Merry Christmas!

Ho Ho Ho! Well we are having a great time here at Grandma and Grandpa's place. It's been a fantastic Christmas and we are thankful to be sharing it with friends and family. The kids have been so pumped on the whole Santa thing. Katie especially. I have been torturing her over the last couple months with naughty and nice behavior conditioning. Literally, it's gotten to the point where I use it every time she has any kind of tantrum... I love it! Last week she was crying at the dinner table and I pretended to see something in the window behind her and I yelled, "LOOK! It's SANTA!" Katie whirled around and stopped crying immediately for fear that Santa would see her misbehaving. Man I love the holidays!

Katie has been trying really hard to be nice so she would get her presents as requested. She has been talking non-stop about 2 items, 1) "Big Head Ariel" (Which is what Katie calls the Ariel head that has long hair, designed for styling, braiding, etc) -- and 2) Barbie and the 12 Dancing Princesses DVD.

Yesterday, I thought it would be fun to have her write a list for Santa to make sure that he "Didn't Forget" anything. What a dumb idea that was. Katie and I sat down and I helped her spell while she wrote the letter (above.) In the middle of writing the letter, Katie sprung two new gifts on us that we had never heard of before!!! Airel Wedding Dress and a Pink Pen. Needless to say, the pen posed no alarm, but the dress? Ummm, what do we do now?

So Jen hopped in the car and drove to half a dozen stores looking for this thing. She found a Barbie Wedding Dress and we thought we were all set. However, this morning when Katie opened the gift, she promptly told us, "This is the wrong one." *sigh* What's worse is shortly after, she asked me, "Maybe Santa Didn't read my letter..." Her eyes were so big that I felt like I had been punched in the stomach. I explained to her that Santa must have been confused and that if we wrap up the Barbie Dress, that we could send it back to Santa and he would being us the one she wanted. She smiled and appears to be happy with the solution for now...

Last night (Christmas Eve) the kids were like ferrets on crystal meth. Between the cupcakes, the cookies, and the notion that Santa was coming, they had worked themselves into a frenzy. Katie's cousin Nica, had given her and Andy some reindeer food, so I told the kids to go outside and sprinkle it on the ground. While they were doing this, I went around the side of the house and grabbed some of Kari's jingle bells and started ringing them like mad. I then quickly ran back tot he front of the house to find Kate screaming in excitement that she heard Santa outside. It was a classic moment, to see the magic of Christmas in her eyes.

I think all the excitement wore them out because they fell asleep a lot quicker than I expected. Perhaps the rule that "Santa only comes while you are sleeping" had something to do with that as well.

We have a great eve and morning. We are all wiped out and resting right now. Probably some snow play coming up this afternoon. Ill post more pics and stories in the coming days. Merry Christmas to all of you, and Happy Holidays!

Blog-slackage

I have been so busy lately with the new job, gettting out of the old job, fighting this cold, etc, that I haven't been blogging. Sorry! I'll try and do some catch-up over the holidays. Happy Holidays!

Crabby

So we have simply been struck down by colds around here. Our house is a symphony of coughing and sneezing. I think we should have bought stock in Kleenex this year. Hopefully we will get though this things soon as Jen and I are finding it pretty difficult to keep-up under this plague!

Andy continues to be a challenge. His terrible twos are a bit amplified while he is sick. Beyond that, he interacts with the world in a much more physical way than his sister. For example, when Katie gets upset, she is very good at explaining this by folding her arms, sticking out her chin, and saying, "I'm VERY frus-ter-ated with you." Andy on the other hand, will simply kick, cry, and throw things. It's much more challenging to often determine why he is even upset. On top of this, he doesn't articulate with much accuracy right now, and so often times I have to call-in Katie to help translate...

Here's an example. I was showing today and Andy comes into the bathroom, tears streaming down his face, and wailing.

Andy: "Waaaaaaaaa! Waaaaaaaa!"

Shutting off the shower, I come out to find Andy holding a banana in his hands.

Steve: "Andy, what's a matter?"

Andy: "Waaaaaaaaaa!!! Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!!!" (no really)

Steve: "Andy, use your words bud, what is wrong?"

Andy: "Waaaaaa! Bo Kit Da Deee Nana! Waaaa!"

Steve: "Katie? Can you tell me what he is saying?"

Katie: "He's mad because he wants his banana fixed."

Looking down, I realize that Andy's banana is in two pieces, one in each hand, and according to Katie, he wants it put back together...

Steve: "Andy, you want me to fix your banana?"

Andy: (Tears stopping immediately) "Yea."

Steve: "Umm, bud, I don't think I can fix a banana..." (Whooops)

Andy: "Waaaaaaaaaaa!"

OK, so you get the point. We have a lot of Andy moments like that right now. It's kinda funny when you don't have to do it 30 times a day! :)

Midnight Snack

The kids both have nasty colds, its like a sneezing factory around here. Their little faces are getting red and splotchy. Jen is also feeling poorly, and I fear I will likely be next. Go go Airbornne! Tonight as I was doing some late night work, Katie comes out of bed (this is 11ish mind you) and informs Jen and I that we forgot to let her open her Advent calendar window. She was right of course, and not wanting to break a promise of allowing her to open one each day, I decided to let her have at it. I'm surprised she could even taste anything under her cold, but the smile she let out after finishing her little chocolate square was clear proof that the taste buds could tell what was going on.

Street Fair Shennagains

La Jolla had a street fair and parade today so we headed down in the morning to check out the local action. When we got there, we were treated to many youth performances from the local gymnastics, ballet, and jazz dancing kids. Katie was nothing less than mezmerized by all of these demonstrations. Jen and I were also taken aback at how cute many of these kids were all dressed up in their little Christmas outfits. And surprisingly, Andrew managed to sit still through them as well. The kids rode a elephant spinning carnival-ride, and we walked a bit to see the street vendor wares. At the end of out walk, we got some free dixie-cup sized drink samples from "Naked Juice" a health-like drink manufacturer known for thick-pulpy juices. Katie and Andy each tried a sample. Andy (more thrilled about the concept of holding his own cup than anything) made on of those huge sour-puss faces after taking his first sip.

Me: "Do you like it Andy?"

Andy: *Crinkled nose and puckered mouth* "Bad Daddy! Bad!"

Me: "Well, here let me take it then..." *Reaching for the cup*

Andy: "No!"

Me: "Well, do you like it?"

Andy: "Bad Daddy." *Takes another sip, followed by the same repulsive face...*

Andy: "Bad Daddy."

He then proceeded to drink the whole thing and ask for more.

Once we finished with the drinks, we walked the parade set-up area and the kids were delighted by seeing all the kids dressed up in Christmas outfits like nutcrackers and elves. As we were heading back to the car, we saw a gold Mercedes drive slowly by with none other than Santa Claus behind the wheel. He must have been heading to the festivities. Katie and Andy both started jumping and waving. "Hey it's Santa!" they were shouting. Jen and I looked at each other quietly, neither of us wanting to mention anything about why Santa was driving a car...

The kids didn't say anything and so we thought we were out of the woods. About 5 minutes later, as we were just getting to our car, Katie blurts out, "I guess Santa's sleigh is broken..."

Later at the house, I was watching the kids while Jen was at the store. Katie trotted off to the bathroom (as she usually does) and I thought nothing of it. About 5 minutes later she comes out looking worried:

Katie: "Daddy, the toilet is REALLY full with water, all the way up to the top..."

Running to the bathroom, I find a nearly overflowing toilet, and a conspicuously empty roll of toilet paper left hanging on the reel.

Me: Katie, how much toilet paper did you put in there?"

Katie: *matter-of-factly* "Mmmmm, not much."

Me: *Turning off the water* "Not much? It's clogged and overflowing? Exactly how much did you put in?"

Katie: *Innocently thinking* "Welllll, all of it."

The way she said that last line was with such complete innocence and detachment, as if she were answernig a simple math problem. I then educated Katie about how much toilet paper was the right amount. Katie by the way is very interested in dance class. We were going to put her in soccer, but she has since informed us that she would rather do dance. Shocker huh? :)

Advent-tageous

Well, today marks a couple of special events around our household. It's Decemeber 1st! That means it's my sister's birthday! Happy B-day sis! Also, being the first day of the last month of the year, means we have crossed the threshold of the official countdown to Christmas! This year is a special year for this, as we are passing on a tradition of the Advent calendar to our kids for the first time. We sat down this evening with both Katie and Andrew and explained to them the concept of the candy-calendar, adn how we use it to count the days to Christmas. They were both tickled by the concept.

Andrew went first and nearly ripped his #1 window clean-off in his over-zealous approach. I think he was thinking it was like unwrapping a present. He immeadiately popped the chocolate in his mouth (without chekcing to see the molded-shape beneath), and drooled as he said loudly; "Trick A Treat!"

Katie was a bit more elegant with hers. She took her time as she sought out the #1 window. She carefully opened the window, admired the fancy chocolate shape before eating it. As soon as she was finished, she exclaimed, "That was FUN! I want to open ANOTHER one!". She was surprisingly supportive of the notion of waiting until the next day, and I think she 'gets' the idea that the fun is that you get to do one a day until Christmas. It's fun to see them enjoy this tradition. Both Jen and I had parents that gave us these calendars when we were kids.

Lights are coming up around the block, and I need to go snap a few shots to show you the high-lights. I have been traveling for my new job already and am very thankful to be home tonight and to have a nice quiet weekend.