A trip to the mountains

We had a great day with our friends, the Warthen family, in the Cascade Mountains. After having so much fun sledding a few weeks ago, Chris and Emma were excited to go back to Trollhaugen Lodge to try out our new sled. Camden reminded us of Ralphie's little brother from A Christmas Story since he couldn't move very well in his snowsuit, but he had fun sledding too!

A Very Merry Christmas

What a great Christmas! Things haven't changed with me...I was up at the crack of dawn ready for Christmas to begin. Emma was so excited to see that Santa had enjoyed her cookies and Rudolph liked his carrot. Santa even left a note for us! :)

Camden's first Christmas was wonderful. Even though our families weren't here in person, we got to share a little Christmas cheer on the web cam. Emma was Camden's lovely assistant opening his presents.

Emma is showing off her Barbie Nutcracker Princess ornament in the middle of her sea of gifts.

Who needs presents when there is ribbon to play with?!?!

When Emma opened her kitchen from Santa, she exclaimed, "Ohhhh! I a cook like Rachael Ray!"

It was a white Christmas in Washington! Camden loved watching the snow come down.

The Kasparek ladies had fun playing in the snow!

Christmas Eve

On our way to Christmas Eve Mass

After asking every Sunday where He was, Emma was so excited that Baby Jesus was finally in the Nativity Scene in front of the church!

While we were eating dinner, Emma got a phone call from SANTA!!!!!!!!!!

We wrote a note to Santa and left cookies and eggnog for him. Rudolph got a juicy carrot.

Camden though he would do a little taste test to make sure we had the perfect carrot for Rudolph. :)

The night would not be complete without The Night Before Christmas.

Cyber Christmas

Through the wonders of technology (a.k.a. the web cam) we got to celebrate Christmas with our dear friends the Rhineharts yesterday afternoon. After sharing Christmas with them the past 4 years, it is bittersweet not being with them right now. Emma, Camden, Gavin, and Taylor watched as they all opened their presents from one another. If we could give cyber hugs, we would have enjoyed that too! :)

Christmas cookies

It looks like Christmas at the Kasparek house, but now it tastes like Christmas! One of my beloved childhood memories is making Christmas cookies with my mom. I remember there wasn't an inch of counter space left in our kitchen after we had frosted and decorated all the cookies! Granny passed on her spice sugar cookie recipe to Mom and now it's my turn to keep the tradition going.

Emma is becoming quite a pro with the rolling pin and she was in charge of deciding what cookie cutter to use for each cookie. The hardest part for her is waiting until they bake and cool so she decorate!

Chris and Camden joined us for frosting and decorating the cookies. Camden had a little too much excitement and fell asleep in his highchair. I think for every cinnamon candy and sprinkle Emma put on a cookie, 2 went in her mouth. :)

Two little monkeys playing in the crib

You'd think that I would have learned by now that a quiet toddler = trouble. Camden was taking a nap this morning and Emma said she was going to play up in her room while I put groceries away. The quiet Kasparek house was soon filled with Camden's giggles. He rarely wakes up from a nap in a cheerful mood, so I headed upstairs to investigate. This is what I found...

I am not sure how Emma got in the crib, but she tossed in every toy/stuffed animal she could find on the floor and then climbed in herself. Trying to get over my initial shock, I decided the best way to deal with this situation was to grab the camera and have a good laugh. :)

Going on 3 or 13?!?!?

Chris is a work retreat on Whidbey Island so I thought I'd take some pictures of the kids to send him. I might have a great idea, but my darlings sometimes think otherwise... After dinner tonight, I asked Emma if I could take a picture of her to send Daddy, Nana, and Babi. Her response was, "I don't think so." This is the shot I got of her:

Unlike his sister, Camden was an eager model this evening. He is supporting Mom and Dad's Alma mater today wearing his Northern Iowa Panthers sweatshirt (thanks Katie!). I know it is a shock to see him in something other than Hawkeye apparel. Today he's been babbling, "dadadadadad," for the first time...kind of a mean trick since Daddy's not home to hear him.

Our little Mia Hamm....

That's right! It is official...Emma Kasparek has now entered into the realm of Youth Sports...With Daddy looking on, Emma enjoyed her first soccer practice...She really loves her new uniform and who can blame her when she has number "6" Any true Iowa fan will recognize that this is a great number...NO NOT Christiansen, DWIGHT...

Ok, Ok, I am Iowa crazy.....I admit it....and I do not want to brag, but I think Emma may be the next great USA Player....Lighten up folks...I am NOT going to be that psycho Soccer Dad....at least I hope not....

Snow Angels and Sledding

Wow, what a day....Emma, Claire and their Daddy's had a day to themselves on the mountains. The girls enjoyed cruising down on the sleds as Chris and Chris let them ride on their backs each time getting faster and faster.

Here is a three picture sequence of a really good stunt by Emma....Look close...On Daddy's Back, Off of his back, now five feet behind...

SNOWANGELS......

Wow...This Stuff is Deep....Uhhhhhhhhhhh...

Get Him.......Get Him.....Get Him......

After a fun filled day....Gotta Love the Rosy Cheeks...

You can take the girl out of Japan...

But you can't take Japan out of the girl! Emma kept us entertained at dinner last night when she insisted on using chopsticks. :)

"Come on chicken," was my favorite quote of the evening. Coaxing your food into your chopsticks always works!

Yummy seaweed! She reminded us that she ate seaweed with Gavin. :)

Camden's feet were more entertaining than watching us eat dinner.

Eventually Emma told us, "These are too tricky," and used her fork to shovel in the rest of her rice. :)

This button, Mom?

We have a budding photographer in our house. Maybe it's all the pictures we've been taking of her recently... Emma is always pretending to take our picture with anything that she thinks resembles a camera. She was in heaven when we moved and she inherited my Japanese cell phone. She snaps pictures with it all the time. This morning she asked to take a whirl at our camera...

Ooops! Cut mom's head off....Then Camden wouldn't sit still...

This one's pretty good!

Mom's turn behind the lens....

Emma thinks that Camden is at the playground when he's swinging. She was getting frustrated that he wouldn't go higher in the swing. He just laughs with delight when she pushes him. I think it's time to retire the swing... :)