Kappa Luncheon

My KKG Sorority Sisters from Davis came over for a potluck luncheon right after Christmas.  Several ladies brought their children (for a total of 8!).  Some of the kiddos I'd never met so it was a treat to see them in person (as opposed to on Facebook).  Katie Coops was in town from Seattle and was gracious to spare a moment of her family time to share with us.  Jenn Stewart came up from San Diego to visit her family as well, so we appreciated the hours she spent with us.  Michelle Buell drove from San Rafael, Stacy McMillan from Dublin, and Nicole Croghan from San Ramon.  It was so nice to have shared the afternoon together during such a busy time of year.  We missed several friends due to travel issues, family obligations and work obligations.  Hopefully our annual Palm Springs trip will be back on the calendar soon enough.

The kids all had a blast running around, playing on the swing set, jumping in the bounce house, begging for brownies and cookies, and playing with all the new Christmas toys.  They were all great together.


From Left to Right:
Jenn Stewart with her two boys Kellen and Gavin (and baby sister in belly due April 2012), Nicole Croghan, Michell Buell with her two girls Eleanor and Amelia, me with Amelia and Audrey, Katie Chamberlain and Stacy McMillan with her two boys Gavin and Connor.

Christmas Morning

Each Christmas with Amelia has been more and more fun; she's starting to really respond to all the excitement of the season and somewhat understand Santa and Christmas in general.  Audrey's first christmas this year was special - she was almost one year old and although did not quite comprehend what was going on, she definitely sensed the excitement and enjoyed watching amelia's reaction to it all.

Having children really makes you enjoy the holidays - for me, even more than I remember as a kid.  Planning activities that you know will light up their eyes, tickle their palate and make them giggle is so precious.  I get so much joy from watching them delight in it all.

It also makes me reflect on how fortunate we are to have such a wonderful extended family.  This year we had Christmas in Northern California.  With Scott and Kelly (and Oscar!) next door, Amelia especially has formed such a bond with her aunt and uncle, it warms my heart.  We will be sad when they finally move on (which I am sure they will be before we are ready!) from Ulmer Court.  Having Ellie and Papa so close just a few miles away has also been such a blessing; from watching the girls for a few hours here and there to random visits - it is fun to see the girls each form connections with their grandparents.  We are also very lucky to have Bob (GGPa) and Leslie (GiGi) near - and although we don't get to see them as often, both Amelia and Audrey have lovely relationships with them and appreciate spending time with them.  Lisa, although she now lives in Bend, visits her parents often and we usually get to see her and spend time to catch up on life.  We are lucky that the iPhone revolution has brought us face time and lots of ways in which to take photos and videos to share!

Amelia talks often of Mimi and Papa and when will be the next time she gets to see them.  We are lucky to see them just about every other month, which is wonderful.  I am sure in a few more years amelia and audrey will be asking to go down to San Diego without us to just spend time with their grandparents alone.   Amelia (and Audrey soon enough!) absolutely loves her cousins - in San Diego she follows Sophia around doing all things dress up, make up and art projects and watching "baby Nolan" outgrow her.  When Linds and Adam are in town with their brood of children (Lauren arrived mid- December to join brother Gray and sister Julia) - Julia, Amelia and Sophia typically get into some sort of trouble together and I am sure when we are in town for Christmas 2012, all SEVEN will be officially toddlers and it will be pure chaos - that I love of course.  Those kiddos all have so much fun together.  We are really lucky!  Welcome to the family baby Lauren!

We truly feel so blessed to have you all in our lives.

Reindeer Christmas

Annual Reindeer Christmas Photos:

Amelia (9 months)

Amelia (21 months)

Amelia (2.75 years/ 33 months)

Amelia (3.75 years); Audrey (days shy of 1 year)

Christmas Eve

We had a total of 12 for Christmas Eve this year; it was such a great time!  Family, food, fun, and festivities!  The girls posed for the traditional "reindeer under the tree" photo, Brad and I prepared one of our favorite meals from the Mustards Cookbook, we celebrated Audrey's first birthday with bright pink cake, and opened a few gifts.

 The December 28th Birthday Crew - Audrey, GGPa, and Marty!

 Amelia insisted that because Audrey is a baby, she can't eat the cake by herself.  Amelia proceeded to spoon feed her the entire birthday cake!

Loving her first taste of sugar.

Let us not forget that it is Bob's birthday too!  Amelia spoon fed him a bite of cake to include him.

Auntie Kelly in her "matching" outfit with the girls.

Baby A's first christmas.

Unwrapping her birthday gift from GiGi and GGPa....

 .... it's an owl hat!  So cute - thanks bob and leslie!

Christmas Lights

Uncle Scott, Aunt Kelly and Ellie & Papa joined us to check out the Christmas lights in San Carlos. It was a chilly evening, but we all bundled up and enjoyed the festivities.  We capped the night with dinner at the Dutch Goose - could not have been a better night!

Sugar Plum Fairies and Snow Queens

Our December has been packed with holiday goodness.  We've had a busy season with all things Christmas - and it has only gotten more fun each year with Amelia's eyes lighting up with excitement.  Amelia and her friend Hadley have taken ballet and tap together on and off over the last few years (I think since they were ~18mos old!) and last year we took them to The Nutcracker Ballet.  As young as they are, the girls really enjoy it - we decided to go again this year.

Both girls were very attentive, had lots of questions (Amelia was determined to figure out which one was the Snow Queen as compared to the Snowflake Princesses), and were shushing anyone that spoke around us.  Quite hilarious.  There was an adorable 2 year old little girl wearing a tiara in her tutu dancing in the aisle the entire ballet.  She was very serious and it was incredibly sweet.

 All Dressed Up

Snowflake Dance

 Super excited to meet the Sugar Plum Fairy.

The Polar Express

Niles Canyon Railway out near Fremont has their own "Polar Express" - a holiday train of lights.  Last Saturday we met our good friends the Kearns - they recently moved to the East Bay - to enjoy the train of lights and some holiday cheer.  

All were dressed in festive attire, Santa and Mrs. Clause came to greet the kids, and our group had quite the spread.

Amelia and Brady enjoyed PB&Js, hummus, veggies, fruit and cheese - with dessert of hot cocoa, marshmallows and cookies.  Thanks to the Kearns the adults indulged in a variety of Cowgirl Creamery cheeses, fresh bread, meats and so many other goodies, we barely made a dent.  Oh, and wine.  There is always wine.

I think we'll make it a tradition...