, here.

We also welcomed another "cousin" with the arrival of Quinn Richard, my cousin Noel and Brad's littlest addition.  He just got here on Thursday, and he is a sweetheart as well.  Next up is Matt's sister Tara's baby, who is due any day now.

This weekend has been a snowy one in Portland.  We had more snow in the past few days here than in the entire 5 years Matt and I moved here - probably about 6-8 inches.   Today it was topped off with a solid 1/2 inch layer of ice.  Grady has been loving the snow.  He has been enjoying ice skating, throwing chunks of snow and ice, making tracks, building caves for animals, and even building his first snowman!  Clara on the other hand - not such a fan.

Snowball! 

Trekking home from the store.  They don't plow streets here!  

Yup, still not a fan

Ice skating on our little puddle pond

Grady built a (tiny) snowman!

Shot of our neighborhood.  Skiing appears to be the most efficient and safest mode of travel

Clara's - and my - preferred vantage point

Most of the rest of the past month has flown by as we finally began preparing for the arrival of "baby brother."  The biggest part of that is that Grady and Clara are fully moved into their new room.

It was a rocky few weeks, but things are starting to even out a bit.  In addition to sharing a room, Clara also transitioned to the bed from her crib, so transition was to be expected.

Passing out after multiple trips out of bed

After some experimentation, the current rule is they can talk as much as they want after lights out, but they can't get out of bed.  For the most part that's been successful, but there are occasional shouts from Grady that Clara has gotten out of bed.  Poor Grady is becoming somewhat chronically sleep deprived, as he stays up about an hour later laughing and singing with Clara, and then gets up about an hour early due to Clara's intense love of the 5 am hour.  He's being a good sport, and we are hoping it will all even out at some point.

The baby's room is about 80% set up.  We need the crib to be reassembled and pictures hung, but we've got some time.  Three weeks until due date, and he'll be in our room for a while after he's born.

I finish up work on Wednesday, and have been busy finalizing last projects at work before then.  I've also become a knitting fiend, knitting a blanket, two baby hats, pants, and a sweater in the past month.

For cousin Brandon

And a coordinating one for our guy

Baby blanket

Detail

Done enough

I've also been working on making a mobile for the baby with origami stars.  The kids really like picking out which paper to use.  I'm hoping it will come together in time!  It's a time consuming project.

The start of star madness

Other than crazy nesting, all is good.  Grady has learned to write his name well, and is making some really impressive pictures.  Some recent favorites are a person with a fridge that has carrots, milk, and a sugar monster inside; a snowman; and a complicated one involving the sun and rainbows and water.  Clara also loves to draw but her pictures are a bit more abstract.

Clara has decided to turn 2 a few months early, and we have been having some power struggles, to put it politely.  She is very independent, and although it can be frustrating, it is amazing how much she can do when she puts her mind to it.  She can put on her socks, pants, shirt, and shoes all by herself - even occasionally her jacket.  She is perseverant.  Her language is increasing daily.  She can mimic back long sentences, and can make her desires known quite well.  Her sentences are getting longer, and she can string together 4 or 5 word sentences if they involve the word "mine."

Grady and Clara are best friends.  They laugh together and already have inside jokes that no one understands.  Here are some examples.

Grady is trying to teach her everything he knows.  Right now he is teaching her colors.  Orange and green seem to be her favorites.  They also take good care of each other.  If Grady gets upset, Clara looks very concerned and asks "Grady? Crying?"  If Clara is upset, Grady will hold her hand and try to cheer her up.  Of course, as Grady says, "Sometimes she's mean to me and sometimes she isn't."  That cuts both ways.

That's all the big news around here.  Here are some pictures of the goofballs from the past month.

She may be a lego genius

Levitating superheros 

Grady doing his "bat hang"

Christmas(es)

When my brother and I were little, we used to get to have two Christmases.  One on December 23rd at home, and then we would pack up for Connecticut to visit the McAllisters and get to repeat the process on December 25th.  It was pretty great.  Although we did have to wait not only until after dinner on the 23rd to open presents, but after Mom and Dad cleaned up the dishes too!

The tradition is continuing in the Wilkinson house, with the first Christmas being held at home in Portland and then the second Christmas with the Swap-Leonard-Restivo-Barton family in Tucson. Although we cut the kids a break and let them open presents immediately after breakfast.  Kids and grownups alike were spoiled by books, legos, tea sets, stuffed animals, chocolate, clothes, and lots more.

pre-present love

It's almost time!

Getting into the presents

What's better than one sock?

Hidden observer

Grady signed his own name, only needed help turning the B to a D

After a whirlwind of playing, we were ready to head off to Tucson.  We were a little worried about the flight because we opted not to pay for the seat for Clara (kids fly free until they're 2 if they sit on a lap).  We lucked out though and got an empty seat next to Matt.  It ended up being highly necessary, since Clara spent most of the second half of the flight running back and forth from my "lap" (such that it is) to the empty seat. All things considered though, both kids did great.  Although we did make it through the snacks I packed for both for the flight there and back.

My parents had a full house this Christmas.  The kids were entertained by Grandpa (Papa), Nana, Uncle Gavin, Uncle Cliff, Aunt Susana (plus soon-to-be-cousin), Aunt Michelle, and Cousin Sean.   The kids took advantage of all assembled for story reading, lego assembling, hot tub playing, food serving, and so forth.  Matt and I felt very fortunate to have so much family in one place.  Here are some highlights. Most of the photos below are courtesy of my very talented sister in law, Susana.

All together!

We had our fair share of amazing meals.  Waffles, chicken, cauliflower from the garden, more desserts than should be allowed in one place.  This is just raisin bran, but too great of a picture not to include.

Of course, gift opening was a major highlight!

Like last time, Grady LOVED the "hot pool."  Clara took longer to warm up, but soon set about charming the camera.

Moment of reflection

We also took a trip to the desert museum to see the animals.  The kids were pretty tired for this outing, but still managed to have fun seeing the coyotes, raptors, and snakes.

short rest

And of course, Grady loved playing "off like a shot" with Grandpa, a Tucson tradition.  This time Clara was old enough to join in!  I can't get the video to load directly here, but you should be able to see it by following this link.

As always, my dad and Dotty went out of their way to make everyone comfortable - renting a crib for Clara, shuttling us around, watching the kids in the morning so Matt and I could sleep, and making sure no one went hungry.  It was a wonderful trip.  And by the time we came back, the kids were seasoned travelers.

Lucked out with the empty seat again!

Since arriving back in Portland we've been on baby prep/nesting overdrive.  We got a minivan, got a bunk bed and other furniture for Grady and Clara's now shared room, assembled said furniture, got the baby's room in passable order, and otherwise took advantage of the last few days before returning to work.

Ikea!

Assembled

Grady has really taken to the new sleeping arrangement.  As has Besa.  Clara is not so sure about it.  She's staying in her crib for the time being, and has been treating us all to frequent night wakings and early morning pleas for mommy.  Grady is being a good sport about it, and has mastered the art of the pillow over his head.

The baby has been very active, taking advantage of any extra space he has before it runs out.  It was a relief to get things a bit more settled for him, get his clothes sorted out and so forth.  Now I need to concentrate on keeping him in for another 8 weeks or so.

We have had a lovely, extended break.  Grady and I both go back to school/work tomorrow after close to three weeks off.  (Clara and Matt returned last week.)  I feel very fortunate to have this family, and it was a treat to get to spend so much time together. With this one too.