Christmas

We had a wonderful Christmas. We did things a bit different this year in order to remove some of the stress of going back and forth to Novato and to allow for more quality time with all the grandparents. Instead of going to Novato on Christmas Eve to see Nathan's dad, spending Christmas morning in Santa Rosa with my parents and then going back to Novato to see Nathan's mom Christmas afternoon we saw both of Nathan's parents on Christmas Eve. We really enjoyed this set-up. It allowed us to spend a lot more quality time with the grandparents without the feeling of having to rush. It also saved us a couple of hours in the car and gave Bryce the chance to play with all his toys from Santa and from us. We didn't feel rushed and felt like we really got to relax and enjoy Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. The only downfall is that we missed out on seeing the rest of Nathan's relatives. To make up for this we are hosting a family get together on New Year's Day so we can see everyone and more importantly they can see the kids.

As usual, the kids were very spoiled. They are very blessed, as are we, to have such a wonderful family that enjoys giving them gifts. Bryce got to open double to amount of presents since he helped to open most of Faith's gifts.

We were afraid we were going to have a meltdown over a toy tractor. Santa delivered his gifts for Bryce and Faith as well as Trey and Amanda to Nanny and Pawka's house. Mandy was given a John Deere tractor and Bryce assumed it was for him. After all, he is the one infatuated with tractors. Thankfully we were able to divert his attention to the 3 boats Santa brought for him.

After opening each present Bryce wanted it out of it's packaging so he could play with it. We were successful about half the time in getting him to set the gift aside without removing it from the package. Bryce still had 5 or 6 gifts to open by the time everyone else had finished. We decided to let him take a break, as he had lost interest, and open more later. A few hours later we managed to pry him away from the already opened toys and finish opening the rest. I guess I should be thankful that he didn't just tear open each gift without much thought before moving on to the next in a frenzy to get more and more.

When it was time for dessert, Bryce wanted "pumpin pie" and wanted to put a candle in it to sing "Happy Birthday Baby Jesus." We talked a lot about the reason we celebrate Christmas and that it isn't really about the gifts, but about spending time with family and honoring the birth of Jesus.

We feel very blessed to have been able to spend two great days with family. We are still recovering from all the fun and trying to find places for all of Bryce and Faith's new toys. I've attached a couple of pictures that show most of their gifts. I can't believe how much they received.

Kristin's 30 Birthday

Some friends came over for a Christmas/Birthday get together. It was wonderful to see friends that we don't often get a chance to see. We had a great evening. The next day Nathan and I went wine tasting with Tana and Jonas. We hadn't been wine tasting since before I was pregnant with Faith. On my actual birthday I had a wonderful massage at Cold Water Creek Spa and went to the Cantina for dinner. A lot of people are wondering if I mind being 30. I don't at all. I feel like I'm where I wanted to be in my life at this age. I have a wonderful husband, two beautiful kids and a loving family. What more could I ask for.

Faith 2 Months Old

Faith had her two month check yesterday. She weighs 10 lbs 9 oz (25 percentile) and is 24 inches long (87 percentile) and her head circumference is 14.5 inches (3 percentile). Dr. Wolf says she is doing great.

Bryce and Daddy

Bryce went out to the shop to watch Pawka and Daddy work on a transition piece for our floor. He wanted to be one of the guys. He didn't like the loud saws, so he wore ear protectors.

Daddy and Bryce went swimming at the YMCA again. Being the weekend before Christmas, the pool was empty. They had a great time swimming.

Faith 8 Weeks

Faith continues to be a great baby. She is cooing more and more and really enjoys being social. She loves to smile at you in order to get and keep your attention. She is still waking up only twice a night, now around 3 and again at 5. She isn't on any type of schedule during the day. However, I can pretty much count on her to sleep most of the morning if we are out doing errands or at playgroup for Bryce. Being in her car seat puts her to sleep.

She is also very strong she can hold her head up for a really long time and can roll to her side.

Bryce is getting better and better with her. He isn't hitting or kicking her anymore, but he likes to go and poke her when she is sleeping in order to wake her up. He thinks it is really funny.

Faith's 1st Bottle

Nathan tried to give Faith her first bottle. She was not very happy with it. She would suck on it for a second and then spit it out and cry. We'll try again in a few days with a different nipple and see if that is the problem. We'd like her to be able to take a bottle so that she can be without me once in a while.

Decorating for Christmas

Finding time to decorate the house was difficult this year. Since we were in San Jose for most of the better part of the 1st weekend in December and Nathan had to work late most nights the following week, we decorated in stages. The first thing we did was get the tree inside and set up the train set. Bryce had a lot of fun with this and has learned to operate it on his own with supervision of course. He helped to decorate the tree and set out the other Christmas decorations. His favorite ornaments were the plain colored balls. We weren't planning on using any of these since we have enough ornaments that have special meaning to us, but he insisted on hanging one for each of us.

One new tradition we started this year, thanks to Auntie Em, is reading the Elf on a Shelf book with our own little elf. For those of you that have never heard of this, it is a great book that comes with your own little elf. The elf, which you name, sits and watches to see if the kids have been naughty or nice all day long. Then, when they go to bed, he flies to the North Pole to report the behavior to Santa. Then, in the morning he flies back and sits in a new spot. Every morning the kids must find the elf. Bryce didn't really understand how to select a name for his elf. We kept telling him he had to give the elf a name and asked him what we should call him. He kept saying his name was "a name". We decided to list all of the Thomas the Train characters and have his select a name from those. The elf ended up with the name Duncan the Elf. When Bryce is acting naughty, we remind him that Duncan the Elf is watching and he responds saying that he wants Santa to bring him presents. This has helped to correct his behavior a number of times.

Christmas Festivities

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We went down to San Jose for the night to enjoy a variety of Christmas festivities. The first thing we did was go to a great Christmas Tree farm out Hwy 17 towards Santa Cruz. Unlike a lot of farms where you cut your own tree, the trees at this farm are not planted in neat rows. They are scattered all over the place without any order so it really feels like you are walking through the forest. The other great thing is that all the trees, no matter what size were $45. We have always gotten 5 or 6 ft. trees to keep the cost down, but this year went for a tree that is about 10 ft tall.

Later that night we drove through one of San Jose's parks that is completely lit up with Christmas lights. For $10 a car, you drive through the park's 1.5 mile road with your lights turned off so you can see all of the lights. There were tons of displays each sponsored by local businesses. Most of the displays had moving parts that were quiet impressive. The kids really enjoyed this.

The next morning we woke up bright and early to head down to the annual San Jose Holiday Parade. We left the Buccellato's house at 7 am in order to walk down to the light rail station and catch the train to downtown. Bryce really enjoyed the train ride. Once we got downtown we had a bit of a problem finding a good spot to sit and watch the parade, but finally found a great spot in from of some news stands. This gave us something to lean against and a natural barrier for the kids to stay within. Juli brought bagels, juice, donuts, chocolate milk and fruit for everyone to eat since we didn't have breakfast before we left. The parade lasted for about two hours and was a lot of fun. I think the best part was watching Bryce and Mandy dance to the music. Bryce kept saying, "they are playing music for me". Faith was an angel and slept through most of the parade, which allowed me to enjoy watching it and Bryce. Downtown there is a display of Christmas trees each decorated by different community groups. Trey's scout troupe decorated a tree and we were able to find it and take his picture next to it.

After the parade we went back to the Buccellato's house and the kids opened their annual Christmas ornaments from Nanny and Pawka. Bryce got a John Deere tractor ornament and Faith got a "Baby's First Christmas" shoes ornament.