an albuquerque christmas

Wishing you a very Merry Christmas! 

We will enjoy our first New Mexico Christmas and are all very excited. Family will be coming to us, and the doctor in our house will have a few days off! 

And here's our attempt at a family photo...

thankful.

Sandia mountains

We try to take advantage of moons first day on nights. He sleeps in, we enjoy a big family breakfast, and then we do something fun together until nap time, when he also needs to sleep for about 5 hours. Once he's on a night schedule he needs a full 7-8 hours of day sleep. So yesterday, his first day on nights, we did the Sandia crest drive which was so beautiful. It's 30 minutes from our home and you get to over10,000ft. It was so fun for the boys and Eli was excited to see snow! He kept warning us about bears (which we didn't see).

That same afternoon, after a library trip with the boys, I was sitting on our front step with henri when I sadly witnessed my first taste of Abq's rougher side. A black suv backed into our wonderful next door neighbors drive, quickly got out and grabbed a large box off their front porch before driving off. I initially thought they were turning around, but when I realized someone got out I stood up (I suspect they didn't see me), and when I saw them lift the box I began walking to the end of our drive, like "what are you doing?". They sped off but I got the full plate, make/model of car, and described the guy I saw for cops who later came by. Sadly it was a stolen vehicle so who knows if they'll track them down. What they got off with? A humidifier that was ordered for their kids room. I've wrestled with my thoughts on it all, but mostly feel a peace that no human (or property) was hurt, and no altercation had (I don't think they wanted that either, and suspect they were surprised to realize someone saw them). So looking back at these pictures of our sweet morning in the mountains reminds me of the important work in raising good, brave, boys who will go into a dark world and leave their mark. Moon is on nights for a week and going to sleep in a quiet home without him I've been triple checking our doors :), but I sleep fine. Because living in fear will not provide safety. And if my "bad day" is watching my neighbors be victims of mail theft, i will find the courage to keep living life, enjoying the many (many!) safe and happy parts of Abq. (But I'll also be collecting their packages for them for the next few weeks). #neighborhoodwatchmom 

because one day I will need to remember...

that my sweet babies sometimes fell asleep in my arms at nap time. 

daddy love.

daddy and his boys...

                                                             
                                                  Henri waking up from a nap with daddy...

brothers!

(I was just heading into the playroom to wipe Henri's post-lunch face when I saw the brotherly love…)

a (little) halloween parade

eli is sort of new to halloween. last year, the first year for him to really get it, he was a little sick and only took a stroller ride in a half hearted costume around our neighborhood for some halloween festivities near our place. that was last year. this year, we tried to explain he gets to dress up. i suggested he could be a construction worker and he insisted on being a…. digger! and if you're going to put your kid in a costume it might as well be one they love. so i decided to find my inner cardboard box crafting skills… and with the suggestion of a friend who reminded me that they make yellow duct tape, went to work. 

today was his preschool's halloween parade and party. it was pretty adorable. they walk around the block in their costumes--a little parade of 3 and 4 year olds! henri and i were able to be there too, hang out, eat snacks, watch a little performance (they sang some songs--eli was very serious the whole time). then we eat, they let the kids dance to music (henri was dancing too--he wanted to be right where eli was!), then we went outside and played on their outdoor play structure. it's a sweet little school and was great to see eli have fun--usually i just drop him off and don't get to see what his mornings are like. of course, we took that excavator costume off after the parade and his time on stage. got to make sure it lasts until saturday! (i only have so much duct tape). 

Getting colder...

First chilly days in Abq.

Still sunny, pleasant during the day.

Nights and mornings are chilly.

Pulled out the flannel sheets and wool blankets.

And is there anything cuter than this boy in flannel? 

#biasmama

To the doctor!

Eli did so well at his four year check up. We go to moons clinic to see a family medicine Doctor. Moon was at the hospital on this day, but everyone there knows him so it's great to be a part of the clinic. Eli was well prepped for the appointment including the shots at the end. He still amazed me with how well he did! He didn't like the shots but was so brave and got a treat in the car for the ride home. Sweet boy!

He's healthy and right at 50% weight and 57% height.

(Grandma and grandpa watched Henri which was oh so helpful! He would have been into everything!)

He's 4!

It was an exciting birthday week for Eli! The balloon fiesta ended a week before his birthday party… and we were able to go in the evening to watch all the balloons get lit up, complete with fireworks as we were walking to our car. Eli hadn't seen fireworks before and was totally amazed! These pictures are from the morning we went to look at balloons from a nearby park--it was a bit chilly but it was fun to bundle these boys up and stare in awe at the sky full of balloons!


THEN… while Moon was enjoying his week of vacation we came home on day to see this in front of our house. We let Eli sit in a chair on our driveway to watch this front loader work. The very kind men who were using it to complete some city work took a lunch break and said Eli could check it out, climb inside, etc. while they had it parked. Eli was so, so excited. He talked about it for so long… hoping it would come back the next day! It really was a neat experience for him and the kind workers got a kick out of watching Eli so thrilled. I have to even admit to being a little awed by the power of these machines!

Then these folks came to visit! Just in time for Eli's 4th birthday party. They were so helpful--especially with Henri as we got ready for the party.

We invited Eli's preschool class over along with our wonderful next door neighbors and a couple church friends. It was a mid-morning party so we did a "donut cake", piñata, lots of backyard free play, brought out some instruments. In all, it was so fun to have lots of kids and grown ups in our home to celebrate Eli's 4 years!

Eli got a lot of presents, to keep it under control we let him open one after everyone left. He got to play with this lego set all afternoon! 

Then in the evening after his bath we let him open a couple more presents. His sweet friends were so kind. We continue to feel so blessed here in Albuquerque. 

Happy birthday Eli! You have brought such joy into this family! And I can never forget the moment I first held you 4 years ago… the life changing power of having a firstborn baby placed in your arms…. an indescribable love.