Merry Christmas Eve, Eve - Dec 23

Christmas is almost here!! As a kid I was pretty lucky. Christmas for me was an event that lasted for several days starting on Christmas eve. It was two days full of family, food, and most importantly (to a kid), PRESENTS!!! LOL. Chloe has been pretty good about leaving the wrapped presents alone under the tree this year. She did manage to grab one and proclaim "OPEN IT!!" right before she ripped the wrapping paper clean off in one motion. She's going to go nuts this year opening gifts. It's going to be a jam packed weekend and we can't wait!

This weeks post will contain a mixture of images..some of the photos that were part of a 2 part shoot in an attempt to put together a Christmas card and then some photos from this week of Chloe just being herself. =)

Have a Merry Christmas!

Brian, Heather, & Chloe

Santa's Little Helper - Dec 15

Yep. Last weekend we went to see old Santa Claus. Last year we went over to see the Santa at the Danville Livery because we heard you bring your own camera and take your own picture so of course I was very interested in that. It turned out though that the Santa there was the most authentic looking Santa I could have imagined. We went back this year and to our surprise, it was the same awesome Santa. We waited in line for what seemed like 45 minutes(at least) and Chloe was getting restless. The people in front of us had a 16 month old little girl that turned into a fire alarm as soon as she sat with Santa. Then it was finally our turn and Chloe..was so HAPPY to see Santa she ran right up to him and was doing her little embarrassed face as he started talking to her. She sat on his lap and smiled and waved to everybody in line like she was the queen of the world, lol. Santa asked her what she wanted for Christmas and when she said nothing he said "How about a doll?" and she says "OK!!" and Santa just laughed and laughed. 45 minutes in line for about 4 minutes with Santa but totally worth it. We will definitely return there next year and probably every year going forward. =)

With Christmas rapidly approaching we are working on all the final details and trying also to put together a birthday party for Chloe which is only a few more weeks away. CRAZY!! As usual we spent some time around the house this week and Chloe found a new thing she liked to "help" with. Trying to earn some extra credit points with Santa for a few more toys this year? Maybe.

Have a great weekend!

Brian

I Saw Chloe Kissing...Santa Claus - Dec 9

With Christmas rapidly approaching we have been getting Chloe good and excited about Santa. I hope when we can get down to go visit Santa she will be as enamored with him as she was with Mickey Mouse when we went to Disneyland. The irony is not lost on me here, folks. Hopefully this weekend we will get down to see him and of course I will report back here when we do. Having Chloe around makes Christmas time really fun but honestly the biggest challenge is trying to buy gifts for her. Seems strange right? What I mean is, it's really difficult not to just up and buy her EVERYTHING IN SIGHT! Plus, her birthday is like 2 weeks after Christmas so we have to take that into account. At almost 2 years old (23 months and one day for those counting) it's easy to look at things that are completely not age appropriate but now that she's on the cusp of being able to use all those "big kid" toys, I immediately want to buy them. At her age she is still more likely to play with the box over the actual toy inside. Still, with a ton of shopping still to do and a million other things half finished, I'm looking forward to Christmas this year. That's not something I probably would have said a few years ago while wandering aimlessly in Target on December 23rd looking for who knows what. =)

Have a great weekend!

Brian








Heather's Photo

Heather's Photo

The Half Decorated Tree - Dec 2

Last weekend we did what a lot of families do after Thanksgiving..pulled out all the boxes of Christmas decorations and put up our tree! Chloe is so funny because you can tell she remembers this from last year but she was so excited to have a tree inside the house, lol. She was excited to put the ornaments on the tree..but she is also equally excited to take them off(hence, the half decorated tree). We did what I'm sure a lot of parents with toddlers do and decorated the tree to just beyond where she could reach up and pull something breakable, or a little over half way. It does leave our tree looking a little funny..but at least the bottom portion of the tree has random ornaments that are ok for her to play with. Overall she has been pretty good about leaving decorations alone around the house so we'll see if everything makes it through this Christmas undamaged. =)
So some pics of that plus a few other random things from this week including a new thing that might get me in trouble going forward. You see, I discovered that the Safeway I go to has a hot wheels display..and I loves me some hot wheels. I might have started buying some for Chloe..and she seems to like playing with them...so we might have a problem. You heard it here first, folks!
Have a great weekend!
-B