Finally, short on sleep, we celebrated one last time over a delicious breakfast with Mom, Dad and Nana. Gifties and quiet conversation, followed by our tired selves heading home again, home again. Thank you, folks, for allowing us to rest our heads in your abode.
#3 on the farm, Corey and Sara’s house. Admittedly, the driving time and a cold were getting the better of me by this time and I was feeling less social than I would have liked. Still, the Meyer gathering was well-hosted and enjoyable with plenty of food (as always), hot apple pie (a new tradition?) and good humor. Dad & Corey are pictured here with some fabulous gifts. Many thanks to Sara and Corey for super-duper hospitality!
#2 took place at Aunt Pat’s house, nearly as white inside as the mounds of snow outside. Life inside a house inside a snowglobe? Trying to wrangle Mateo (gotta move!) AND Lucy (share your food!) after a lengthy car ride proved a bit frustrating. Gifts exchanged, pizza ordered, all caught up on local news, and Pat’s delicious homemade pumpkin pie. Thank you, Aunt Pat, for having us!
Thanks to heavy snowfall, there were at least 4 days of Christmas this year. On Christmas Eve morning, our family celebrations were rescheduled leaving us with two blissful days to ourselves. Hot toddies, peppermint patties, sledding, movies, a bonfire, and all the time in the world – what a wonderful gift. Life inside a snow globe.
K is for Karen, my beautiful mother, who celebrated her 60th birthday last week. No way, you say! No way, I say! Youthful, active and generous – a do-gooder to be sure – she often serves as the voice of reason, the family glue and the uber-organizer among us. Happy birthday to you, Mom. We love you.
J is for jumping at XingXing’s awesome birthday party! (Really, J was for Jungle this week, but Jumping was so much more fun!) Aixing invited friends to join her for a private party at a fully equipped gymnasium to celebrate her 3rd birthday. The kids enjoyed jumping on giant trampolines and jumping into an enormous foam pit, but when the inflatable tunnel was introduced – oh boy! And then there was gift-opening and delicious cake and a night of really deep sleep. Happy birthday, Aixing!
Santa Claus came to town this week so we braved the cold and met him at the park. There was fire and cocoa to warm hearty souls and a decked-out gazebo where Santa and the town princesses greeted the children. Santa arrived in a shiny yellow fire engine, gave big hugs, and listened to wishes. Then, in a flash, he was gone…
I is for Insect.
Here are some Highlights from
G is for lots of things, but mostly groovy grand-parents (and other family members) and great friends. We love you all!
Mateo was so into Halloween this year. Aside from the first stop where he received a bit too much attention and turned to face the corner of the chiropractor’s office, he trick-or-treated his way all around town using good manners and the will power everyone in this household lacks (heehee). AND you might notice that Daddy took a couple of hours out of his workday to parade around with us, too. Mateo thought that was pretty great – just look at that face!
For Halloween week, we focused on PUMPKINS! A visit to a pumpkin patch (where we bought maple syrup and cheese, but no pumpkins), several pumpkin crafts, some pumpkin recipes, pumpkin comparison, pumpkin life cycle, pumpkin carving… you get the idea.
B is for Bakery!
We took our first and only summer vacation of the season this past weekend, Lucy included. In fact, I think this had been our first "family" vacation EVER! We spent the weekend at a fairly nearby resort in a cabin on a lake. The weather was gorgeous so we opted to spend a lot of time outside swinging, sliding, playing volleyball and badminton, and taking walks. Highlights: Kevin enjoyed the virgin pines; Mateo enjoyed his first s'mores (we ordered vegetarian marshmallows especially for this!); and I enjoyed relaxing by the lake during naptime.
This appears to be my blog catch-up day so I will add "in other news": Kev & I have been playing volleyball during the course of the summer and our team is in the middle of the pack just like last year (darn - I KNEW we should've practiced all winter long!); Mateo is working on some preschool-type stuff at home (developing focus and skills - yay!); the adoptive family playgroup continues to meet every so often (so nice to see our friends!); Mateo had a blast at Jonathan's 3rd birthday party (superhero theme!); and Kev & I celebrated our 14th wedding anniversary (congratulations to us!).
The Ethertons visited for Kevin's birthday this year. We met at the local pizzeria and then came home for cake and ice cream. Kev's only real request was a generational photo with his Dad and Mateo. We also took some pics of his Mom and Aunt Pat and his brother, Kurt. And Kevin's oldest friend (meaning they've been friends since they were four), Brian, stopped by with raspberries. It was a very nice day. Happy Birthday, honey.
Yes, fair season - we hit our local one and Mateo rode on rides ALL BY HIMSELF this year! There was this great airplane one (does he look worried?) and then a similar ride with a band of turtles circling a psychedelic mushroom that he did solo. Mommy joined him for the merry-go-round, the ferris wheel, and a toddler version of the tilt-a-whirl - that one nearly did Mommy in.We sampled some of the fair food - pizza, ice cream and pie - and checked out the animals. A very helpful 4-Her let us pet some juvenile cows, and a very noisy horse whinnied at us and scared "us" to tears sending us toward the very quiet llamas. Maybe next year we'll get to the chickens and rabbits? Oh, and we paid a special visit to the Recycling Center tent - for anyone not in the know, Mateo plays recycling at home a whole awful lot.
Mateo had a blast when Reggie and Justice came to visit last week. I don’t think he realizes how much younger he is than them! The weather was unusually cold, but that didn’t stop Justice from spending as much time as possible in the pool. He was the only taker, and he kept himself busy playing with a “toypedo” and learning how to use snorkeling gear. Reggie spent a lot of time chasing after Mateo (and smacking her brother with a pool noodle). We scored some free root beer floats complete with big tin mugs, watched movies, did a little karaoke, listened to an acappella group, ventured down by the falls, went for a paddleboat ride, checked out a farm festival and went on a picnic. Whew! Sounds like a lot, but they were easy to have with us – very good kids…xo
What an appro-priate holiday for a 3-year-old to celebrate! We had a wonderful day starting out with a visit to urgent care where it was determined that Mateo was not contagious, then spending the afternoon with Gabby and Papa and Reggie and Justice at the cottage (and Jake and Ora – see them enjoying corn on the cob?), and ending up at a cookout at the Buenzli residence where we watched the notoriously drawn-out beautiful fireworks display of a certain nearby town. Yay, America!
Mateo and Mommy went strawberry-picking at a farm just a few miles down the road. This was Mateo’s first time, and Mommy’s, too! The berries were DEEEE-licious and we plan to go back before the season is over… or before another little someone else eats them all up!
