The Merits of the Double Stroller

(Picture is from when we bought the stroller in 2007)

I bought the big old Graco double stroller a couple months after Will was born and used it A Lot for many months.  Then Sarah got big enough to walk on her own a bit and to stand on the back of our single stroller.  The Graco came out only for big walking trips like the zoo and malls.  I pulled it out today for a trip to the mall because Sarah requested it.  I have not used it in many, many months - like maybe last summer?  I figured why not?  I now remember why it is a pain (heavy to push, hard to get into bathrooms, and huge in the car) but more importantly why, contrary to most moms, I loved it.  We had, for the most part, a very peaceful mall trip.  The kids enjoyed the ride and actually listened to me.  They got out to play in the play area for about 15 minutes while I waited for stores to open.  The minute I said last slide, the 2 of them took the slide together and very willingly came with me to put shoes on, hop back in the stroller and wander the mall.  Other than 5 minutes of Will figuring out he could put his feet up on Sarah's seat, we had a lovely time and actually got some stuff done.  I didn't have to chase anyone, there was no whining for not wanting to be in a store or wanting another ride on the carousel, just peace.  Maybe it was the novelty of the stroller coming back out or just the simple lack of having to walk with mom everywhere, but the kids enjoyed the mall and so did I.  That is a pretty rare occurrence for a trip of 2 hours with all 3 of us.  Thank you Graco.

Christmas at home

This was the first true Christmas morning we've had in our house.  It was great!  The family showed up around 7AM.  The kids slept until at least 6:30 and were very patient waiting for everyone to get to our house.  They opened stockings first and we actually had to tell them to look around for some presents Santa left unwrapped.  Will got a whole set of little Tonka train cars and was trying to carry around ALL of them at once.  It was very funny to watch.  I think he would have been content with just the stocking honestly.

The kids then proceeded to open the way too many presents under the tree.  We had to move Sarah along and the adults pretty much opened most of Will's presents.  He was too busy trying to play with each toy.  Sarah decided at one point that she was a toy in her pile and insisted that I take her picture so she could see.

Will got all kinds of trucks and cars and trains.  He even tried to sit in his new Tonka dump truck.  Uncle Dave and Daddy put together a very complicated hot wheels track, while Mommy took on the GeoTrax.  Mommy was a bit quicker due to easy construction and good instructions.  Will doesn't look too excited about the airplane but he, very quickly, warmed up to it and now it brings big grins.

Our breakfast was delicious, as was dinner.  All in all, it was a VERY exhausting day.

Favorites for Will:

Fire Truck, Sit n Spin, Hot Wheels (the cars), Toby from Thomas, CAT Forklift, actually Will pretty much checked out everything except Tickle Me Elmo.  The only thing I wish I had video of was Will watching Elmo for the first time.  The doll bends in half and falls backwards.  Will was very concerned and at one point had a great look of shock and tried to catch Elmo so he wouldn't fall over.  It was amazingly sweet and caring of my little boy.

Favorites for Sarah:  Roller skates, Leapster, Sit n Spin, anything Barbie, new Cabbage Patch Kid, Create a Sock Puppet Kit.  She has pretty much tried out everything now and seems to like it all.  Thank goodness.

Today we tested out some more toys since the weather was a bit nicer.  Sarah pulled out the roller skates and LOVED them. She was even brave enough after a trip down the street to try it without Daddy's hand.  Will carried his very large stuffed Dinosaur around a little bit.

Hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas as well!!!

It's Santa!

We went to visit Santa this morning and lucky for us, the line was short.  We felt even better about it when we left the mall an hour after hour visit and saw the line of over 30 people twisting around Santa's place.  Sarah was wonderful and Will, well, he took some time to warm up and even then didn't quite get around to smiling.  Here is the progression:

I AM NOT LIKING THIS!!

Oh, wait! Mommy, Daddy, it's Santa!

I'm still not so sure about Santa.

And the rain came down...

Big storm sweeping through the west today.  This is more rain than we've seen in quite awhile.  I knew it was going to be bad when my dad in San Diego told me he thought the pool might overflow.  I drove to pick up Sarah from school today and I felt like I was back east instead of Phoenix.  I couldn't really see the mountains that pop up all over the valley here.  It was a bit creepy.  Closer to her school, the tops of the mountains were all in the clouds.

Our yard is starting to become one big puddle as is the common area of our neighborhood.  That's where all the run off goes.  It's always interesting to see how long it takes for the common area to drain.  From the picture below, I have a feeling that the kids would love to hop on that slide.  Maybe when it's summer, we'll have to try that.

Sarah is just thrilled for the chance to wear rain boots and use her umbrella.  And yes, she does have rain boots - mostly for monsoon season which is at the end of summer.   Will just LOVES the rain.  He stood out in it with a hooded coat on just catching rain drops in his hand.  It was pretty cute.

I'll let you know how much more we get.  I think this is supposed to last for a few more DAYS.  That's like weeks for us here in Phoenix.

A good looking tree

We got our tree over the weekend and decorated it.  It was more fun this year I think - maybe because Christmas morning will be at our house and we finally have something bigger than a 3 foot tree.  

Playing Mommy

Sarah just poured herself a nice, tall, cold, pretend glass of Coke.  Why you ask??? Because she is a mommy to all her dolls and that's what mommies drink.  Hmmm.... guess I have had a lot of Coke to drink in the past week.

We are in the midst of decorating for Christmas.  I forgot how fun it is to open each bin and remember all the fun stuff.  The kids got very excited over the stockings and nutcrackers.  I haven't even unpacked the truly cool nutcrackers which are a bit more fragile and special.

I also sat down to play many Christmas songs on the piano and it was such a wonderful feeling. The kids were nice enough to play quietly and listen to the music, with the occasional request for Feliz Navidad (Sarah's favorite this year) and Jingle Bells.  I better work on those 2!

And in an additional note, I just heard the following from the living room when I asked what they were doing:  I'm hiding things so the guests don't see them.  I think she's having a pretend dinner party and she's cleaning like Mommy and Daddy clean.  I guess we're busted!

Merry Christmas!

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Several friends have done this and I couldn't resist.  Thank you Amy and Colleen!

The Outer Space Party

We had Sarah's first official birthday party this year.  I say official because past years may have been small gatherings or Disneyland, but this year was truly a kid's birthday party.  Sarah decided the theme would be outer space.  SHOCKING and a very welcome change from princess land. 

With much help from my in-laws and much stress from us, the party was great!  Andy created some outer space type games - ring toss and bean bag throw - that were not played with too much.  The kids mostly stayed on the playset or ran around the yard.  We made solar system cupcakes which was hard work but almost more fun than just doing the usual cupcakes.

Sarah loved having all her good buddies over.  Andy and I were just relieved when it was over!

Thanksgiving Belated

I know, I know, it's late but I've been busy.  I insist on keeping these separate so I'll just do a couple at the same time.  We drove out to CA for Thanksgiving.  The drive went OK.  Will gets a bit antsy.  We spent lots of time with the grandparents and had Thanksgiving with our next door neighbors.  It was a lot of fun.  My parents have lived next door to the same people since I was only a couple months old.  We had dinner with my best friend from when I was 4 and 5 and his family.  He has a little boy, Will!, who is a week older than our Will.  It was great to see him again and meet his wife.  The kids had tons of fun playing together.  Here are some pics:

My mom found pilgrim hats.

This is the best of our attempts to take pictures of all the kids:

We took a trip to the beach and Will worked on blowing bubbles, while Sarah worked on hating the waves even more than our last visit.

The Proper Way to Play With A Doll House

Before I get to the 2 holidays we've gone through so far (Thanksgiving and Sarah's Birthday), I wanted to share this:


Will loves to play with houses. It usually involves many cars going in and out doors and windows. I can always find a car "parked" in any of the rooms of Sarah's doll house. I think he plays with the house more than Sarah does. Funny guy!

Turning 4!

4 years!  I can't believe my little Peanut is already 4.

We are in birthday mode with the Outer Space party tomorrow. Sarah is very, VERY excited.