guess who's 2? guess who else?

We celebrated Isaac & Bethany's 2nd birthday with a party fit for a princess... and pirate! 

We didn't want to go overboard (really, we didn't, and I think we were fairly successful), so we invited just a few local friends and the grandparents, and held it in the morning so as to not interrupt the royal naptime. We kept it to just two simple activities: decorating crowns or pirate hats, and a treasure hunt. We had bandanas and sparkly headbands made from fabric scraps for parents who tried to not come in costume. Jared made pasta with sauce and meatballs for lunch. We had pink and chocolate cupcakes. And that was pretty much it. We just let the kids play and eat and play and play. The little planning we did was almost entirely by google and blogger.

Grandma & Grandpa won the Best Dressed, Most Spirited, and Coolest Grandparents in California awards. They showed up early to help out, and when they rang the doorbell the kids started yelling Grandma! Grandpa! We opened the door to find them in FULL pirate and princess attire, and then we looked back to see Bethany and Isaac in complete silence with their jaws on the floor. Grandpa's outfit had knee-high pirate boots and a floor length cape-- amazing-- and Grandma was wearing a renaissance princess gown and a gold crown-- amazing! It made me feel like the ultimate hostess with my hired entertainment, and like nothing could go wrong because they were there. It was very Cowboy Gil. Amazing!

Begin photo dump:

Isaac is very curious about what is (or isn't) under that patch.

Princesses!

More princesses!

Dread Pirate Jared and his lady.

Shiver me timbers!

The captain and the first mate.

The pirate shamelessly plundering the princess.

Her royal highness.

All the princesses and pirates (almost).

Cute lil matey.

Princess party animals.

Little ladies.

Hooray for pre-made flags that made cupcake decorating easy.

The twins went to blow out the candles, but were
beaten to it by a 3-year-old Snow White.
Better luck next year.

Remember last year? Isaac and Bethany couldn't have been more opposite in their approach to birthday cupcake demolishing/eating:

Well, not much has changed...

This went on for several minutes. The more he tried to lick the frosting off his sleeve, the messier he got. Meanwhile, Bethany stayed clean as a whistle as she carefully savored her cupcake.

Thanks to everyone who made it such a happy birthday!

new year's eve, y'all

Jared & I have been thinking back on our previous New Year's Eves, since we've had a few (10+) together, and this year ranked among the best. We went country line dancing! (Have we been fully converted or what? I mean really... it was only 6 months ago that we left New York City, and now look at us. Farms, ranches, and holiday parties at Carriage houses are all I ever talk about anymore.)

We went to a place in Thousand Oaks called Borderline, after a family-style dinner at Buca di Beppo. No one in our group really knew the line dances, but we danced our boots off anyway. They also played a bunch of non-country music that was fun to dance to. Jared & I love getting out there and being goofballs, and it was great to learn that our new friends get goofy too. Plus, when you look up and see a bedazzled saddle hanging from the middle of a gigantic metal/ropelight cowboy hat, it just makes you want to giddy up.

Elvis came out to do a few numbers just before the countdown to 2012. He went on so long that our countdown was only 5 seconds instead of 10. At first I thought it was kinda dumb to have him there, but then we got to take our picture with Elvis, and suddenly it felt like a great idea after all.

Happy New Year!

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.