A true Bakertown Christmas...

The Bakers traveled to Athens, GA for Christmas...home of the Bulldogs!
Finn pauses for a break between presents on Christmas morning...
Carol and Sage...
Where do socks go? Over the shoulder, "A Christmas Story" style!
Finn and his prized Elmo Microwave oven - they're both smiling because sharing is fun! (Or, I got lucky and snapped the one moment when Finn wasn't saying "Mine!")
Erin models Dumpling's first gift ever! (other than the 'gift of life', of course...)
Adam shows Finn some of his tips and techniques for iPod App games!
Luckily, the neighbors had a bouncy castle set up which provided hours of fun bouncing!
Finn gets into it!
At the Christmas Night Party, Finn rocks out!
While Dad finds a wine and relaxes...
We visited the Athens Zoo and the black bear...
And we spotted a little Kiwi!
Some playground fun with the cousins...
Finn goes for a walk with his little friend Graham...running is fun!
"Um, guys, how do I get outta here?"
A quick piano lesson with Aunt Carol...
And a last stroll on Monday with Keycop and Adam...
"Sage, do you have room for a Kiwi?"
And all the Bakers pose for a big group shot...what a wonderful week!
Here's a little video of Finn playing catch with Adam, his new favorite game!

It was a merry Christmas for all, and for all many good nights...
Love,
A&E

Dogs playing poker!

The Nat Geo holiday party was themed "Come as you Art" - so, we naturally chose "Dogs Playing Poker"!
Can you see the similarity!?
Love,
A&E

The Snowy Day!

Finn and Family woke up today to the snowiest day in DC December history! So, what do you do when you're cooped up all day?
Well, you can give a stirring rendition of "little drummer boy", for starters!
Then you bundle yourself up and get ready to brave the elements!
Then out we went, into the deep, deep snow!
Daddy and Finn in the eye of the storm...as Finn tries to taste the snowflakes...
"Guys, did we fly up to Vermont during my nap or something? What gives?!"
Finn goes back inside for some warmth and a new train set, courtesy of Uncle Tommy!Here's just how much snow we got...this is the back porch! BBQ, anyone?
And the last activity of the day, what Finn calls "Bungy Jumping!" And somehow, counting is involved...

Winter storms sure are fun!
Love,
A&E

Finally! A new Bakertown!

Sorry for the long delay between posts - we put our camera away for a while and settled back a little bit...but we're back! Here's Finn and Dad at the Zoo, resting on a bear...
After Thanksgiving with Grandma and Pop-Pop, Finn tries out his new Tricycle! "Thanks Grandma, I love my new wheels!"
A journey to the Farmer's Market yields a delicious apple...
Then we headed up to Connecticut - Erin for the week, Andy for the weekend. Is this a new "Shepherd's hat" - or just a couch armcover? You be the judge!
Finn meets up with his old buddy Thomas!
Andy went back home, and the remaining Bakers went to upstate NY to see Grandma Nona. Jake - well, he was just chillaxin'!
Uncle Sean gets roped into dragging two little elves uphill...in the snow...
E-Pa and the boys...
Everyone eats Christmas cookies at the Polar Express train!
What do you do with all that sugar coursing through your blood? Dance and be silly with your cousin, of course!
Finn shows Jake the high-step...
It was smiles all around, a great visit with family.
And Erin and Finn came home to a Christmas surprise - Andy went and got a tree - welcome home!
Just a couple more weeks until Christmas...
Love,
A&E

The end of our vacation - Sydney, Australia

Just when you thought our posts from the far East were done - here's a few from our Sydney trip, 4 days at the end of our NZ vacation. It was a great time - we checked out the Sydney Aquarium and the Dugongs. This big tube was a perfect place to see them up close!
Big turtle...
And bigger sharks! Finn liked the sharks.
After that we headed to the main part of town and the harbour, and even though it was overcast and chilly, seeing the world-famous Opera House for the first time was very cool.
"Finn running fasss!"
Finn strikes a pose...no matter how many pictures we took of this building, it seemed to always be interesting to look at!
We grabbed a meal at the Opera Bar - yum!
And got to see the Opera House at sunset...stunning!
"Guys, this place is cool. But I'm ready to see some animals!"
The next morning, Finn dons his hoody for a trip to the zoo on a ferry!
Finn and Daddy in front of the Koala's - so cute and so close! The Taronga Zoo was very cool, with a great number of animals that you could practically reach out and touch!
These guys have quite a nice view from their rock...
Beautiful Giraffes, and they can see over the trees to Sydney every day...
After the Zoo, we headed to the world famous Bondi Beach, a surf mecca. The weather was overcast, so we couldn't go swimming, but it was still beautiful.
We ate at a wonderful Italian restaurant on Bondi, overlooking the surf and cool breezes. It was a bittersweet meal, the last dinner on our trip!
The morning we were slated to leave we took another walk in the botanical gardens, and Finn was riding high from a fun weekend in Sydney!
And we got some warm, wonderful weather for our last jaunt...
The blue skies, Opera House, and bridge...
And one final look to this amazing structure...you can see the sky writing "Marry Me" in the clouds...someone else had a wonderful day, too!
On our walk in the park, Finn reminisces about the animals he saw at the zoo!

Sydney was a wonderful cap to the trip...truly an unforgettable two weeks.
Love,
A&E