the full run-down: christmas part I

i love that we celebrate christmas for a whole week instead of just 1-2 days.  we start here in seattle the week before christmas by celebrating our christmas here at home.  we ask santa a very special favor to come to our house early since we spend the "real" christmas in cincinnati :)  we have our own little christmas eve and christmas day, and it's very special to us.

come to think of it though, we really celebrated the holiday for an entire month!  with all of the events and parties we attended, the kids ended up seeing santa 4 times in a span of 3 weeks!

we started the festivities this year with our first trip to leavenworth, wa.  it's a large bavarian village in eastern washington that does a huge christmas tree lighting complete with tons of festivities.  kevin's parents were in town for the trip, and we all spent the weekend together in leavenworth getting into the christmas spirit.  it was very cold, but we all bundled up and spent an entire day (9am-7pm) outdoors enjoying everything leavenworth had to offer.

next up was the holiday party at kevin's office.  they do a great family-oriented party every year with tons of treats and crafts for the kids, and santa even makes a special appearance to hand out toys to all the boys and girls.  the kids all sit on the floor together and sing christmas carols to let santa know they are ready for him :)  this year brooke colored a special picture for santa and gave it to him herself.  santa happened to pull brooke's present out of his bag first, and it was so funny to see her reaction.  she was excited and nervous and decided the best course of action was to drag her little brother up there with her.  safety in numbers!  gavin wasn't too sure about good old santa, but he went along with it.  santa brought brooke an olivia doll dressed up as a cow, and he brought gavin a train from the thomas the train set.  gavin still says, "ho ho.  tt (his word for choo choo).  daddy work."  so cute!

this was the 2nd year we took the "santa train," and it was just as special the 2nd time around. brooke and gavin both got up on santa's lap, and brooke was super excited to tell santa what she wanted.  they give out little wooden train pieces every year, and this year the kids decided they wanted to paint them.  it made for a fun family activity.

we also baked and decorated christmas cookies.  the kids helped with the cutting of the cookies and did all the decorating themselves!  i think more candies made it into their mouths than onto the cookies :)

on our christmas eve eve, anastasia and i took brooke and hanna to see the nutcracker.  it was brooke's first time to the ballet, and she sat through the entire performance and never once asked when we were leaving :)  her favorite part was seeing clara sleeping in the bed on stage.  it's a day i will always remember.  that night we celebrated christmas with the bakers and exchanged gifts.  it was the perfect way to start the weekend!

for the 2nd year in a row, we chose to spend christmas eve in downtown seattle with lunch at the steelhead diner and a stroll through pike place market.  gavin was sick, and it was pouring rain, but we made the most of it.

we had a late lunch so kevin and i decided to plan for a light dinner.  we purchased crab legs and shrimp at the market, cheese from beecher's and a baguette from three sister's bakery.  we had a nice evening at home with the kids singing christmas carols, writing a letter to santa and leaving cookies for santa and zucchini for the reindeer (brooke's idea :)  after they were tucked into bed, we enjoyed some champagne and a terrific seafood dinner.  then we spent most of the night wrapping presents :)

finally, christmas morning arrived.  brooke was the first to awaken at 7:30am.  we hurried out of bed, awakened gavin (poor thing was tired and sick on christmas) and then rushed downstairs to see the presents that santa had brought.  brooke spotted an unwrapped butterfly pillow pet from upstairs and couldn't contain her excitement any longer.  you know how the rest goes... paper flying, tearing through gifts just as fast as little hands can go.  brooke got everything on her list minus one thing (which came later from gram vicki).  she was a happy girl.  her favorite gift, among many, was princess presto (super why!).  gavin was still waking up and took his time with the gifts.  he liked to play with each one as he opened them.  might have had something to do with the fact that he got a lot of thomas the train presents!

it was a fun morning, but it was over too fast.  which is why i love getting on a plane and heading to cincinnati to celebrate all over again.  christmas part II coming soon... :)

365

one of the bloggers that i follow (http://erincobb.com/ThePigBear/) has inspired me to take on a new project for 2011: one frame a day.  the idea is to take one pic a day and post it on a blog with a quick little story about the pic.  at the end of the year you turn your blog into a book, and you have a great keepsake of the everyday things that made up your year.  i love it!

so, you can follow my one frame a day at:  http://365bytara.blogspot.com/
there are already 3 posts waiting for you :)

maybe you'll consider doing this, too?  come on, it'll be fun :)

o christmas tree

hunting for our christmas tree has become one of my favorite things we do all year long. as you might imagine, the tree farms in the pacific northwest are plentiful and beautiful.  last year we discovered "keith & scott" tree farm, and we were so enamored we went back again this year. one of the blessings of being far away from home and traveling during the holidays is that we get in the christmas spirit much earlier now. we used to wait until mid-december to get our tree. now we're out the weekend after thanksgiving to get the tree. bob & kaye have been here for thanksgiving the past 2 years and have been able to join us on our christmas tree hunt. last year our tree was really fat - big, round and beautiful. this year our tree is really tall - 12 ft. tall! i love that our house can accommodate a big tree. last year gavin was in the baby carrier and brooke was more interested in the campfire and hot cider than she was looking for a tree :) this year gavin and brooke were both on the hunt with us, and they both had a great time. gavin also got to participate in the decorating of the tree this year. the kids had a lot of special ornaments to put on the tree this year, including "woody & buzz" and "jessie" - gifts from grandma and grandpa.  gavin hung his right on the tree, but brooke wanted to keep her special ornaments in her room "up high" where no one could bother them. it took about a week, but i finally got them on the tree :) tomorrow the tree will come down before we travel to cincinnati for the holidays. i'm already looking forward to next year's tree.

Bob Bob

gavin has a new favorite word and a new favorite person: bob bob! a couple of weeks before kevin's parents came to visit for thanksgiving, gavin started saying "bob bob" whenever we would talk about "ta ta bob" (brooke's name for grandpa) or see him on the webcam. that was my first clue. then bob bob showed up at our house, and the rest was history. gavin is just naturally drawn to his grandpa. he loves him. big time. there are few things in life sweeter than seeing your son with his grandpa. they were best buds during the two weeks grandma and grandpa were in town. gavin was always sitting on his lap or yelling his name or playing with his bob bob. i'm not sure who enjoyed it more - gavin or bob, but gavin is still talking about his bob bob every single day. tonight we walked in the house from outside and gavin said "bob bob. bubbles" because, yes, his bob bob got all bundled up and went outside in the cold to blow bubbles with him. bob bob also taught gavin how to play zingo, how to mix cookie dough by hand, how to pick out a christmas tree, how to go sledding, how to enjoy some good old whipped cream straight out of the can... gavin taught bob bob who "pink" (the singer) is, how to play music videos on the computer and how to navigate mommy's iphone :) they have a special relationship, and i'm excited to see it grow.

our thanksgiving in pictures

thankful

i have so very much to be thankful for... health, family, friends, 2 wonderful children, an amazing husband, a beautiful home, a great neighborhood, the opportunity to live in a beautiful part of our country, 5 adorable nephews/nieces and the great fortune to be home with my children every day.

even though i miss my family dearly, i am so thankful to wake up and see this

and on the next morning, this

i have a quote hanging in my house that says "wealth consists not in having great possessions but in having few wants" (by esther de waal).

i feel very wealthy. i feel very blessed.