Sweet Moments: January 2010

Sleeping Arrangements

I forgot to mention this, but from September until December, 2009, Tim and I were having a lot of sleepless nights. Kairis, you really had a difficult time going to sleep and staying asleep at night. We weren't sure if it was teething related (you were getting in all four molars at the same time in that three month time period) or allergies, or just what. We had you allergy tested, and you came back allergy free. They tested you for environmental and food allergies. We decided that instead of sitting in a rocking chair at night in your room every two hours, that it'd be a good idea to try co-sleeping. It took a couple months to work out the kinks, and get used to sleeping with you squirming everywhere, but now, we are one happy sleep-sharing family! :) We transitioned your bedroom into our office, and made a large play room for you, and have your bed next to our bed in our new "sleeping room". It's worked out great, and we are all sleeping much better. We really enjoy having you snuggle with us at night. It's nice waking up to your smiles and cuddles in the morning.

Christmas 2009

Christmas 2009 in Seaside, Oregon!

Christmas at Seaside

"Thomas Family Christmas 2009"

A "buoy"...oh, and Tim and his dad of course. :)

Kairis LOVED the Ocean! She kept running straight for the water, and would've gone in much further had I let her!

Kairis loved playing with my sandals!

I like this picture--Kairis in her swim suit, excited to see the ocean from the balcony!

"kairis was here"

Our accommodations in the background

I still can't believe we were given the gift of celebrating Christmas at the Oregon Coast for the second year in a row....

What a treat! To be able to stay in beautiful accommodations for a whole week while leaving the cares and concerns of "real life" back home in Portland. Tim's family visited us over Christmas, partially to celebrate Tim's graduation on December 19th, and also to spend the holidays with our family. We enjoyed a beautiful oceanside resort in Seaside and were even more blessed by warm weather along the coast. Here are some pictures to prove it!

A few highlights:

-Kairis slept wonderfully for majority of the trip! Woot!

-Beautiful weather (in the 50's and sunny with little to no wind!)

-Swimming every day in heated pool and jacuzzi

-Playing in the sand and water on the beach with Kairis

-Chocolate Peanut Butter Ice Cream from Tillamook Cheese Factory

-Yummy food

-Games with family

-Watching Kairis discover the beach and fall in love with it

-Date morning with Tim to Pacific Way Bakery

-Racing with Tim and Karen around the covered parking lot of Worldmark

-Attempting to set off the gate with just our body weight (yeah, you'd have had to be there...)

-Riding around on luggage carts

I will post the rest of our vacation pictures and stories soon....(yes, there are many more!)

Daddy T's Slings

Kairis, your daddy is so creative and your momma is so brilliant! ;) In late November, you were expressing interest in wearing my sling, just like me. It was so cute to watch you walk around with this big sling around your shoulders. I thought it'd be a good idea if Daddy could make you a sling in your size, so you could carry around your babies. So, he did. We wrapped it up for you for Christmas and could hardly wait for you to see it. (btw, you LOVE wearing your little sling....you are always putting it on and taking it off) Anyway, after daddy sewed one that evening, I looked at him and exclaimed "we could sell these!" And the rest is history....we picked up trendy fabric at the fabric store, marketed them to stores, created a website, and are selling "daddy t's slings" in three stores in Portland. It's pretty awesome! Here are a few pictures of you "modeling" the slings for the website. So cute!

12/11/09

Christmas Shopping with Great Aunt Linda...

Our second annual Christmas shopping trip at the Columbia Gorge Outlet Malls....my mom wasn't able to come this time, so it was just Kairis, myself and my Aunt Linda. We had a great time and found some great deals for Kairis for Christmas. It's always fun dressing up our little girl!

Bedtime stories...

Kairis loves books, and we love reading books to her! Here are a couple pictures of our "bedtime routine"....oh, and an adorable picture of Kairis in front of our Christmas tree.

12/11/09

Christmas Traditions...

We went to the Christmas Tree Lighting in Fairview Village this year. Our friends, Kara, Brian and Solana were there. We waited in line to have a sleighride; Kairis, you loved the horses! It was cold, but a good time was had by all. This picture below was taken after the tree lighting at Joel and Lani's home. We surprised them by washing their dishes and cleaning up their kitchen, as they'd been extremely busy with CYT rehearsals all weekend long. Kairis loved playing (tormenting at times...) their sweet and feisty kitty, Pamina.

12/5/09

Sledding for the first time...

Daddy and I took you on your first sledding adventure around Mt. Hood, on December 5th, 2009. You LOVED sledding with Daddy! (and you loved making snowballs...)

Tuckered out on the way home...sleepin' with your monkey! :)

Christmas Tree Shopping...2009

So, we found a beautiful grand fir that's around 6' tall. Kairis enjoyed romping around the tree farm, and stopped at EVERY SINGLE tree stump she could find....she'd bend over and get a very concerned look on her face, and try and pull the stump out of the ground. She couldn't figure out where the rest of the tree was, and what had happened to it. Looks like she's already starting to become a tree conservationist. :)

Oh, I forgot to mention that we actually put our tree up two days after Thanksgiving. That's a first for the Thomas household. Usually, we wait at least another week, but I couldn't resist this year...having a little one in the home has made Christmas all the more special for me, and I just had to enjoy this holiday for as long as possible this year.