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Christmas time is always pretty hectic, and definitely not one of my favorite time of year. Call me Grinch, but I really don’t care for holiday music much, and hate all the stress associate with it, the rushing, the crowds, the 4 months holiday decorations in the stores…having a little boy at home, though, definitely made it better. This year however, it has been a very stressful time, because we had to deal with lots of house issues, challenges and financial hurdles all the way till the end (we signed mortgage docs on the 22nd, and everything was finalized on the 30th).

To make things more fun, it rained the whole week before Christmas. This year, which was supposed to be a very dry, la niña year, has been one of the wettest year in history. It even rained three days in a row, non stop. So, all the fun Christmas activities I planned to do with Keegan had to be postponed. No matter, we were still able to have a fun Christmas time.

The season actually started early, right after his birthday party. The next day, to be exact. One of his buddies from school, Van, was hosting a fund-raising party at his house. And what a party it was: there was real snow in the front lawn, lots of wonderful raffle prizes (and guess, what, I did not win any of them. Surprise, surprise), craft stations, cookie decorating stations, lots of food and music, and even Santa Claus, sitting in a pool house. Keegan loved the snow: even if he was a little perplexed at first, he soon joined  in a snow ball fight: the kids against the inflatable penguins.

The weather was beautiful and warm, so we just played in the sun. We ate lots of cookies, did some crafts…

…and got our picture with Santa. As always, for as much as Keegan likes Santa, he is shy when it comes to sit on his lap. A quick round of high-fives and a candy cane helped.

It was a great party, that led to an epic nap. After the nap we went to buy the Christmas tree, a table top again, and the Christmas holidays season and countdown was upon us. This year we also got sucked into the Elf On a Shelf craze. Keegan was  really misbehaving right after his birthday — probably he got too much attention then — so we thought we needed an extra incentive to calm him down. Enters the Elf. This is a book about a little elf sent by Santa to report back on his assigned child’s behavior. The book actually comes with the elf in question, that you get to name. The elf itself it is a little creepy looking — Matt compared it to Chuckie— and the illustrations not that great, but whatever works. Keegan loved it, and it was a nice incentive to behave better.

This year Keegan could hardly wait for Christmas time, and he was constantly mentioning toys he wanted…mainly everything he saw in the millions catalogs that arrive at our house. To stop the greed wave, we really tried to talk to him about Christmas as a time for giving not just getting. We made an effort to donate foods or toiletry in grocery stores bin when we were shopping together and we even donated some toys to the Toys For Tots organization.

We also made it to the parade Of Lights Event this year, in a rare and unseasonably warm Sunday in the middle of December. It is a very nice San Diego tradition: every year many boats decked out with lights and decorations will slowly parade in the San Diego Bay. Many of them also have loud speakers playing holiday music, so it is a very festive event. We got to see the show from the beach, so Keegan got a chance of play with the sand when he got bored. The festivities started with fireworks, and Keegan loved them. It was his first firework show (usually they are too late for him) and he had a blast (no pun intended).

The Christmas, or should I say Holiday party (they sang a Hanukkah song, even if Hanukkah was over by then) at his school was on December 23. This year they had an afternoon party at his own school, and it worked out a lot better. When we arrived the kids were signing holiday songs, the same same songs Keegan has been singing non-stop at home for the past month, at the top of his lung. And now that is showtime…he is barely opening his mouth, but at least he is vigorously shaking his bell. After the performance, Santa Claus AND Mrs. Claus showed up. They were great, especially compared to the pitiful Santa in cheap polyester suit and obviously fake beard that showed up last year. It must have been true what I have read on the paper: many high-end Santas were jobless this year, and slashing their prices.

They sang songs, joked and posed for pictures.

Keegan looked more perplexed than anything else, but I thought they were great.

In fact when it was time for pictures, he grudgingly posed for a group photo, but then he went on to play with his friends and did not want to sit on Santa’s lap. Good thing we had a nice shot from Van’s party.

I like this little Santa girl more…

The party was on the last school day, and it kicked off our long holiday. Both of us had the whole week off, so no real vacation for me. (-:  Fortunately Matt took some time off (in part for nursing a bad cold) so we had many fun times together.

On Christmas Eve we headed over Krista, Eric and Torin’s house for an impromptu evening celebration. Two other children were there and Keegan and Torin were their usual, wild selves.

I love this picture: it is hard to tell if they look angelic or if this is the expression of someone who has been up to no good and tries to fake innocence. What do you think?

They played well together, which meant lots of adult time for us. We munched on delicious food, drank even better cocktails and opened gifts. Keegan loved that part.

Since it was Christmas Eve, we did move his bedtime a little later, but before leaving, we made sure he was all ready for bed. Wearing his PJ he settled with Torin for a little playful bonding time and then it was time for goodbyes.

Once again, we spent the rest of Christmas Eve wrapping and setting everything under the tree. As always it looked magical when we were done.

Christmas morning started well. Keegan slept till 6.30!!! Merry Christmas to us! To be honest, he had been sleeping “late” for a few day before that; it may have been the cold weather, the rain, or a growth spur…whatever it is we savor it, as we already know it will not last. Of course he got up almost right away, after his milk, and run to see if Santa has come. And then he immediately tore into the presents.

He could not wait for the evening for his stocking: he dove right in.

While we did try to keep the number low, we still ended up with a huge mound of wrapping paper, ribbons, cardboard boxes and assorted toys. As always, it looked like a tornado ripped through our living room.

Right afterwards, we called my parents and did a festive Skype session. My sister and her family was also there so we had the chance of wishing everyone Buon Natale. Keegan was a little shy (too many people) but it was nice to see everyone.

Then it was time for my last gift: nap time! A glorious two hours nap. Keegan also had a very nice, long rest, along with Matt. Once we were all awake, we headed out to watch the Light Displays in Clairemont. Because of the rain, we were unable to check them out earlier, but even if some lights were out, most of the street was still lit up and pretty great. We had a good time strolling around.

We put Keegan to sleep with some difficulties: he was way too excited. Once he finally crashed we had a nice, romantic dinner for us, and spent some quality times together.

Once again, Christmas was over in what felt like an instant, but we had a great time indeed. Even if we are little sad to be away from family during the holidays, we are very fortunate to spend our Christmas with friends and our wonderful little guy.

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Having a birthday also means getting a check up. So, exactly a week after the big day, we went to see Keegan’s doctor. It has been a difficult week, with lots of tantrums and lots of pushing boundaries, with the apex the night before: an epic meltdown at bedtime that meant going to bed without books or cuddles.

That seemed to work, fortunately, so he was very well behaved at the doctor’s office. I can’t really say the same for me, as I was getting very irritated by the long wait. This time he got seen both by a resident doctor and our usual doctor. As a fist thing, he had to take an eye test. Just a regular test, with symbols instead of letters. He has perfect 2o/20 at this point. Of course we don’t really have much hope he will keep it, but hopefully it will last a long time. Then they gave him an hearing test: they placed headphones on him, and asked him to clap when he was hearing a whistle. He did well in this test too, showing not only a good hearing, but also good comprehension and ability to follow directions. They also gave him a gown for the first time: a gown that would fit a 10 years old. He kept him on long enough for a photo and then he was running around naked.

Everything else got checked too: he is in good health and at a good development state. We talked about the fact he is “double jointed” (Hypermobility) just like me, and what sports would be good for him. We are leaning towards contact sports, like wrestling or martial arts…unfortunately he is still too young for that. He still on the 50% for height (approx. 95 cm or 37 in) and up to an incredible 50% for weight at 31 lb (14 kg). Amazing! Maybe we should put him on a diet now…just kidding.

The worse part of the exam was the blood test. While last time it did not phase him, maybe because he did not know what it was, this time he was scared and cried a lot. Fortunately it only lasted a minute or so. We are checking for lead: our house used to contain lead based paint, and when the drywall was cut open, some of the dust spread so we want to make sure he does not have elevated lead levels. We have not seen the results yet, but no news hopefully is good news.

So, what can we say about our 3 year old?

• He really likes languages, at this point. He often asks us how to say something in one language or another. He also still enjoys his Spanish class a lot
• He also likes water and swimming. He is learning how to swim alone. Now he can jump underwater and swim alone for a few seconds, come back for air and go under again. He is not moving very far, but at least I feel better knowing he knows how to come up for air
• He is getting more and more interested in puzzles. He still not excellent at it, but he enjoys trying (and getting some help finishing them up). He likes to play with them in the new under the stair storage closet. We are tryng to explain to him that it is not his new hideaway…

• He is more physical than ever. He loves to jump, and he is quite fearless, and likes to run and wrestle. He still craves physical contact all the time. At this point, we are full of “battle” scars
• He is still very social: all day interaction at school is still not enough. He wants more and we try to plan after school activities and playdates as often as possible.
• He is showing some interest in reading, asking what some words say. He recognizes the whole alphabet, and recognizes the letters in simple words like Vons and Taxi. He is starting to recognize letters sounds and what letter a word starts with
• He  still likes books a lot
• His favorite toys are trains and balls (soccer balls, jumping balls, throwing balls), but he is also enjoying playing (banging) with tools like his toy power drill or the hammer

• He likes music, dancing and singing.
• He is still very intense, in good and bad. He squeals with joy and screams in anger
• He knows how to roll the R
• He can dress and undressed by himself, with few mistakes. Still working on buckles, zippers, etc.
• He likes pretend play and dress up. One of his favorite activities at school is dressing up like a tiger and running around growling

So, he is a wonderfully active little boy, and it is amazing to watch him grow and develop into his own little person, so similar to me but also so different.

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It is hard to believe Keegan is already three, but sure enough his birthday came and went. And what an event that was: for days afterward we paid with extra tantrums all the special attention the little guy received.

This year, Keegan has been really anticipating this day. He had learned early in the year that his birthday comes in December and that he would be three then. So, there was no way to let it go unnoticed.

Of course, for us, the hectic preparations started way earlier, but for him, the festivities began the day before, when we went to Von’s to buy a festive balloon, some goodies for his preschool party, and to order a birthday cake for his real party on Saturday. After much pondering, Keegan chose the train motive, with a Thomas train on it and some writing. It wasn’t actually too bad: fresh strawberries inside a marbled cake. He even got to taste two different frosting: of course Keegan picked the sweetest of the two.

On Friday, his actual birthday, we started the day by celebrating him and letting him open one gift from his grandparents: it was a fun puzzle book. We got him to pose in his new favorite jacket with his birthday balloon…he does not seems excited but trust me, he was bouncing off the walls. He just does not enjoy pictures.

Then, we sent him to school with chocolate chip muffins and grapes to share with his class. His new teacher, ms. Joanna, made him a crown, and I have been told that he got to hear the Happy Birthday song all day long (sorry everyone). One of the other teachers sent me the pictures of the party in progress.

I picked him up in the afternoon: Matt was already at home, since he had to meet some garage door guy, so it was a nice surprise for Keegan. Of course, the first thing he wanted to do was to open presents. We tried to limit the number, since we knew he would get more toys the following day, but he still lots: a build-yourself biplane (since we saw many at the Air Museum); a wood train set; and a small helicopter- hauling truck. I nonni sent him a couple of books, a set of paper place mats that convert into paper airplanes and and RC motorcycle. Wow, he is a lucky little guy.

can’t wait to open the presents…

my new wood train is pretty cool

Please note our plastic wrapped new carpet…and good thing we had this too, because I immediately spilled OJ on it

We ate pizza for dinner, one of his favorite foods and a little chocolate cake. We blew up the candles and took the obligatory pictures, and then back to play with the new toys once more.

Getting him to sleep was not easy: between the sugar and the excitement he woke up a few times that night. The next morning it was showtime!!!

The party has been the biggest stressor and the biggest unknown…literally. We sent out invitation without a site, since we wanted to have the party outside. Our house is still not 100% done and we had invited about 15 children: there was no way they would fit in our house. So, we checked the weather report religiously, and everything looked fine till the Monday before, when all weather reports showed rain for that day. Of course we panicked: we had no plan B, and it was too late to rent anything. So, we waited and hoped, and fortunately the chance of rain was reduced to 20%, so we took our chances. We rented a nice combo bouncie with a slide, and we headed to Liberty Station Park. It was the perfect location, with huge grass fields, a close by playground and open bathrooms.

Matt left early to pick up the cake and meet the set up guys, but I could not get the birthday boy out of the house: so he was actually late to his own party. He was so excited when he saw his bouncie and his friends!

It was definitely a good call! All the kids (and there were 12 of them) had a great time. We also brought some bouncing balls, so they had small races.

All the kids wore themselves out.

Thank you Krista for climbing up the slide to take this shot!

Keegan was so tired and cranky by noon, that he did not want to eat any pizza or cake!!! Fortunately, everyone else was hungry, since we had a lot of food.

a tired and cranky birthday boy

However he got a second wind when he saw on his best buddies from school, Kelson, arriving: for some reason he never got the invitation so we were not sure if we could get hold of him.

Kelsen and Elliott on the field

Impromptu soccer matches (and relative fights) ensued, and then more bouncing and running around. Keegan “tried” to take a nap, by laying down in the grass, but did not last long. Most kids were gone by 2pm, except for Hannah, so the two of them got some more jumping in. They even got me to jump. Man it is hard work… But the slide is fun!

Hannah and her baby sister Natalie

Then they took turns with the awesome Stomp Rocket she brought him.

We also got some party crashers: but we could not say NO. It is hard to see a bouncie and not being able to go in.

Keegan and I finally left around 3pm, while Matt had to stay behind waiting for the guys to pick everything up. Keegan fell asleep as soon as he hit the car seat, as expected. It was easy get him to bed and he had a nice nap. I did have to wake him up as it was getting late and he was obviously a little out of sorts:he bounced so much, he ended up throwing up all over me. Fun times. He was also still tired. Not too tired for opening the presents, mind you, but still. He got to unwrap them all, but we had him choose 4 and put away the rest. We did not want to be overwhelmed. He got so many cool toys!

Unwrapping toys is serious business

After more playing he ended up going to bed earlier than usual, with no fuss. Tired but happy. It is exhausting being the birthday boy!

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It is amazing how, right after Halloween, time really seems to fly by. before we knew it Thanksgiving was gone, and the Keegan’s Birthday/Christmas/ New Year marathon began.

It was a nice one, though. We started the festivities with the Thanksgiving feast at Keegan’s school. Some of the parents brought food (no, not me of course…but we were not asked), and we all set up to lunch outside. Keegan even ate some of the food, which is remarkable. Just as for any holiday the school closed early, so we headed home for our nap. Amazingly, even if there were workers finishing up our carpets and tiles, Keegan easily settled down for his nap.

The weather has been unseasonably (for San Diego) cold, which was just “perfect”, since our heater was out and the technician could not come for at least 10 days. I guess cuddling under blankets made the holiday cozier.

On Thanksgving day we took it easy. In the morning Keegan and I met with our neighbors Sharon and Jada for a playdate at the Cadmen park, with a beautiful view of the bay. It was sunny, and chilly, but we had a great time.

hanging like little monkeys

sliding together

The kids played together very well, and to see them in the convertible toy car, hugging each other and kissing, gave me a “flash forward”…Brrr, not looking forward to the whole dating drama! But at almost three they are just adorable.

After a nice two hours nap, we played around the house, in our new carpets and tiles; this is something to be grateful for: new, clean carpets and tiles instead of broken down concrete and linoleum pieces.

Matt cooked a wonderful dinner, as always, with all the traditional food. It was a little hectic to get everything ready, take the pictures and actually sit down and eat with Keegan running around, but we did it.  Keegan “helped” daddy with the cooking, while I set the table and got everything else ready.

And we all felt really fortunate to have each other and very blessed.

The next day was even more hectic as we tried to get all packed and ready to go. We decided to spend two nights in a rented house at desert Hot Springs. The idea was to be in a warmer place, and possibly even to swim in the heated pool. The average temperature over there for November is 78. Of course, this being 2010, the year where every little thing is not going our way, we were in the middle of an unusual cold spell, so the average temperature was in the  low 60s. Goodbye swimming. The house, though was wonderful, and it even had a small yard for Keegan to run and play l. And best of all, the heater was working!

After a couple of false starts, we finally got underway around 1.30. Keegan slept a couple of  hours and when he woke up, he was so tired, he basically stared into space till we got there. I got a little nap myself.

We arrived  just before dark, so we kicked the ball around and ate some nice leftover. Keegan also took a long, epic bath in the nice soaking tub. Keegan loved “his surfer room”, and we really enjoyed how easy and convenient it was to rent a house instead of going to a hotel.

we really need to work on the smiling

In the evening, after getting Keegan to bed (which was not an easy task), we watched tv and did some internet shopping: it was black Friday after all. We mainly took care of Keegan’s birthday. One hurdle at a time.

Keegan slept pretty well, only waking up a couple of times, and the next morning he was ready to play. I took a nice nap, and then we all headed down to the Children Discovery Museum of The Desert. I liked it better than the San Diego one: it was huge and lots of things for children to do, even small ones. Keegan loved the rope maze, and painting on the car, an old BMW Beetle.

He spent time riding the police motorcycle, and “running” in the wheelchair, as well as making pizzas. We avoided the whole supermarket: honestly, we get enough lines in the real thing!

The museums also had a nice outdoor area, so we spent some times playing ball. We headed home for some lunch and a nice nap, and all of us got a couple of hours under the covers…Late afternoon was sunny but very windy: Keegan almost flew off the play structure! So, we went to the store and grabbed some food instead.

The next day it was already time to leave. Matt took a morning nap, while Keegan and I played. He showed off his newly acquired skill: rolling his R. It was a big surprise since we have been trying for a while now, without big success, and now, all of a sudden, here they are! He is still working on Rs that are inside words (such as Carta), but we will get there soon. I think Spanish class helped too. Now we have to start working on the GN and GL sound.

After packing everything up, we headed to the Palm Spring Air Museum. It was pretty cool: there were a lot of WWII planes and it was fun to get a closer look. Keegan especially liked the scary images painted on some of them.

The best part for him, however, was the children section, where kids could paint a plane, climb in the cockpit of a couple other and ride the vintage fire truck.

Prying him off was not easy, but it was already lunch time. So, after a quick stop at a family restaurant we headed back to San Diego. Keegan slept the whole way, so we had a very peaceful trip, and we made it home in less than 3 hours.

It was great to get away from the construction zone for a few days, and we had a really  good time. However the amount of packing and prepping involved for a simple three day trip may make us reconsider our Christmas plans! We really would like to take Keegan to see the snow, but maybe a day trip is all we need.

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