All In One

February has been a nice mix of projects and relaxation. We've purposefully cut back on screen time (tv, computer, etc) to embrace our dwindling days of concentrated family time. Only 5 more weeks before we dive headlong into the frantic "ships in the night" life we typically lead.

But I wouldn't be a successful family historian (albeit online) if I didn't do at least one post about our goings-on this month...

Matt's birthday is always one of the first things on deck in February. We celebrated his 33rd with a home-made banner, ice cream cake and a family photo shoot. (A dedicated post on that later.)

It's winter here in San Diego, which means a few more rainy days than usual. Perfect for napping...

... and watching out windows.

Inevitably the sun came back and so did the ice cream truck. These two are really going to miss one another.

In addition to becoming a full-time walker, Lear has also been working on his utensil skills. Diaper only = quicker cleanup.

Matt and I have implemented a date night each week. Amazing what just a few hours together without the kids can do to enrich a marriage! 

Avery is somewhat sensitive to being left "alone" these days, so we've also put extra effort into carving out special Daddy-Daughter and Mommy-Daughter time. Matt spent an afternoon at the aviation museum with her. I took her to our very first teahouse lunch with our friends Jen and Kenzie - fancy hats, small sandwiches, and scones. Yum!

The biggest project I tackled this month was the design of Cheyenne's new bedroom. For two weeks my free time was spent planning, shopping, painting and creating a place that she would feel excited to call her own. With stark white walls and no painting allowed, how do you bring the vibrancy of a 4 year old to this space? Well, for under $200, I'm pretty proud of how it turned out - (bed and dresser pre-owned). Avery and Cheyenne even painted the large artwork above the dresser together!

 
 

Wobble Walkin

Walk it out from The McNeils on Vimeo.

One Year Checkup

Lear's one year check-up went well today.

He is quickly losing his "chunk"-factor. In fact, with his activity level exploding since August, he's gained slightly less than a pound since then. But his height continues to rocket, gaining almost 4 inches in that same 5 months.

Official #s: Weight - 22.3 lbs (42%), Height - 30.5 in (72%), Head Cir. - 47cm (60%)

 

 

One Year of Lear

Birthday Boy

Happy 1st Birthday, Lear!
By now hopefully you've accepted the fact that your Mom is a photo junkie and will be documenting your life relentlessly...
You're welcome.

That's a Wrap!

December flew past, as it always does.

But this year we did make a conscious effort to have a few slower moments.

Scaling down our Christmas shopping and "busy-ness" this year left time for things like family movie nights, gingerbread houses, and using our resources to teach Avery about the giving spirit of Christmas.

 

Every year Matt's work outdoes themselves with their annual Kids Holiday Party. Games, bouncehouses, raffles, facepainting, etc, etc, etc. And Santa, of course. This was Lear's first experience with the man in red. No tears, just generally curious about the whole thing.

At her preschool class Christmas program, Miss A was front and center. Without hesitation she belted out her rehearsed songs... maybe she really is destined for the big stage!

There was also more time for simply being together, enjoying time with family. Gigi and Jimster (newly nicknamed "The Candyman") stopped in for a day and what a joy it was to share a sunny afternoon with them.

There's something truly magical about the tree all lit up at night. We had a hard time getting Avery to keep any houselights on at all!

Because we had travel plans for Christmas, we opened all the big family gifts a few days early. The Raiders backpack and remote control airplane were big hits!

Skiing for Christmas is a Coe family tradition. After a 3 year hiatus, our 4-some joined my family in Park City, Utah for what was supposed to be a wonderful winter vacation.

Except, the very first night Avery came down with a wicked fever, deep cough, vomiting and severe congestion. At least it looked beautiful outside!

 

They did bring their stockings, which Santa filled to the brim with wonderful things to open Christmas morning.

In short order, Lear caught his sister's crud. So the adults all took turns skiing half-days. We got just the right mix of gorgeous sun and clouds dumping new powder.

 

But sharing air for 7 days with sick kids resulted in us all getting horrifically ill. It will be a trip of legend, but not the good kind. Needless to say, few pictures were taken. But if that first pic was the "nice" group shot... this is how we all really felt. Grateful for the time spent together nonetheless.

Fortunately, on the very last day Avery was well enough to spend a couple hours on a bunny hill. She had been begging us all week to let her ski and finally got her shot.

I was so proud of her! But after about 5 runs she was totally over it.

Nothing that a little time on the tubing hill didn't fix! 

TwentyTwelve certainly won't go down in the books as the best year on record. But we move into 2013 grateful for all the blessings we do have and confident in God's desire and ability to shape the direction of our new adventures!

Elves Among Us

The other night we told Avery that there had been elf sightings in the neighborhood. There was even a chance that they'd been in our house too! Our suspicions were confirmed when, after dinner, we headed upstairs to find neatly folded Christmas jammies laid out upon Avery's bed.

Atop each set was a ticket inviting them to board the family sleigh for a night of Christmas light viewing!

With everyone buckled and tucked 'neath their blankets, Avery traded her ticket in for a travel cup full of hot chocolate (with marshmallows!) and we drove off to "Christmas Card Lane" - one of the neighborhoods in San Diego famous for their decorations.

These 5+ blocks of residential homes did not disappoint. Every single home was decorated to the max, each with a theme, people out in their driveways enjoying crackling firepits and handing out freshly baked cookies. There were even two horse-drawn carriages providing lookers an al fresco experience. Magical!

2011 McNeil Family Video

Wait, what?

I know, I know... slightly tardy with the world premiere of LAST year's family video. All my production energies were spent birthing/feeding/raising a second munchkin.

Hey, no excuses. Without further delay, I give you our life, circa 2011:

Our life story continues... memories of 2011.
Runtime: 20 min

November-ness

Is it really mid-December already? Really?!

Dang.

Well, there were a few notable happenings around here last month that deserve a post.

My 31st birthday was celebrated with the traditional hunt for a new lobster bisque to try out. Matt found the quaint San Diego Soup Company and I'm pleased to say this little hole in the wall joint with a great deck served up a very good contender. It was nice to be able and enjoy a piping hot bowl of soup outdoors in the sunshine as a family. Thus far we've sampled lobster bisque at: The Hotel Del, Island Prime, Pizza Nova, and Peohoes. It's tough to say which is actually the best without tasting them all at the same time!

This little dude is growing some serious chompers. He's up to 4 teeth up top and 2 on the bottom!

Avery's becoming quite the art-eest. This work she's entitled Daddy with Balloons.

Lear's first Thanksgiving was a success, mostly due to the phenomenal spread the Pettits always serve up. Jerry was sure to give Lear first crack at the turkey leg. Good thing he's pretty much eating all "man food" these days and loved it, of course.

The day after Thanksgiving it's our family tradition to put up Christmas decorations. Lear taste-tested the majority of our bulbs. Quality control at it's finest!

Avery enjoyed hanging ornaments and reprized her role as keeper of the star this year. Better get in all the star toppings you can before your brother vies for that job!

Baby's First Christmas...

 

... and the reason we have no ornaments on the bottom 2 feet of our tree!

Last, but certainly not least, on the 29th Matt and I celebrated our 10th wedding anniversary! 10 years ago my best friend promised me his life. I couldn't ask for a bigger fan, more steadfast provider, or passionate protector. Through lush times and lean, it's been a crazy amazing adventure so far. Love is a choice and I'm so glad he chose me.