Christmas in CA - Part 2

In addition to a wonderful Christmas with my family, we got some play time with friends and family, too.

We spent Saturday morning driving up to my old stomping grounds in Belmont to visit my friend Elizabeth and her daughter Hannah. This is the first time I'd been back up there since I moved 7 years ago. The kids had a great time running around the park. We had a LOT of park days, but this was our first.


















The following day started out just as sunny (though a bit chillier), but it still seemed like another "perfect" park day. John's brother gave us a GIANT bubble wand. I had no idea what we were in for . . . but it worked great.


Nicholas had a great time both making AND chasing the giant bubbles.





I think John liked the bubbles, too!





And, just being a BIG KID with Nicholas!
















But, that evening was also very special for us! Not only did we get to go out with our friends, Jim & Lisa . . . but we also got to go out without kids! We had a wonderful dinner complete with cocktails AND dessert. Not that any of us had the room for dessert, but . . .
it was Christmas! (I liked using that excuse a lot -- LOL)














It really was a magical week, not just because of Christmas, but for the number of sunny days we experienced. Nicholas hasn't been to the park that many days in a row since the summer. He really was in heaven! But, the day after Christmas was possibly the most fun for him. He got to go to the park with his cousins, Trevor & Trista. And, Nicholas did a really good job keeping up with them (which led to a really good nap that afternoon -- YAY!)





QUESTION . . .

How does Grandma get her grandkids undivided attention?










ANSWER . . .

Give them Popsicles!









Here is a look at the fun the kids had running around the park.

Christmas in CA - Part 1

This year we spent Christmas in CA. For all the planning and preparations, it never quite felt like we were ready for the holidays . . . HOWEVER . . . we sure did have a good time!!!

Our trip began the Thursday before Christmas. I had everything scheduled and timed down to our departure. At least, I thought so. As I finished my packing, I moved a pile of papers and found several bills that had gone overlooked. Sooooo, instead of getting some sleep . . . there I was sitting on the bedroom floor in the "wee" morning hours writing checks as fast as I could. Thinking I still had everything under control, I set the alarm for 8am and went to sleep.

When I awoke, it seemed QUITE bright in the room. EEKS! It was 9:15am and none of us were up yet. The alarm wasn't exactly in the "On" position. We had planned to leave for the airport by 10am.

I'm not sure exactly how we did it, but we were packed, dressed, and out the door (and even got Nick a quick breakfast) by 10:04am.

Once we got to CA, we settled in and started enjoying our vacation. We celebrated an early Christmas with John's brother, Bill, and his family before they flew up to WA for the holidays. (It seems a little backwards, but that's just how it worked out this year.) Nicholas enjoyed showing cousin Julie how to really "rip" into a present.
(I think she caught on pretty well.)















We tried to make the whole Christmas experience enjoyable for Nicholas, since we weren't at home and going back & forth from the hotel each day. On Christmas Eve, Grandma helped Nicholas make snowman cookies. Believe it or not . . . this was his first cooking experience! I've tried to get him to help me in the kitchen (he LOVES pretend cooking with his toy BBQ and plastic food), but he has always put up a fuss. This time, he did pretty well . . . except for seeing how high snowman cookie dough could bounce if he threw it down on the tray. (LOL)


Also on Christmas Eve, I made a small paper Christmas tree for our hotel room. We told Nicholas that we left a note for Santa where we'd be staying, so he would know where to find us.




















The next morning, Christmas Day, Nicholas found a "small" present under our small tree. He was so excited when he opened the bag and found a blue wooden top that he had asked Santa to bring him. We told Nicholas that Santa knew he was a good boy this year and maybe he had left a "bigger" present under Grandma & Grandpa's big tree. We'd look when we went over for breakfast later in the morning.

We had a very casual Christmas breakfast. Kari made her special cheesy eggs--possibly the first time I've seen her cook. Mom made blueberry muffins and bacon. Barry & Jenn brought 2 fruit platters, which the kids LOVED! And, I found some turkey sausage links that everyone seemed to like.


After breakfast, we all headed into the living room and enjoyed watching everyone open their gifts. I had so much fun watching that I forgot to take many pictures. But, here is some of the fun we all had--please notice that "Santa" went a little crazy this year in the Stocking Department!

We even got visited by the Victoria Secret's Elf (aka, Kari). And, Nicholas was very excited to find that Santa left him another "Blue" present . . . a digital camera. (I'll download Nick's photos and publish them in a later post.)


This is the first year I gave my husband a "Deere John" gift . . . oops, I mean a John Deere gift. But, that's OK. I gave Nicholas one too, so he could match Daddy.

I hope you all had a very MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

I know I did ** BIG grin! **

Merry Christmas!

Secret Santa

The day before we headed out to visit my family for the holidays was CRAZY to say the least (just part of the holiday fun!).

As I returned from my whirlwind of errands, which included playing Santa Sheri for my playgroup, I was caught off-guard by the sight of a small moose staring at me from the front porch (not a typical occurrence in my neighborhood).

This adorable little moose was nestled next to a snowman bag with a very nice bottle of Merlot inside.

The card was signed "Secret Santa."

I was truly overwhelmed and touched. I still don't know who my Secret Santa is, but hope that after the holiday excitement winds down, I'll find out.

Christmas love to everyone!

Winter Wonderland

One of our favorite holiday traditions is to drive through the light display at the raceway.

Our schedule had been so busy AND the weather had been so wet that we thought we might not make it this year.

But, about a week before we headed out to visit my family for the holidays, we snuck away one night (in between the rain showers) and had a beautiful drive.

Last Day of Class

Nicholas and I have been taking a "Mommy and Toddler" class at the local community center for the past year. For our art project today, the kids all made their own treats--vanilla icing on graham crackers with colored sprinkles. As you can tell, Nicholas enjoyed his "art project" very much.

Today was our last day of class, since Nicholas has now turned 3. We had hoped to graduate into the next age group, but the class day/time doesn't work with our schedule. We're looking forward to new adventures next year.

Ho Ho Ho!

A few days ago we went to the mall for Nick's 3rd birthday and our annual family photos. While we were waiting for the proofs to be ready, we made our first attempt to head down "Santa Clause Lane."

That attempt didn't go very well . . . and almost required a diaper change on Nick's part.

So, we walked around some more. We had about 10 minutes left before our proofs were ready, and John decided we should give it "one more" try!

This time, I hung back with the stroller, so Mommy was out of sight, and Daddy went up with Nick. It wasn't perfect, but here's how it looked from MY point of view.

Birthday Celebration

Sunday was Nick's big birthday celebration with the family. We started off with dinner at Red Robin (Nick's choice). I'm not sure if he likes it there because of the food, the balloons, or all the activity that takes place. Kids get a free sundae on their birthday and the wait staff comes over to sing.

Usually, Nick enjoys it. However, they caught us all a bit off-guard by setting the sundae down in front of Nick before we had all finished eating. Nick got a little shy while they sang, but was ready to dive into the whipped cream as soon as they left. We let him eat a little bit before we headed back to our house for cake and presents.


Nick was really aware of his birthday this year. And, since we decided to just have a family party this year, I wanted Nick to be a part of it. So, he picked out his cake at Baskin Robbin's . . . he chose Madagascar! He just loves animals. Unfortunately, I couldn't find any Madagascar party supplies, so I made him his own birthday banner -- it's now hanging above his toy area.



Nick received many special gifts, and he was so good about saying thank you for each one. I'm helping him with his thank you notes, but for now . . . hopefully, the smile and the words I helped him spell below (he helped find some of the letters or "abc's" as he calls them) will do for now.

Happy Birthday Nicholas!

Where did the time go? I have a 3-year-old running around my house! Can you believe how tiny he was when we brought him home?

I can, however, believe that today is his birthday. Nicholas has been very aware of the fact that his birthday was coming. He's been talking about it for the past several weeks. It's been pretty funny, too. He'll wake up from his nap and say something like "On my birthday, I get cake, and presents, and gift cards!"

OK, the cake and presents I understand . . . but WHERE did he learn the term "gift cards"??? They grow up way too fast.

Today, Nicholas got an extra-special present from Mother Nature. Take a look at the video to find out what it was.




Well, . . . you'll just have to trust me that for about an hour this morning, it snowed really hard. It just wasn't cold enough to stick. We had flurries on & off until about 1pm.

At lunchtime, we had an impromptu party. Mark & Shelley, our special neighbors, dropped by to wish Nick a happy birthday. Luckily, I had picked up some cupcakes (with snowmen & snowflakes, in honor of the weather). Nick had a great time being the center of attention.

Tomorrow is the family celebration!

The Day After Thanksgiving

Ahhh, traditions . . .

Waking up at 4am to head out to buy those "Holiday bargains" . . .

Wondering WHY I was up at 4am to get those bargains . . .

Continuing to ponder that same question as I stood in long lines to buy those bargains . . .

Realizing just before 7am that Fred Meyer was giving away FREE coffee and donut holes . . .



PRICELESS!




But, my favorite tradition . . . finding our Christmas TREE !

This year was even more fun because Nick was so excited about getting a tree. He RAN all the way down the path leading the way. Even though the sun was out, it was still a bit chilly with a few icy patches on the ground. We found the perfect tree in no time at all. John did the sawing, while I held onto the tree. Nick supervised. Then, Nick and John carted the tree back up to the entrance for a good "shake" before heading home.

Thanksgiving

What a beautiful COLD day for Thanksgiving!















John's sister, Janet, and her family hosted a family feast at their house. The photo of Mt. Hood was taken from their backyard. John's mom and dad teamed up to help carve the delicious BBQ'd turkey.






















I was a little unsure of how Nick was going to do at dinner. We had 12 people for dinner (7 adults and 5 kids) ... so, Nick got to sit at the "kid's table" for the first time. Nick was easily distracted, but overall did a pretty good job. His cousins took good care of him. Except for Nick's disdain of mashed potatoes, he even managed to eat everything else, with a LOT of encouragement and getting up/down by Mom :-)

After dinner, we all enjoyed the pumpkin pies the John's parents made. Nick was very excited about the pumpkin pies for some reason. He kept asking for them after dinner, making sure to add "with whipped cream" ... of course! The funny part was that this was Nick's 1st pumpkin pie.

So, how did he like it?

Nick decided he liked the crust . . . he LOVED the whipped cream . . . but, he didn't like the actual "pumpkin" part of the pie. Hmmm, is this MY kid ???

But, no matter what, he guarded that piece of pie whenever anyone came near, including his cousins!

Hair Cut

Last night, I realized how much Nicholas needed his haircut . . . but, didn't I just get his hair cut??? This is a new scenario for me. It seemed like forever before his hair really started to grow. Apparently, the last haircut finally did the trick. I told Nicholas that we needed to go get his hair cut tomorrow. His reply was "No thank you Momma."

Well, . . . at least he was polite about it! (LOL)

However, that didn't change the scenario. I told him we were running errands and just walked him right into the Barbers. Luckily, it was quiet. I even got the same girl to cut his hair (she's really patient -- she has 4 kids of her own). Nicholas did much better this time. A few tears and I had to hold his head a couple times, but all-in-all he did well. PLUS, he remembered where the lollipop jar was and ran straight for it as soon as he was done.

The sad part for me was looking at him and realizing how much older he looked. I felt like I had cut off ALL his toddler hair . . . and now, I had a little boy . . . but he looks SO good!







BEFORE
















AFTER