The 1st Annual Christmas Tree Hunt

Last year, we didn't have a home of our own, so we helped Baba and Dave hunt for the-tree-that-ate-the-living-room.  This year, there was no other way to celebrate our first Christmas in our new home, than by finding the-tree-that-fit-the-living-room! Thanks to the late Thanksgiving, we were able to drag both sets of grandparents with us up to Apple Hill to find "The Perfect Tree."

I'm sure Gma Cherie misses home around Thanksgiving, but I'm also pretty sure she was more than happy to be wearing  her flip flops while Christmas tree hunting! 

On a mission!

That's the one!

How many men does it take to carry a Christmas tree? (3 1/2 when it's this big!)

Bringing up the rear (that's Gpa Wayne and Arjen up ahead of Baba and Gus, helping Andrew and Gpa Dave carry our tree!)

Arjen found a tree more his size

For those who asked how we got the tree home...

Okay, so the boys needed a little help getting the tree up there

What's a trip to Apple Hill without a carmel apple?!?  This was Gus's first, since he was too young last year.

Getting a little help from Baba

Arjen, on the other hand, is an old pro with the caramel apple!

The Moment(s) of Truth:

Tada!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Okay, so SuperMom had to down-prioritize something this past month, and the blog was it.  So here goes a super fast, nowhere near worthy, recap of the last 3-4 weeks…so we can be caught up for Christmas!

Gma Cherie and Gpa Wayne made their annual trek out west for Thanksgiving, and this year got to spend a whole week with us!  It was great having them here, to see our new house, entertain the boys, and of course to share in giving thanks for this wonderful life we are blessed to have!

Time to outfit the PlayLoft with grown-up sized chairs!

"Dear Santa" with Gma Cherie (and Go Packers!)

Craft time with the Gma's

Yes, Thanksgiving dinner with the Keane-Miller clan requires pliers to open the wine

We are thankful for the newest Mr. & Mrs. Crossman this year! 

Mr. & Mrs. Crossman double-take!

More crafts, with Aunt Shannie (so glad to have elementary school teachers in the fam who can create awesome entertainment for the kiddos!)

 As is our annual tradition, we stayed the night at Camp Baba and Dave.  The weather for Thanksgiving weekend this year was so amazingly warm and wonderful!  So of course it called for some raking of leaves! (for the sole purpose of building leaf piles to jump in!)

Who says the kids are the ones who get to have all the fun??

Day #2...

Much less screaming/crying, a little longer time (2+ hrs!!), new location, new position, mostly same room destruction:

Big trip to the city!

I always say Christmas can start the day after thanksgiving. Andrew says it's Dec 1. This year, however, we made an exception. The boys have been learning about the BART train, Arjen is starting to understand the concept of different places having different names ("I miss Irvine", "are we in Pittsburg mama?", "is this Concord?"), and they both are well aware of all the Christmas paraphernalia out in all the stores already. So I decided it was time to take an urban adventure to the "big city" to see a Christmas tree lighting. Even if it is a week before thanksgiving!

Waiting and watching for "the BART train"

They were both super awesome commuters!!

Arjen was very excited to see Santa, but disappointed to discover he wasn't the one handing out candy canes...priorities of a 3 year old...

Only way I was able to get a shot of Gus at the tree lighting!

"Turning on" the tree lights!

Thought we'd try for a pic of the actual tree! (And if you're wondering, it's just a dummy switch, and it was a kid from make-a-wish who got the real honors, but shhh...I won't tell if you don't!!)

At the end of a late night for these boys, this was about as good of a photo op as we were gonna get!

One last stop to see the embarcadero center lights before heading home on the BART train!! Thanks to aunt shanny for coming to join us!!

Bye bye baby...

Despite valiant parental efforts (turning crib around to make climbing out harder), this little monkey was not deterred from climbing out of his crib. Day #1 of crib conversion to toddler bed: it may have taken an hour and a half, but he finally crashed! Figuratively speaking, of course.  Now hopefully bed time will go a little faster...

...and yes, his room was neat and tidy before nap time. What you see is how he spent those 90 minutes, not including the diapers and wipes that of course needed to be strewn about. And no, he had zero interest in actually sleeping in the bed. 

House update

We got going, fairly quickly, on getting the backyard turned into an actual yard that we could use.  The dirt/dust got old quick, and it'll be much nicer to have a useable yard rather than a mud pit once the rainy season starts!  So far, we now have concrete along the side yards, and now have a patio.  Next up, finishing the sprinkler system and laying the sod!!  Then it'll be time to build a deck down the hill...

Before

Halfway there!(Imagine grass where you see dirt)

And the piece de resistance:

Now that's livin! (Well, once we get the water in and heated!)

Playdates!!

Now that we're back home in NorCal, we're trying to take full advantage of being closer to friends and family.  That means playdates!!

Fun at the big playground in Golden Gate Park with Aunt Shanny and Aunt Casey

I was at least able to get him to take his shoes off…shoulda just gone for everything off!  At least I was a smart mom this day and packed a change of clothes.  He even got comments from other kids about how dirty he was after this adventure.

I guess when you're surrounded by construction every day at home, it makes perfect sense to bulldoze with your head.

Say cheese!

I was very glad Arjen didn't get more adventurous than the bottom level of this crazy contraption.

Catching waves

And then there are the sweet moments (may I highlight moments) that these two play side by side peacefully.

The turtle was more Gus's speed

You can't really see it well, but his pants are soaked, and totally covered in sand after playing in that huge puddle. 

Then there was our playdate with my friend Kelley, and her two kids, Ryan and Kaitlyn. It was so great to see them, especially since the last time we saw each other was at her baby shower for Kaitlyn (who's now 16 months old)!! What was even more fun was watching Arjen and uncle Brian play together. Yes, I said uncle Brian, because when you're 3 years old and you have an Uncle Brian and a Great Uncle Bryan, and it's hard enough to fully pronounce your R's, when mom says your friend's name is Ryan, you hear Brian, and you just roll with it.  I'll be the first to admit, when he first called out and said "I did it just like Uncle Brian do it!", I was very confused, because I couldn't remember when Arjen had been at a park, or anywhere, that Uncle Brian or Uncle Bryan might have been climbing on some structure.  And then I realized he was calling Ryan, Uncle Brian.  And then I had the best laugh I'd had in awhile.  So Arjen had a blast chasing Uncle Brian on their bikes, around the playground, and up the tallest play structures they could find.  And Gus had a blast toting his lunch box and juice cup all over the place, testing out all of the various perfect picnic spots.  And I had a great time catching up with an old friend.  All in all, an excellent morning.

Chasing down Uncle Brian

Our cutie pie friends

If the big boys can do it, why can't I??

And then, as if the confusion between Ryan/Brian wasn't enough, this morning, we had another playdate with my friend Anne-Marie, and her kids Kaitlyn and James.  When I told Arjen who was coming over, he said "Kaitlyn? And her brother? The one his name is like Uncle Bwyan?" Oh buddy, you entertain your momma.  Of course we were too busy having fun with our guests today, that no one managed to get any photos!  Just means we'll have to do it again, and soon!  

Thanks everyone for playing with us!