Christmas Eve Day 2010

Early in the day on Christmas Eve we got all packed up and headed over to Great Grandma K's house. She turned on all of her trees and lights and we played Christmas carols on the organ. We also enjoyed a great lunch and watch the little kids run around like crazy.

The drums were a particular favorite:
The youth in Grandma's ward brought by a real tree that was fully decorated. It was a very nice gesture and I think thoroughly enjoyed by Grandma.
Here is the new Christmas hat we brought for Dad:
The three boy cousins -- Andreas, Jacob, and Tyler:
The faces in this one are so funny. Jacob is the spitting image of Aaron :) It's almost the caveman face!
We were so glad that Brandon and Erika could finally join us, if only for a few days, for Christmas. An extra special Christmas treat this year was that Erika came dressed as Michael Jackson. As always, we appreciate everyone congregating for Christmas, but not the germs they bring with them. Thanks for not sharing Erika!
Dad and the grandkids
With Mom in the mix

Christmas Eve Night 2010

Christmas Eve was fantastic again this year. We went up into the mountains to spend the evening at Aunt Diane's house with the Zim Fam. The only downside was that with the mix of curvy roads, baby crying, noxious fumes from the car (it just had started having a problem), and early pregnancy nausea, the drive was a little long for me. But we survived!

Here are Andreas and Great Grandma Z. She was very brave and volunteered to hold Andreas while he ate (or dropped) a few things from the appetizer table.


Around the food table. We had amazing appetizers and delicious soups. Just right for Christmas Eve! And then a few amazing desserts to wash it all down!
Sitting around the tree listening to the Christmas story
Before the great Christmas exchange
By the way, Aunt Diane was especially generous to Andreas by getting him some finger puppets and a car. Did I mention that last year she gave him the "twilight turtle" that projects stars on the ceiling? He absolutely loves it and plays with it every night (thanks Aunt Diane and family!). Grandma gave him a book too which he always loves, so he was a happy camper.
Waiting for Santa

Andaverde Baby #2 on the way

For those that don't know, I will be having baby #2 in the end of August. I hope that hospital has good air conditioning! And there better not be a hurricane! I will find out in about 2 months whether it is a boy or a girl, so stay tuned.

Lickable Lemons

This year our lemon tree gave us a total of 5 lemons -- and they were all edible! We picked them right before Christmas, and as Saul was bringing them in, we thought, those are just the size of Andreas' hands. So we let him hold one. Except he fell in love with it. He loved biting through it. He made a few faces, but eventually the things was mostly pulp, so we had to pull it away from him while he cried. Later he saw it from a distance and was still crying for it! What a weird kid.

A sour face
Then love again
Another one of those sour faces...
Then more love and chewing
The (near) end result

Andreas in Winter

Ok, sorry for those that get nauseated, but I can't help myself!! He is the cutest kid ever! I just had to post them all!

Thanksgiving 2010

For Thanksgiving this year we were blessed to have Sam, Tiffany, and Zoe join us as well as Veronica and Rachel. The food turned out really good (if I do say so myself) and I don't think anyone left hungry.

The table spread
Here is the turkey (which was delicious by the way). In the past year or so Saul has declared that he hates all turkey and actually sticks to his declaration, which is unusual. So we were so glad when my Aunt Kay generously made us dinner when we were in Washington DC and introduced us to the ready-cooked turkey breast! We both loved it, Saul especially, and now Thanksgiving is salvaged. Thanks Aunt Kay -- you are a lifesaver! (You can get it at Costco if anyone wants to try it)
Here is the spread -- Tiffany made rolls, and we had mashed potatoes, candied yams, stuffing, turkey, cranberry sauce, jello salad, and green bean casserole. Of course Sam brought pumpkin pies to share and we even had a pumpkin cheesecake.
This is the annual "Saul, I am about to punch you in the face!" picture. He literally popped into the background in .075 nanoseconds to try and ruin the picture. He loves an audience.




Playing together after the mealIs she trying to climb into the toy box? Yes. Yes she is. Were the adults too busy napping to do much about it? Yes. Yes they were.

Spying on the neighbors....

Vero & Rachel

We are very lucky to have Saul's sister and niece so close in Houston (although on the other side of town). We, especially Andreas, love it when they stop by. Sometimes they even bring us pupusas and/or tres leches!!

You'll notice that Saul still plays the same tricks he did when he was younger. He can't get enough of torturing his poor niece Rachel!
Playing with the toys...