Santa Presents

Santa stopped by our house on Christmas Eve and dropped off a few presents for the kids, and Rylee must have been good because she got what she asked for. She actually sat on Santa's lap 2 different times this year and both times she asked for a bike. She was thrilled when she came downstairs and saw her bike. She wanted to sit on it right away, so Grandma helped her get her helmet on and sit on the bike. Nolan got a ride-on toy, and he was as excited as a one year old gets who just woke up from a nap. He did enjoy pushing it around and walking behind it.
Nolan's stocking was full of chunky trucks and a few treats, and Rylee's stocking was full of Tinkerbell stuff!! She got Tinkerbell socks, nightlight, lifesavers and the new Tinkerbell Movie.

Rylee's Bike

Nolan's Car

Nolan's stocking stuffers

Family Shot

Santa Clause Is Coming To Town

We are headed to Texas first thing tomorrow morning, so Santa is making a special visit to our house this afternoon, but it looks like he was at the birthday party last night too!

Nolan's party

We had a great birthday party last night for Nolan with just a few good friends and Grandma and Papa. Nolan got spoiled with lots of love and presents. We had soup for dinner and some fruit and dip to enjoy. After dinner we opened presents, but Nolan was more interested in going and visiting the people who still had food than opening his presents, so Rylee helped with the presents. Nolan came away with his own laptop, an airplane, a see-and-say, a car ramp, a new outfit, a train/walker, a fun singing microphone, some cute books, and a tow truck! It looks like we already had Christmas, but we are actually doing that today. After presents we let Nolan enjoy his cake and boy did he ever. At first he was not so sure about the feeling of the frosting on his hands, but within a few minutes he was enjoying his cake very much!! We cannot believe this cute little guy is one, and we are so grateful and lucky for wonderful friends and family that shared this day with us.

The Birthday Boy and Daddy

Grandma, Papa, and Nolan

Nolan's presents

We had a Mickey Mouse party, this is Nolan's cake.

Still trying to find the cake

There it is!

Look what I found!

Nolan and his Apple

Yesterday afternoon I sat down with and apple to eat as a snack, well thanks to this cute boy I got one bite. As soon as I sat down my little puppy Nolan was at my feet begging for a bite. I bit him off a little piece and he reached his hand out and snatched the entire apple out of my hand. I let him hold it thinking there is no way he could eat the apple with just two bottom teeth, but he proved me wrong. He sat and ate the apple for nearly an hour, only letting go of it, unwillingly, for me to put his bib on. He ate a little over 1/3 of the apple and then went down for his nap. When he woke up from his nap he started right back in on it, and by the end he ate nearly the whole thing!

Happy 1st Birthday Nolan

It seems like not that long ago we were driving this cute little guy home from the hospital last Christmas day in a blizzard, but it is true he is 1 today! He is the sweetest, happiest baby, and we can always count on Nolan to have a smile for us! He loves his big sister and wants to follow her and do everything she does. She too loves him, and she is extremely protective of him. She does hurt him sometimes, but most of the time she is trying to protect him from something. He loves to eat, and out eats his big sister every meal. It will not be long before he is as big as her. Things about Nolan:

• Taking steps
• Standing up on his own
• Climbing the entire stair case
• Bouncing on the little tramp at the gym
• Plays chase and peek-a-boo
• Blows kisses and gives kisses
• has two teeth
• loves to watch Mickey Mouse
• tries to play everything with his sister
• sleeps through the night just fine & takes two naps
• drinks from a straw, but does not care for a sippy cup (yet)
• puts everything he finds in his mouth
• pushes all the buttons on the TV no matter how many times you move him, he always goes back
• has learned how to flush the toilets and finds it hilarious
• throws temper tantrums that are hilarious and last all of 3 seconds until he is over it and smiling again
• can entertain himself very well, one of his favorite things to do is play with the toy kitchen
• thinks the cold is funny. When we get him out of the car he laughs and shivers and does not seem to be bothered by the cold.
• has the cutest cheesy smile

We are so lucky to be blessed with our sweet boy and we look forward to all the fun that he will bring through the next year.

Snow Fun

On our way home from My Gym yesterday Rylee kept asking me if she could play in the snow, so I told her after Nolan was asleep we could go out and play. Well, Nolan was asleep before we got home, so as soon as we pulled in the driveway she was ready to play. We came inside and got her all bundled up and headed out to play. She was a little bummed because the snow was "weally hawd!" The weather has been warmer the last few days so the snow has melted a bit and then it freezes over night, so it was really hard and she could not break it up. I crushed a section up for her and she proceeded to fill her cup up with snow and throw it at me. We had a great time for about thirty minutes and then it started to get cold, so we headed in.

Excited to play

I asked her to make a funny face and this is what she did.

(makes me laugh looking at it!)

Another Surprise!

On Monday I told Rylee that after her nap we had another surprise for her. Immediately she asked me if we were going to another movie, and I told her no the surprise would come to our house. She then asked me if Santa was coming, and I told her it was better than Santa. So, she eagerly took a nap, and, luckily, after she woke up her surprise arrived, Papa!! Grandpa Steve had some work to do back here in the morning, so he booked a late flight out so he could play all afternoon with us. He and Rylee played all their silly games and built many towers, we went shopping at Old Navy, and then out to dinner. After dinner it was time for Papa to go to the airport, but Rylee was excited because he comes back in next Monday for Christmas!

Girls Day & Boys Day Out

Last Friday I surprised Rylee with a fun afternoon. We started by going to the new Disney movie, The Princess and the Frog, and then we went out to lunch together.
I was a little nervous about how she would do with the movie, but she loved it. Every now and then she would start to get wiggly, but just then there would be another song in the movie and it would catch her attention. Since we went to the movie she has asked to go back and see it again every time we go to the theater.
While we were out at the movie and lunch, Nolan got to go out to lunch with Daddy and the boys. Daddy, a few friends, and Nolan went to the Wing Shack. They had a great time together and Nolan enjoyed his boy time.
It is really fun to get to spend one on one time with the kids, but Rylee and I were both excited to hang out with Nolan all evening.

A Sample

We had family pictures taken a few weeks ago and we thought it would be cute to do them in the snow. While they are cute, the kids thought it was a little too cold! They were really good for the pictures, Rylee was just a little shy.

Cute Video

I was looking through a few things the other day and came across this video, and it was too stinking cute not to post.

Sled Ride

This morning after we got home from My-Gym and Mommy's gym, Rylee and I shoveled the drive way together. Yes we do have a snowblower, but Rylee is terrified and was dying to play in the snow with her new hat and gloves that Daddy got her. While we were out shoveling our friend from across the street came over and asked if Rylee wanted to go for a ride. I looked up and saw that my friend had attached a sled to her mountain bike, pretty smart. Rylee was really excited to hop on and go for a ride, and she did not want to get off. We may have to get our Daddy's mountain bike out and take her for another ride.

Rylee and Myriah all ready to go

Off They Go!

Loving it!

Her Cute New Hat!

Two Teeth

I know you cannot see them very well in this picture, but Nolan's two bottom teeth have been in for about two weeks. They are a bit crooked, but maybe they will straighten out when the others come in around.

Festival of Trees

Festival of Trees has become one of our holiday traditions, and on Friday night we went up and looked at all the trees. This year was packed, more crowded than we have ever seen, but we were still able to see some really beautiful trees. The trees are usually themed and decorated in remembrance of someone and then sold during the week at the Festival, and then all the profits go to the Primary Children's Hospital. This year we went with Rylee's best friend, Maddi, and her Mom and cousin. The girls were so cute walking and holding hands up and down the rows. Maddi and her cousin, Olivia, left a little sooner than we did, and then we watched some of the performances that were going on. There are two stages in the convention hall, and both had dancers performing. Rylee was absolutely fascinated by the performances and sat on Matt's shoulders and watched for a half-hour. Nolan was so good and just chilled in the stroller, probably mesmerized at how many people there were all around him! Next year we are already planning on going earlier in the day so it will be less crowded, but it benefits such a great cause and we still had a great time this year.

Olivia, Rylee and Maddi

The girls in front of the "care bear" tree

In front of the "ice cream" tree

Nolan being so good

Rylee's Favorite Tree, the "Disney" tree

Walking the Rows

Opening Cabinets

Up until about two days ago Nolan was content crawling and playing with whatever was in sight, but now he has decided he must open the cabinets and investigate. Luckily I still have them pretty child proof from Rylee, so I am not scared of him hurting himself or any thing. He loves to bang and make lots of noise so my pots and pans are a big hit with him and so is dragging the tupperware across the floor. He found a ladle and measuring cup today and decided to bang them on the tile for awhile, but hey if he is happy I am happy!

Nolan's First Thanksgiving

Nolan's first Thanksgiving was a non-traditional one, to say the least. When we first planned our trip to San Diego for my girls' soccer tournament we were planning on bringing Nolan with us, but a few weeks ago Caity and I were talking and we decided she and her family would keep Nolan here at our house. It was harder than I expected to leave him--actually, much harder than it was for Disney World--but the car ride was much easier, and so was the soccer tournament with the little boy playing comfortably at home.
Nolan was an excellent boy over the weekend. Caity said that her mom, Libby, enjoyed playing Grandma and snuggling Nolan. And that Beau, her brother, was a fantastic Uncle to Nolan--as always. A big thank you to them for taking such great care of our boy while we were gone!!

Daddy's Treat

Our hotel was in a great location for our family, two miles from LegoLand and about ten minutes from Torrey Pines. On Friday Rylee and Daddy took advantage of LegoLand, then on Saturday Daddy got to play Torrey Pines. The U.S. Open was played there in 2008 (the one where Tiger had a broken leg and beat Rocco in a playoff) and the Buick Open (soon to have a new name) is played there every year, but it is a public golf course so anyone can play. The course charges a crazy fee to reserve a tee time, so most people get in line early in the morning to play. First come first serve tee times are given out from sunrise until the first reservation at 7:30. Our family was quite tired on Friday night, so we were all sound asleep by 8:00 pm, which helped Daddy because he was awake and felt rested by about 1:30. Since he was going to get up around 3:00 am anyways to go get in line, he just headed over at 2:00 and was the first in line. (But only by about 20 minutes!) He got to be the first group off the tee Saturday morning, and he had a great time. He came home with a few souveniers, but the best one was a pink Torrey Pines hat and a t-shirt, size 3T! Rylee insisted on wearing her hat and shirt immediately and she is wearing her shirt again tonight under her pajamas.

LegoLand

On Friday, Rylee and Daddy spent the entire day at LegoLand together with our friends the Campbells. There were a lot of fun things to do and see, and I think they tackled most of the park since they were there from open to close. Rylee and Jensen spent about an hour at the first place they went to. The two of them were up on top of the catwalk, about two stories above the ground, and they were shooting balls down to where the other kids were running and gathering them up. The two of them had a blast from the report I got!
There were not a lot of rides that Rylee could go on, but her favorite was driving the car. It was only for 3 - 5 year olds and they got to push the gas pedal and steer the car. When Rylee finished she told Daddy she crashed 4 times, and she was right. Daddy said she did crash 4 times, but there were quite a few times she was straightened out. We are hoping her driving abilities improve over the next 13 years!
Daddy said one of the best parts about LegoLand was they had their lines designed so the parents waited in line while the kids played in a Lego building area. I think Disney could learn from this!
Most everything in the park is made out of Legos (obvisiously not the rides!) but any statue or display was Legos. While walking through the park once Rylee stopped right in front of an Einstein statue (made of Legos), and said "Daddy, take my picture," so he did.
The most amazing part of the entire park is called Mini-Land, and Daddy said it alone was worth his admission. Mini-Land takes up about half of the park and is re-creations of U.S. cities. I only saw the pictures of them, but I am amazed.
When the day was over Rylee was up on Daddy's shoulders walking out of the park and said, "Daddy, that was FUUUUUN," which made the entire day even more special for Daddy.