December 2011
28 posts
WatchMore park!
WatchPark!
2 tags
WatchOne of Gabe’s top-3 favorite presents of the holiday season is his bucket of Football Guys. (Note that they are actually called Football Guys, which is one of the reasons they’re a great toy.) Because Tess likes everything Gabe likes, she is also a big fan of the Football Guys. Last night she spent about twenty minutes changing their poopy diapers.
I keep imagining what the...
Royalty
The popularity of princesses and princess toys worries me quite a bit. I’m not going to dive too deep into the mire that has been covered by countless other mommy bloggers (some far better writers than myself), but it really concerns me that at under age 2, Tessa can name every single one of the Disney Princesses and tells me all the time that they are “boo-full.” ...
5 tags
The Most Wonderful Day of the Year
On Christmas Eve, those children of mine were just a wee bit excited for the holiday festivities.
They loved the tree, the decorations, the party food, and of course the PRESENTS! Even the matching Christmas pajamas thrilled the crowd!
Gabe and Tess left out cookies and milk for Santa, and reindeer food and carrots for the reindeer, and in return they got tons and tons of presents. Tess...
WatchMerry Christmas Eve, Great Grams and Great Granddad! We love you and miss you!
1 tag
Not at all Christmasy...
…but Gabe really wants to show you a picture of the castle he built.
Pretty impressive, don’t you think?
He told me this castle is his best one ever. I’m inclined to agree. And on that note, we wish you a Merry Christmas, full of love and laughter and joy! And also cookies. And hugs, if possible.
2 tags
Fight On!
Christmas comes early this year!!!!
Matt Barkley to play out USC career
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/sports_blog/2011/12/usc-football-matt-barkley-lane-kiffin-nfl-draft-heisman-trophy.html
It’s a great day to be a Trojan!
1 tag
Festival of Lights
The kiddos have received some excellent presents so far, but the runaway hit of this Hanukkah season is Gabe’s magnificent cowboy hat and pair of boots. (As an aside, do you enjoy how mutlicultural we are, with the Hanukkah presents sitting beneath the Christmas tree? Close inspection of the tree will reveal several dreidel ornaments.)
Both children are equally fascinated by the boots.
...
1 tag
Princess Cake
I just realized I never uploaded these photos of the “Princess Cake” that Matt and the kids got me for my birthday. It was a big giant multicolored sugar bomb of a cake, which means the kids loved it.
You will notice that Tess couldn’t even be bothered to smile for the camera, she was so obsessed with getting “more fwosting inna mouf!” (Translation: More frosting...
2 tags
Arrrr, Matey! and Beyond!
Yesterday was kind of a weird day. Our town has a Residents’ Association (a fact which I find totally and utterly charming) and Matt is on its email list. Via this email list, Matt discovered that Pirate Santa was going to be at the Farmers’ Market on Sunday morning with his pirate band.
Pirate Santa. I’ll pause for a moment to let you take that in.
So yesterday, as soon as...
Party Time!
Gabe agreed to wear his (definitely too small, oops) red sweater to the school-wide Family Holiday Breakfast this morning. But he insisted on wearing his Angry Superhero fact at the same time.
Look out, bad guys!
Tess also agreed to wear party attire consisting of pink leggings, a pink shirt, and an ombre pink skirt. (Sensing a theme here? Mornings are significantly more challenging now...
Three Random Pictures
Since I failed to post at all yesterday, today I offer you three random pictures as my penance.
First we have Tessa, getting ready for “work.”
Next, I present photo evidence of Gabe’s newly-acquired skill: he can draw faces. Sure, they’re slightly menacing faces that look as though great evil is being contemplated, but pretty impressive for a three-year-old in my...
Strong
True story from Matt this morning: On the drive into school, Gabe clenched his fists (his way of making muscles) and asked Matt if he was strong. Matt said, “Of course you are strong!”
Gabe replied, “I’M SUPERHERO STRONG!”
Then Tess shouted, “TINKERBELL STRONG!”
When Matt looked back at her in her carseat, she was making muscles too.
4 tags
Tea
Yesterday we attended our annual Girls’ Christmas Tea at the Balboa Bay Club with Grammy, Auntie Katie, and “Grandma Gina” (that would be Katie’s mom Regina). Tess is just slightly more mobile and more of a maniac that she was at tea last year, which made for an interesting experience.
She was fascinated with the “boaps” in the harbor, and spent quite a while...
1 tag
Tis the Season
Tess seems to be getting over her initial aversion to Christmas decorations.
Star Wars LEGO report: This morning’s item was an X-wing. Very cool. It took Matt fifteen full minutes to assemble. It took Tess fifteen seconds to disassemble and hide at least three of the tiny pieces in the couch cushions while my back was turned on her as I refilled my coffee.
“Ordinary riches can be stolen, real riches cannot. In your soul are infinitely...”
– Oscar Wilde (via modernhepburn)
Watch“Boink! Granddad!”
1 tag
Totally Worth It
The Monstrous Swingset takes up fully half of our backyard. (OK, maybe only a third, but it’s a lot, trust me. That sucker is big.) In fact I suspect the swingset may have grown or bloated somehow between the time we picked it out at the showroom (yes, they have swingset showrooms now) and the time it was installed yesterday morning. Regardless of its massive size, I was super excited...
Proof Positive...
…that Matt and I have completed our transformation from “adults who might arguably be sort of cool people” into “parents”.
This now resides in our backyard. Feel free to commence mocking us.
WatchLittle Star
1 tag
Do you feel intimidated?
(I bet not as intimidated as Matt felt when we removed the LEGO slave ship from the advent calendar this morning and learned that it contained about twenty tiny pieces and no instructions! Merry merry!)
3 tags
How Star Wars LEGOs Ruined Christmas
Before we get to today’s real story, let’s enjoy a picture of my children. Gabe prefers to wear the Han Solo boots over his Star Wars LEGO pajamas, for that really authentic Jedi feel. Adorable, right?
OK, onto the main event. Like an idiot I spent (gulp!) $45 for this Star Wars LEGO 2011 Limited Edition Advent Calendar:
That’s right, every day for 24 days Gabe gets a...
1 tag
35
I turn 35 today. And much to my surprise, I feel pretty great about it. Gabe crawled into bed with us at 4:00 a.m., and rather than being sort of cranky or annoyed, I just felt happy that I have him, that I have my big, wonderful, amazing family. So in honor of 35 lucky and blessed years, I present just a few of the things for which I am grateful.
My gorgeous, funny, smart, all-around-awesome...
