Our California Christmas

Last Saturday we went over to my Aunt Mel's to decorate Christmas cookies with cousins Colton and Addison.  There was a lot of licking going on.  Here's a video.

Christmas Cookies

Sprinkle Face

 On Monday night Meema and Grandad came over to Chico and we drove around looking at Christmas lights.  Jessica loves to look at Christmas lights.  We went back to the house with the Santa Express train and the house with the musical lights.  People really go all out for Christmas in Chico.  It was fun but, sadly, we weren't able to see all the lights in one night (it would've taken at least 3 nights).

Musical Lights

Santa Express Round 2

 On Christmas Eve morning the girls and I played at the apartment until it was time to drive down to Grandpa's for our Christmas dinner.  The girls finally fell asleep on the last leg of our journey so they were asleep when we got there.

Tiny Dancers

Tiny Dancers 2

Arriving at Grandpa's

Opening Presents at Grandpa's

Opening Presents at Grandpa's 2

Opening Presents at Grandpa's 3

Dancing Pianists

 Dancing Pianists 2

Jessica's favorite present this year was the ant farm from Aunt Lindsay.  Ant farms have come a long way since I was a kid and it was very smart of Lindsay to send away for the ants ahead of time so Jess wouldn't have to wait.

Ant Farm

 We drove back to Chico that night and on Christmas morning we woke up and drove straight to Meema and Grandad's to open more presents.  Jessica complained that the sun was in her eyes so Aunt Lindsay loaned her some sun glasses.

Opening Presents at Meema's

Opening Presents at Meema's 2

Opening Presents at Meema's 3

Play Make Up

New Scooters

Tarantula

Quick Catch Up

We've been having some fun adventures lately and I know how much daddy likes to see videos of his little girls.  So, I try to capture as much as I can for him.  There are 25 videos on this post so I hope you have a comfortable chair and a snack.

Jessica went back to the dentist for her six month check up.  She has the coolest dentist ever.  Check out this bubble wall.  

Bubble Wall

There is also a big play room in the the waiting area with lots of toys.  My favorite room at her Dentist's is the dark room with couches and the ceiling has colorful twinkling lights. 

 Here is Jessica getting her teeth cleaned.

Teeth Cleaning

She was obsessed with brushing for a few days after the dentist visit (aren't we all).  But, seriously, it was like three times a day and I had to start setting time limits on it.

 Meema showed us her office and we met some of her coworkers.  Now the girls know where she is when I tell them she is working.  Yes, they are wearing their Halloween costumes, it was really cold that day so it worked out well.

Allison LOVES to sing lately.  It doesn't matter where she's at, she will belt it out.  She has a variety of songs but my favorite is her "Barbie Song".  It kinda goes "Waaaaaaa iiiinaaaaa youuuuu!" and she throws her arms out and head back for the performance of it.  Here's a video.

Barbie Song

 We've been getting lots of quality time with Aunt Lindsay.

Rocket Ships

Spider Web

Little Super Heroes

Mall Play

We drove down to Sacramento two weekends in a row to visit with Grandpa.  The first weekend we just needed to get out of the house and do something fun.  There had been  some really cold weather so we didn't get out of the house much.  Grandpa took us to Chuck E Cheese and the girls were so exhausted that they fell asleep on the way back to his house.

Chuck E Cheese Ice Cream

Jurassic Park Game

The next weekend Grandpa invited us to the Sacramento Zoo's Holiday Celebration.  They give the animals presents and feasts.  It was pretty cute watching the tigers and anteaters play with their boxes.

Before we left for the zoo the girls played in Grandpa's play room.  Allison was all about the princess bed.

Princess Bed

Grandpa's Workout

Somehow we managed to get Allison out of the princess bed so we could meet Grandma Kari and cousins Audrianna, Angelo and Isaac at the zoo.

Zoo Frog

Allison Dancing at the Zoo.

All the Grandkids

Just Running

I was afraid of the train at the zoo, after the last experience, but I gave it another shot.  The girls are sitting on the floor of the train car in this picture.

The cousins had a fun time playing together.

Playing on the Snake Slide

After the zoo the Jim and Kari took their grand kids out for ice cream at Gunther's.  Watch the chaos as we wait for the ice cream... and then the still silence once we get it, too funny.

Gunther's Waiting

Gunther's Ice Cream

Gunther's Ice cream 2

Jessica pretended she was a dancing water drop for a couple days.

Dancing Waters

The girls traded capes for an afternoon.

Our apartments had a Christmas party complete with a horse drawn carriage ride.  It was too dark to get a picture or video on the carriage ride but I did manage to get some more footage of another awkward Santa encounter with Jessica.

Another Awkward Santa


Allison is still scared of Santa, that's why I'm in the picture.  But, at Meema's house the other day, Allison put the Santa hat on and started asking everyone, "What do you want for Christmas?"  It was really cute.

Grandad's got big ambitions to make a tree fort in this old oak tree on his property.  

Grandad's Future Treehouse

It's funny how Porter and Jessica are both digging in the garden in this video.
Garden Diggers

Jessica fed Porter so many marshmallows that he started burying them in the garden for later!
Roasting Marshmallows

Last Thursday night we took Grandad on a Christmas Lights viewing adventure.  Look at this cool house we found, complete with a train ride!
Santa Express

Preschool Christmas Program

On Thursday night we got to watch our little girls perform with their classmates in their school Christmas program.  Meema, Grandad and Aunt Lindsay got to go and watch the cuteness.  Knowing that daddy, Grandpa, Lady and Paw Paw were missing this, I knew what I had to do.  I became the annoying parent that pushed her way to the front to get a good camera angle.  It was so worth it!

Jessica loved being the center of attention once she got the microphone.  Here are a couple videos.

My Two Front Teeth

My Two Front Teeth 2

Allison wouldn't go to the stage without Meema... and then Jessica decided Allison needed her help too.

Here are a couple videos of Allison not singing.

Jingle Bells

Jingle Bells 2

Jessica has always been pretty good about sitting on Santa's lap.

In fact, getting her to get off Santa's lap seemed to be a more difficult task.

Santa Sitter

As for Allison, she wants no part of Santa.  Here is the look she gave when we tried to coax her to meet Santa.

 And here is a video of us asking her to sit on Santa's lap.  There should be a bubble above Alli's head that reads, "No way, not for any amount of presents!"

 Santa Scowler

New Kitchen

The girls got to open their Christmas presents from Lady and Paw Paw early.  We skyped with Lady and Paw Paw last night.   Jessica didn't know that she had been climbing and sitting on the big present for over a week.  I hid it behind some toy bins and under a sheet per Joe's suggestion.  In this picture Jessica set up her whole cat family for a portrait on top of it.  She is Lambert's mommy lion and the family portrait was all her idea.

Discovering the Present

After the girls went to bed last night I put the kitchen together so they could play with it first thing in the morning.

First Thing in the Morning

Allison seems to have claimed the kitchen for herself and Jessica is ruler of the big box that it came in.  It is a silent treaty they've made.

Little Chef

 When Allison discovered the phone she started making calls.  First to Paw paw...

Calling Paw Paw

Then to Lady.

Calling Lady

Meeting Maddison

Last weekend my BFF brought her 6 week old baby over to our house for the weekend.  It was our first time meeting Maddison.  Jessica and Allison were very curious about Maddy but I think they had more fun with Hannah.  There sure was a lot of giggling going on.

Allison holding Maddison

Jessica holding Maddison

Inspecting the Baby

 At one point Jessica and Hannah took my iPhone and snapped pictures of each other.

 Jessica is a big girl like Hannah now.

Allison's newest thing is painting people's toenails with dry erase markers.  She painted me, Steph, Jess, Meema and Grandad.  Grandad got red.  Here is a video of her painting Steph's.

Nail Painter

 I took the girls to the park while Steph tried to sneak in a shower during Maddison's morning nap.  (I sure don't miss that.)

 People probably thought Hannah was mine too.  (It would be hard to find matching outfits for all three of them, hee hee.)

 We also had Krispy Kremes.

 And, I introduced Hannah to the fun and samples that are Costco.

Hannah pushed the stroller as we walked around the corner to the Mall.

Here is a video of us all hanging out at the playground at our apartment.

Playing Outside

 For me, it was love at first sight with Maddison, just like it was with Hannah.

 Here is a cute picture and video of Maddison trying to smile for her mommy.  That tongue is full of personality.

Maddison trying to smile

I thought Steph's visit might give me baby fever. But, the memories of sleepless nights and not being able to eat/shower are still pretty fresh in my mind.  Jessica and Allison were so worth it though!

The Californina Thanksgiving

We celebrated Thanksgiving with my dad this year. The turkey was perfect and the leftovers were delicious too.  Some of my most vivid memories of Thanksgiving dinner are at my Grandma Pat's house.  She always brought out the fancy plates and silverware.  I also remember my dad helping her with all the dishes when dinner was done.  I missed you this year Grandma, but I know you were there with us in dad's new house.  I also know that my little girls were busy making their own memories of Thanksgiving at Grandpa's... or at least the playroom, which is where we were most of the time.

 Here are a couple videos.

play room

playing with trolls

 We got some pics of me and my sis as we were leaving.

 It was a beautiful day.

 The girls were exhausted.

Spidey

My sister has had a tarantula since she was seven.  She loves them like most people love puppies and kittens.  I remember trying to comfort her one while she sobbed on the sidewalk in front of our home.  Our mom thought another tarantula had gotten inside the cage and killed Lindsay's tarantula when her very first tarantula shed it's skin for the first time.  Mom thought it would be a good idea to try to poison the new "killer" tarantula with some Raid but Lindsay told her not to.  After all, in Lindsay's mind, it was better to have one killer tarantula than none at all.  My mom eventually called the pet store and found out about the skin shedding.  That was the moment, though, when I truly understood how much she loved her spider.  Her latest tarantula is named Spidey and she brought him over for a visit with Jessica.  (Allison feels the same way about spiders as most of us do.)

Here are some videos of Jessica holding Spidey.

Spidey 1

Spidey 2

Spidey 3

Spidey 4

Here is another video of one of our latest adventures with Aunt Lindsay.  She showed us a cool new park.

Bamboo Forest

Allison Turns Two!

Allison got four separate birthday parties this year.  One in Georgia, one at preschool, one at home on her birthday and one big party at the Gymnastics on the Saturday after her birthday.  Here is a picture and a video of her preschool celebration.

Preschool Celebration

Jessica enjoyed blowing out Alli's candles and Alli enjoyed pretending she was afraid of them.  But, Jessica didn't think it was very much fun when Aunt Lindsay helped her blow her candles one night.  (We gave Jessica some candles for her cupcake because she said, "It's my turn to have a birthday".)

Aunt Lindsay Helping Jessica

Allison is torn between the desire for independence and the need to stay my little baby forever.  This is evidenced by her two favorite phrases:  "pick me up" and "I do it myself!", both are said with palpable passion.

 The birthday party started out with everyone playing with the kids but then, as you can see from some of my videos, the adults branched out and started playing like little kids themselves.  My dad was doing flips, my aunt Mel was practicing on the parallel bars and balance beam, and I couldn't help myself... the rings were calling me!  My shoulders were sore the next day.

Trampoline

more trampoline

more trampoline 2

Somersaults on the trampoline

Ring Swing

Playing on the Rings

spinning on the rings

Tarzan Jessica

Happy Birthday Song

Opening Presents

Grandpa Bouncing us

Alli Bouncing Grandpa

Grandpa Trying to Land a Flip

Hot Lava

 It's pretty funny that Allison's favorite toy from her birthday was the doll sized toilet that makes sounds and flushes. Thanks Grandpa Jim and Grandma Kari. (I fully expect her to try and use it herself when I start potty training.)
Favorite Toy

Favorite Toy 2


Here are a couple bonus videos.  Allison likes to help me clean.
Dust Buster

Lady sent the girls their very own super hero capes with their initials on them.  Last night, after her bath, Allison made me put her cape on and she threw her arms back shouting, "to the rescue!" as she ran down the hallway.  Thank you Lady.

Trampoline Superheros