New Year's Eve 2006

So, we have a tradition with our dear friends The Russells to fondue every New Year's Eve... however, the past several years have found us far from each other to be able to do it together. So this year, we invited some of our New York friends to fondue with us... Word to the Russells: You have GOT to try cheese fondue! It's de-lish!

This was also Lexi's first intro to the tasty concoction... I guess fondue-ing is a bit *retro*, but why not enjoy a good thing?

#2

IT'S A GIRL! I do hope she & Lexi will be friends! When the ultrasound technician first said it was a girl, I really had no feelings one way or the other. I think I was just hoping for a healthy baby, and since I already have one girl, I felt that I would be happy with either another girl or a boy... But now that I have had some time to let it sink in, I am thrilled to have another girl!

Christmas in New York

Christmas 2006

Click the above picture to view the album of photos.

We stayed in New York this year for Christmas... it was wonderful! Matt's parents came to stay with us and we had a great time seeing the Christmas Sights around the city- windows at Macy's and Saks, & the Tree at Rockefeller Center being among the most famous. We spent Christmas Eve in Brooklyn with some of Matt's extended family. Christmas morning was here at home, and then for the rest of Christmas Day, we joined Nanny Susan's family at her home for food, games (what's Christmas without BINGO?!) and fun. It was a great day- so exciting for Lexi- she could barely contain herself- so many gifts and so many people she loves!

Ice Skating at Lasker Rink

Today we went with Dad and his class down to Central Park to go ice skating again... it's turning into an annual trip! Lexi just loved it, although it's quite tiring for me to help her skate. One of the rink employees tried to help her learn by teaching her to "waddle like a penguin", but she had a hard time doing that. Mostly, she just wanted to hang with daddy's students- they took her for a few spins around the ice, but they, too, got a bit tired out. When I told Lexi we had to go, she got very upset and cried and attempted to break free and get to the ice herself. On stable ground, she was very good at walking on the skates... maybe next year will be better.
(Click on the little photo above to see more from our day trip).

Ice Skating with some of Daddy's students


*Skating* (more like walking) over to Daddy.

For Unto Us A Child Is Born

So, for those of you who were wondering, Lexi got stage fright (just like her mama!) and would not even stand with the other primary kids while they sang in church today. She clung to me and refused to go sing- even though we had been practicing the song for weeks!

Later that night, I took a little video of her singing the song, just to document that she does, in fact, know it well. The only way she would do it was if she could march along as she sang, hence the shaky camera work.

Decorating the Tree

We have never had a tree in our apartment here in New York, but this year since we are staying at home for Christmas, and since Lexi is getting old enough for it to be a fun experience for her, we splurged. The trees in our neighborhood started at $30 for a pretty small one- not that we wanted something huge. So one weekend, when Grandma let us borrow her car, we took a trip to New Jersey for a fresher and cheaper tree. The result was this nice tree that smells divine!!

Lexi putting the star on the tree.

...and the Government shall be upon his shoulders...

After reading this post on my friend Julia's blog, I discovered that the primary and senior nursery are planning to sing "For Unto Us A Child Is Born" from Handel's Messiah for our ward Christmas Program. It's an ambitious and lofty goal, if you ask me, but I decided to try and help Lexi learn the piece as best as a 3-year-old can. We played it for her the other night, and sure enough, when the choir sang "Wonderful! Counselor! The Mighty God! The Everlasting Father! The Prince of Peace!" she chimed right in! She made us repeat the song 3 or 4 times, which was fine with me because I just love it. Then we took a break for dinner. Soon after, Matt & Lexi headed to the living room and Lexi made this request:

"Daddy, I want to watch. Uhhhh... I want the government to be upon his shoulders. I want to listen!"

Matt gladly obliged.