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.

Thanksgiving at preschool

Yesterday afternoon Meredith and I joined Thomas at preschool for their Thanksgiving celebration. The students had brought ingredients to contribute to a stone soup earlier in the week and some other children brought special treats and rolls yesterday. Songs were sung and then the preschoolers found their place cards, placemats and turkey napkin ring holders at the tables. Donning something on their heads (Indian headdress or pilgrim hats/bonnets), the children enjoyed their special soup together. Younger siblings in attendance also enjoyed the soup and treats. Thomas was especially excited about the stone soup. That's all he talked about and later in the evening at home he said he wanted to get the recipe so we can make it at home. "All these things I didn't like before, now I do in this soup!" Funny how putting a name or concept to something changes everything, even peas that one wasn't a big fan of...

Happy Birthday, Grandma!!

Happy Birthday, Grandma! from c on Vimeo.

Thomas: "Grandma, I love you so much. Do you know what? We miss you, Grandma, so much. We can't wait to see you in just two weeks! We hope you have a chocolate-y, good, super-fabulous, wonderful birthday!"
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Meredith: "Happy Birthday to you. Hope you have a chocolate-y, chocolate-y birthday! Goodbye, Grandma."

girl pirate?

M-pirate song from c on Vimeo.

Meredith was dancing around for at least 30 minutes like this repeating exactly what she says in the video. She thinks she's a pirate in her knit hat, tutu, and princess slippers. So funny!

dance

m- dance class from c on Vimeo.

the tutu from c on Vimeo.

mommy & me dance class

Meredith and Gracie love their fun tutus & tiaras

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Meredith has really enjoyed her mommy & me dance classes and so have I. Every week we go and together she and I enjoy the music and movement. Today's class was the last one for this session. She'll start again in January, but she'll be moving up to the 3yo class and mommies are not allowed. I'm sure there will be a class or two initially when she'll want me with her but I think she'll be fine -- she loves the class and her dance teacher Ms. Ginger, is able to put her own ballet slippers and tap shoes on/off and is used to being dropped off when I take her to the gym with me. I'll miss taking the classes with her but I also look forward to this next step for her. And the recitals that will end each session!

Meredith with pals Ava and Grace

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tiny dancers at the "princess bar" as Ms. Ginger calls it

fun while brushing teeth

I love how these two can find even the most mundane activities fun to do. There was so much giggling and laughter I thought they might be having a party in the bathroom this morning. Instead it was a sink full of water for them to dip their toothbrushes into. Silly kids.

the "North Pole"

kids on the Manhattan Beach pier

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Today our family went on a little adventure up to LA County to explore some areas we hadn't seen before. When Thomas asked this morning where we were going I told him "up north" which was true since we live in SD County. He took "up north" to mean "North Pole" so the entire drive up to Los Angeles he asked about the North Pole and Santa Claus. Funny how suddenly Christmas takes on a whole new meaning at 4 years old and, to him anyway, the holiday season is already in full gear. So I guess it was quite fitting that we ended up going to a toy store during our adventure (Thomas, did you see the elves working?) and saw holiday lights, including a Christmas tree of lights, all over Manhattan Beach today. For all we know, he thinks Los Angeles is the North Pole now.

plaza leading to the Hermosa Beach pier

bigger

This afternoon Meredith said to me: "But I'm getting bigger... every day, I'm getting bigger." There are moments when - truthfully - I look forward to the future, but most days I wish time would just stay still. I love the amazing and beautiful two year old that she is.

happy faces in the sand

Thomas' favorite things to draw these days are faces. Every card and/or letter gets a smiley face on it, he draws them on paper and cuts them out to give them away, he constructs them out of different materials, and this afternoon he drew them in the sand all over the beach. This one was especially interesting and when I pointed out that he gave the face eyebrows he said, "Yes! Eyebrows, a nose brow and I'm going to give him a mouth brow, too!" Okay, a mouth brow I can understand, but what the heck is a nose brow?? He says he has seen them, but I don't know where that would have been...

My favorite smiles...

...are his.

rock fun

"pancake" by Thomas
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"dinosaur" by Meredith

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"smiling face in box" by Thomas ~ "spider" by me

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Late this afternoon the kids and I entertained ourselves with rocks while Bela and Greta ran around this empty development a few miles from our house...