Well, it seems as though the holidays went too fast again this year. We had a Christmas tree hunt after we returned from Thanksgiving to get it started. The kids were great on our hunt and Santa was there as well. Cooper mostly just wanted to point and smile at him though, he didn't actually get close to him!
We took lots of walks to the park and Cooper went on his first boat trip down the river on a field trip with preschool (Dada got to go with him and take pictures)! We also took advantage of a twofer at Zoolights (2 for 1 tickets). It was so much fun to take the kids out and have them see all the lights. We even got to see the big elephant!
We spent Christmas Eve with some family, Billy and Brynne and their daughter Claude. We had a delicious turkey and all the good stuff that goes with it. The kids got to play and it was a good way to spend our time waiting for Santa to get here! After getting the kids to sleep, Ryan and I drank hot chocolate and watched Elf which I'm thinking is the beginning of a new and incredible Christmas tradition! I love that movie, it always makes me laugh. I was so excited for Christmas morning I could barely stand it. The kids got all kinds of fun books and new clothes and building blocks. Cooper got TONS of hotwheels from Santa which is pretty much all he wanted (those and a plane but luckily Santa was able to sneak in some matchbox planes!). Olivia got this awesome little walker/pusher thing. She doesn't need help walking but she ABSOLUTELY loves to sit in something and have her brother push her around. She also likes pushing it around while there are things in it. She sometimes likes falling out of it too, just depends on her mood! Santa brought Ryan a bunch of fun stuff for brewing beer as well as some other goodies and I got an awesome new camera!! I'd been wanting a point and shoot for awhile so we have a smaller camera to take with us on quick trips to the park and it is such a cool one! I've been using it almost everyday!
We hung out all day mostly in our pajamas (cause why would we need to get dressed on Christmas?). We had a great dinner that night, which almost made up for my epic failure of a pull apart (note to self... frozen bread rolls that have been in the freezer for over a year are definitely not still good).
The next day, Nonna and Papa came to visit and we had another Christmas! The kids always enjoy having Nonna and Papa around and Ryan and I take advantage by going out on dates. We went to an early dinner on New Years Eve and ended up ringing in the actual new year with my parents! I don't remember when I've last made it until midnight... so pathetic.
The weather here has been gorgeous and we have been taking advantage of it as much as possible with trips to the park and just spending time outside. In Olivia news... she is oddly fantastic at blowing her nose, something that I think is a definite skill to have. I remember being in the third grade and having my teacher try to explain to all of us the 'proper way' to blow our noses (she was a bit off though, right Colette?? :) ). She is also really excited to test out the strength of her head and she does so by falling on her face as often as possible. As soon as we get one scratch or bruise all healed up, she makes sure to put a mark on some other part of her face!
Happy New Year everybody!! Here's to a wonderful and healthy 2012!
~ Ahna and Ryan
