Christmas Day

Christmas was at the Hobby home this year.  My parents and brother came up from Maryland to celebrate with us!

Our little Santa. Surprisingly NOT the first one up on Christmas morning. That honor belonged to his dad, chef Amos Claus.

Christmas was on a Sunday this year so we had church in the morning at 9. We were going to take everyone but then decided to leave the kids with Mimi & Geepy, who had gone to midnight mass the night before. It was strange being in church without the kids. It felt like we were on a date!

Meanwhile they got to open up their stockings and play with Cambria's fridge letter magnets, and her new magnetic mirror for the fridge so she can see herself when she dresses up with sunglasses, hats, and bows. 

Nathan with his new Thomas the Tank Engine pillow-pet to match his sister's doggy pillow-pet she got last year.

Baby Claus with Cambria and her new reading chair. It was her first taste of the Hobby Pringle tradition. It's safe to say she enjoyed them.

Present opening time!

Little man hangin' out with Geepy.

The table awaiting its guests.

Our chef preparing the feast.

After a large dinner we relaxed, played with the kids, and took naps. We didn't assemble Cambria's castle on Christmas Eve, so when she was taking her nap we put it together so she could come down and play in it. She had tons of fun! Her chair fits in there nicely and looks like her own little throne.

Looking quite the princess in her Snow White dress.

We also got to video chat with our family in England again this year and be a part of their Christmas, too. Thanks everyone for such a lovely Christmas 2011!

Merry Christmas!

Nathan at 6 months!

Here's our little man at 6 months!

Height: 29 inches

Weight: 18lb 3oz.

Head: 17 in.

The doctor said he was doing great and is the height of a 1-year old. He is only 3 lbs. less than Cambria is now.

His two bottom teeth have come in and he is starting to get some more teeth in the back, but he is a good sport and hardly EVER whines or is grumpy.

He is a rolling machine. He's not on his back for 30 seconds before he rolls over! This would be more exciting except he still spits up frequently so I have to try and keep him on his back for at least 30 minutes after he's eaten. Enter the Bumbo.

He is eating baby food now. He eats almost anything. Like his sister, the only thing he didn't really like were peas. I tasted them and quickly figured out why! But then I tried BeechNut instead of Gerber baby food and he will eat those peas just fine. Plus they have other awesome flavor combinations like Banana/Apple, Apple/Mango/Kiwi, Peach/Oatmeal/Banana, and Ham/Pineapple/Rice. Lucky babies these days with their gourmet baby food selections...

He loves to play with his bare feet when I am changing his diaper. He grabs them and puts them in his mouth.

He is very very very wiggly. It is impossible to hold him in your lap and get something done because he likes to grab things and move his little limbs around!

He is such a fun little guy. Loves to be cuddled!

A visit with Santa!

Cambria & Nathan got to visit Santa this year at the Fonthill tile works museum in Doylestown. Each December they have a little Christmas festival and you get to tour the first floor of the Henry Mercer (1856-1930) mansion, designed completely out of reinforced concrete. Thousands of his colorful storytelling tiles adorn the walls. He was an eccentric and brilliant man. The mansion reminded me a little bit of the Sarah Winchester mansion in California. Continuously being added to, with small round staircases everywhere and kind of like a maze-like.

We also got a free tour of the tile works museum next door. In each building winter refreshments were handed out, and at the end kids got to sit on Santa's lap with a beautiful christmas tree and real fire in the background.

The kids did great. Cambria is in the "doesn't-like-to-be-left-with-strangers" phase, but I managed to snap this photo quickly before she started to whine. It probably helped that little Nathan was so easygoing about the whole thing.

Here are some pictures of what the mansion looks like. (I didn't take these)

Family Photoshoot

While we were home for Thanksgiving break, we had a chance for our first ever family Photoshoot!  By chance I stumbled upon a photographer that had done some photos for a high school friend of mine. It was a long shot but she happened to be driving through Frederick on the same day we were hoping to get photos done. She did a great job. Check her out: www.cbirdyphotography.com

Thanksgiving Visit

We went to visit my family for Thanksgiving break. The kids and I got to stay for the entire week since we were in town the weekend before for my college roomate's wedding. My parents watched Cambria so Amos, the little man, and I could go. It was a beautiful day and a lovely ceremony. Some pics of the temple...

Some of the "G's" and Nathan

The little guy with Dad.

Meanwhile Cambria was having tons of fun. My parents got the little bike I used to ride out of the attic. Cambria is still a little too small for it so my dad fashioned a little contraption so she could just stand and get pulled around without having to peddle. She had a blast! She loved going around the neighborhood ringing the little bell.

She had fun playing with her Uncle Scott.

She discovered sand, chased a little electronic bug, begged to drink out of everyone's glass of water so she could play with the ice cubes, played with the wind chimes, got some shoes, and ran around the yard.

And me, I had a chance to NAP!!! (and wake up when my body woke up instead of waking up when one of the kids finishes theirs)

We had a nice Thanksgiving dinner at my grandparent's house, and celebrated dad's birthday before heading back. A great & adventurous week :)

Nathan at 5 months

Here's our handsome man at 5 months old!

He is now sleeping in his own room. He does great sleeping there, but still wakes up a lot during the night to eat.

He has discovered how to blow raspberries. If you do it at him he will do it back at you. It's so cute.

He loves to be tossed in the air. It's a no-fail way to make him happy if he's a little fussy. What they love even more is to be tossed in the air at the same time!

He can not get enough of his bouncer. He sits in it and bounces away. He'd be content in there for hours. He has tons of energy, too, and he bounces with some force.

This is his 'about to cry' face. His lips purse together into a tiny pout. He didn't cry here, though. I dont know why he made it.
This is his talking face. He's saying something. He can be loud and in the morning he makes lots of loud squeals just for the fun of hearing himself and saying good morning. "Hi world, I'm awake!"

If you hold his hands he will straighten his legs to stand up. Either that or he'll straighten them and then let them buckle, thinking he's in his bouncer and ready to bounce.

He laughs and smiles if you blow in his face (this is how I got him to smile in his 5 mo. pictures!)

He loves his bath and kicks his legs for the whole 10-15 mins.

Halloween

Cambria really enjoyed her second Halloween. This year she was the Energizer bunny. Very fitting costume for sure.

Nathan was a little bee. The cutest little bee you ever did see. Complete with antennae, a bowtie, and even a stinger.


I was a peacock, and even Amos dressed up this year! He was Dr. House. He had a cane, too, but it was in the car when I got this picture.