'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.

Races, Rain, Turkeys and Trees

A few days after our Polihale camping trip, we ventured there again with Nic and Heidi for Veterans Day.  Brady needed to work, so it was me and the kids with their family.  Our kids play together so well and it was non-stop running, sand and water.

Nic looks like he's planting one on me.

 Kate and Tate=Best Buds

Ty and Zac=Sand Monsters.  The best part of this picture is we came home after dark.  Zachary claimed that he had removed all the sand with his last dip in the ocean.  Yeah right, son.  That sand was still around a few showers later.

 Bumpity, bumpity, bump.

The next night I was all lined up to go to a Girl's Night Out at my favorite restaurant, 1849.  I had a yucky cold sore and a headache and considered bailing.  I decided I hadn't been out in so long, though, and decided to go.  I needed to leave just before 6pm, and when Brady came home at 5:15pm, he seemed really alarmed that I was cleaning windows and not ready to go yet.  I thought that was strange, but it all came together when I walked through the doors of 1849 and found all these sweet ladies waiting for me to celebrate baby Owen.

I was pretty vocal about not wanting a shower, but apparently that didn't matter.  I instantly cried because that's how I respond to anything not within the 3-7 emotional range on a 1-10 scale.  The chairs were draped with ribbons and newborn onesies and I received some generous and darling gifts for this lucky kiddo.  

The part that touched me the most was looking around the table and realizing that every single girl there had helped me with the IVF process in one way or another.  This baby took a village!  I feel so much gratitude to these friends!!

Saturday morning was the much anticipated Koloa Sugar Mill Race.  Zachary has wanted to race since missing a 1-mile fun run during a soccer game.  We told him about this race but had some trepidations about allowing him to participate.  First, it seems like a long distance for a 7-year-old who is used to sprinting.  Second, I was nervous about being a baby belly spectacle.  I was still running a few times a week at that point (I've since quit), and felt really good, but I wasn't interested in people thinking I was competing.  Zac proved how much he wanted to race by going on about 7 training runs, so we decided to sign up.  He ran well and ended up with 9:50/mile pace for a 30:34 finish!  My heart nearly burst when he saw the finish line and took off sprinting.  This ranks in the top 5 of my favorite mommy experiences with this kid.

The weather was bad, but Brady still turned in 7:28/miles for his half marathon.  Go, Daddy, go.

 Kate was in heaven playing with her little girlfriends.

Zachary's favorite thing is to entertain little kids.

 Zachary had a birthday party for his best friend, David, and Brady had to work all day, so Kate and I went on a Mommy/Daughter date to lunch.  She is suddenly very animated and talkative.  She also insisted on wearing the Koloa Sugar Mill race shirt with some leggings because she was "so excited" about her family running.  She said she wants to do the race next year (but she can't because the minimum age is 7).

 The next couple weekends were rainy and windy.  We knocked off a ton of to-dos for Owen's arrival, as well as for hosting Thanksgiving--cleaning windows, deep cleaning, organizing, assembling, and so much yard work.

 We also had some fun playdates in the mix, including Shay's birthday.

 Thanksgiving finally arrived!  Brady was on turkey duty, and we have hardly any pictures to document the many hours that go into this holiday.  Nic and Heidi and Todd and Megan joined us with their families this year.

 Zac was weirded out by the turkey.

 The kids gobbled up their food in 5 minutes or less.  Dishes included: turkey, gravy, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, stuffing, cranberry sauce, a huge green salad, green been casserole, a cheese ball, regular rolls, orange rolls, raspberry pretzel jello salad, triple berry pie, pumpkin pie, and pumpkin crisp.  I'm sure something was forgotten on this list.  I feel more and more like an adult every year with improvements to my T-Day cooking.  This year I made gravy for the first time in my life.

 Our neighbors annoyed us with their roof work ON THANKSGIVING DAY, but finally sent the roofer home in the early afternoon.

 The kids and I made these appetizer turkeys, which represent a lot of pain and seven blisters.  One of brown circles ended up hot glued to my hand.  Youch.  So glad it happened to me and not one of the kids.

 We spent the afternoon playing football, bocce ball, soccer, and jumping on the trampoline.  When it started getting dark, the kids moved to bikes.  The weather was still windy and chilly, but perfect for a day spent at home and not in the water.

Friday, we watched a load of football and decorated for Christmas.

 I directed the kids a few times that some ornaments belonged on the back side of the tree...

 I love this picture.

 Kate and Zachary displaying the ornaments they purchased in Leavenworth at the Christmas shop over summer vacation.

 We spent Friday afternoon at the beach with the Hadleys.  Zachary split open his chin to end the night, but we evaded stitches and it's healing up nicely now.

 I read on Facebook this post about not knowing you are OCD until your kids decorate for Christmas.  We let the kids completely decorate, and as you can see, most of the ornaments ended up dragging off the lower branches of the tree.  To our credit, nothing has been rearranged.  Yet.

 My favorite part, though, was when Zachary found ornaments we made for grandparents and cousins from his school pictures a couple years ago.  We had some left over, and all 7 of those made it on the tree.  Hysterical.

 The kids are loving their new Christmas PJs, and re-reading their favorite Christmas books.  I love having young kids at Christmas.