Christmas Photo Shoot

I took some photos of the kiddos today and as you can see, didn't really get a good one of the two of them together, but this gives you a sense of what the photo shoot was like.  Well, this is the pared down version, from about 140 pictures...ha!  Julia was much more interested in being on the ground and playing with pine straw or picking at grass, and then when she did finally look at me in that one picture, Xena knocked into me and it is blurry.  Guess that's what happens when you work with kids and dogs...hee!  I still think they're cute!

Skating!

We checked out the Walnut Creek ice skating rink the other day for a fun activity.  Surprisingly, it was real ice and it was pretty busy.  David and Alex did the skating.  I decided it probably wasn't the wisest idea for me to try with Julia in the carrier, given the fact that I haven't skated in probably 25 years!  We needed Auntie Lori there for some lessons.....come out soon!  The boys had a fun time!

Christmas

Map for Santa

Alex is quite obsessed with maps these days and in an effort to make sure that Santa would be able to find our house, he decided that he should draw a map for Santa.  This is what he drew out.  I labeled things as directed by him.  Looks like that map placemat which Great Grandma Grace gave him and the map puzzle we have are paying off...we have that West Coast down pat.  It worked too, as Santa did manage to find our house!

Train Ride

On Christmas Eve day, we decided to take a train ride to Sacramento, since driving in the car is still pretty miserable for everyone involved.  We drove to Martinez, where the nearest Amtrak station is, and then got on a train to Sacramento.  The trip took a little over an hour and we spent time having a little snack and looking at things along the way and the time seemed to pass by very quickly.  Once in Sacramento, we had a nice lunch on the river and then visited the train museum.  We had been there before, but I think that Alex enjoyed it much more this time, since he is a bit older now.  All in all, it was a super easy trip and a great way to spend the day.  Thanks Amtrak!

Determined!

If you can't crawl or walk, just roll and scoot! She is a determined little girl and was quite happy with herself!

Dino-Mite!

A video of our dancing kiddos.  Alex loves "Dynamite"....I think because he thinks the word is dino-mite, ha!  Check out those dance moves though, from both of them!

Let's Read Together....

Mimi Loves the Stage!

The musical stage has been passed on to Julia and she loves it too!

Last Weekend

 Crazy boy at dim sum

 Smiley girl

Alex trying out one of the new exhibits at the Lindsay Wildlife Museum where one can "fly like a hawk" over Mount Diablo.

Playing Together

Julia now enjoys hanging out with Alex while he is playing.  Alex is good about sharing his big toys and is helping us keep all of the small pieces and toys away from her.  She found his LeapFrog toy which helps you learn to write your numbers and Alex was nice enough to demonstrate how it worked for her.  Alex was busy preparing a special treat for us and had converted his combine into some sort of kitchen gadget to warm the food for us too.  Always creative, that guy.

Weebles Wobble....

 but they don't fall down!  Miss Julia can sit pretty well now.  She isn't as infallible as a Weeble, but she is doing a great job and doesn't even mind when she falls over.  As you can see, she continues to explore around the tree, and now since there are actually presents under the tree, there are even more fun things to find on her little adventures.  She particularly liked the ribbon, which was very shiny and easy to put in her mouth.

Gingerbread Houses and Friends

 It's Rory!!

 Time to go fishing.

 Decorating the houses.

 Mimi eating and supervising the decorating.

 Lots and lots of concentration!

Precision work, this gingerbread house decorating!

On Saturday night the Bertains came over to decorate gingerbread houses.  After my not so great attempt at gingerbread architecture last year (tasted great, but pieces didn't fit together well at all), I opted for a Trader Joe's pre-baked variety this year.  Auntie Hoa brought some as well, so there were three houses to decorate and the boys had alot of fun!  I was amazed at how interested they were at decorating the houses and how well they did.  The activity was definitely a hit, and surprisingly, it wasn't all because of the tempting candies to taste!

The key was to have the houses put together prior to them starting to decorate.  That was another mistake that I made last year.  I tried to put the house together with an eager two year old at my side, anxiously waiting to put candy on the house.  Sean and I put together, while Hoa and David hung out with Tadgh and Alex and that worked well.  David scored another PVC pipe homerun with his fishing rod which he made for Alex.  He made another one and Tadgh and Alex were completely engrossed in fishing for quite awhile.  

Rory and Julia were champs, just chillin' and watching while everyone was busy.  I'm sure next year they will be more than happy to help!

Christmas Cookies!

Last Monday Alex's class at preschool had a cookie decorating party and we volunteered to bring the "blank" cookies.  These are some photos of the cookie baking session that we had.  Although rolled cookies are not usually my thing, the dough from this recipe, given to me by my friend Carol, was fabulously easy to work with and the cookies are super tasty!  I saw pictures of the cookie decorating party and they had alot of fun decorating these!