disneyland

Our big group for the day...

Jeff's entire family was able to make it!

And Aimee joined the group after she danced in the parade.
Rode some rides...

Ewan was not a big fan of the rides on this particular day.
Sure makes for some cute pictures though. :)

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Cousins! With their matching Dumbos.
This was Violet's first trip to Disneyland!
She rode her first ride, and got her first pair of ears.
I'm a big fan of firsts, and was happy to be a part of my niece's big day. :)
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We caught both parades at both parks...
with Auntie Aimee as Dory!



And had fun watching the Small World Light Show.
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We tried to capture the beautiful snowy castle at every angle of the park.

The best part of the day...
Annual Passes!
Thank you to Jef'f's parents for the Christmas present that will keep on giving all year long.
Can't WAIT to go again! And again... and again... :)

magical

Ewan experienced Disneyland decked for Christmas yesterday.

So crowded, but so fun.

rudy the reindeer

Rudy came!

And Ewan loves him.
Thanks again Izzy and Heather!

christmas cards

The front of our Christmas card this year.

With a couple more of the ones below printed inside...

These are just a few of the fun ones that were captured that day.
Thanks to my sis, Liana, we have over 200 gorgeous pictures!

Would you believe Ewan already grew out of these jeans from last month!

He just had his 16 month appointment this morning, and he's grown 2 inches taller since August.

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Can't wait for Christmas... 12 more days! But who's counting. :)

vote!

Vote for my "sleepy santa" HERE!

One vote, per email, per day.

Aaaaaand, off with the hat. To reveal messy, pre-haircut hair. :)

Ewan's got some tough competition. I just love ALL the squishy, smiley santa babies!

But Ewan got a "10" from his mommy. :)

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Update: 12.21.09

The 2009 Santa Baby winner is Andrew!

Who is super duper cute, I might add. :)

Thanks for all your votes for Ewan. We'll try this fun contest again in 2010!

we wish you a merry christmas

Don't let this serious face fool you.

We had some serious fun yesterday...

Ewan is an ornament poker.

Mommy had to teach a valuable lesson of not yanking the ornaments off the tree.

He is, however, allowed to poke them with one finger. :)

This ritual also involves some serious dancing.

I love my son.

santa

I like orange.

And I like this.

Hehe. :)

the kitchen

Growing up, my dad was our hairdresser.

All of us got haircuts at home, in the kitchen.

Even our friends would come by for a trim. Emily! Darla!

I didn't visit my first hair salon until college.

But even now, I will still head to the kitchen for a new cut.

Or just cut my hair myself. It's not that hard. I've seen how dad does it. :)
So, as soon as my parents returned from San Francisco yesterday,

literally, as soon as they walked in the door with their suitcases...

Dad got one look at Ewan and agreed something needed to be done.

We set up shop in the kitchen to fix Ewan's hair.

As mentioned in the previous post, he got the worst haricut the day before!

Relief. It's so much better now. And I've learned my lesson...

Ewan is much better off heading to "the kitchen" when the shag needs a cut.

Thanks Papa G.

love december

I love the happy busyness this time of year,

and we are definitely not at a lack of doing things lately

just a lack of pictures of all the busyness.

I do, however, make use of my cell phone camera while out and about...

You know it's time for another baby when your "baby" pushes his own stroller now.

And as Becca pointed out recently...

BOY would it have been funny to plan out another Christmas Eve announcement!

Definitely not in the works, just to be clear. :)

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Divot is always such a good sport...


Ewan got the worst haircut known to man yesterday.
But good news... no tears this time.

And better news... he happens to have a nice hat collection to utilize. :)
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Had hot chocolate and movie nights with the sibs this weekend

while mom and dad are in San Francisco celebrating their 29th wedding anniversary.
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Got stuff to make sausage and kale soup during these rainy days...

And while Ewan is tucked in at night,
I have been cozied up on the couch finishing my book club book,
A Severe Mercy. Great read.

And my baby is officially 16 months old today.

Can't wait for Christmas... 18 more days! :)

our tree

Christmas tree shopping is a breeze.

One stop. First tree. Grab a stand.

Ready to haul it home.

Done.

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Now, getting the lights to cooperate... that's another story.

Warning: Lights not to be mentioned in Jeff's presence. :)