Itsy Bitsy Spider

A Very Merry Christmas

Opening her first gift
Candy Cane smiles
Dollhouse with Nana

Daddy and baby Camryn

I had a horse like this when I was young. His name was Star and I rode him for hours every day. Grace now has a "star" of her own thanks to Papa.

Cami loves her Auntie Ashley

I hope you and your loved ones had a very Merry Christmas 2010! We went to church & my parent's house on Christmas Eve, spent Christmas morning at our house, and Christmas evening with Mike's family. The whole two-day celebration was so much fun but the best part was seeing Grace so excited about Santa coming, filling stockings, bringing presents, and leaving cookies and carrots for Santa and his reindeer. She was so full of wonder, joy & magic this year. All four of us were spoiled with such wonderful gifts and we were just so happy to spend good times with our families and eachother...to celebrate Jesus's birthday :)

The Nutcracker

Before the Nutcracker

Last weekened we saw the Nutracker Ballet at the Irvine Barclay Theatre with Nana, Grandma and Auntie Ash. Grace loved it so much & I was so impressed with the dancers and the amazing costumes. She is really into Clara and got this cute ornament at the ballet as a memory of our big night out. She also got some new ballet shoes and clothes this week (she starts a new dance class Jan 3rd) so it's been a ballet theme around our house.

Grace's Ornament

G made this ornament at school today for Mike and I. I LOVE it!

Mike was putting her to bed the other night and she was almost asleep when she popped-up and said "Daddy.......I really love Chick fil a!". How silly is she! Good thing we're having Chick fil a tonight for dinner :)

Christmas at GiGi's

We had a little Christmas lunch at GiGi's (great grandma's) house yesterday. It was the first time she met Camryn! GiGi gave the girls gifts so Grace opened them. She got a tutu outfit and Cami got a talking puppy. Nana helped pick out the girls' gifts since GiGi doesn't get out of the house much these days. It's amazing she can still live on her own with just a little help at 94. Grace also tried Lefsa for the first time, which is a Norweigan flatbread that is a "tradition" on my dad's side of our family during the holidays. Yum!

Now to Cami: She is 2.5 months old already. Time is flying and she is growing just as quickly. She smiles constantly and is beginning to coo and laugh. She just discovered her hands and is a sweet little girl. She only gets up once during the night which is sooooo nice for Mike and I. Poor thing has her first cold now too, courtesy of her sister, who came down with a nasty cold on Monday. I'm hoping they are both gone by Christmas at least.

5 miles!!!

Yes, I actually ran 5 miles on Sunday evening. I think the last time I ran 5 miles straight was almost 2 years ago...so I was very proud of myself.

Christmas Brunch

We went to our annual 'Christmas Children's Brunch' with Nana and Papa at Big Canyon on Sunday. It's great because there are lots of activites for the kids and a beautiful brunch for the adults :) They had a reindeer, face painting, the Grinch story, cookie decorating and pictures with Santa. I don't have a copy of our family picture with Santa, but I snapped one of the whole family minus me. The face painter painted pink earings on Grace's ears so she felt very fancy!

Christmas Playdate

On Saturday we had a Christmas playdate at Sophie and Ethan's house. The kids had a ball decorating cupcakes, doing Christmas crafts and playing. I had fun catching up with my friends while Cami slept pretty much the whole time we were there :)

Nativity Scene

This is my new favorite Christmas decoration. It's a hand-carved nativity scene my mom brought back for us from Israel. All the little pieces can be moved around. She also got one for herself and my brother. I love it....the true meaning of Christmas....and Grace loves it too.

We got our Christmas tree last night and Grace and I started decorating it early this morning. We're going to finish it up and put presents underneath it today after she gets home from school. She is SOOOOO excited about Christmas this year. It's so awesome to see as a parent and reminds me of my childhood Christmases, all the magic of the season. She even had her breakfast by the tree this morning :) Camryn just sat in her chair and looked at the lights and ornaments...she's so good. We have some fun Christmas actitivites planned over the next couple weeks, the Nutcraker, brunch at Big Canyon, the boat parade, etc.

Visiting Santa at South Coast Plaza Today

The North Pole in Laguna Niguel?

Daddy, Cami Cakes and Papa. It's Papa's birthday today too!

Rudolph and BlitzenMy big 2-month old, such a sweetie :)

Yumm, cookies

"I'm not so sure about you Santa". (But they parted friends, yeahhhh)

Best friends and the little bro

Yes. Grandma, Grandpa, Kristyn, Sophie, Ethan, Grandma Retta and Aunt Maggie joined us. We visited Santa, made crafts, decorated a cookie, watched a puppet show, saw reindeer, got our face painted, played games and drank hot cocoa....what else could a little girl ask for (besides a pink ball from Santa!)? It was a fun holiDAY! And tonight we get to celebrate Papa's birthday with a yummy Italian dinner.

Mission Accomplished!

I just finished my first Nike Challenge goal of running 30 miles in 3.5 weeks. I'm so excited to be back in the running game. Now how many more goals do I need to acccomplish to loose the rest of this baby belly (ha ha ha)? Maybe a couple more months :)

On a separate note: Tomorrow is a big day, Cami will be 2 months old, whoo hooo!!!