Merry Christmas, everyone! Today is 12/28 and as I type it is snowing like crazy outside, for the 2nd time in a week! This is the season for blizzards in Denver, it seems. Possible 2-3 feet expected. Fortunately John and I are both off and we have nowhere we have to go.

This was our first Christmas "on our own"...so it was quiet, but wonderful. Two weeks prior we celebrated an early Christmas with Lisa's brother Tim, his new wife, Amy (they were married in August), and Lisa's mom, Peyton. After a weekend up in Beaver Creek, CO, we returned home to open gifts and sing Christmas carols while Tim played guitar.

We kept ourselves busy the weekend prior to Christmas with parties (Amy & James' on Saturday night; Rebecca's on Sunday night), but on Christmas day it was our chance to forge out our combined family traditions. Anne Peyton (and the dogs) had to wait at the top of the stairs until they got the 'all clear' signal from mom & dad. Then it was a free-for-all and great fun opening up stocking presents...breakfast...naps/showers...and then we moved to the "big" presents under the tree. The whole process was quite time -consuming since Annie was marvelling over everything she opened, and we wouldn't want it any other way. For dinner we enjoyed the turkey breast & stuffing which had been cooking in the crock pot all day. Now that is the way to cook a turkey!

I can't seem to get a picture attached, so for photos, please visit http://www.kodakgallery.com/coloradohofmeisters
and click on "Christmastime 2006"

We wish everyone a truly happy 2007!

December 3 - Thanksgiving has passed and now it's all about Christmas. We had a wonderful Thanksgiving celebration here in Colorado with John's family: parents George & Lucy, and John's brother Eric, his wife Elizabeth, and their enthusiastic kindergartner (and wonderful big cousin), Sarah. Eric & Elizabeth are Tommy's godparents, and we had him baptized on Thanksgiving Eve, 11/22. It was a beautiful time of year to do this, reminding us of all the good things in our lives.

The day after Thanksgiving, Elizabeth, Eric & Lisa rose at 5:30am to catch a few of the local sales. I think this will quickly become a tradition with this gang. Despite Lisa's anti-shopping gene, it was really quite fun. Almost like a little adventure...stealing out in the dark of night, picking up a nice hot coffee to keep us warm while we waited with many others for Target to open, lots of Christmas cheer, and not to mention bah-gains!

That afternoon, all the girls plus Tommy hopped in the car (poor Elizabeth had to ride in the hatch in order for everyone to fit in one car!) and headed for the mall, where the 3 kids got their picture taken with Santa (also the 2nd year in what may become a tradition). This year AP wasn't quite as enamored with Santa as the previous year...after lots of coaxing and crying she finally "kinda/sorta" posed with Santa, but at the cost of having Lisa's knees in the picture!

2006 Photo:

2005 Photo:

On 11/30, Tommy turned 2 months old. At his checkup, he weighed in at 12 lb 7 oz (70th %-ile) and measured 24 1/2 inches (93rd %-ile). He got a couple of vaccinations with which he was none too pleased, but fortunately it wasn't mutual because the doc was happy with his growth and health. We are thrilled because he is finally smiling consistently, especially if he hasn't set eyes on you for awhile (after a nap, etc).

Anne Peyton continues to be a good big sister. Her latest favorite activity is to undress her brother. If we turn away for a minute, we look back to see his bare chest showing (she loves undoing snaps). She's talking more and more, though no sentences yet. A few of her words are:

mama, dadda

Ba = pacifier (also her word for bottle; they both require sucking!)

a-pa = applesauce

neh = blankie (???)

noh = nose and NO!

joo = juice

moh = more

tee = teeth (she LOVES brushing her teeth, or rather, sucking on the toothbrush)

peas = please

For more pictures, go to http://www.kodakgallery.com/coloradohofmeisters and click on "November 2006" under the picture.

November 10, 2006 - Tommy turns 6 weeks old tomorrow. Much to our delight, he actually slept 7-8 hours at a time a few nights this week. Time will tell if this is a fluke or if he is following in his big sissy's footsteps and learning to be a good sleeper. He seems much mellower now - doesn't cry as urgently and often and his digestive system seems to be working a little better too.

Anne Peyton is adjusting really well. Despite some tantrums and late-night wake-ups, she adores her little brother and is charming the heck out of her parents every day. At bedtime she loves cuddling up in mommy & daddy's bed with a pile of books. Although she doesn't have many words yet, it's sweet to hear her attempts.

This was a month of visitors: Grammy (Lisa's mom), Kathy Bravo (day care mommy) and her 3 kids: Ariana, Thomas & Elise, Aunt Molly Tee, Papa TR (Lisa's dad), Becky Chapman, Kjirsten Wallace & Zach, Amy St. John & Max, Tim Neyman & Sarita, Terie Holmquist, Stacey Hauhuth & Finn, Betsy Angelino & Anthony, Roberta Camargo, Mikkel Hylden & Brynne, and Ellen Itzkowitz & Brady!

For Halloween AP dressed as a cowgirl (for the Itzkowitz's party) and as a horse (for the St John/Sanders' party), and Tommy was a chicken (rooster, to be technically correct). John was a farmer. Why is it that we can't get out of this ridiculous farm animal theme?!

We've posted more pictures and captions at http://www.kodakgallery.com/coloradohofmeisters

Greetings everyone! This is our first attempt at creating a family blog. The birth of our son, Thomas Edward, seems a fitting reason to begin such a thing! He was born at 9:10pm on Saturday, 9/30, just a few days late. Despite the cord being wrapped around his neck TWICE (apparently this happened during late labor), he was born without a c-section and was healthy when he arrived. We stayed in the hospital for about 3 days, and eagerly returned home to a waiting Anne Peyton and Grammy (Lisa's mom, Peyton). Here are a few photos.