Galla's Night Cap

One of the joys of having children is that they keep you entertained. Brad and I check on the kids every night around 11 pm before we head to bed. I always look forward to seeing my babies looking so sweet and peaceful in their sleep--it makes me fall in love with them all over again, even if they were rascals all day! A couple nights ago we got a good laugh and grabbed the camera when I noticed that Galla had her jeans on her head! (I know the picture looks like it was light in her room, but apparently our camera takes great night shots because it was totally dark except for the nightlight). She kept them on all night and Brad got another shot of her when he got her up the next morning. When she wakes up, she always goes behind Finn's crib and wakes him up and makes him laugh. Finn got a real kick out of Galla's "hat!"

Finn's First Year Photo

I took Finn on Saturday to get his 1 year (er...13 1/2 months) pictures done. Claire recommended this great place called Potrait Innovations over in Gresham Town Center. They were awesome! Their studio is really nice and they had two people working just with us--one girl running around with a camera (they don't use a tri-pod) and one girl trying to get Finn to stay in the right place and smile. If only Finn would've cooperated more we could've gotten something better than this messy-haired, droopy-eyed guy shot, but I still think he looks cute. I think Finn decided that modeling is not the career for him--he'd rather explore the studio and try to open all of the cabinets and doors. But it was still worth it because for a grand total of $9.95 we got one 10x13, two 8x10's, four 5x7's, four 3x5's, 32 wallets, and six Valentine's Day cards (read: way more pictures than we know what to do with)! Plus, they print it all there and you get them back in 15 minutes. I would definitely pass on the recommendation to give them a try. Who knows, maybe I'll actually get Galla's 3-years-old pictures done within a reasonable time of her actual birthday (March 8) and not 1-2 months late like I usually do because I'm dreading the ordeal. As Portrait Innovations says, "We've totally re-invented the studio experience."

Chickity China the Chinese Children

My crazily fun mother-in-law picked up these get-ups in China Town, San Francisco. Mimi (what the kids call her) brought them when she came to visit a month ago and we did this photo shoot then, but I'm just getting to the blog. The kids were so cute in these outfits and Mimi even taught Galla a little Chinese dance that is so fun. Thank you, Mimi! Maybe next month we'll do a Mexican theme--anybody know where I can get some little sombreros?

Holiday Wrap-Up

There's been so much merriment lately that I hardly know where to begin! We had a glorious 3 week break from Brad's school and crammed in as much action as we could handle. I'll try to keep this post concise but since I consider this to be our family journal, I also want it to be complete. I'll just let the pictures tell most of the stories.Galla with Mr. and Mrs. Claus at the Ward party. She thinks that all Santa gives is a candy cane. We'll let her believe that for as long as we can! (Finn was home sick from his six "Happy 1st Birthday" shots).
Zoo lights! We went on a cold and rainy evening (which is pretty much every evening here in Portland) with our friends the Olsens and the Trujillos. I was quite impressed with how many lights they put up. It was pretty cool and we had a good time. Galla's shoes were completely soaked when we left, but she was still in high spirits. Christmas morning! This little smiley guy was having fun sitting on his presents!
Galla, on the other hand, definitely wanted to open her presents and loves her Princess laptop (which has one volume setting: annoyingly loud). I'm sad that I didn't get a pic of the two of them together with their cute Christmas pajamas, but we were in a little bit of a hurry to catch our plane. We flew on Christmas day and watched from the big airport windows the SNOW coming down! It rarely snows here, so a white Christmas is pretty cool, but we were just hoping it didn't cause any delays...Cali-FUN-ia was waiting!
We flew in to Sacramento and went straight to my parents' cabin up by Pine Crest. My whole family was there except for my brother, Joseph, who we just got to see in the airport because our flight came in about an hour before his flight left. We got to experience a winter wonderland at the cabin and had fun doing snow activities. Here's Galla sledding (pulling the sled back up the hill). I'm glad that Galla somehow seems to be unaffected by cold.
Brad and Finn playing in the snow. Finn didn't like to keep his boots on, so he didn't get put down too much. (Auntie Kesha and Cousin Laura in the background).
The cousins watching a movie (minus my Finn and my sister's baby Joseph)Galla wasn't so sure about ice skating, but she made up her mind after a face-first fall on the ice that it wasn't for her. This picture is pre-fall.

Finn also took his turn around the rink.
This picture is post-fall. She was sad, but after she ran into the ice skates that my mom was holding and got a black eye, she was even more sad. It wasn't her day and I don't think she's the next Michelle Kwan.
On to some warmer festivities! After we dug our way out of the snow (apparently it's impossible to drive in the snow and ice if Brad forgets to take off the parking brake), we drove over to Santa Cruz where Brad's family rented a house right on the beach. Brad's whole family was there and it was so fun to lounge in the sun. Galla and daddy love to play on the beach and run from the waves.
Hooray for the sun! We really miss it in Portland. Miss Galla--queen of the beach!
Mr. Finn--king of the beach house!
Brad's whole fun family. We got to ring in 2008 together!Our little family. We had a great break and, of course, are happy to be back home and in the swing of things. Brad will be done with school next December so we start the final countdown: the last January....