more December goodness

A lot happened in December 2011.

There were holiday parties. Since Jared has multiple jobs, he had multiple holiday parties to attend, and they were at opposite ends of the spectrum. There was the hoedown at the Carriage Museum in Santa Barbara...

Probably the funnest part about this was figuring out what we were going to wear. We did a lot of borrowing. I'm quite pleased with my choice of denim on denim. Yeehaw!

And then there was the evening of cocktails/dinner/dancing at the Ventura Beach Marriott...

Jared's new golf buddy (and boss), his wife, me feeling realllllly tall, and my handsome guy. 

I love being tall, except sometimes in pictures.

Dontcha wish your boyfriend was hot like mine?

There were old friends. Some of our favorite friends from UCLA were home for the holidays, and so they spent an afternoon at our house. It's crazy how much their kids have grown in the 3+ years since dental school. We're glad they have ties to Ventura and we expect to be stealing them from their families often in the future.

There was a pony tail. Just one, just barely. Bethany had found one of my hairbands and asked me to put it in, but only gave me about 3.5 wiggle-free seconds to do it. More to come, and this mama is excited. I just have to learn how to do hair, and quickly.

There was a day trip to Solvang. Ever since Stacie's bachelorette party in Santa Ynez valley 6 years ago, I have wanted to go back to Solvang. We finally did. It's this super cute Danish town just over an hour from us. Maybe because most of Jared's and my ancestry is from Denmark, we felt right at home. Especially in the chocolate shop.

There were new toys. Not a ton, just the right amount. Jared & I tend to not do a lot of toy shopping for the kids (I'm trying to remember if we've even bought more than a handful of toys ever-- they were given a bunch though). I had a good idea of what they would like to have, and was pretty specific when the grandparents asked what the kids wanted for Christmas. Those things, plus a couple things from aunts, uncles, friends, and us, turned out to be the perfect mix. Every toy has been played with (sometimes all at once), every book has been read. Maybe toys do bring joy? Just a little?

Isaac in the baby doll crib with Woody, Jessie, Bullseye...

...and Bethany.

She did eventually climb in. He wasn't wild about the invasion, but he went with it.

There was the black & white Crown Vic. Our friend, who's in the county Sheriff's department, came by one Saturday morning with his police car. We stood out there talking to him for a while, and when neighbors looked over, I felt like yelling, It's okay! We're friends. For those who have never been in a cop car before, like me, let me tell you: it's not comfortable. Just a ride in the back is your first punishment for looking guilty. The seat is made of hard plastic, however, there are slots in the hard plastic for your handcuffed arms. So that's nice.

Southern California Christmas

We spent our Christmas in Southern CA, all over Southern CA. We did a lot of driving, but it was really nice (times a million) to not have to fly anywhere, not be delayed by weather, and not have to deal with weather at all. In fact, we went swimming on Christmas Eve Eve. (I felt a bit guilty about sharing this, but there, I said it. It was going to come out eventually.) So, we stayed close to home and still got to be with family and even an old friend. A very happy holiday indeed! It was a good reminder of why we live where we do.

December 20-23: Palm Springs
Jared's parents treated us, and any other siblings who could get themselves there, to a few days in a two bedroom villa in Palm Springs. It turned that 3 out of the 4 siblings plus their spouses and small children came, so it's a good thing we all love each other! The final count was 8 adults, 4 toddlers and 1 infant, but thanks to pack-n-plays and sofa beds, no one slept on the floor. It was a blast! We ate good food, played with each other's kids, watched Toy Story (the twins' current favorite), opened lots of presents, and oh, the swimming...

December 23: Rancho Cucamonga

We drove straight from Palm Springs to Jared's uncle's house (not actually in Rancho Cucamonga, but close, and I really just think that Rancho Cucamonga is a name that deserves to be said) for their annual family Christmas party. The traditions are strong at this event-- the evening always includes lots of food, hot cider, a cousin gift exchange, a family talent show, a live nativity with the young cousins, and a walk to a nearby neighborhood that takes Christmas decorating so seriously that those who live there now need to buy a permit to park on their own street during the holidays. We're always glad we can just walk over.

If you didn't come with bells on, Aunt Jana will give you one. Or twenty if you're cute.

 Great Grandma Dot read Christmas stories to the kids. Bethany did as she always does at library storytime, and rushed the reader.

A Christmas song by our little part of the fam.

 A fair showing :). See the train?

December 24-25: home sweet Santa Paula

We took a short break from all the partying and spent Christmas Eve and Christmas morning at our house in Santa Paula. This was not our first time spending Christmas at home-- there was that time when I was toooooooo pregnant to travel-- but with the kids it kind of felt like a first. We spent Christmas Eve playing with the toys they had received from Grandma & Grandpa, leaving the ones from Papa & Mimi and Mom & Dad (that's Jared & me, if you're trying to keep up with the monikers) to open on Christmas morning.

 Trains and chainchacks (train tracks) from Grandma & Grandpa

 Those faces!

 Christmas jammies

Christmas Eve 

This is me not opening the Woody box fast enough

Enabling their obsession 

Santa brought new bikes

...and they were a big hit!

December 25 (continued): San Diego

While the kids napped we made the 3+ hour drive to San Diego to join the rest of Jared's extended family for dinner at another uncle's house. I didn't take any pictures, but a highlight for me was eating my Christmas dinner with 3 toddlers in the 4-foot cube of a playhouse in the backyard. Isaac dragged me in as I was holding my plate, and then started eating my food with me. I loved it, really.

To top off the evening, I left Jared standing guard to keep our kids in their pack-n-plays (yes, we're back to that problem) and drove off to visit my BFFAEAE since first grade, Stacie. She & her husband Jeff had just had their 2nd baby girl, Peyton. It was so great to see them and be reminded of those sleepless but special baby days.

With Stacie & Peyton by the Chrismukkah tree!

That was our Christmas. It was a good one.

Knott's Merry Farm

Normally, it's Knott's Berry Farm. At Halloween, it's Knott's Scary Farm, and at Christmas, it's Knott's Merry Farm. That right there was enough to make me want to go.

Last week we took the kids and met up with friends there for Isaac & Bethany's first theme park adventure. We weren't sure how they would do without their normal naps, but we all had a great time. Nobody was there that day, so not having to wait in any lines was definitely key.

Bethany's favorite part was probably the humongous bounce house-- she stayed in that thing for over an hour, which very well might be the longest she's ever done anything (except sleep). She's a sucker for big dogs, so she of course fell instantly in love with Snoopy and smothered him in kisses and hugs. Isaac wanted to drive every type of vehicle-- trucks, trains, race cars, the works-- and he did.

You know it's going to be a good day when a rooster greets you in the parking lot...

 

Isaac organized a sit-in to protest leaving at the end of the day.

The whole experience has kind of opened the door to the world of theme parks for us. Previously we were thinking we wouldn't take these kids to Disneyland or Lego Land or any such place until they were old enough to appreciate it (when is that? 4? 6? 25?), but now we're thinking let's just get them there while they're free!

a very toddler Christmas

It's getting festive up in here! It's been fun to have a house to decorate this year, even though we took a small, college student apartment worth of decorations and stretched it to a (well, still small) house. I'm being such a good girl and waiting for some after-Christmas specials to invest in our holiday future. So, the decorations are currently not just humble, they're also toddler friendly, which means:

* the ornaments have migrated higher and higher up the tree
* the glass ornament balls, which got broken into, and then actually broken (just one, thankfully) within 3 minutes of getting out the Christmas boxes, went right back on the garage shelves (the boy sees a ball, he wants to throw it-- I get that)

* the wooden advent tree that I thought would be perfect for the kids, with tiny ornaments to take out and hang on the little tree, also had to be put away after a piece or two got broken

* we didn't even try with the nativity sets-- still in the garage
* there will be no presents under the tree until Christmas Eve, after bedtime

No worries though. We've had festiveness fill our home. Some of my favorite things about this Christmas:

* our first real Christmas tree - no more pre-lit 4-footer from Big Lots
* our first time hanging lights outside! Oh what fun.
* Christmas music on Pandora - the classical station is nice when the others get repetitive (although I must say I have not heard "Last Christmas" by WHAM! enough this year)
* Christmas cards from friends - sometimes I keep these up all year, I love them so
* how it's all brand new to the little ones

We went to pick out our Christmas tree, and the kids just wanted to play in the buckets of water.
We were their first customers of the year-- they were still unloading trees from their truck.

There's a tree on our roof!

(Isaac was not so impressed.) 

This guy got some more water playtime when we got home. In fact, he made an amazing discovery: that hose fits perfectly in his front pocket (the one his thumb is in). It's especially fun when the water's running.
Try it. Better yet, let your toddler try it.

Our tree.

Decorations are top heavy but toddler friendly.

Current favorite ornament: paying homage to the A train.

Our little house.

Merry Christmas!