'Tis the Season

Christmas!  Love December and almost everything about it.  I love that there is a constant slew of parties and no shortage of things to do.  It's always a little chaotic to get gifts ordered and shipped, but the chaos is exciting.

I hosted the annual book club Christmas party.  We've been going strong every month since 2007, although only 4 of the faces below are part of the 2007 crew.  We typically range from 10-12 participants a month.  I love that this club forces me to read things I'd never pick up otherwise.  We did a lot of nonfiction this year, which was a nice change. 

No shortage of food!

We attended the Lights on Rice parade as always, and learned the secret to getting out fast--park at the beginning of the route.  It also means you go home with a ton of treats and glow sticks.

Next up was Kate's ballet recital.  Just like last year, she was so excited that morning and couldn't stop prancing around.

 The stage was (overly) packed this year, but she still had a few moments in the spotlight.

She had a hard time smiling on stage.  We think it's because the teacher asks us to put lip gloss on before the performance and she has no idea what to do with her lips after that.

 Miss Hilary, her teacher, and her class.  They joined with Miss Jennifer and her much larger class for the recital.  We love Hilary, who also happens to be my surfing/paddle buddy.

Kate's co-op friend, Penelope:

The event tuckered her out.

After a long day at dance and then running errands in town, it was nice to realize that a quick trip to the beach was so easy.  The kids ran their hearts out and dug, dug, dug in the sand.

I debated over where to put the stockings for a week and finally realized off the stairs was an obvious solution.  Brady's cousin, Candy, hand crafted these for us.

The kids keep changing the Nativity from it's traditional layout to all the characters in a circle.  We think it's pretty cute, and probably a lot more realistic.

I spent a night at the church making this centerpiece.  It's more traditional than my tastes, but it's also nice to have something fresh in our house.

Our elf has been a superstar this year compared to previous years.  Brady and I are keeping score on which spots the kids like the most.  Sky diving off the stairs, taking a marshmallow bubble bath, and brushing Rapunzel's hair have been the top hits so far.

Kate said to me the other day, "Mom, wouldn't it be funny if baby Owen came out a girl?"  Keep hoping, little darling.  No, I don't think it would be funny now that his room and clothes are all ready!

In addition to walking her baby sister around the neighborhood, Kate's also rediscovered sidewalk chalk.  This is me with Kate.

A couple months ago, we bought this Barbie Dream house from our friends at a garage sale.  The minute it was sitting in my house (covered in blankets in my closet), I had some serious regrets.  I hate Barbies, and I really don't love the pink and purple everything pictured below that would share a room with Owen.  We decided to get rid of it.  Then, my friend Marisa convinced me that spray paint could solve all my woes and that Kate would love having a doll house.  I'm anti-DIY, but this was sort of a DIMarisa and that helped a lot.  She picked a morning Kate was at preschool, and this baby was transformed.

This is the part I did myself: redoing the furniture, adding wallpaper, making sheets and rugs, etc.  I love this thing so much and I can't wait for Kate to see it.  I wish decorating my own house was as easy as decorating this house, but then again, this house looks an awful lot like my house...minus the gray toilet.  We're adding a string of lights for Christmas morning.

We had several evenings running around the greenbelt.  Zac is intent on beating his times and begs to go there regularly.  One night finished off with the Gingerbread house.  Costco gets better and better at making these things idiot proof.

 I had some hard contractions in week 36, so we got pictures of my belly during week 37 just in case.  I don't love being the center of pictures, but I'm sure I will treasure these.  I will also add that being pregnant over the holidays is the best thing ever.  There's so much to do that it's impossible to think about how uncomfortable this is all getting.  2 weeks to go!

I've been paddle boarding a bunch of times during this pregnancy, but this is the first evidence.  Paddle boarding is like hiking on the water.  We see tons of turtles, hope for glimpses of whales, and practically snorkel on top of our boards.  I'm super excited that more of my girlfriends are suddenly interested in surfing and other water sports.  Can't wait to really surf in 8 weeks.

 This pic makes us look a little helpless.  Every one of us can tote our own board, but the truck we were loading into is very tall.

 Another evening, another day at the beach.  After some crazy neighbor run-ins the past couple weeks, we take our energy to the beach as much as possible.  I'm looking forward to when those crazies go back to California after Christmas and we don't have to whisper when playing outside.

We've seen a few whales, enjoyed the sunshine, and even welcomed back the gusty trades that make swimming a little ch-ch-chilly.  My data can't survive the constant Christmas music the kids want in the car, and they somehow know the words to every Christmas song.  Zachary gets on the piano every night to play a Christmas song while we sing and it reminds me of myself 25 years ago playing for my family.  We've squeezed in play dates, anticipating that they will have to take a break for a few weeks with Owen.  Zac is in baseball full swing (harharhar) with practices three days a week.  He seemed like a huge body on the soccer field--mostly because he was everywhere--but looks so small compared to the boys on this team.  It's fun watching him work on another skill.

We're in the single digit countdown to Christmas.  The kids almost cried at the dinner table tonight because they want to play in the snow.  Ho-ho-larious.