Overall 2011 was a great year. As a family we did a lot of fun things and experienced new places together. It also had it's bad times namely the passing of Jamie's mom. But through the good and the bad our family bond has strengthened.
The best of 2011
10. Potty training Caleb - It is SOOO nice to only change one diaper.
9. Lucas' first and Caleb's third birthdays.
8. Lucas learning to walk, run, jump, and now talk.
7. Amusement park trips - Disneyland, Great America, LEGOLAND.
6. Finished Master bedroom renovation.
5. The garage purge and makeover so we can park BOTH cars in it.
4. Long weekends in San Luis Obispo and Palm Springs.
3. Holiday season - Caleb believing in Santa and his excitement of lighting the menorah and playing the dreidel game.
2. Watching Caleb kiss and hug Lucas every night before going to bed. Watching Lucas copy everything Caleb says and does.
1. Family vacation to Hawaii
I am looking forward to 2012!
Saturday, December 31, 2011
Friday, December 30, 2011
San Diego
On our last full day in San Diego we went to Balboa Park. Balboa Park is basically a huge museum filled area and also is where the San Diego Zoo is located. In the morning we went to Reuben H. Fleet Science Center and the kids loved the Kid City area. After that we went to the San Diego Railroad Museum because if there's a train anywhere close by Caleb wants to go. And of course we had to go ride on the Balboa Park Miniature Railroad train. We then hit up the San Diego Zoo. It was A LOT to do in one day and we were all wiped out by the end of it. But we somehow found the energy to go to the Carlsbad Outlets on our way back to the hotel. Jamie had a brilliant idea of getting takeout from PF Chang's. I think we were all asleep by 9pm that night.The next day we went to Seaport Village before heading to the airport. Since we were limited on time we hopped in a pedicab and got a quick tour of the port and all the boats and ships. It was an activity filled fun family adventure in San Diego and we're sure to go back again.
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| Hippo out of water |
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| Seaport Village |
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| Lucas enjoying the carousel. He kept pushing my hand away and would not let me hold onto him. |
Thursday, December 29, 2011
LEGOLAND
Jamie's cousin Mark has 4 kids including twin 3 year old boys whom we have never met. When we saw Mark at Thanksgiving he told us he was going to take his kids to LEGOLAND and said we should go too. Jamie and I thought it would be fun to join him.
We traveled to San Diego on Monday morning and was in the park by 3:30pm. The park closed at 7pm and we wanted to check things out and meet up with Mark and his kids who had been there since the park opened. We were amazed by all the Lego figurines.
We met up with Mark and the kids in Fun Town. The kids were in line to go play in the fake snow. I thought this was kind of funny since they live in New York where they have real snow that they can play in any time they want. Yet they still wanted to wait in line and play in the snow. After they were done playing in FAKE snow, it was getting dark but we managed to go through an attraction together. At the end of it, Mark bought all the kids wands that lit up. We went to the mini Lego area so we can view all the cities made out of Legos. It was impressive. We then hung out there to get a view of the fireworks. By that time it was nearing 7pm and Mark's kids were T.I.R.E.D. understandably so since they were still on east coast time.
The next day we got to the park at 10am. The day before we saw this ride called the Royal Joust. It's a horse that goes around on a track. It looked totally cute and we were asking Caleb if he wanted to try it. Of course he said no. When we go to the park in the morning no one was in line and we convinced Caleb to go. Jamie took the opportunity to go on a roller coaster since there were no lines and so I was the one to walk Caleb to the ride. We got up to the front and the ride attendant asked Caleb "How old are you?" He proudly respnded with 3 and even held up 3 fingers. The attendant said, "I'm sorry you have to be 4." I was so disappointed. It took a good amount of convincing on our part to get Caleb to agree to go on a ride by himself and then to be turned away was tough. While we waited for Jamie to exit his roller coaster Caleb was now saying "I want to go I want to go" and kept pointing to the ride. I was telling him "Sorry I didn't know that you had to be 4. Next year when you're 4 you can go on it." Later when Jamie got out of his roller coaster I told him what happened. He said, "Why didn't you say he was four?" I told him that the attendant asked Caleb not me and plus I didn't know that there was an age minimum.
After that ride debacle, we found Mark and his kids and continued to go on as many rides as we could. There were 3 adults and 6 kids. For each ride we had to determine 1) who could go and 2) who wanted to. I had to sit out on a lot of rides because Lucas couldn't go and there were times when one adult had to go on multiple times because the ride required one adult per kid. We were lucky because Mark got a special disability pass that allowed us to go through the exit of each ride and basically cut in line. If it had not been for that pass, we wouldn't have gone on as many rides as we did.
At lunch time, Jamie and Mark went to get the food while I watched my boys and Mark's two older kids in a playground area. Can I just say it is nerve wracking trying to keep an eye on a 20 month old, 3 year old, 6 year old, and almost 8 year old at an amusement park? Having to do that for maybe 15 -20 minutes solidified my stance on no more kids.
One ride that Lucas was able to go on was this plane ride that went around in circles. At each turn the ride would whip around. I rode with Caleb in front of Jamie and Lucas. When I looked back, Lucas was grinning from ear to ear at each turn.
We all got to enjoy one ride together. It was boat ride where we could see landmarks from around the world using Legos.
LEGOLAND was a lot of fun and even funner going with Mark and his kids. We would definitely go back again since we both felt like we didn't go through the whole park. We also would go back when Lucas is old and tall enough to go on the rides. We think he won't be hesitant at all to go onto a roller coaster. I thnk it might even be fun to go New Year's Eve since they have a kid's NYE countdown party where the LEGO brick drops at 6pm!
We traveled to San Diego on Monday morning and was in the park by 3:30pm. The park closed at 7pm and we wanted to check things out and meet up with Mark and his kids who had been there since the park opened. We were amazed by all the Lego figurines.
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| Guy pushing his donkey |
We met up with Mark and the kids in Fun Town. The kids were in line to go play in the fake snow. I thought this was kind of funny since they live in New York where they have real snow that they can play in any time they want. Yet they still wanted to wait in line and play in the snow. After they were done playing in FAKE snow, it was getting dark but we managed to go through an attraction together. At the end of it, Mark bought all the kids wands that lit up. We went to the mini Lego area so we can view all the cities made out of Legos. It was impressive. We then hung out there to get a view of the fireworks. By that time it was nearing 7pm and Mark's kids were T.I.R.E.D. understandably so since they were still on east coast time.
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| The park was still decorated for the holidays. Caleb and J - Mark's oldest kid and only girl |
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| Star Wars themed display |
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| S - first one to fall asleep |
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| New York |
The next day we got to the park at 10am. The day before we saw this ride called the Royal Joust. It's a horse that goes around on a track. It looked totally cute and we were asking Caleb if he wanted to try it. Of course he said no. When we go to the park in the morning no one was in line and we convinced Caleb to go. Jamie took the opportunity to go on a roller coaster since there were no lines and so I was the one to walk Caleb to the ride. We got up to the front and the ride attendant asked Caleb "How old are you?" He proudly respnded with 3 and even held up 3 fingers. The attendant said, "I'm sorry you have to be 4." I was so disappointed. It took a good amount of convincing on our part to get Caleb to agree to go on a ride by himself and then to be turned away was tough. While we waited for Jamie to exit his roller coaster Caleb was now saying "I want to go I want to go" and kept pointing to the ride. I was telling him "Sorry I didn't know that you had to be 4. Next year when you're 4 you can go on it." Later when Jamie got out of his roller coaster I told him what happened. He said, "Why didn't you say he was four?" I told him that the attendant asked Caleb not me and plus I didn't know that there was an age minimum.
After that ride debacle, we found Mark and his kids and continued to go on as many rides as we could. There were 3 adults and 6 kids. For each ride we had to determine 1) who could go and 2) who wanted to. I had to sit out on a lot of rides because Lucas couldn't go and there were times when one adult had to go on multiple times because the ride required one adult per kid. We were lucky because Mark got a special disability pass that allowed us to go through the exit of each ride and basically cut in line. If it had not been for that pass, we wouldn't have gone on as many rides as we did.
At lunch time, Jamie and Mark went to get the food while I watched my boys and Mark's two older kids in a playground area. Can I just say it is nerve wracking trying to keep an eye on a 20 month old, 3 year old, 6 year old, and almost 8 year old at an amusement park? Having to do that for maybe 15 -20 minutes solidified my stance on no more kids.
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| J & J on the plane ride that Lucas LOVED |
One ride that Lucas was able to go on was this plane ride that went around in circles. At each turn the ride would whip around. I rode with Caleb in front of Jamie and Lucas. When I looked back, Lucas was grinning from ear to ear at each turn.
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| Water play area |
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| Sky Cruiser. Mark is riding with his twin boys while I am with Caleb and J |
We all got to enjoy one ride together. It was boat ride where we could see landmarks from around the world using Legos.
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| Mark and his kids |
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| Sydney Opera House |
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| Mt Rushmore |
LEGOLAND was a lot of fun and even funner going with Mark and his kids. We would definitely go back again since we both felt like we didn't go through the whole park. We also would go back when Lucas is old and tall enough to go on the rides. We think he won't be hesitant at all to go onto a roller coaster. I thnk it might even be fun to go New Year's Eve since they have a kid's NYE countdown party where the LEGO brick drops at 6pm!
Sunday, December 25, 2011
Christmas 2011 recap
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| New family pajamas |
This holiday season we thought it was a good idea to have Caleb fill a box of unused toys to donate. He made a great effort and filled it and kept on wanting to add stuff. He did make a point of saying he did NOT want to donate any of his trains. He came with me to Goodwill to drop them off and seemed to be proud of himself. At one point he asked why is he donating toys. I told him that he had plenty of toys and should share with kids who don't have as much. I said the same thing when we went to the grocery to buy some canned food for his preschool's Second Harvest food drive. When we went to buy the canned food, he insisted on getting SPAM because it had a picture of a hamburger on it.
Christmas this year was fun, relaxing, and filled with presents. On Christmas Eve we went to church and came home to have dinner and change into our new family pajamas. Caleb was allowed to open one present. He got a doctor kit. He immediately asked me to be his first patient.
Caleb was into the whole idea of Santa. He left cookies and milk for him. He even said he would blow on the cookies to cool them down for Santa. He was very generous and left him 3 chocolate chip cookies and milk. On Christmas morning Jamie suggested he go check to see if Santa ate his cookies. He ran straight to where he left the plate and didn't even notice the play kitchen. He was excited that Santa ate all the cookies and drank the milk.
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| Not exactly aware of Christmas and presents |
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| Finished kitchen in the background |
When Caleb finally noticed the kitchen he immediately went to check it out. He said he needed some food and luckily a couple presents later he opened up some play food. Lucas doesn't quite get the idea of Christmas and opening presents. He did like his presents. He especially wanted me to put on a long sleeved T-shirt that had bacon and eggs on it. Strange child.
After we opened presents at home, we headed to my parent's house for lunch. My sisters were also going to be there. We had lots of food, opened more presents, and indulged in a tradition of making s'mores. I thought Lucas would be totally into it but he didn't like the stickiness of the marshmallow. Instead he ate a piece of chocolate and a graham cracker separately.
It was a very nice holiday season and I know both Jamie and I are looking forward to it next year.
Wednesday, December 21, 2011
Hanukkah 2011
It's the second night of Hanukkah. We lit the candles, Jamie sang songs, and the boys opened their presents. I couldn't find a single dreidel in our house and I looked everywhere. The toy store and the bookstore in downtown Los Altos didn't have any either. But we don't need to play with the dreidel to enjoy some gelt.
Happy Hanukkah!
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| Our menorah |
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| Jamie lighting the candles |
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| Lucas a bit mesmerized by the candles |
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| Tunnel for Lucas and Magna Tiles for Caleb |
Tuesday, December 20, 2011
Santa Cruz Holiday Lights Train
This year we decided to go on the Santa Cruz Holiday Lights Train. This one departed from the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk. We sat in one of the open cars and thought we were prepared with coats and hats for the boys. We had a really good time. There was a nicely decorated and lit train, caroling, free hot cider, and Santa and Mrs. Claus. At one point kids were invited to sing. The conductor asked a little girl, "Where are you from?" And she responded with her name and full home address. Haha! (it sort of reminded me that we need to start teaching Caleb about Stranger Danger)
Last year when we went on a holiday train ride we left Lucas at home since he was only about 8 months. This year we brought him but he didn't take a very long afternoon nap(due to noisy contractors) and so he was very grumpy. We had to hold him back from leaning over the side of the train and walking across the little platform connecting the train cars. He did enjoy the little candy cane from Santa and the hot cider. We liked this train better than last year because it was more scenic(in our opinion) to go through Santa Cruz and see houses with christmas lights. The train ride through the canyon was pretty dark and not much to see out the window.
On the way home, we asked Caleb what his favorite parts of the train ride were. He responded first with "the candy cane" and then said the tunnel. Lucas surprisingly didn't fall asleep on the way home probably because he was on a sugar high from the candy cane. Poor baby.
It was a fun family night and I'm pretty sure we will try to make it a holiday tradition. We'll be better prepared next time with gloves, hats, scarves and more snacks.
Last year when we went on a holiday train ride we left Lucas at home since he was only about 8 months. This year we brought him but he didn't take a very long afternoon nap(due to noisy contractors) and so he was very grumpy. We had to hold him back from leaning over the side of the train and walking across the little platform connecting the train cars. He did enjoy the little candy cane from Santa and the hot cider. We liked this train better than last year because it was more scenic(in our opinion) to go through Santa Cruz and see houses with christmas lights. The train ride through the canyon was pretty dark and not much to see out the window.
On the way home, we asked Caleb what his favorite parts of the train ride were. He responded first with "the candy cane" and then said the tunnel. Lucas surprisingly didn't fall asleep on the way home probably because he was on a sugar high from the candy cane. Poor baby.
It was a fun family night and I'm pretty sure we will try to make it a holiday tradition. We'll be better prepared next time with gloves, hats, scarves and more snacks.
Thursday, December 15, 2011
Caleb and Santa
Yesterday during Caleb's Parent Observation class there was a special visitor. All the kids got a chance to sit next to Santa and he asked them what they would like for Christmas. He was a funny Santa and made the parents laugh with his responses to the kids. Caleb didn't want to go alone so I had to go with him. Luckily another mom was able to video it on my flip camera. When asked, Caleb responded "kitchen with a toaster and an oven."
Monday, December 12, 2011
Meet Mac
This is Mac our Elf on the Shelf. We read Caleb the story last week and it seemed like he understood the story and the rules. The first night he sat on Caleb's headboard. The second night he sat on the foyer table. The third night he sat on another side table. I was away for the weekend and Jamie forgot to move Mac but Caleb didn't seem bothered by it. I think he's a little scared by Mac. When he moved from the headboard to the foyer table Caleb asked how did he get there. I just reminded him what the story said. I thought the magic of the Elf on the Shelf was working because the first day I said to Caleb. Mac is watching and going to tell Santa if you slept in your bed all night or if you come to my bed. He slept in his bed all night. Hooray!
And then...
I was away for two nights so Caleb slept in the bed with Jamie. Last night at bedtime I found Caleb in our bed with Jamie. I told him it's time to go to HIS bed and sleep. He said, "no". I busted out with "Mac is going to tell Santa...." Caleb responded, "So what?"
Oh dear lord! It took me a second to respond. I'm glad Jamie didn't laugh even though I could see that he wanted to. I basically ignored the "so what" and said it's bedtime and you need to sleep in your bed. Luckily I didn't get too much of a fight after that.
Sunday, December 11, 2011
Annual "Christmas" Shopping Getaway
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| The picture doesn't even show all of our shopping bags :) |
Back in August, we had a summer BBQ and we sat down to talk about the weekend. I threw out the idea of going away for two nights and quickly got an "I'm in" from everyone. Before the BBQ was over, hotel reservations were made and husbands informed.
It was a FANTASTIC weekend. We met up on Friday evening. We started to drive up to the city but hit some traffic so we pulled over in San Mateo to have dinner and then headed up to the city. We checked in, dropped our bags off in the hotel room and went down to the hotel bar to have a nightcap. The InterContinental had an extensive Grappa list and so my friend Winnie was curious and asked for a taste. She regretted that decision. It smelled awful and I couldn't imagine myself drinking it. After our nightcap we called it a night.
One of the best parts of going away...sleeping IN. I woke up on Saturday morning at 8:00am. EIGHT AM! I was shocked and DELIGHTED and best of all felt well rested. On top of waking up at 8:00 am I got to leisurely get ready for the day without a kid screaming "Mommy, Up PLEASE". We found a restaurant close by for breakfast and then hit the stores. We went to Bloomingdale's, Banana Republic, Loehmann's, Lululemon Athletica, Nike, Zara, Nordstorm, Macy's, Sephora, and lots of stores in the SF Shopping Centre. My friend Leslie and I wanted to change prior to dinner so we went back to the room a little early to indulge in a little happy hour in our room. (Over the years we've learned to bring our own snacks and drinks for our hotel room). Dinner at Annabelle's was yummy. We shared a bottle of wine, an appetizer, 3 entree dishes, and dessert. We stayed up late talking and slept in only until about 7:30am. While getting ready we had mimosas and consolidated our shopping bags. Since the weekend has turned into a chance to shop for ourselves we always joke about who is the big "winner". This year without even having to look at our receipts the big winner was Joan. She did a great job at stimulating the economy.
I called Jamie on the way home and asked if he wanted me to bring home lunch. He said, "No. Just come home. I don't know how the house got so messy." Ha! I know exactly why it looked like a tornado came through it. Before I left I joked with Jamie that the house was going to turn into Neverland. It did. I have to give him a solid C+ due to 1) lack of cleaning up and 2) a minor diaper rash. But the boys were happy and definitely fed. Jamie went to take a nap and said to me "It's tiring take care of the boys alone."
Friday, December 9, 2011
Santa 2011
Today we headed to Valley Fair mall to take a picture with Santa. I was a tiny bit worried that Lucas wouldn't want to sit on Santa's lap and more worried that Caleb wouldn't. The boys did great. This is their first picture together with Santa.
After the photo was taken Santa asked me quietly if they were allowed to have candy canes. I said yes. He then showed them the basket of small candy canes and told Caleb he could take one for him and one for his brother. He then asked Caleb what he wanted for Christmas. He looked at us and we nodded and said go ahead tell Santa. He then said "kitchen with some food".
After the photo was taken Santa asked me quietly if they were allowed to have candy canes. I said yes. He then showed them the basket of small candy canes and told Caleb he could take one for him and one for his brother. He then asked Caleb what he wanted for Christmas. He looked at us and we nodded and said go ahead tell Santa. He then said "kitchen with some food".
Monday, December 5, 2011
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