So I don't totally disappoint, here are links to our Picasa albums for Xmas and Florida -- enjoy!

Xmas 2009:

http://picasaweb.google.com/hkcor74/Christmas2009?feat=directlink

Florida 2010:

http://picasaweb.google.com/hkcor74/Florida?feat=directlink

This year, we branched out from lamb in the kitchen with a pan-seared duck breast perfectly cooked by Nicolas, accompanied by wild rice studded with cherries, braised turnips, and the Peirce family carrot souffle contributed by Amy (it was a new culinary side of Amy besides breakfast food!). Sarah rounded out the meal with an excellent home-made pear & cranberry cake washed down by a little dessert wine followed by scotch! As usual we ended the evening well-fed and well-, well, tipsy! 

The kids, seated at their own kids table this year, enjoyed their own meal interspersed with play time, bath time and present time. It was fun to see them start to play with each other this year rather than just alongside each other. And, continuing her potty training theme, Eva managed to convince Adair to join her in the bathroom for a potty party, complete with stories from Amy (pictures to follow on that one!).

It was a great evening and a tradition we will be glad to continue in the years ahead. The only downer was that the photos capturing the night were not as great as the evening itself...

 

And then this past weekend, we started a new tradition in the Hankowski home: holiday cookie baking! Eva, Mark and I had fun making our first batch of sugar cookies. Eva had fun choosing cookie cutters and then punching out the cookies "like playdough," then decorating them with sprinkles and frosting. Eva and I were decked out in matching "Mommy" and "Mommy's Sugar and Spice" aprons courtesy of Grandma. 

 

 

And, next, on to Christmas and Uncle Derek and Aunty Mari's imminent arrival.

This week, after just reading in People Magazine (my weekly rag) about the return of the fur vest this winter, this "Cosy Gilet" (i.e. fancy name for faux fur vest) arrived in the mail for Eva courtesy of Grammy.

It's tiring work being in vogue!

Now, back to November '09...

Following an earlier post about potty training, November saw a breakthrough in potty training with Eva now poo-ing on the potty! Unfortunately for Mark and I, each poo is about a twenty minute endeavor of Eva doing and naming (turtle poo, snake poo, dinosaur poo) each nugget that she produces! Also, during all this "action" we're banished outside the toilet to wait as Eva declares "I need my privacy Mum or Dad"!! Sorry if this is TMI but this was big news in the house this November!! 

The Costco recently re-opened near our house and during a recent shopping trip Eva discovered the joy of La-Z-Boy recliners!! We've been a bit worried that she seems to have Uncle Aaron's "couch potato" gene and the instant draw of the recliner reinforced that fact!!

We celebrated our first family Thanksgiving at home after deciding to cancel our trip to Hong Kong. Together we made our first pumpkin pie, turkey and stuffing and all the trimmings that were enjoyed by all of us and Tito (Uncle) Don who joined us for the feast. It was a lovely day and Eva also enjoyed calling up her relatives in the morning and saying "Happy Thanksgiving."

We continued to be spoiled with crisp, sunny fall weather in November which allowed us to continue our indoor and outdoor adventures. Eva and Nelly have been enjoying their share of fun on my work days, and we wrapped up the month with a wonderful hike with our friends Sarah, Nicolas and Alec.

 

 

And, now December is here and Christmas is around the corner...More adventures await. 

This year, we took Eva on her second annual pumpkin pilgrimage, but on her first ever apple picking adventure up in Sebastopol in Sonoma County. Welcome fall!

 

 

 

Eva and Adair in their matching outfits

 

 

 

 

 

We are celebrating both Adair and Eva turning 2 (they share the same birthday you may remember) next weekend so check back for pictures of more birthday antics!

 

 

Despite my promises, I continue to fail as webmaster. And so, months have gone by without a post. Sorry! Please don't give up on hankowski.com!

Well, rest assured that we've been busy and have been having a lot of fun over here. We went hiking in King's Canyon National Park where we convened with nature among the giant redwoods, we celebrated my (Corina's) 35th birthday with our first toddler bowling experience followed by a nice dinner with friends, we wrapped up our summer hiking group, had a visit from Gotti (Godmother Evi from Switzerland), and Mark completed his second triathlon.  Most importantly; however, Eva turned 2 on 9/11 - and started pre-school that day - but let's leave those festivities for a separate posting. 

Here are some snaps from all of the above.

 

 

 

 

 

Pools - with the nice summer weather, Eva has been enjoying afternoons in the "baby pool" in the back yard. Our first purchase - an inflatable pool - was promptly slashed by some mystery garden animal that has been prowling our yard at night and seems to have a penchant for inflatable and foam/rubber toys. So far we've had about $70 in toy fatalities. We're now onto the hard plastic pool, and Adair and Eva managed to have a splashing good time on a recent visit with the Peirce/Gress family. 

 
It's been visitor central here in CA and our guest room is getting a work out. We've seen Grammy and Granpie and Uncle Aaron, Uncle Peter (saw him at the golf course), cousins Alex and Micaela (with Christine and Sergio), and lastly the Claibornes. Come back soon everyone!

 

Eva - and we - loved being back in the sand and sea.  Eva got to see her first real sea turtle "Honu" swimming close by in the ocean, and chased (or rather buried) crabs coming out of their holes in the sand. She mastered saying "Aloha" and "Mahalo" to the delight of the islanders. Unfortunately, she wasn't as adept at doing the hula since she chose instead to interject with her own singing of the ABCs (listen carefully below!)

Some highlights:

 

 

 Full trip album can be viewed at:http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/sredir?uname=hkcor74&target=ALBUM&id=5354797621549240769&authkey=Gv1sRgCOfM_uW_8oWKbA&invite=CNzVts4G&feat=email

The kids had a blast playing on the beach and the dad's got a little blasted, resulting in a dip in the Pacific Ocean for Mark and Nicolas.

The cold ocean also didn't deter little Eva who managed to get herself soaked and sand-covered to the point where she too had to take a naked swim! We dubbed her the "Swamp Monster" and managed to catch her antics on video for posterity (see below). Enjoy! 

It was a wonderful day to herald in the first official day of summer.  Thanks everyone and Happy 2nd Father's Day.

And, now for the feature presentation: "Eva the Swamp Monster"

*To see more great pics from the day visit:

http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/sredir?uname=hkcor74&target=ALBUM&id=5350727779368756737&authkey=Gv1sRgCPbguIXdv67sQw&invite=CIHAlZoN&feat=email