A very merry Christmas

Christmas Eve was celebrated at our home this year. It was a lovely evening filled with plenty of good food, good company, family, and love.



Our little walker entertained us all by toddling around most of the evening. Ryan similarly entertained with his cries of, "Open it! Open it!" It was a very merry Christmas for all.

What will tomorrow bring?

As of yesterday, the most Sara had walked independently was about four steps.

Then came tonight. We went to Ryan's Christmas program at his preschool, and Sara started walking down the aisle! We counted as many as 10-12 steps on numerous occasions. Of course, I insisted on capturing the moment before we left the church, which is why you see her walking down a random church corridor in this video.

It's still not her preferred mode of travel, but I'm seriously wondering what tomorrow will bring. Will I wake to a crawler or a (gasp!) walker? Whatever the case, it's clear her days on all fours are numbered!

A visit with Santa

Tanja and I took Ryan and Sara to see Santa Claus at the Cerritos Mall today. I thought Baby Girl would scream her head off, but I was pleasantly surprised!

Ryan wants a monster truck for Christmas. Sara just stared at Santa quizzically. :)

Frohes Fest!

On Saturday night we and the Rosas went to a dinner party hosted by our friends the Masterjohns. The Masterjohns have a love of many things German: BMWs, German food, and of course yours truly. ;)

We had a really fun evening watching the kids, catching up, and eating delicious food! This was followed by decorating our graham cracker houses. Later on we headed over to a neighborhood in Brea that does an exceptional job with the Christmas lights. It was a great time overall, and we hope to do it again next year!

Play date

Today a couple of my friends from Mommy & Me came over with their kids. They're too young to really play together, but they basically crawled over each other as they tried to get to their mommies. Plus, we adult ladies had lots of fun! ;)

Road trip

This past weekend we went out to Lake Havasu with Tanja, Eric, and Ryan. The weather was beautiful, and we really enjoyed the Christmas boat parade.

I only took a few pictures on the drive up, so here they are. :)

Baking cookies with Karen

Last year, my friend Karen came over a couple of weeks before Christmas to bake cookies. My little newborn Sara Jo basically slept the whole day, and Karen and I baked our little hearts out and had a wonderful time.

This year, we decided to get together again, and our little baking tradition has been born! This year, we made three varieties: gingerbread cookies, sugar cookies, and walnut cookies. Sara was a good sport but definitely wanted to be in on the action.

I'm already looking forward to next year!