Elfie

Yesterday the kids saw Santa but not once did Santa mention he was sending one of his scout elves to stay at our house this holiday season. What a surprise for the kids to come home and find the elf at our front door! After dinner the kids named him Elfie and we registered him on Santa's Elf Registry. Mike read the book Elfie brought with him and we all welcomed him into our home and put him on the fireplace mantel for the evening. This morning we awoke to find he had moved and was sitting in the kitchen. I'm curious what things he might have told Santa last night, but hopefully they were all good things about Thomas and Meredith.

FACES by Meredith

Meredith scribbles all the time but last night her "scribbles" were these little drawings! Again this morning she was drawing faces, a mermaid, an octopus, and a few other things. She's been working on the letter M but has T and H down perfectly. I love how these skills just magically emerge one day!

Santa Claus

Today's visit to the mall included a stop to see Santa Claus. The kids were prepared with holiday colors in their clothing, Santa hats on their heads and their new wish books in hand. Thomas loves the guy and immediately rushed in to say hi and offer hugs. Meredith wasn't quite so eager and after a few minutes of talking to Santa decided it might be okay to stand in front of him as long as Thomas was also there. I figured I had to cease the photo op when I had one since she may not oblige again this season so we purchased (2) 5x7s of this photo. Fun, but doesn't his beard look a little yellow?

wish books

Both kids have been cutting things from catalogs and taping them to the doors in our kitchen. It started out nice, but then got way out of control. Their wish lists were migrating to the fridge, left out on the kitchen table... you get the idea. Some action needed to be taken so this evening our family assembled some wish books. I cropped the multitude of toy photos for both kids, they sorted them and then we all taped them onto papers, stapled them together with a cover page and some extra sheets in the back and - voila! - wish books. The bonus (besides the obvious of uncluttering the kitchen) is now I have a little book to take shopping with me and we can clearly see where Thomas' interests are. I think the kids will take them when they visit Santa, too.

holiday photos

These kids don't take many bad photos which is great, but also makes choosing one or two very difficult. And they are such hams for the camera! The photographer this morning said Meredith was the most mature 2yo she's had in the studio. The kids had a great time during the shoot, but not so much fun before the shoot (Meredith doesn't like her dress) and not so much fun after the shoot when Meredith fell off a chair and bumped her head. Don't worry, she'll be fine but may have a bruise on her forehead for awhile...

Holly Jolly Holidays @ Legoland

After preschool today we changed into warmer clothes, grabbed coats and hats, and headed over to Legoland for the annual tree lighting ceremony. We had such a blast last year, but this year was even better because we got there early enough to sit with playgroup friends front and center. Mike met us there with plenty of time to get comfortable and settle in before the ceremony began. And the evening itself? A kids' musical group (The Jumpitz -- very similar to the Wiggles) performed, a couple of lesser-known celebrities said a few words, a check was presented to the Ronald McDonald House, Santa stopped by to say hi, the 30' LEGO tree was lit, snow was blown overhead and there was a fireworks display. It was very fun and a great kick-off to the holiday season. Later this month fireworks will be every evening for a full week. I know two kids who will enjoy this nightly show!

the "candy house"

Thomas calls it a Candy House and Meredith calls it a Gingerbread House. Either way, they both agree this is a fun holiday project that they love. In past years we helped more but this year we applied the icing and let the kids do the rest. They each decorated one side of the roof. Thomas' favorite are the gumdrops so that's what he put on his. Meredith loves the small candy balls and put a lot of those on hers. I did the smiley face because I know that's exactly what Thomas would have done if he weren't busy eating the candy. Both kids would ask, "Can I sneak one of these to eat?" Hilarious.

Thomas' first laptop

Thomas made his own laptop this morning. He told me he was drawing the "big bar" (space) along the bottom and at the top corners of the screen are "icons". Of course, his name and a smiley face are always on their somewhere. Afterwards he pretended to send e-mail. I love the stuff they come up with completely out of the blue and all on their own.

"Who!? What!? When!?"

This morning it was almost as good as Christmas morning at our house. We had set up the Christmas trees in the family room and playroom two days ago, but hadn't done much else. So last night, after the kids went to bed in their new Christmas jammies, I started pulling out the holiday stuff. The tree got a few decorations and the train that circles the base was set up, the stockings were hung on the mantel, the nativity set was brought out on a table and various items were placed around the house. There's still much to do, but even that little bit was a very exciting discovery this morning. They ran around the house pointing out every single thing that had moved or was different -- these kids don't miss a thing! All day they have been talking about who might have done the work. Suspects include: Natasha, the woman who stayed at our house and took care of the dogs while we were in Las Vegas; Ms. Ginger, Meredith's ballet teacher; and Sophia, one of their little friends. Not once have they suggested that maybe mommy or daddy did it.

her first movie

It rained here today! Seriously. The last time San Diego had measurable precipitation was 165 days ago. Yes, 165 days straight of dry and sunny weather. And this little rain we experienced today wasn't heavy or long-lived at our house, but was enough for us Oregonians-turned-Californians to seek something to do inside. We decided to catch a morning movie at the local theater. Her first movie!
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About a year ago Mike took Thomas to a kids' movie. It was his first and only one in a real theater, with popcorn. Today we took the kids to see My Little Pony: Twinkle Wish Adventure. The kids aren't real familiar with My Little Pony, but they enjoyed the movie nonetheless. I had a coupon for a free promo-sized popcorn so the kids sat side by side and enjoyed the treat together. It was a short film and a perfect one for Meredith's first.

card making, part 2

We finished up Thomas' cards today. The kids and I made the star suncatchers/ornaments two weeks ago but I hadn't come up with a good way to attach it to a card. Today we decided to turn our cards into stockings and tuck the stars inside. The stockings ended up being a little wide to accommodate the star, but I think it still works okay. My original idea was to use different holiday papers for the three areas of the stockings, but this became tedious and Thomas tired of it very quickly. When I suggested we use the dot paints his enthusiasm renewed and when I later suggested we jazz them up with some glitter he got really excited. He signed the backs and we added a photo and notes. A suncatcher is tucked inside each one and included with the international exchange cards is a short note from Thomas. I think it'll be a fun card to receive.

season of card making

We've been busy making holiday cards at our house. We do them in baby steps, spending just a little time here and there to craft some fun cards to mail. This will be our third year participating in an international holiday card exchange (for kids) and I've coordinated an exchange with our playgroup again this year. In all, Thomas and Meredith will each be making roughly 25 cards. Meredith's were completed this afternoon and Thomas' were worked on two weeks ago and will hopefully be finished up this weekend. I kind of like Meredith as a snowgirl. The larger dots were fun for her (she really enjoys glue) but the smaller dots were a challenge for her little fingers. I'll post a photo of Thomas' cards when we finish his.

afternoon hike

One of the things we really miss about Oregon are the endless possibilities when it comes to going for a simple family hike. We have some options here locally but they are all super dry (dusty!), the vegetation isn't particularly pretty or interesting, and the possibility of seeing rattlesnacks makes me nervous. But today we all needed some fresh air so we ventured out for a family hike.

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About 5 miles from us is a nature preserve with a lake, hiking trails and some hills offering great views of the surrounding area and the ocean beyond. It's a very popular area with dog owners and mountain bikers. Since we weren't sure what to expect, we left the girls at home but will definitely take them with us next time. The kids did great as we hiked up and down and all around the lake for a total of two miles. Thomas led the way and loved exploring and finding new things to look at. I love how curious they are at four.

season of thanks

Some days life just passes too quickly and we find ourselves immersed in other things, but at the end of the day -- and on this day, especially -- we are all so very thankful to have one another. We are blessed.

I'm not a baby. Say "That's Vegas, Big Girl".

outside New York New York Hotel & Casino ~ greeting an M&M

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outside the Paris Hotel & Casino ~ inside the Bellagio Conservatory

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cactus gardens at Ethel's Chocolates

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the Rainforest Cafe in Las Vegas

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I never thought we'd take our children to Las Vegas. We had been there several times over the years before the kids and always had a great time, but gambling?, alcohol?, shows??? It isn't an environment for children. But at the same time, it's a town unlike any other with so many unique offerings and some of them are suitable for children. And with our kids at 2 and 4 years old, it seemed like the perfect time to go. They're too young to understand anything adult they may see, they don't know what gambling is and they already know that we like a beer or a glass of wine sometimes. To them, Las Vegas was just another adventure that our family enjoyed together.

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Last year we spent a few days in Santa Monica during Thanksgiving week. We hadn't been anywhere since that little trip (besides Portland) so this year we decided to again go somewhere fun. We chose Las Vegas. It's a bit of a drive -- roughly 5 hours, half of which is through the desert -- but the kids both did great. Mike had downloaded some stories and kids' music for us to listen to on the drive and that kept them entertained, along with some snacks. During the weeks before our trip Mike and I would occassionally say "That's Vegas, baby!" to which Meredith would always respond "I'm a big girl. I'm not a baby. Say: That's Vegas, Big Girl!"

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During our first trip together 13 years ago we stayed at the Excalibur Hotel & Casino. Given the castle/medieval theme, we thought it'd be a fun place for the kids. They loved sleeping in a castle and especially enjoyed having their own hotel room (adjoining rooms gave us all some space) and their own beds. We probably could have spent an hour in the hotel room and called it good. Seriously. That's how excited they were to choose their own bed and get settled.

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Everyone had a great time! Highlights were seeing the "green lady", visting the M&M store and selecting our own colors, walking for miles up and down the Strip, shopping at FAO Schwarz with money the kids had saved up for the trip, visiting Ethel's chocolate factory, dining at a Rainforest Cafe, sampling everything at the Mandalay Bay dinner buffet, sleeping in a castle, eating Krispy Kreme doughnuts, seeing the MGM tigers, and watching the dancing water fountain display at the Bellagio Hotel & Casino.

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I don't think our family will go back anytime soon given the long drive, but it was definitely worth the short 48 hours we spent in Vegas. And if we fail to travel the world with them before they are adults, we can show them photos from this trip and tell them we did take them to Egypt, Paris, NYC, Italy...

Mother Goose Parade

Our family loves a good parade but it seems that there just aren't as many these days compared to when Mike and I were young. Last year we missed the Mother Goose parade in El Cajon but this year we are in town so we drove down to see the parade this morning. The kids loved it. The horses, the inflated characters, the princesses, the fire engines... to them, it's all good. It was a real hometown sort of parade and enjoyable for everyone.