Fun with Family, continued

A few days after Christmas, Bud's girlfriend Ashley joined us for some holiday fun. Misha was eagerly awaiting her arrival, and she certainly lived up to his expectations. I'd say she deserves the title of "aunt." However, when Grandma Kate asked Misha, "Do you think it would be a good idea for Bud to marry Ashley?" Misha said no. The reason? Misha wants to marry Ashley himself. Uh oh, Bud, you've got competition!

We've got a stack of photos to post ... Here we go.


Ashley meets Sebastian.

Misha gives Bud a morning back-walk.

Playing on the floor. Misha likes it when Seb crawls on him, and he doesn't even mind when Seb sucks on his hair.

The morning after Ashley came, we had to have our second round of present-opening. Misha gave Bud and Ashley a snowman he painted.

He loved his knight costume from Bud and Ashley!

He also got this cool remote-control globe from them.

Misha teaches Seb a bit of geography.

Sebastian got to open up his booties, hand made by our good friend Saule in Kyrgyzstan. Kak horosho!

Misha holds up his new t-shirt from Saule. :) Nu da, eta pravda!

Naturally, one of the first things we had to do with Ashley was go ice skating.

Bud and Ashley at the rink.

The older set of Kula brothers show off their charming hat hair.

Misha cruises around in his Jackrabbit sweatshirt.


Afternoon fun playing Dread Pirate.

Bud got to experience lots of parenting tidbits, such as changing a diaper (not pictured, don't worry) and feeding Seb some kasha.

When we set up the chess board in the middle of the floor, Seb made a beeline for it. There is little more tempting than a perfectly ready chess board.

Seb and the Bishop.

Misha and the Bishop.

Yes, sure enough - Tammy and the Bishop.

The Boy Who Loved Bananas.


A big smile for Grandma!


You're never too young to be a Jackrabbit! Grandpa provided SDSU gear for both grandsons this year -- Seb is ready to play for the basketball team in his "Little Jack" shirt and pants


and Misha loves to show off his new hooded sweatshirt, not to mention his rabbit tattoos and stuffed bunny to boot.


Time for some Lincoln Logs with Grandpa.

The boys play with Grandpa and Grandma in front of the tree.

Tanya and Aaron beneath the wreath. :)

My parents with their two daughters, plus Misha.

The parents plus Tanya and Aaron.

Couch cuddle time with the grandsons.

Happy New Year with Grandma and Grandpa!

Happy New Year with Grandma Kate!

Here's to us in 2010!

Since it's a shame to let the holidays go by without making cute decorative sugar cookies, Ashley and I (with help from Misha!) made six dozen and three cookies. Misha helped us count.


Luckily, he helped us decorate too. He's gotten so good at designing cookies. We used sprinkles, frosting squirters, and food-color markers to beautify our creations.

Misha and his Santa cookie.

He wrote his name with frosting all by himself. I know - we did a double-take too.

Concentration: Drawing a snowman face.

Cookies!

More cookies! Ashley made an individualized name cookie for each person.

Grandpa and Grandma with their cookies.

Pizza party at my parents' house - Bud, Ashley, and Grandma Kate pose for a pic.

Misha cuddles up to Ashley.

Sebastian is falling asleep ...

... and he's out.

The number of people around made Spoons the perfect game to play. It was hilarious!

After waking up briefly, Sebastian fell asleep again with Grandpa.

Sebastian has mastered so many things in the last few weeks. He can now sit with confidence, crawl, and even stand up by himself. He looks too small to be able to balance on those two tiny feet, but somehow he does it!

Voila, Seb standing up:


And here he is, crawling his way across the room to listen to Tanya teaching Misha about nouns:


He has also learned how to wave. You can't help but say "aw" when you watch.


As of Monday, all of our company has gone. We must say that though we had fun, we are enjoying a quiet and peaceful house. The snow days this week have given us some much-cherished down-time, an excuse to stay home, relax, and spend time with our own little family.

Happy holidays!