Christmas comes early

Uncle TJ, Auntie Kaye, and Mico were headed for the Philippines so we celebrated Christmas with them 3 weeks early. You guys got to open presents early and had tons of fun with Mico.

Decorating the Tree

You guys had so much fun playing with the lights. You even used it as a rope to make donkey Phoenix go. Not so safe. We ended up breaking a set of lights that night. But... it was all worth the fun!

Holiday Performances 2011

Phoenix, you had a night time performance at LAUP where lolo and lola came as well as grammy. When I asked you what you had to wear for the performance you said, "My teacher said I have to dress handsome." So naturally, I asked your daddy to get you something formal and he got you the cutest vest suit and indeed, you did you very handsome!

Piper, you also had a school performance and sang Santa Claus is coming to town in Spanish. Amazing! You also had a church performance at Pipeline- "The Spelling County Bee." We had the pleasure of listening to the CD at least 3x per day to its entireity. It's so cool that you've memorized the verses in John talking about Jesus being born.

Santa is not real...

Pi, you shared with me that you told some kids in Pipeline that you dont believe Santa is real. You shared with them these details almost verbatim: "Dont you see that there are different Santas in different malls? It's your mom and dad that puts the gifts under the tree. Santa is just for fun."

Until you met Santa who came to Tessa's house.... You remain conflicted due to his real beard. The verdict is still out whether you believe in Santa or not.

Papa's Birthday

We celebrated Papa's 66th birthday last night at Banana Bay and Piper you loved eating your Garlic Pork with rice and Phoenix, you had 3 servings of egg noodle soup. Everyone came out and had a great time. Our favorite part was walking over to Yogurtland. We were on an adventure. You guys and even Mico were carried on the shoulder by an adult. Phoenix, you and Mico ran back and forth with such limited space and had a blast. It was nice to see you so comfortable and yourself as you played the alpha dog.

Winter Break 2011

Piper, you and I are off for 3 weeks. It has been a glorious 2 weeks and 5 days. It is soon coming to an end. Phoenix, you started school this week but was able to be with you in the classroom 2 out of the 5 days. You remain to be the happiest kiddo on the block. So... a recap.

- Piper, you asked Santa for cat toys (to give to Custard- your stuffed animal cat)

- Phoenix, you got an Angry Birds game set.

-Sleep over with Bella, Mia, Chance, Tessa, Sienna, and Andress

- going to the park almost everyday

-Piper, we had 2 days of reading and crafts nonstop for at least 4 hours

-Daddy and I managed to go on a date for a sushi dinner and a movie (Twilight- it sucked)

-went to our annual tradition of the Newport Boat Show

-made and decorated sugar cookies on Christmas Eve

We had tons of fun but most of all, we were all together as a family for the whole 3 weeks.

3 years later...

Piper, you are now soon to be 6 years old (in 17 days) and Phoenix you are 4 years old. Although much has happened in the last 3 years, we'll just pick it up during current times.

Piper, you're now in kindergarten in a class where everything is in Spanish. You love it and even speak to us in Spanish from time to time without realizing you're speaking in a different language. You look to us for a response only to get a blank stare. You are learing to show the image of Christ with your kindess.

Phoenix, you are in LAUP (same class as your ate's from last year). Ms. Laura is your teacher and love playing with your buddy Evan. Just a few days ago, I volunteered in your class and watched you shoot spider webs at him. Very cute. You too are showing what it looks like to be a made in the image of Christ as you are very thoughtful and comforting.