Christmas

We had a terrific Christmas season, enjoying lots of good family time together and celebrating Jesus' birth. I love being home and with the kiddos. Abigail was totally clued into all the festivities and we had some great talks about the reason we celebrate the season!


Some photos to share.....







The girls looking lovely in their Christmas outfits.


Abigail went ice skating for the first time thanks for Vincents birthday. It was raining, think of puddles in some parts of the rink, but Abigail was soaked and loving it. Olivia was most determined to get out there as well and I spent most of the time chasing her around.

On the right, Christmas Eve photo with some of the friends we had over. Clam chowder might be the new tradition!

Abigail, and her lip balm 'watch', flashing gang symbols. Bad photo, but this is what Olivia wore most of Christmas morning at Nani/Papas (her new outfit, then new pjs, then new boots and coat, complete with broom).

Santa even made an appearance. On the way home, Abigail asked how Papa put all of those cotton balls on his face. Olivia was a little unsure of the big guy but we always love a visit from him. He claims, yet again, this was his last appearance. The shower caps, along with water, airplane peanuts and other goodies, were courtesy of Santas recent flight to Dubai on the way here :)

An Elmo doll that doesn't talk. Thanks Aunt Gail! She sleeps with it every night.

The girls were most excited to open gifts. Below is the dollhouse from Grandpa/ma Smith that continues to be a hit. Both girls really like playing in it.

Five Years Old

Abigail turned five last week. We celebrated on her birthday with a quick visit to Chuck E Cheese to use some tokens we had (daddy took the day off), then our birthday dinner of mac n cheese and applesauce, and santa claus cupcakes from safeway that she had picked out the day before. Lets just say that the neon green frosting was not digestible and came out the next day in the toilet/diaper. Lovely! She got a basketball hoop from the grandparents that she opened that night and loves to play on.

Did you know that Chuck E Cheese has a line dance that he does when he comes out during his 'live performance'? Yes, and since my kids were the only white ones there they just stared at all of the happily dancing kiddos and mouse. It was quite hilarious.

We had about 12 kids over on Friday night for her pizza and movie party. We did a make your own pizza night, complete with games and a Dora pinata, and then watched a short movie. It was our first attempt at a drop-off party and actually went quite well, with the help of Aunt Gail, Ben, Nani and Daddy. All of the kids had a fun time and they really got into the pinata activity. There was also much running around the backyard in the pitch black screaming and general mayhem in our living room.

Abigail used an entire container of sprinkles on the cupcakes! Dora the pinata, or a Dora look alike. Can't beat $5 at FoodMaxx. Her leg fell off first and the kids thought that was pretty hilarious.

Thanksgiving

The girls listening to some tunes before our trip to Novato.

We spent the day in Novato with the gparents, my mom (dad was still overseas), Aunt Gail, and Uncle Ben. We watched football and the parade, played outside in the great weather, and enjoyed a yummy meal. Abigail wanted to make decorations for the table and so we traced out leaves and colored them. She then made everyone name tags with masking tape, like they do at our nursery at church, and we all had to wear them. That's what the tape on Jeremy and Abigail is for. She was a real ham at the dinner table, cracking us all up with the games she invented. We played a funny version of Simon Says, which Grandad won, and then we had to guess what she was thinking (no clues or hints...it was 'cow jumped over the moon'). Aunt Gail won that one after some help from Abigail. Olivia slept through the meal, which was actually nice since it allowed me to eat :) Just before we left, Olivia did manage to eat a couple handfuls of caffeinated coffee grounds from the trash can. They actually slept in the next day, so maybe she can have that every night!

Gilroy Gardens

We spent a Saturday in November at Gilroy Gardens and the girls had a blast. Both girls loved riding all of the rides with our friends the Burtchs and the day was warm and beautiful. With the exception of the Icee crisis, upon which Olivia threw herself onto the ground for a serious fit after not being granted the ability to drink from the cup, the girls held it together during the busy day. And no we did NOT buy Abigail that hat!

Halloween

The girls had a blast this Halloween. Abigail really got into all of the festivities, and Olivia was quite pleased with the amount of junk she was allowed to eat. We went to our church fall festival for a few hours and then I did some trick or treating with Abigail after dark while Jeremy cheered on the Giants at home and we put to bed our very cranky chicken.

The hit of the night was that Abigail won a fish! Abigal was determined to win one and waited in a long line three times because the the teenager running that game wasn't giving her any help. It was one of those throw a ping pong into a bowl games and she finally had luck on her last try. The fishs' full name is Nemo Pumpkin and he is alive to date. I am skeptical about his life expectancy. He eats the food but doesn't really like to swim around. What fish doesn't swim around? Jeremy says it's because our 'tank' is so lame (basically a plastic container) but I am not spending any real $ on the thing until it lives a few months. Anyways, Abigail doesn't have high hopes for him either. She really likes him, but she has mentioned to several friends/family that he will probably die soon. I think daddy might have clued her into that. She wanted to take a picture of Nemo to send to her friend Vincent so that he could see Nemo before he died, and when Aunt Ruth said that maybe she would see the pet when she came next Abigail calmly replied that she wouldn't since he would be dead by then. A little morbid, but maybe it will prepare her for when it happens. She was also excited to report to Aunt Gail that she now has two pets, since Cupcake the spider has again taken up residence in our kitchen. He seems to be inviting some of his friends too so that might have to end soon.

Zoo Fun and Barney Takes on McDonalds

Watched our friend Kyrie today and took all three girls to the zoo for some Halloween fun. We got quite a few looks as we trotted around with three girls and one pregnant lady. Despite some drizzles, they all had a blast.


Kyrie and Olivia's 'serious' face as she was watching the music performance.

Olivia's 1st ride on the train - a big hit - and Abigail feeding Kyrie later that afternoon. She was such a big help.

This is the outfit Abigail chose for her date night with Jeremy last week. They went to McDonalds and then the Dollar Store for some shopping.

In other news, Abigail is currently praying for all of the lost dogs in our neighborhood. When out driving she notices the signs posted on telephone poles and we pray for each one. It is very cute. She also is currently lobbying for a dog but having no success with her parentals.

More Catching Up

So I find myself behind again in posting, so here's another catchup round.

We went to the Clayton Pumpkin Patch with friends from church at the beginning of October. It was about 100 degrees and we had a lot of fun. Olivia particularly liked the big pool full of lima beans. She also liked running through the hay maze with the big kids. She wasn't scared a bit.

Olivia was quite pleased with her new Kicks cereal container, the humidifier.

The first ride in our fancy 'new' car, a 2005 Honda Odyssey. Abigail was MOST excited that her window rolls down. That's really the only feature that she cared about. I am getting used to driving a bigger vehicle. Parking is not quite my speciality yet.

We visited Palm Desert with our friends down the street the Coffeys. They graciously invited us to stay at their lovely condo for a few days. Olivia stayed with Nani and Papa so we had some alone time with Abigail. She LOVED the pool, the waterslide, and got really comfortable in the water. She did the best swimming she has yet and we could hardly get her out of the water. It was a wonderful, relaxing time together.

On the way to the desert, we visited the Stockwells and the beach. Had a great time, even got to see an iridium flare from a satellite. Abigail told us last night as we were driving home in the dark that she saw another one, so we may have a budding astronomer.

Swimming with Aunt Ruth and Gail at Ms. Dean's pool.

Gail and Ben are engaged! We had a lovely party for them at the park. Well, actually the Wilsons provided the party and we just showed up. It was a bit chilly, so Abigail decided to hang out with the grandparents under the covers. It ended up a good choice since Papa got those three all hot chocolates from Starbucks. Jeremy asked Abigail for a sip and her response was well, you should have asked papa earlier for one.

Olivia in her rare forms. Insisted on wearing two pairs of Abigail's panties over her diaper, and making herself a complete mess at the park.

Olivia enjoying her donut, and the whole gang. We had a great weekend with the extended Schroeder family. Also really enjoyed meeting the Wilson clan.