Christmas Day

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

We had a very nice Christmas day! It all started with me at 3:30am. I woke up and couldn't go back to sleep, I was so excited! I have always been a lover of Christmas, but having a child makes it even better!!! I laid in bed and finally got up about 6:30am and woke up TJ too (haha). We woke Sophia up about 7:15am to see what Santa brought her. When Sophia saw the plate she left for Santa she said, "Santa ate my cookie all gone." "Drank my milk too!" Santa sure was hungry!

Sophia was good this year, so Santa brought her all this stuff.
Sophia LOVES this marble set. She has a similar one at preschool, so I knew it would be a hit. It took "Santa" about an hour to put it together and there are even more pieces. You can build a bigger one than this, but this track it good for now.
Whenever I would ask Sophia what she wanted to get Daddy for Christmas she would say, "motorcycle." Little does she know he would love a real one, but Sophia picked out this one for him instead! TJ's main present was his truck he got last month and we got him accessories for it (including a license plate cover that reads, "1968 THE BEAST", jumper cables, garbage bag, etc). TJ TOTALLY surprised me with a new road bike..watch out triathlons...I'm in business now:) (I forgot to add the picture).

They both got gummy bears in their stocking. When we asked what she thought Santa would bring her or what she thought was wrapped under the tree she would either say, "candy" or "gumballs".

After we were done with Christmas morning at our house. We headed over to my parents house for another Christmas morning. Christmas morning is the best there. All the kids and adults pile up on my parents bed and then make it down the hallway while my dad gets all the cameras ready. After many pictures, my dad says, "On your mark, get set, go....!!!" We all run down the hallway to see what Santa brought us!

Sophia has been wanting her own scooter! Love Radio Flyer! Thanks mom and dad!

YAH! A baby doll stroller:) Graco even makes little ones! She is quite the good mama these days.

After looking at our Santa gifts we had our traditional cinnamon rolls, eggs, bacon, sausage breakfast we opened presents for the family. My Aunt Sarah got her this hat...isn't it adorable! Around 12:30pm we went over to TJ's brother's house to do Christmas with TJ's Dads side. We got to visit with Nana, Aunts, Uncle, and cousins. We enjoyed Nana's special and delicious fried chicken! After being with them for a few hours, we headed back over to my parent's house to enjoy dinner, games, and dessert with them. It was a busy day, with no nap for Sophia, but it was all well worth it. We are truly blessed and spoiled!!!!

Christmas Eve

We started off Christmas Eve at my parents house for the traditional frosting of cookies in the morning. Sophia picked a snowflake and really only focused on that one...frosting...putting sprinkles on...eating the sprinkles...more eating sprinkles...and then she was all done. It turned out beautiful (you'll see it at the end of this post).

We spent Christmas Eve with the Vergeer family (TJ's mom side) and decided to do it at our house so the kids could run around and play. On the menu was brunch foods, good conversation, Wii playing (look even TJ's Papa gave it a try:)), and a white elephant exchange.
After the extended family left, TJ's parents, brothers, sister, and us did our Christmas. We were sure spoiled! Some of our highlights included: Sophia's metal pots/pans, play food, cute outfits; my sewing machine bag, carrier, and tools, and cute church bag; TJ's Wii stuff, and clothes. The best of all was from his brother Caleb (who plays baseball for UW). He got him a UW baseball jersey with "BROWN" and number on the back. Oh man is he going to wear that with pride!

After everyone left, we got ready for Santa to come. New snowman PJ's (thanks Gamma and Papa), check! Cookies for Santa, check! Milk for Santa, check! Carrots for the reindeer, check! I asked Sophia where she wanted to put the plate for Santa and she said by the tree (makes sense!). She was getting excited!

Last year my mom had made Sophia a Santa plate that says, "I've been good this year," so we were ready to use it. Here is her masterpiece cookie.

Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night (little did I know that I would be the one waking up at 3:30am so excited!!!!)

Sophia's Preschool Christmas Program

All last week I was talking about Sophia's preschool program to her. We talked about how we watched her cousin sing and on Friday it would be her turn to sing, yadda, yadda. She would always reply, "No want to!" (even though she would practice at school). She is one to check things out first before jumping in, so I thought there was no way that she was going to sing in her program. She got to wear her Christmas dress, so we took some pictures before we left.

Another cute pose!
When we got there we started to eat, but then Ms. Shelby called for all the preschoolers to go with her to get dressed. TJ took her up and she followed Ms. Shelby (phew). The little guys were turkeys (they sang some turkey and Christmas songs). This is Sophia and buddy Jackson.

Towards the end she started chewing on her feathers.

After they performed they got a present from Ms. Shelby.

She got many books, pencil, and eraser and had to show it to Papa Brown (who is not of fan of singing programs, but he survived it).

They sang "12 Days of Christmas" (Ms. Shelby version). I'll just write the lyrics from 5.

"5 Star Listeners

4 Runny Noses

3 Temper Tantrums

2 Untied Shoes

And A day off so Ms. Shelby can sleep!"

Sophia's part was 4 runny noses...It was hilarious because she had such a low voice when she talked into the mic.

There was also Santa at her program, but Sophia is still not a fan up close, but likes him from a distance. I am very surprised and proud of my little girl for getting up and performing with her friends! What a fun time:)

The Lights of Christmas

TJ's Baby

Let me give a little history first...Once upon a time there was this boy named TJ and a truck who were in love. This boy was SO excited about turning 16 so he could drive it. Until one day his mom made his dad sell it right before he turned 16, and the little boy, TJ has been bitter about it since! The truck had a new home with the boys uncle. Many years later TJ had to go to the dump, but had no truck, so he called 10 people to see if he could borrow their trucks and all of them were busy. TJ being frustrated thought about "his truck"and called his uncle inquiring about it. His uncle had sold it to a friend, who had sold it to a friend. TJ then proceeded to call this friend to ask about "his love." Sure enough, the friend wanted to sell the truck, so TJ got very excited and ran home to tell his family. TJ's wife, being very smart was a little hesitant about this 1968 Chevy truck because she knew TJ was not the mechanic. Finally, his wife saw how happy he was and said, "Merry Christmas" and TJ and his dad bought the truck together. After being worked on for many days, the truck made its way home a couple nights ago. The End.

Here are all the angles:

Okay I know what you're thinking...hahaha! I have been laughing about the truck and teasing TJ about it since he bought it. Mind you, 2 days ago was the first time I actually saw it. TJ comes driving up (I heard the growling from down the street) with a HUGE smile on his face. Once again, I am laughing! He turns off the truck to show me all its unique qualities (the lights were on because it was dark). 15 minutes goes by and his brother tries to start it up....nothing but a whining sound. TJ looks at me ( because he knows I'm ready with a comment) and I just laugh some more. The battery died with the lights being on, so it had to get jumped. I have yet to ride in it and know when that time comes I will need 2 coats because there is no heat, ear plugs because it's so loud, running shoes on in case it dies, etc, etc. haha! I love teasing TJ about "his truck!" Moral of the story: The truck is not my favorite thing, but my hubby is happy and excited about it = priceless!

Birthday, Christmas tree, and more

Happy Birthday to me!

It seems like every year I get older it feels less and less like my birthday on my day, so TJ made sure that it felt like my birthday. He waited until I went to bed (stayed up till 1:30am) to decorate the house for me! Her are balloons on the stairway:

Every where I turned he had a "Happy Birthday" sign up. There were 7 total signs (so I wouldn't forget it was my birthday....clever hubby!)

TJ also covered our room and bathroom in balloons...Sophia loved it:)

Isn't it beautiful?! I always tease TJ about his wrapping job, so he really made my present beautiful, ha!

Since my birthday was on a week day, I had to work, bah! But we went out to dinner. I didn't want anything fancy and I was craving pizza and salad, so we (some of my family and TJ's parents) went to Spiro's! Tossed Green Salad...delicious! When we got home I opened the present and cards from TJ and Sophia.

I love my North Face jackets, but none of them have hoods, so TJ got me one with a hood...Perfect for Washington:)

Oh Christmas Tree!

We've had our tree for a week and it took us that long to finally get it all up and decorated...We love our tree! It is 91/2 feet tall (thank you vaulted sealing) and wonderful with lights, bubble lights, and train:)

TA-DA! TJ and I had to sit there in the dark with the tree lights on and admired it...(I know we're sappy, but that's what this time of year brings...love it)!

Did you know we had a puppy?

Sophia was interested in the tree, but not the whole time. As we were finishing up with the tree, I kept hearing the bathroom sink on. And this is what Sophia was doing...

She was being such a nice girl and giving water to her puppy! She put a little cup down with water and then poured it on the floor...we had drops of water from the bathroom to the family room. (Don't mind the mess in the video...I got knew organizers for my birthday too, so we were in the middle of sorting through toys...)

Best Long Weekend

Thanksgiving Weekend is one of my favorite weekends of the year...Eating good food, family time, Black Friday shopping, and chopping down a Christmas tree! Here is a taste of our weekend:

Happy Thanksgiving!

Sophia made an APPLE PIE at her preschool. She picked the apples off the tree, peeled them, and rolled the dough out. She has one up on me because I've never made a pie! We had TJ's family over to our house and ate at 2pm and then we went over to my parents house at 4pm, so yes we ate twice!

Black Friday Shopping is next...

It actually started Thanksgiving night. We spent the night at my parent's house, along with my brother, Nate and his family so we wouldn't have to wake up the kids. So at 8:00pm we went to Michael's because they had their Cricuit cartridges (scrap booking) on a great deal. The plan was to go to bed and wake up at 2:30am to head to ToysRUs (who opened at Midnight). As TJ and I laid our head on our pillows, the phone rang...It was TJ's brother. He said that he drove by ToysRUs and the line was already wrapped around the building. I sat up and said, "Let's go!" So...TJ, Nate, and I went to ToysRUs at 11:40pm. We got in and got everything we were looking for. The store was CRAZY and the worst one all day! An hour and a half later we got out of the store alive...phew! We went back to my parents house to pick up my dad and sister-n-law. Instead of going to sleep we were just going to head to Old Navy who opened at 3am, but the line was crazy and we didn't need clothes that bad...Next was JcPenney. We were the 2nd ones in line, so we grabbed everything we needed and were out in a flash! On to Target...merged in line with some friends in the very front of the line and my dad and I merged in with my sis-n-law a little farther back. Well the ladies a few people back from Christine did not like the fact that we merged. My dad, Mr. Honest got out of line and went all the way back to the end (which was around the building), but I stayed put! Once again, we grabbed our items and headed out to Home Depot (for my dad). Last stop was Fred Meyer (7am). Got to get 1/2 socks, ha! By then I was glazing over a little (mind you no sleep still)! We took a cat nap (1 hour), then continued shopping and getting ready for our next activity, which was...

CHOPPING DOWN THE TREE

Good ol' Bacon's Tree farm. I am extremely picky. My mom always steps out of the car, points to a tree and says, "that's it!" And that's always the one she gets. I am not as lucky..."too skinny, weird shape, dry inside, etc, etc." TJ is a good sport, so we hiked all over the tree farm. Sophia wasn't in the best of moods, but I wasn't going to let that slow us down.

Wa-La...This one is the winner...Perfect proportions and 10ft tall! Our tallest tree!

Last year TJ cut down 3 trees with a hand saw and was done with that. I think it was his excuse to use a manly tool! (I did have a picture of him with it, but it got deleted and I am NOT redoing it, so you can visualize it).

Great 4 1/2 days off work...very hard to go back to work today...but 3 weeks till Christmas break!:)

Unexpecting Moment

I totally celebrate all moments in Sophia's life....even the POOPING ones! I walked into Sophia's preschool and everyone was under the parachute tent they made and were having lots of fun. Little did I know that the news would get better. As I crawled into the tent, Ms. Shelby told Sophia to tell me what she did today. I was thinking she painted or made a craft or something, but NOOOO.... Sophia said, "Pooped in da potty!" I cheered, Ms. Shelby cheered, Sophia jumped up and down. Sophia then had to show me the stickers she got on her chart next to the toilet (this is new for her) and she showed me the underwear she picked out (Elmo, pink stripes, and cupcake ones). I am lucky that Ms. Shelby loves potty training, even though I'm not going to start until I can be consistent with it (maybe Christmas break or the summer)? I guess peer pressure works. I heard the best way to potty train is stay inside for 3 days, use underwear, so kids can feel it rolling down their legs, and put them on the toilet like every 20 minutes...that sounds exhausting! Any other ideas for me so I can be ready when the time is right???

The Happiest Place on Earth...well almost!

My parents got tickets for the whole family to see "Disney on Ice!" on Saturday. Sophia woke up with a cold forming (runny nose, droopy eyes, sneezing, etc), but she did not want to miss out (sounds like her daddy and I) and was quite the trooper! We took the Kingston/Edmonds ferry. As you can see it was extremely windy and the boat was rockin.

We got to the Comcast Arena in Everett. I'd never been there before.
We got there quite early so we were able to walk around and get our seats. They were selling so many light-up souvenirs, water bottles, food, etc, but it was expensive. Aunt Mindy and Aunt Christine were smart and brought glow in the dark necklaces to share and wave around. We were only 5 rows back! Perfect Seats!

I wasn't quite sure how Sophia would do, but she was ready for the show and ended up loving it...what kid wouldn't?!

Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse introduced the show with their friends Goofy and Donald Duck!

First up was CARS! All the cars were very cool and a great way to start the show! TJ wants the job of driving them:)

The gang was all there (there is a lot of pictures, but I couldn't leave anybody out):

Next up was Little Mermaid...Under da Sea...

Kiss da girl!

Then, Lion King

Rafiki (spelling?)

Daddy and Simba trying to get out of the stampede...

One of my favorites...Timon and Pumba (can you imagine ice skating on all 4s?)

Intermission: Great time to change Sophia's diaper. I thought I scored because I found a "family bathroom" with no line and no one in it! yeah! Except..what family bathroom doesn't have a changing table in it???

Sophia needed to visit Gamma and read the program during the break.

Finally, Tinkerbell and the other Fairies. This was probably my least favorite, but I'm sure all the little girls loved it:) I guess I'm not up on all my fairies. Mickey and Minnie came back out to close the show...Lots of Fun!

After the show we headed for the Old Spaghetti Factory in Alderwood. It was going to be an hour and a half way, so my smart hubby called Tacoma's Spaghetti Factory and put our names on the list. So, we got back in the car and headed for Tacoma. We arrived and our table was ready for us 5 minutes later...Good thinkin' hubby!

If you ask Sophia what she wants for breakfast, lunch, or dinner she almost always says, "Noodles!" So she was diggin' dinner...YUMMY brown butter with mazithra cheese!

Classic Lady and the Tramp...Sophia thought it was hilarious and wanted to continue to do it. Probably not the best table manners!

Slurp...KISS!

We didn't make it back home until 10:30pm. It was a full day filled with good company and lots of fun:)!