tizimatt.info

This year, the traditional Christmas season felt very long, since Thanksgiving was so early, so we managed to pack in lots of holiday activities. The weather was not the best, as a series of storms brought rain and cold weather but we did not let it deter us. The weird weather also brought bizarre instrument malfunctioning. This is what we saw one morning on our weather station.

Granted, it was a little cold, but 10 degree? And snowing??? We had to take a picture, as we will never see a snow forecast for San Diego again! Or so I thought. A few days later, my car gave me a snow warning, with beeping alarm. It was really ironic, because I was struggling to see the road, blinded by the sun when the snow alarm went off… (do you see the snowflake next to the temperature?). It actually warns you about the possibility of black ice, but still I thought it was funny.

Anyway, cold and rain aside, we started the season with a bang. We had a fun weekend in Laguna Mountains with our friend Sara and her daughters Alyce and Betty. We rented a cabin and we spent two nights there. We were hoping for some snow, but not such luck: the snowflakes fell promptly three days after we left. N0 matter: we still had a great time.

We left on Friday, December 8 and arrived at the cabin around 5pm. Matt took the day off, and did an amazing job at preparing everything for the trip. He is really the best planner. The cabin was a cute two bedrooms, with a fireplace right inside Cleveland National Forest. The kids went along pretty well, and Keegan found that Betty was his perfect audience as well his perfect companion for loud, crazy games…does that mean Keegan has the emotional maturity of a three year old???

That evening we prepared dinner and we started a nice fire. It was beautiful, and it was perfect for indoor s’mores. The kids were excited, and the huge, flavorful marshmallows that Jennifer gave Keegan for his birthday were a big hit.

The night was a little challenging, as it was very difficult for the kids to settle down, and poor Sara took the brunt of it. Early in the morning the kids were up, but I was so tired I did not really hear them. Sara took them for a nice walk, then Matt cooked a wonderful pancake and eggs breakfast. Nothing better that to wake up with the smell of warm eggs and syrup.

After breakfast, it was time to get out and burn some energy.

We took the kids to a short half-mile hike, which became better known as “the longest half a mile” in history. At one point or another each of the kids had a nice meltdown or whining episode. We adults, though enjoyed the walk, on a pretty sunny day. We stopped at the top of the Kwaaymii Trail resting at the mortar holes used to grind acorns to take pictures.

The shop/museum at the beginning of the trail was much more of a hit, and the kids enjoyed touching different pelts and embalmed animals.

Miraculously, all kids (and Matt) took a nap, so Sara and I were able to kick back and relax. When all the kids woke up, we got ready for our big adventure: The Santa Train, the main reason why we were there. This was an hour train ride, on an old train, modeled on the famous book, The Polar Express. The kids were excited and so were we. The train was in Campo, about 45 minutes away.We arrived just before sunset, and posed for pictures with the resident Hobo, who let our kids borrow his stick.

We boarded just before 5pm, and soon the train left the station. Elves went around with Santa’s lists to fill out, and hot cocoa and chocolate chip cookies.

The kids were so excited they could not stay still a second, especially Betty and Keegan, who were feeding off each other. Next, the elves were supposed to read the Polar Express story and lead us into Christmas carols, as we traveled towards the “North Pole”, and they did try…but as Sara mentioned, probably we had the “elves in training”, as it was impossible to hear them. They did not have a microphone and their voices were very soft. It was so bad that some of the parents took it upon themselves to start up Christmas caroling. The kids did not care. All of the sudden, the train came to a stop, and right outside the window we saw Santa’s workshop! We all waved, and as the train started his way back, Santa boarded the train, and stopped with each family. Keegan was very shy, and only asked for “toys”, despite being very aware of what he wanted.

After sitting on Santa’s lap, each child received a silver bell, like in the story. We were very careful not to lose it, though, and it went to adorn Keegan’s small Christmas tree at home.

At the end of train, all the kids were brimming with excitement, and all the parents were looking forward to a nice, cold one. At least, the kids were all tired, and the night went much better. Us adult enjoyed some wine and nice talks before a well deserved sleep. We left the next morning after breakfast: Keegan had a birthday party that afternoon, and we wanted to have enough time to rest. We had a really good time, and we were happy to see the kids went along well. It is the first real “sleepover” Keegan had and it is great to see he did so well.

Back in San Diego, after a nice nap, we headed back to Pump it Up for Gaia’s birthday. It was interesting to be back just a week later, and even more interesting to see how Keegan behaved: while on his birthday he was a mad man, running around and trying all jumpies, this time he was really shy, and did not want to participate. Fortunately, Matt agreed to play with him in the inflatables, and so he had a good time.

swinging upside down is his favorite thing to do.

The second week in December was busy. Keegan had his annual check up and everything went well. He is growing at the appropriate rate, and in fact is now almost at the 50% for weight, and 30% for height. Quite a far cry from the 2% that had us worried when he was a baby. He is 40lb and 42 inches, and even his drawings have improved from the scribbles of last year. He started drawing himself (the big one in the middle) and upon request he added me on the right, with hair (I asked for it) and Matt, the small one on the left. What a masterpiece! Well, hopefully he takes after daddy, and he will be an engineer.

On Wednesday, our local library was hosting a Ginger Bread Decorating event, and thanks to a cancellation we were able to participate. It was pretty fun. Each kid had a plain house and frosting to decorate it. Everyone brought candy to share.

Keegan enjoyed selecting the candies and placing them over the frosting, even if he needed some help cementing them down.

At the end he got to take his house back with him. Of course is way more fun decorating it than eating it, so we still have most of it around.

This year we have been encouraging his belief in Santa a little more. I guess I felt guilty not encouraging this fantasy while he is still young enough to enjoy it, so we cranked it up a little. I wrote a letter from Santa to Keegan, and brought it to the post office, so they can send it back with the stamp from North Pole (Alaska). Together we also wrote a letter from Keegan to Santa, asking for toys he wanted.

We picked a day to mail it in the special mailbox inside Macy’s: ever year, this department store pairs up with Make A Wish Foundation (a charity that grants wishes to seriously ill children) and donates $1 per letter to Santa it receives. It then brings the letter to the post office. So it is a win win situation. And as I found out later, if you include a return address, you receive a letter back from Santa, thanking you for your note. So, Keegan got 2 letters from Santa this year!

We went to the local mall to drop the letter off, and take our annual picture with Santa.

Of course, it started raining, no pouring, the moment we arrived. Matt met us there too, and we all get completely soaked. It makes for an interesting Santa shot. After a large remodel at the mall, Santa now has a new setting, completely bathed with red lights. It was somewhat unsettling, but I guess they do this to prevent parents from taking their own photos.

Of course there was no line, since it was raining so hard, and we were lucky it was open at all. Oh well, it makes for an interesting story. At night, we grabbed some pizza and watched Monsters Inc: Keegan loved it, and I really enjoy it as well. I got to cuddle him the whole movie: it meant so much as it was the same day as the tragic school massacre in Connecticut. How lucky I am to have him, my little boy, to cuddle. our hearts and thought were with these Connecticut parents.

On Sunday we went to my annual Christmas Brunch. Our sitter flaked on us almost at the last minute, but fortunately Van’s mom Gayle offered to watch him and planned a fun play date at Balboa Park. We were so grateful, and we really enjoyed our brunch. Keegan had a blast!

The last week before vacation was a busy one: between work meetings, medical exams, assembling goodie bags, and Christmas time errands time flew by.

This year I have been pretty good, getting most of my shopping done early, but I still found myself assembling gifts and wrapping till almost Christmas. So, as Matt was baking cookies for the cookies exchange at Keegan’s school, I was wrapping and writing cards.

delicious sugar cookies

We finally made it to Friday, the last day before Christmas vacation. The work days went by fast, and Matt and I went to Keegan’s school for the annual Christmas party. As always, the kids were all ready to sing Christmas (and Hanukkah’s) songs, with their elves’ hats and their bells.

Van, Keegan, Brady and Elliott

They were adorable as always, even if it was complete chaos. After the songs, Santa came to visit. Unfortunately they did not hire the great couple that was here in the past two years, and the guy that showed up was a little lame. No singing, or dancing, or involving the kids. He simply sat on his chair and the kids posed for pictures. They did not seem to mind, though.

Then it was cookie time! There were a lot of delicious cookies to exchange and we all enjoyed some socializing with other parents. After the party, we went home to get ready: Keegan had another pool party to attend! It was a Parents Night Out, but this time Keegan was excited, especially because they promised pizza and a movie. We dropped him off at 5.30, and we had a nice date night, a very Clairemont date night: we watched the movie Hitchcock, ate greek food and finished off with an ice cream…all within the strip mall by our house. It was perfect, and we were just in time to pick him up. Keegan had a blast and made new friends, and we enjoyed some adult time…what better way to start our Christmas vacation???

Comments are off for this post