Wednesday, December 21, 2011

so much christmas, so little time to post

I love Christmas.
I  have many goals as a mom, but one of my top priorities
 as a mom is to make sure my kids have magical childhood memories.

I think Christmas is a good place to start.

I think I feel the Christmas spirit more this year than ever before
 because I have 2 tots that are so excited about it.

Here's how we've been celebrating:

Decorating
We made a centerpiece "Winter Wonderland Tree"



Ballet-ing
Avy & I went to the Velveteen Rabbit Ballet in SF 
with these lovely little ladies & their moms.

Last year we went with them up to the Nutcracker.

We decided to try a new ballet this year.

Avy loved it.
She sat still and took it all in the whole performance.

We went to Buca for lunch before the show.

After the show, the ladies showed off their finest rabbit bunny-hops



Tree Chopping
We went Christmas tree hunting.


The usual suspects joined the ranks.


This was a different farm than the one we usually hit up in Half Moon Bay.
This was in the wilderness.
I mean, off the road, hiking up hills, scared out of my mind I 
was going to lose a red-head in the forest, wilderness.

& this isn't scary at all either.

Tat & I in our traditional tree-cutting garb.

We ended up getting this beaut

A couple days ago, while in the bathroom, I heard a bulb break out in the living room.
Turns out it was more than one bulb.

This picture is the epitome of Linc.
However, he actually wasn't to blame for this.
It's really a cute story:
Linc wanted the blue "ball" ornament down, so Avy said she'd get it for him.
It was up too high, so she grabbed a little chair.
She tried so hard to reach & yank it off, but 
instead of just getting the ornament, she got the whole tree with it.
Fortunately, nobody was harmed.
& Linc got his ornament.

Dancing
Avy's dance class showed off their "I love you, Santa Clause number" at dance last week.

Teddy Bear Tea Party-ing
Linc & I hosted a Teddy Bear Tea Party for Avy & her friends.
The girls had to bring their favorite doll or stuffed animal to dine with.

Here's the mini-hostess all dolled up, with Kitty, of course,
 ready to party like a rock star.
Er, I mean, a proper tea party princess.
 She got a little make-up on for the occasion.


They decorated Gingerbread Houses



Clearly Gus needs to take Tea Party Etiquette 101

Mother Goose read many Christmas stories



 Linc was head of the clean-up committee & did a fine job.
Any chance to climb on the table 
will not be refused by this gingerbread boy.
After he cleaned up the g-bread house mess...
...he helped set up the tea party portion of the party.
  Gingerbread cookies, madeleines, cuties, and hot chocolate.


Then they had a gift exchange. 
What a fun party with lots of lovely little ladies!
Oh yes, & this lovely little lady was a gem too.

Preschool fun
Avy's school class had a visit from Santa Clause.



All she keeps telling Santa that she wants is a red bear.
Today I said, "Maybe Santa will bring you your very own roll of tape in your stocking!"
(since she uses tape all day long on any and everything in sight)
She said, "No, Mom. I think he's bringing me a red bear. 
 Maybe next year he can bring me a roll of tape for Christmas."

Boy will she be beside herself when she sees what Santa has in store.

Kaari's Cookie Competition
This totally deserves a whole post of its own. 

 Here's to the last week of ho-ho-ho-ing!

Thursday, December 15, 2011

T-Day. What? That was a month ago too?


I'm noticing a trend.
I seem to be a day late & a dollar short.
I feel like I'm scrambling to keep up.
Anybody else with me on this???

So here was Thanksgiving.
It was so much fun.
Me & the kiddos & Whit-Whit drove to Utah.
Tyler started a new job & felt that he shouldn't take off a couple days after starting.
Such a responsible lad.
Me, on the other hand, heard my parents & siblings & nephews would all be at my Grandma & Grandpa Griffin's house for the long weekend, so we loaded up the bus & crossed the country.
Grandma Griff & Mom


The highlights:

playing in the leaves...never gets old




playing with uncle jaxon



little miss muffin got lots of loves







avy's first haircut
yes, her very first!
(well besides the time she accidentally took a little snip at it in preschool last year)
brookie is going to hairschool at aveda & showed us what she's been learning.


she did a fine job!

whit led the kids on a wild turkey treasure hunt to find their 
chocolate turkey suckers grandma made for them




played in leaves again.
 this time they buried grandma.
yes, my grandma, in the leaves.
she's the most energetic thing EVER!!!

gus-gus entertained us for several minutes with his face against the glass routine


we rode the train


it wouldn't be a bird family outing if we didn't bust out in song & dance while in public


we saw the lights up at temple square


my family laughed at my hat. i didn't care.
 it was all i could find in g-ma's closet & i wasn't about to freeze my ears off.

we got to spend some time with sista sally

grandma made us homemade "awful good waffles" every morning for breakfast.

we went for a nice hike.
avy always brings up the rear on walks.
Afterall, searching for sticks that look like the letters in your name takes time.
And add on skipping, singing, & searching for pebbles that will work as kitty food, and you would be last in the pack too.


jaxon with his walking stick

jaxon & my dad doing a little leprechaun jaunt

brooklyn showing the neighbors her tumbling acts

we visited santa baby at the mall


we visited my grandpa bird's grave



we tried to squeeze more people than there are seatbelts into my car

we visited my beautiful grandma bird
everyone always asks where the reds get their red...well this is she. 

all the cousins came over so gma griff could get a picture of her 4 2011 great-grand-babies

here's g&g with the bird & griffin grandkids, minus austy

And that was our trip.
A blast.
But don't feel bad that Tat missed all the fun.
Trust me.
I think he was the one who got the vacation:
He was busy golfing, attending feasts, going up to our friends' ranch,
watching all the tv & youtube vids he could handle in sheer silence with no distractions.
He had a very thankful Thanksgiving too.

& I was most thankful that this here beauty was an angel in the car.
Not a single scream from this one.
A true Thanksgiving miracle indeed.