Our Christmas Season Recap!

Wow! That was a busy few weeks. It was all good, but I feel like I blinked and it was gone. Of course that is not true, my little sister "Aunty Caridad" was visiting for three weeks, and just left today. The kids SO look forward to seeing her every Christmas and really, fully, expect it. It is a part of our Christmas tradition. I love that we have traditions that we can all look forward to.

This is what all the anticipation is really about...one for the house, one for me!

There was the annual Gingerbread House Party, hosted by the Rileys. Each year is a little more fun, as the kids anticipation gets higher and now that all three of them are so much more independent. Bryttain did not even sit on our table with us this year, she opted to sit with her friends. I swear she is more like a teenager sometimes, than a four year old.

Arran and Bryttain sang "Who would imagine a king' at the church Christmas party and in church on Christmas Sunday.

James and I got to go away overnight, without children(!), whilst my sister bravely looked after them and worked on all sorts of fun projects. It was lovely! Not sure who had more fun, us or them...well on second thoughts...

 There was shopping and eating out. Aunty Caridad wanted a steak, so we headed to Cattlemens. You cannot beat their Thursday night deal, with kids getting a free steak dinner and house margaritas only $4! No margaritas for the kids, but the girls did suck on the limes and pull funny faces for us.

 Bryttain's ballet recital.

Baking and candy making. The kids made the chocolate lollipops and the chocolate crispy cakes!

 Christmas Day of course. We had three very excited, very grateful kids. I remember as a kid (although I was probably older) waking up at outrageous hours to open presents. Well our kids were up early, but they patiently waited for us all to get up so that we could open presents together, after reading the story from the bible. We managed to skype online and chat with my brother Wesley and his girlfriend Lou, as well as Grandad and Nanny Pam. I am so grateful for technology and that the kids can 'see' family in other parts of the world.

Then in the afternoon we headed over to spend the rest of the evening with the cousins...best of times. All in all it really was a lovely Christmas.

Big girl starts ballet

I am so behind on everything. My computer has been in the shop for the past eight days and I finally got it back.
December 12th, Asia had her first ballet class. It was a much anticipated event! For her birthday we had bought her a leotard and ballet shoes, all of her own, not hand-me-downs. She was so cute with her little black gauzy skirt, so excited and I was just amazed at how well she did.

The reason I had moved Bryttain up from the 3-4s class to the 4-5s class (even though the time worked better for our schedule) was that each time a brand new three year old would come in, the class seemed to slow down while the new student adjusted and the teacher worked on getting her up to speed. Some of the new students showed, quite clearly, by their lack of focus and ability to follow direction, that this was probably their first exposure to any kind of organized activity. But Asia astounded me...she was so attentive and worked so hard, following instructions and she looked like she had been having classes for months.

Of course, she has been watching Bryttain in her classes and Bryttain 'teaches' her at home, but she was truly amazing and she LOVED it.

There was a moment at the end when my heart broke a little for her though. This class had already started working on dances for the Christmas recital and their little leotard dresses had been ordered and were handed out that morning. With it being Asia's first time, she had missed that cut-off. She was not aware of all of that and as the dresses were handed out she saw one lying on the floor and excitedly grabbed it and came running to me to show me. I of course had to take it back as it was not hers and tried to explain to her that she would not be in the upcoming recital, but could next time.

She was SO disappointed, but she really tried to hold it together, she did not want to cry and was trying desperately to be brave! She turned away from me and wiped her eyes, smearing her stamped hand all over face as the ink merged with her tears. I could feel her pain and it was heart wrenching.

I know it is just a part of growing up but I so wish I could spare my children some of these moments.

I love this little girl more than words can say and am incredibly proud of her.

Prettying the tree

Love our nativity...the kids had fun arranging (and then I re-arranged)

Sunday was our day to decorate the tree. Normally on Sunday afternoons James and at least the two older kids, sometimes all three of them, go to the Thai Church in San Rafael, but there were big plans for that tree!

 

First things first, Daddy strung the lights

 Asia, as usual, was on hand to provide comic relief; trying on stockings, hiding in boxes, wearing the lights.

Busy little bees!

It really was a team effort.

 Arran decided, way at the start, that it would be he who placed the star on top.

 Admiring their handy work and the end result. Good work guys!

Such a fun family afternoon.

We got our tree!

Yesterday we went out and bought our Xmas tree. I love the idea of participating in cutting down our own tree, but the last few years we have bought our trees from Costco instead. A few times we have tagged along with friends (for the experience first), but it was hard to justify the much higher price, for not necessarily a better, or bigger tree. This year that all changed.

A good friend told me about Celesta Farms, out in Sebastopol. It was just a little further than a lot of the other farms, but it was a beautiful drive and the prices were great. They also threw in free netting of the tree as well as free coffee, cocoa, hot cider and cookies, all of which a lot of the other places charge for. The kids are at the age where they really can appreciate the whole experience now, so it was the perfect time to start a new tradition.

On a mission to find OUR tree.

Everybody had the chance to help with the sawing...until finally...TIMBER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The prize. Good work everyone. Great team effort.

Posing with hot chocolates and free cookies. The only picture I made it into, but at least there is one.

It really was a great experience and it was so fun to see them all so excited and eager to help. I loved it. More memories being made for our family. Fun, fun, fun!

A long day

Fridays are always long days, but this one has been especially so. I used to look forward to Fridays, it was almost the weekend, but those days are long gone. James' band practices on Friday nights, so it is just another day, made even longer, which I now, unfortunately, do not look forward to.

Today Asia seemed very angry and I know it was because she wanted her dummy. She still did not ask for it, but nap time was very, very, hard. She was MAD! Even though I let her come in my bed and tried to help, she was NOT HAPPY. She did not want to lie down, she did not want to sleep, she was crying and yelling and was not acting like herself at all. It was very sad. It lasted over an hour, before she finally, exhausted, fell asleep.

Add to that equation, the fact that we had our carpets cleaned today and so I was trying to keep the kids off of them and in our kitchen area and we were not a happy household. It took them all a long time to settle and actually fall asleep.

Tomorrow, or today as the case may be, is a new day. So glad that we can all start over.

Our birthday princess

Asia is now three years old. This is my sweet baby girl and yet she is baby no more; her beautiful chubby cheeks are reducing in size, she no longer wears nappies (diapers), she speaks clearly, in full funny sentences. SHE tells ME that she is not by baby anymore and that that makes me sad, she is right and she knows it. Of course, it is also hard for her to understand that she will, in fact, always be my baby.

Wednesday was the big day, and there had been much anticipation. Turning three came with some big changes, which we had been talking about daily, for weeks. The biggest hurdle was going to be giving up her dummy (pacifier), but she would also be able to start ballet classes and get to go to Cubbies.

I had no plans (I am not sure why exactly) for a party, but at the weekend as we had been talking about it almost being her birthday she asked

"Mommy, on my birthday can I go to my party?" and I realized that she was expecting to have a party.

It was then that I started to scramble. We needed to keep it small, as at this time of year it is too cold and dark to do anything outside and our house can feel very full very quickly. So we invited her two little best buddies and the cousins and one other family in town and we had twenty five people, just like that. It was a little crazy as we had fifteen children ranging in age from six months to seven years, but the important thing is that Asia (and James) got their party.

My three kids love dinosaurs these days and their favorite show is Dinosaur Train, so I was pretty happy when I found this cup cake mold on sale a while back.

My lovely, gracious husband whose own birthday will forever for the next few years, at least, be overshadowed by his own daughter's. His cake may not look like much, but I can guarantee you it was dark chocolate goodness, dense and rich. As you can see, he was celebrating his first birthday! We just could not risk the house being set on fire, had we used the correct number of candles :)

Asia handed over her dummy to me before even opening any presents on Wednesday morning and we bagged up all the spares which (as far as she is concerned) were then thrown away. She has not asked for one again. Nap time was hard and she kind of whined and fussed for quite a long time, but she did not beg or plead or ask for it even then. She has totally surprised me. I am so very proud of her.

Riding her new pink bike at her party - yes she was riding it indoors :)

Happy birthday Asia.

Happy birthday James!