Sibling rivalry???

After decorating the tree, while still watching the Cougs get pummeled by the Huskies (OUCH 30-0!), G was snuggling with both kiddos, which was pretty sweet.  Then we saw the pictures . . .

Alli is looking a little less than pleased that Eli is with her & Daddy!

Getting a little better, maybe she's starting to realize he's really not going away :)

Eli has nothing but smiles and admiration for his big sis!

Win the day for Crimson & Gray!!!

It is once again time for the Apple Cup.  For those of you who are not from WA, that is the big football showdown between the Washington State University Cougars and the University of Washington Huskies.  No question who we're rooting for ;-)

Go Cougs!!!!!!!!

You can see that Eli is not too sure what to think of game ~ his face sums up how most Cougs are likely feeling right about now ;-)

Such a wonderful Turkey Day ;-)

We are stuffed and tired but very happy!  We had such a great day with our families and ate lots of yummy food :) 

Here we are on our first Thanksgiving as the Fisher Family of Four!!!

The kiddos looked so cute in their matching outfits and for the most part, had a great day.  Eli is teething so he was a bit uncomfortable but was a trooper.

As a side note, here's a little trivia for you . . . 11 years ago (Thanksgiving night 1998), G and I finally figured out the whole dating thing and shared our first kiss ~ we've been together ever since ;-)

Happy Thanksgiving

We have so much to be thankful for this year . . .

First, we are so thankful for our two healthy children!  It was just last Thanksgiving that we learned we were pregnant with Eli and now he is here with us :)

We are so thankful to be here in WA near family.

We are thankful that we chose to live in this particular neighborhood.  Our neighbors are wonderful and have become dear friends.

We are thankful for the generosity of the community here and across the country ~ so many people have rallied behind our nephew!

We are thankful for the births of our dear friends' children this year ~ Lauren, we are still so excited to meet you!  Kaden, welcome to the world little one ~ enjoy your first Turkey day.  And of course, Baby Selah and Baby Abigail, we are so happy to have you as friends!!!

We pray that each of you enjoy your Thanksgiving and take a moment to share those things for which you are thankful.

A Pirate Party

Sorry for the lack of posts lately, we've been incredibly busy with the Auction ~ only two weeks to go!!!

Today, G took Alli and Eli to a friend's 4th birthday party, which had a pirate theme.  I met them there after church and got to see all of the fun :)  Here is a shot of our little "wench" as G called her.  Not my favorite term but G assures me it's not bad, just Pirates and Wenches ;-)  As you can see from the pictures, everyone got involved in the fun   . . .

Concentrating very hard on the puppet show

Eli was just so excited Mommy arrived ~ think he even noticed??? ;-)

Hmmm, maybe the Fisher boys just don't show excitement

Eli found his thumb!!!

So we realize that not all parents would be as excited by this as we are, but we think it is great!  Well, Alli is not as impressed as she desperately wants Eli to love the binky, but G and I are thrilled at this point :)  He has been trying so hard to suck that thumb since birth but couldn't quite figure out how to do it, often sucking on his knuckles instead.  This morning, I went in to wake him (I think he would sleep until noon if I let him!) and he was sound asleep, happily sucking his left thumb.  I was so bummed that I didn't have the camera but no worries, he was happy to suck it many times during the day, allowing me to get some cute shots ;-)

Our Rising Star

So it's not often that I sneak a blog in but I thought it was necessary for me to get the word out about our little Nikki Jean and an honor that has been bestowed upon her this week (and that she was just going to let go unannounced!!).  So on Wednesday, it was announced that she is one of nine Attorneys from her Boston Firm (Bingham McCutchen) listed to "Massachusetts Super Lawyers" Rising Stars list in 2009.  So what is this, you might ask?  "Super Lawyers" is a national publication for the legal profession that conducts a yearly rigorous evaluation process involving peer recognition and achievement in the legal field to select their Rising Stars (....I was curious and decided to look it up......it's a no joke process for sure).  The selection process is entirely independent and candidates are developed through peer nominations and/or research conducted by the publication staff.  Another notable is that no more than 2.5% of all attorneys in Massachusetts are named to the list!

I think that this is a recognition that is well deserved and leaves me awestruck considering that she is earning it while living 3000 miles away, working part time and playing Super Mom to our two little munchkins (and juggling numerous other projects).  I am very proud of her and thought that anyone reading our blog may want to know about this as well.  I've attached a link below to the actual announcement if anyone is interested in finding out more.

Garrett

Nikki Jean Fisher

online at

visit superlawyers.com

A plea for my nephew . . .

We are all aware of the heart-wrenching stories that regularly appear on the Internet and a common first reaction is to question whether the electronic tale has any factual basis. I am hoping you will allow me to share a true story about my amazing nephew, 12.5-year-old Kyle Gehler (in photo with his mom and Eli), who lives in Port Orchard, WA.


Kyle was born prematurely on March 10, 1997 due to under-developed kidneys and decreased amniotic fluid. I was just outside the room when he was born and was fortunate to hear that first, wonderful cry! Just days after his birth, doctors determined that Kyle’s kidneys were operating at less than 10% and diagnosed him with End Stage Renal Disease. The doctors at Seattle Children’s Hospital recommended that he undergo a life-saving kidney transplant. Miraculously, one of his maternal uncles was a match and graciously agreed to donate one of his kidneys to his nephew.

On August 2, 1999, Kyle received an amazing Gift ~ a chance for a more normal childhood. Following this gift of a second chance at life, Kyle has had 71 admissions into Children’s Hospital and more than once there has been a fear of kidney failure. Sadly, that fear was recognized this past summer when Kyle was once again diagnosed with complete kidney failure. Kyle is now receiving kidney dialysis to keep him alive. The doctors at Seattle Children’s Hospital have once again recommended that Kyle undergo a life-saving kidney transplant and have placed him on the national donor registry. Once a match is found and Kyle receives his new kidney, he will require medication as he will be immune suppressed for the rest of his life.

Although Kyle has medical insurance, it will not cover all of his transplant related expenses. In fact, Kyle’s family needs to raise about $40,000 to cover transplant related expenses. Given that this is a difficult task, they have asked the Children’s Organ Transplant Association (COTA) for help. COTA is a national charity dedicated to organizing and guiding communities in raising funds for transplant-needy patients. Funds are used for transplant-related expenses. The COTA for Kyle Gehler campaign is organizing events and activities to help families like Kyle's.

Although I do not like to ask for money, we need your help to raise funds. Please help us make a second miracle for Kyle by making a generous donation or by volunteering your time and resources to help us raise the estimated $40,000 that is needed.

If you would like to donate, please click on the donate button at the top of the blog or visit http://www.cotaforkyleg.com/ to learn more about Kyle. You can also write a check to COTA (please write in honor of Kyle Gehler in the memo space) and mail it to 2501 West COTA Drive, Bloomington, Indiana 47403. All gifts are tax deductible to the fullest extent of the law.

Thank you for considering a donation that will help make a miracle for my nephew!!!

Shuffle Step

We had dance class again today and "we" is the operative word here ;-)  Yes folks, I got to dance with Alli once again.  For some reason, Alli has reverted to crying when I leave the room so for now, Mommy is a dancing fool!  Fortunately, Mrs. L was willing to keep an eye on Eli for us ~ THANK YOU!!!  Alli definitely enjoys the tapping more than the ballet but is pretty cute at both.  Since I was in there, I figured I would capture the little cutie on film :)  She's wearing her sweatshirt because she was cold.  In other news, she got her H1N1 shot today and her doc has dubbed her "Awesome Allison" because she is so brave and doesn't cry ~ just asks for her sticker!

Practicing "shuffle step" ~ she loved this!

Heal taps ~ another fave of hers

Tapping behind with her toe ~ did well balancing :)

Waving

Marching ~ not one of her favorites but she does it ;-)

Two cute fish

One Very Spooktacular Halloween

This was by far our best Halloween yet!!!  Then again, how it could it not be with these two cuties??? :)  Really, we've been celebrating Halloween since last Sunday but yesterday was definitely our favorite celebration.  G had to go into work in the morning so the kiddos and I decided to get out of the house for a bit too and stopped by to play with Ducky Gramma and Papa.  Then it was home to get ready for our Halloween party with the playgroup (we were hosting so there was some cleaning to do!)  In the middle of lunch, Alli announced that she wanted to go "night night".  I, of course, assumed she was just trying to get out of eating so I told her that she better be sleeping not playing and fully assumed I would her that lovely little voice singing up there.  Guess what, the little turkey slept for 2 hours!!!  She's been hit or miss with naps this week so I guess it caught up with her and she zonked.  Worked well for me.  G got home not long after she went down and was able to help entertain Eli, allowing me to get ready for the party.  Alli was so excited when she woke up to get into her Tink costume.  Not long after, the friends started arriving and all the kids had a great time playing.  Alli even did pretty well with sharing.  She loved having her friends over and keeps asking to have them back over "tomorrow."  The kids played with every toy in the house and had the chance to decorate cookies if they wanted.  Even the food was a huge hit ~ tough to go wrong with pizza and Capri Sun ;-)  Would you believe that Miss Alli wound up eating almost two pieces????  Not all at once but throughout the evening.  When the friends left so everyone could go TOTing, Alli was a bit sad, especially to say goodbye to "Lellanor", who she idolizes ;-) 

Alli Tink was a bit wild before we went TOTing . . .

Luckily, Barbie Gramma and Pop Pop showed up shortly after to hand out candy so we could all go TOTing as a family, well, Eli was only allowed to go to one house before we took him home to snuggle and snooze.  Alli loved TOTing and even said Trick or Treat and Thank you at the houses.  We decided to skip any house that simply left candy out in a bowl since we don't need that much candy and Alli didn't know the difference at this age.  Something tells me it won't be that easy in a couple years!

Here are a couple shots of our little pumpkins from last night . . .

Needless to say, Alli was WIRED after all the fun and sugar and since it was "Fall back" we decided to let her work out some of that energy before going to bed a little after 9.  It worked since she didn't get up until just a few minutes ago ~ woo hoo!  Even more impressive, Eli slept for 11.5 hours last night.  Talk about a very happy (yet slightly uncomfortable!) Mommy :)  Not only that, he woke happy as could be ~ he sure is E. Z.

Here are a couple comparison pictures of our 'lil pumpkins from each of their first Halloweens.  For perspective, Alli was 9 months old, Eli is 3.5 months old . . . wearing the exact same clothing for their first Halloweens! ;-)  Can we say Skinny Minnie and Chunky Monkey?!?!?! 

Alli is on the left, Eli is on the right . . .