Christmas Lights!

Last night we ventured out to look at Christmas lights - this was our 3rd or 4th trip! I think we've found another family tradition that we all really enjoy.

Mom and Dad Penner told us about an impressive light display that they had recently discovered so we went to check it out. Surprisingly enough we ran into the Brown clan who had also gone to look at the same light display.

Mom and Dad, these videos are for you... :)

Christmas Day

We enjoyed Christmas morning with both sets of parents...

*WARNING, ADVERTISEMENT AHEAD* ...By the way, the bib that Priya is wearing in the pic above has become our all time favorite! If you are on the hunt for a bib that not only protects the front of your child but also his/her sleeves then check out Ikea for the best bibs ever!

Ok, advertisement over. Let's get back to CHRISTMAS!

Sharing Christmas with a 2-year-old was a whole new ballgame this year! We were inspired by Joel and Emily's discovery of a unique way of sharing the true meaning of Christmas with little ones and picked up What God Wants for Christmas. The story was a bit advanced for Priya but she definitely enjoyed playing with the figures from the nativity set and we saw the beginnings of the laying of a foundation in her little heart.

She definitely had a whole new perspective on gifts as well, thinking that she needed to have a part in opening every single gift and that somehow they were all for her too. She is only two, right? ;)

I think Dad enjoyed his gifts even more than Priya this year - and that's saying a lot!

We moseyed on over to the Meredith home in the afternoon for some quality time with the extended family...

In the evening we enjoyed some Indian-style entertainment. We listened to Gujarati Christmas songs online, called family and friends in India and had a little dance party of our own...

Merry Christmas!

Just wanted to wish you all a very Merry Christmas! We'll be back with updates soon!

Congratulations Ashish!

Ashish reached a huge milestone today! He graduated from nursing school and participated in his pinning ceremony today! It's been a grueling year for him but he has persevered and pushed through some huge obstacles. Priya loved seeing her daddy up on stage and was especially enthusiastic when he walked across the stage. She kept calling out "Daddy! Daddy! Daddy! Sheesh! Sheesh!" It was adorable.

We are so proud of you Ashish! Way to go!

Happy Thanksgiving...

Better late than never, right? :) I've been meaning to get this posted for a while but we didn't get them loaded onto our computer until last night.

On Thanksgiving morning Dad, Jon, O and I participated in Redding's Turkey Trot. O ran the 1/4 mile race for her age group and did a fantastic job! I wish I could show the video but it shows her face too clearly. So you'll just have to take my word for it. We then went over to see Jon begin his 6 mile race and cheer him on before heading over to the 2-mile course that Dad, O & I walked together.

Here are Dad and O cheering Jon on as he ran by. Unfortunately we missed him in the picture.
O made friends with some Storm Troupers who were a part of the event for some reason. Random yes, but fun. :)
Then later that afternoon we enjoyed Thanksgiving dinner with family and friends. There were quite a few kids there so the girls of course had a wonderful time.

Time for an update!

It's time for a long-overdue update! I have more pics that have yet to be uploaded onto our computer but i thought I'd start with this for now...

For Thanksgiving this year we were visited by my brother Jon and SIL Jenetta. They brought their daughters O & L for the week and we had a wonderful time together.

We took L and Priya to a park one evening to take some professional pics. These are no where near the quality of the pics that Jenetta took but here's a little sample.

We took the girls to play in the snow up at Mt. Lassen. We still can't show face shots of O & L until the adoption is finalized so I'm not able to show some really cute pics of L enjoying the snow. My cousin Holli joined us for the adventure.

All Sorts of Fun!

We had quite the fun-filled Halloween this year! We started out by visiting a nearby farm/pumpkin patch and got to enjoy seeing Priya experience all sorts of firsts! Some good friends, the Petersons, joined us for the morning.Ashish's dad had goats as a boy so he especially enjoyed the petting zoo! :)
Priya was a little reluctant at first but ended up making all sorts of new animal friends.




They had a small kids play area (it was free too!) so Priya, of course, had a blast! This was her first attempt ever at riding a bike (well, tricycle)!

Then we took a train ride around the farm. Priya loved the bumps and rattles of the car!
Priya's first lollipop!


What a face!!! This is one of my new favorite pictures!
Cheese!!!!!
Priya's very good friend, Beth.
Ah, family photo time. What do you think? Should this be our Christmas card photo? ;)
Seriously...precious!!


Then in the evening, Priya and I took Ashish's parents to a Harvest Carnival put on by one of the churches in town.


After a long day, Priya took a little breather in the bouncy castle. :)