Snow Day!

When we woke up this morning, it was snowing! Too bad it melted by this afternoon.

1 Room Down - 6 To Go

We have FINALLY finished one room of our house (we mostly just have painting to do in the other rooms). That only leaves the office, master bedroom, Isaac's bedroom, bathroom, dining room, and the kitchen. Here are some before and after pics.

Meili is a Rolling Girl

Today, Meili rolled over for the first time! Look at her go...it must be the rice cereal.

Sunday Best

I've been looking for a dress shirt for Isaac to wear to church and I wasn't finding anything. Luckily, I came across this adorable Kenneth Cole suit set. Look how handsome he is...just like his daddy.

Rice Cereal...Coming Right Up

Today Meili had her first bite of real food, and she took it surprisingly well. It was a bittersweet moment for Marshall to see his baby girl all grown up. Meili's already almost five months old - can you believe it?

Election Day

Too bad we don't have political sway in Pennsylvania...not that it would have made much of a difference. Congrats to Obama - our new President Elect.

Halloween Adventures

For Halloween we invited a few friends over for some good old-fashioned trick-or-treating. All the kiddies did well, except Isaac who was afraid of the houses with strobe lights and Halloween music. He would cry and say, "mean...mean!"

From left to right: Isaac the Dragon, Meili the Bumblebee, Ava as Snow White, Ezra as Dopey, and Allison the Bunny.

Phillies Win the World Series

Hooray for the Phillies!

Ouch! That Looks Like It Hurt.

Isaac the acrobat, was swinging from a side table in our living room, and the table fell on top of him, resulting in his first ever Emergency Room visit and four stitches.

They somehow get cuter.

I have to say that being a mother is the most fulfilling thing I have ever done. And it somehow gets more fulfilling and enjoyable as time goes on. I can't get enough of my two kids. Everyday is a new adventure full of surprises- Isaac's new words or cute smiles from Meili.

Recently, Isaac has been learning his possessives. After lunch he runs to the closet and says, "Mommy's boom, mommy's boom," and he hands me the broom. Then he excitedly says, "Isic's boom, Isic's boom," and he grabs a child-size broom. Then he proceeds to sweep the pile of food all over the floor. Even though he doesn't quite get it, it's still sweet to see him so eager to help clean up. He also is insistent when it's "Isic's turn," most often when he sees his daddy playing baseball or hockey on the computer.

Another development is the game a baseball. Isaac's new thing seems to be turning anything that is remotely long into a baseball bat and anything that is close to round (no matter how hard or soft) into a ball. If he hits the 'ball' with the 'bat,' he squeals and says, "Home run!" However, if he misses, he exclaims, "Almost." He also loves his baseball hat and when he wants it on and can't figure it out, he says, "more hat, more hat."

Trip to Utah

I've gotten behind on the blogging, so I'll be catching up for the next couple of posts.

We went to Utah at the beginning of October. We had tons of fun. Becky and Kathleen drove in from California to join in on the excitement. We got to visit with Grandma Osborn and lots of aunts and uncles, too. I was also able to see my dear friend, Carly, and her two little ones about the same ages as Isaac and Meili. Aria took our family pictures (see link to album on side), and we concluded our trip by visiting my grandparents in Roy. All in all we had a great time.

Here are a few pics from the trip. There is also a 'Utah Trip' album if you'd like to see more.

Our family picture

Meili's first plane ride.

Isaac and Meili with Great-grandma Shirley and Great-grandpa Frank.

Marshall's mom and four sisters with Meili and Sydney.


Isaac and Marshall on a trail in Hobble Creek Canyon.

Logan and Savannah Pendleton and Meili and Isaac Vance

Isaac's Naptime Adventures

Now that Isaac is no longer confined to his crib, he takes new liberties during naptime, such as...

Bringing toys to bed with him

Falling asleep on the changing table

Or in his closet

He even ventured into Meili's bassinet!

What Do You Want To Be When You Grow Up?

On Friday we went to a fire station with our play group. Isaac got to play in a fire truck, shoot a fire hose, and learn about 'stop, drop, and roll.'

Lego my Lego

Ever since we had Isaac, Marshall has been dreaming of reliving his boyhood with the toys he used to play with: action figures, Legos, army men, etc. Now Isaac is finally old enough to appreciate an exploding action figure or a Lego fighter jet.

For our Family Home Evening activity this week we had a contest to see who could build the coolest spaceship out of Legos. Of course Marshall took 1st in all the categories, but that's only because he hogged all of the cool pieces for his ship. His years of Lego-building experience paid off.

Are we obsessed?

Wow, I just noticed that our last three posts are all about food.

The Best Pizza for the Birthday Boy!

Marshall is now on the other side of 25! His 26th birthday was yesterday, September 18th. We celebrated today by getting a babysitter for the little ones while we went in search of the best pizza in the Philadelphia area (which is Marshall's new quest in life), and I think we found it at a cute Italian place in Malvern, PA called Anthony's. Thin crust, delicious sauce, yummy cheese. It doesn't get much better.

Best. Cookies. Ever.

Ann Freeman's Chocolate Chip Cookies
1 cup Crisco
3/4 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup white sugar
1 tsp vanilla
2 eggs
1 tsp baking soda dissolved in 1/4 cup hot water

Cream together above ingredients.

3/4 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
3 cups flour

Mix dry ingredients together. Slowly add to cream mixture. Stir in 1 1/2 cups of chocolate chips.

Bake for 10 minutes at 375 degrees on ungreased cookie sheet. Do not overbake. Let cool on cookie sheet for 2 minutes, then move to rack. (Thanks to Julie Nance for recipe)

Knock Me Over with a Tomato!

We had tacos for dinner last week. Our supper proceeded uneventfully until, out of the corner of my eye, I saw that Jennie had put some of my chopped tomatoes on her taco! After nearly 4 years of marriage, Jennie continues to wow me with pleasant surprises.

Maybe in another 4 years I'll see her eat a pickle.

Isaac's Alphabet

Isaac has a toy laptop with alphabet and number games that we got for him about six months ago. He wasn't quite old enough for it, but he seemed entertained by the sounds when he pounded the buttons. Last week or so, Isaac and I were playing with his alphabet blocks and I casually asked him, "Isaac, what letter is this?" And to my surprise, he told me. I picked up another letter, "Isaac, what's this letter?" He knew that one, too. In fact, he knew almost the entire alphabet and numbers one to ten. And I wish I could take the credit, but I'm afraid he learned it all from his electronic toy.

Vance Blog Redesigned

Recently Marshall took notice that our blog was just shy of the worst blog ever. So he took it upon himself to redo our blog, which included all different shades of gray, a picture of Frank Thomas, the Bombay Stock Exchange, and the score of the most recent Dodgers game. I wasn't too keen on his blog either, so I spent a little time to spruce it up. It still is pretty simple, but much improved nonetheless.

Here are two recent pics of Meili to satisfy the demand to see her. I just love the double chin - Isaac didn't have one of those.



Meili's first bath in a real baby bath. Up until now I had to give her sponge baths because of the brace she had to wear.








Meili has the sweetest smile and loves to share it with everyone. She especially loves to smile when I put her down after a 5 am feeding. It's as if she's saying, "Thanks mom, now I'm ready to play!"

Four Weeks Old!

Meili is now four weeks old, 7 whole pounds, and 20 inches!

Meili Grace Vance

Meili Grace Vance
June 10, 2008 - 8:24 pm
4 lbs. 15 oz.
18 in.


(pronouced May-lee: it means beautiful in Chinese)


Meili at one day old.









Isaac at one day old.







Here is the whole big happy family!

More pics are posted to a web album.

Our house!

The inspection wasn't too bad, just some repairs here and there. So it looks like we're buying a house! Here are pics of the front. It's tiny, but perfect for us!