Christmas Eve, the most exciting night of the year for kids. After waiting all year long and hearing at least 100 times that Santa is watching you so you had better be good … he was finally coming!
The cookies were ready for Santa, the note had been written and the magic key was on the front door. All that was left to do was read Twas the Night Before Christmas.
We’ve been good Santa …
Dylan loves to help out in the kitchen. Especially when it means making cookies or some kind of sweet treat that he will be able to eat. This year we made cookies to give as gifts to people so it was an all day ordeal in the kitchen.
Dylan’s kindergarten class performed The Gingerbread Babies play this year for all the parents and grandparents. Dylan had the lead role as Mattie, the boy who saved the gingerbread babies from being eaten. He was so proud of himself as were all of his family.
After a long exhausting day of moving, what better to do than go get a Christmas Tree? Who cares that there are boxes everywhere and beds aren’t put together? After all, when you make a promise to your child you had better keep it!
Dylan has been asking for a Christmas Tree for weeks and I promised him that as soon as we moved we would get a tree and put up the Christmas decorations before we even unpacked any boxes. Well, I kept my promise and the smile on Dylan’s face was worth the feeling of sheer exhaustion that my body was feeling as we decorated the tree at 10pm!
Yes, it’s been less than a year since we moved last, but it’s time to pack up and move again. I knew that our last move would only be temporary, so it’s a great feeling to be moving this time. Going back to Newport Beach where we started our lives together almost 6 years ago is well … like going home!
Dylan enjoyed helping to pack up his room and pack his special magnets from the fridge. But I secretly know his favorite part was when we took his bed apart and he got to sleep with mommy for 2 nights.
OK, living in Orange County it just isn’t Christmas without a trip to Disneyland to see the fireworks and snow fall on Main Street… at least in our family it’s not. Trust me if we weren’t in the holiday spirit before, we are now … Walt has a special way of making that Christmas Magic touch us all.
So we all got bundled up in our hats, jackets and gloves and headed to Disneyland. I picked Dylan up from school early so he was really excited. We did all the usual rides with Aunt Stephie and also the new Nemo ride… Dylan really likes it. We visited Santa’s Reindeer Round-Up too! 
Grandma and Grandpa came later for dinner and the snow. The park was beautiful as usual, but unfortunately a certain little boy was too tired to stay awake for the snow.
Ah, to be a child and find the joy in the simple things. Dylan spent over an hour building his “invention”. He took all of his bouncy balls, some animals, a train, some cars, string and all sorts of other things to build this creation. It’s amazing what can be created when you just use your imagination!
What better way to spend a Saturday than at Sea World. After all, our passes expire in December so we might as well go one more time. Most people would think that a day at Sea World means watching the Shamu and Dolphin shows … not with my son. Dylan only wants to see the Sea Lion show and feed the Dolphins, Bat Rays and Sea Lions. Other than that we walk the exhibits, see all the marine animals and we’re done! This time I didn’t even have to buy a toy … all he wanted to spend money on was fish for the animals.
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It was such a nice day too. Perfect weather. Dylan was the tour guide and he chose where we went from the map. I tried to explain the logic of seeing things that were next to each other, but it didn’t work. We were all over the place! In most of the pictures his cheeks are puffed out … this is because he wanted to give the illusion that he was holding his breath and swimming under water with the animals. The park was decorated for Christmas so this made it fun too … helped get us in the holiday spirit.
Forget about the turkey, Dylan woke up asking for two pieces of pumpkin pie! This year Thanksgiving was a bit smaller than normal, but so nice and relaxing. Grandma made the turkey and all the fixings. When the turkey was done Dylan gave his impression of what a turkey does … Gobble, Gobble!
Now because the day was so relaxing, I failed to take the important pictures as planned. So there is no proof of the fixings, or of Dylan eating a turkey leg, or of the pumpkin pies. I know bad mom. However, I did manage to get the turkey cookies that Dylan made and Dylan and Great Grandma playing darts!
What a day for Dylan! After making Turkey Soup, Cornbread Muffins and Butter with his classmates it was finally time for the Feast. He was so excited and couldn’t wait for his family to come share. Unfortunately, Grandma and Grandpa couldn’t make it … but Mom and Aunt Stephie were there. Both kindergarten classes recited a Thanksgiving Poem and then sang a few songs for all the families. Then it was on to the food … let the feast begin!
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Life with Dylan 