It's the Best Time of the Year

Christmas morning FINALLY came and I couldn't wait to dive into my presents. We always sing Happy Birthday to Jesus and blow out a candle. Well, everyone else blows out their candles and I stay as far away from the fire as possible. Then we start with the stockings, or Santa Boots as I call them. I got some new chonies (which were desperately needed, I couldn't even pull my old ones up because they were so tight) and some Lightning McQueen pencils and note pads.

I thought I was pretty hilarious putting Santa's Boot on. Notice it doesn't fit up past my thigh...maybe Santa isn't as chubby as I thought!

Grandma made this awesome Buzz Lightyear blanket for me! I've slept with it every night since.

I sporadically would ask for a skateboard for Christmas. My Dad actually got one and blueprints to build a ramp in the backyard...and I got the mini version. I would still like my own life size one, but I'll have to practice my tricks on this one until I Mom thinks I'm old enough to get one.

Towards the end of my gifts my Dad told me to get him the blanket behind the couch. At first I thought "You have two legs!" but then went around the couch to get it. When I pulled at the blanket I found this awesome new bike! It's much bigger and sturdier than my old bike and even has pegs on the front wheels so I can do tricks:) The only problem is that I can't pedal backwards and I continuously bring my bike to a dead stop.

There was one last gift to open. I started peeling off the paper and wondered, could it be? Did Santa finally make my dreams come true?

Yes! I finally got my remote control flying helicopter!

It was a pretty awesome Christmas and I'm so sad to see it go.

The Eve Before Christmas

I love Christmas Eve at Paga's house. Most of my cousins are there, we eat yummy food and Santa comes. We also act out the Christmas story (the real one about Jesus birth) every year. This year I had a speaking part! I was the Inn keeper (or as Mom tells the story, the hotel manager) that had to tell Mary and Joseph there was "No Room". I got my costume on (reluctantly) and prepared for my acting debut. Jamie had been going over the lines with me all day and I knew them pretty solidly.


I'm getting a little liquid courage from Dad's Diet Pepsi.
I came across one of Paga's walking sticks while I was waiting to go on and thought it would be a great addition to my part. The time came and I went on. I spoke all my lines flawlessly!

*Note: after Mom shot this little video with her camera, she ordered a much better one with her Christmas money* She also cut out my first line "No Room" and my last line "Is this okay". Rookie:)

After the play we all sang Christmas Songs until Santa made his big debut during Jingle Bells. Thankfully there was a present in his bag for me, despite Mom telling me I was so bad this year that he might have brought me coal! I opened it up and found 2 wooden blocks and a note telling me to go look outside.

Dad hauled in this huge box from outside and when I ripped it open I found a huge rolling box with tons of wooden blocks in it!

My favorite part was that the box had M-A-X on it!! I knew it had to be mine, all mine. The cousins had fun building stuff with it all night and I had fun knocking it down:)

Thank You Santa, Where Ever You Are!

Santa: Where is my Remote Control Helicopter?

I saw Santa 3 times this Christmas. Every time I saw him I had the same request....all I wanted was a remote control flying helicopter (said exactly like that). Here is how the encounters went down.

Santa #1: the ward Christmas Party. I was finishing up my dinner when Santa came strolling through the gym. He handed me a candy cane and walked on. I started freaking out a little. I told my Mom that I needed to tell him I wanted a remote control flying helicopter. Mom said not to worry, I would get a chance to tell him sometime. No, I insisted, I needed to tell him NOW! Thankfully Santa did not leave, but was hanging out in one of the rooms outside the gym. I waited in line and when it was my turn confidently walked up to him and told him exactly what I wanted. He sat me on his lap, Mom snapped some pictures, and he asked me if I had been good. Yeah, yeah, yeah, of course I had. He handed me this little bag and I walked out the door with Mom. I looked in the bag and felt instant disappointment. I asked Mom "Where is my remote control flying helicopter?". My totally insensitive mother laughed. Evidently this Santa racket doesn't work on instant gratification. She told me I had to wait until Christmas day to see if Santa brought me what I wanted. Lame.

Santa #2: Fashion Island. Now this Santa looked legit. He was even sitting in his own little workshop. I thought this was for sure my chance. I insisted on going into see him. I once again waited in line then confidently walked up to him. I sat on his lap and clearly told him what I wanted "a remote control flying helicopter". Again we went through the picture bit and asking if I was a good boy. He handed me something and we were out the door. I looked down in anticipation to find.....a book. Are you kidding me? I asked Mom again where the helicopter was. My Mom was verging on hysterics this time when she explained how Santa apparently works.

Santa #3: Paga's House. We always spend Christmas Eve at Paga's house and I had a sneaking suspicion that Santa was going to make an appearance. I was telling all my cousins and aunts and uncles all night what I was hoping Santa was bringing me. The night went on, Christmas songs were sung, and as we were in the middle of Jingle Bells Santa made his appearance. This time he had a bag of presents with him. My chances looked very good. He pulled a box out and called my name. I rushed up and sat on his lap. I thanked him for the box, figuring he already knew from 2 previous visits exactly what I wanted.

You all may know how this story ends. I opened the box to find.....

blocks. Mind you there were tons of blocks and they made me totally forget the remote control flying helicopter for the night. I guess I would just have to wait for Christmas morning to see if the old bearded fat man would make my dreams come true!

A Very Disney Christmas

Every year that I can remember (and that is a lot of years!) we have been able to see Disneyland at Christmas time. Mom loves it so much during the holidays that she takes me as much as possible....and you won't hear me complain! The first visit during this season we walked into the part right when they lit up the huge Christmas tree on Main St. It was so beautiful!! We also happened to be in line for Small World the moment they turned all the lights on the outside. I guess you could say it was a kind of Christmas Miracle:)

Dad and Paga don't like to miss out during Christmas either, so we had two more trips to the park with each of them.

This is a picture inside Small World. There is so much to see (and smell) that I couldn't take my eyes off of it even for a picture!

We waited again (with the crowds of people) for the Small World lights to turn on. I didn't want Paga to miss it! We tried to see it with Dad, but there was the biggest crowd of people that blocked the whole walk way and didn't let anyone through. Sorry Dad, maybe next year.

I went to check on Santa's reindeer back by Thunder Mountain. It was pretty cool to see them live and up close. Two even locked horns and started fighting! Since Jingle Bells has been my favorite song this year I thought it was fitting to get my picture in a "one horse open sleigh".

I finally got to stay for the Christmas fireworks when I went with Paga. He even put me up on his shoulders so I could see everything. It was AWESOME! At the end of the show it snows all over Main St.! I think that was my favorite part of the day.

Even the castle gets snowed on! I love seeing it all lit up. I'm hoping to get one more trip to the park before everything goes back to normal...especially the Haunted Mansion. It is far less scary with Jack the Pumpkin King running the show. But I definitely got my Disney Christmas fix in for the year.

How Lovely is Home Depot

We continued our tradition this year of getting our tree at Home Depot. I have been going there a lot lately with Mom and love it! Aunt Jill had come to have breakfast with us, so she helped pick it out (although she would not get in any pictures). Here we are, standing by the beauty we quickly picked out.
I thought this inflatable snowman was pretty sweet. I wanted to get it so we could have it outside like Brooke, Kate, and Buzz. But I will have to settle for a friendly photo with my frosty friend.

We brought the tree to our new house and Dad got it pounded onto our tree stand. Mom put all the lights on as usual (cause she likes them a certain way) and all the breakable ornaments on. She saved a bunch of them for me to put on and I hung them all carefully in a big clump at the bottom of the tree. We even got our Disney ornament for this year and hung it up.

I LOVE our tree. It still smells good, even after a couple weeks! Every morning the first thing I do is turn on the Christmas lights. Maybe we could just replace the Christmas ornaments with hearts for Valentines day?

Chillin' With My Hommies: Brooke, Kate, and Buzz

Last week I got to spend 5 days with my cousins Brooke, Kate, and Buzz. I had a BLAST! The only downer was when we had to drop them off at school every morning. I was so sad to see my friends leave for hours! I begged my Mom every single day to go to school with them. I was told I wasn't old enough yet....I just think Mom needs a buddy.

Brooke started school late one day so we went and had breakfast together at Pipes Cafe. It was delicious! So delicious that I still ask to go there almost every day. That same day Kate and Buzz got out of school early. So we went to Panera Bread to have lunch (they have the best Mac and Cheese).

Kate was getting an award at school so I FINALLY got to go to her school! We went to the award assembly and I kept yelling "Kate, Kate" when she was standing up to get her award. I guess I didn't yell loud enough because she wouldn't look at me. I got some chuckles from the other parents in the crowd. I did catch up to her afterward and got my picture with the big award winner.

I loved when the kids came home because it was Play Time! One of my favorite games was "hit the tennis balls at Buzz". Mom wasn't too thrilled about it, but Buzz was a good sport to let me do it. I also went to Tae Kwon Do to watch Buzz. I loved it! Mom didn't really love it when I was kicking and "Hiya"ing everyone. I didn't get to go the second time:)
I'm hoping that staying with my cousins becomes a yearly tradition.

Thanksgiving in San Jose

I know it's been a crazy long time since I've had a new post...but things got kinda crazy around our house between Halloween and Thanksgiving. But more on the later.

For Thanksgiving we went to my Grandma and Grandpa's house in San Jose. It's a long way away from my house, but I love going there when I can. Not only did I get to spend time with Grandma and Grandpa, but my Aunt Barbara and Uncle Russel were there too. Plus their kids Cameron, Nathan, Eliza, and Sam...who I had tons of fun with. On Thanksgiving day we all went to the park by Grandma's house to let Grandma get the yummy cooking done. I rode the pink princess scooter all the way there!

When we got home (after my nap) we had a YUMMY Thanksgiving dinner ready for us. I had turkey, mashed potatoes, corn, and about 3 rolls.
I ate the rolls first:)


Mom ate enough for two so my baby brother could enjoy Thanksgiving too! Later we had pie. There was chocolate (my personal favorite), pumpkin, apple, and berry cobbler. Aunt Barbara even sprayed whipped cream in my mouth...which is something Mom never lets me do.

Grandma worked so hard on dinner she didn't even get a chance to take her apron off! She is such a great cook though. I'm going to be sad when she is in Germany next year and I won't get to eat her delicious food.

I don't know if it was the turkey or all the scootering to the park, but I crashed out pretty hard that night. I think Winston had a few too many treats too because he was right there with me. Maybe it was that huge ball of stuffing he woofed down before anyone could grab it out of his mouth:)

Last year I made a gingerbread house with Grandma. I decided I wanted to make it a tradition and asked her if we could do it again. She said yes and let Mom and Dad go do some shopping while we built it.

I like building it with Grandma because she lets me eat all the candy I want while we put it on the house.

Grandma puts on the frosting and I put the candy on the house. One for the house....three for me:)

I think it turned out pretty great!

Thanks Grandma and Grandpa for letting me come to your house again this year for another Awesome Thanksgiving!

SPOOOOOOOKY

For Halloween this year I decided to go as something a little less furry and cute, I went as a skeleton! I was outfitted in glow-in-the-dark skeleton PJ's and Mom painted my face like a skeleton. I think I look pretty scary! Halloween lasted for 3 days this year...we celebrated Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. You aren't hearing me complain about it either:)
Dad dressed up for work again this year. He decided to go as a nurse--which is kinda funny since he runs a nursing home. I kept asking Mom what she was going to be and she said "A pregnant Mommy", even though that's what she is every day.

We had Trunk or Treat at the church on Friday night. This is our spooky trunk. The picture doesn't do it justice. Unfortunately this is the only shot we have of our pumpkins. I drew the face on mine and Mom carved it. It even had a scar under one of its eyes!

Saturday we spent the day at Disneyland enjoying all the Halloween decorations. I didn't dress up, but I count it in the Halloween party weekend.

Sunday night I went to Romi's Aunt Annette's house for a little Halloween party and trick-or-treating. Romi and RT were Pebbles and Bam Bam, Dylan was a witch, and Devyn was Belle. Mom said I was embarrassing when we were trick-or-treating. I just wanted people to put the candy in my hand so I could see what it was. If it got dropped in my bucket before I could see it, I'd ask for another piece. I also figured out that if I could see the candy bucket I could request the kind of candy I wanted. Seemed logical to me! Mom said I just need to take what I get and say "thank you", but that takes all the fun out of it.

I'm still chowing down on the spoils of my Halloween weekend...but I have a feeling someone is helping me out when I'm not looking! Hope your Halloween was as fun as mine!

A Baby Brother

I've been telling people lately that I want a baby brother named Max. Up until today Mom told me that it might be a boy...but we wouldn't be naming him Max because that was my name. Most people were certain I was getting a baby sister. Turns out they were wrong!

In about 4 1/2 months, somewhere around March 25th, I'm getting a baby brother! I told Mom he is going to have blonde hair, blue eyes, and be short and chubby. Sounds kinda like someone I know:) I told Mom that I can't wait till he gets here so we can play baseball together. She said he might have to get a little bigger first...but it's never to early to start!
I don't know about you, but this picture looks an awful lot like a skeleton to me, not a baby.

The Last Birthday Post...for this year

The Saturday after my birthday we headed to Doheny Beach. My whole family was there to celebrate with me! It was so fun to have all my Aunts and Uncles and Cousins there. The weather was perfect....but the water was freezing! That didn't stop us from spending the whole day enjoying the sand and surf.
Here is Dad and I paddling out to catch some waves.

We caught one!

And no beach party would be complete with out a pit and a little death drop.

Mom picked up some Subway sandwiches and Aunt Lou Ann brought her famous ranch dip. Aunt Shalaine and Aunt Jen brought some fruit for everyone else to enjoy...but we all know I won't touch the stuff with a 10 ft. pole! It was a wonderful way to end my birthday extravaganza.

Bye Bye Boo Boo's

I have gone to Disneyland for my birthday every year since turning 1. This year was no different! Accept I hit a MAJOR mile stone while doing it. My Mom has been trying to get rid of my boo boo's (binki's) for a while and asked me if I wanted to give them to Mickey on my Birthday. I thought this sounded like a great idea! I asked every day if I could give Mickey my boo boo's today. The big day arrived and I decided to do it first thing when I got into the park. So we marched right back to Mickey's house in Toon Town (this is Mickey's car I'm riding in).
We went through Mickey's house and Mom handed me my bag of boo boo's. I was so excited I could hardly wait! Mickey's helper put us at the end of the group so we could have as much uninterrupted time with him as possible.

The moment was finally here. There was Mickey...just waiting for my boo boos. Dad was very skeptical and thought I would chicken out.

I proved him wrong by marching right up to Mickey and handing over my bag. Mickey was pretty excited to have my boo boos. I can understand why, I love those things! I thought he could probably put them to better use now I was a big 3 years old.

I gave Mickey a great big hug and walked out the door...never looking back. I think I made a good choice. I've asked for my boo boos a couple times, but Mom just reminds me what I did with them and I remember that Mickey is using them now.

Mom had also promised that if I gave away my boo boos I would get a big Mickey sucker and

a Buzz Lightyear with lights that spin around his head. It was TOTALLY worth it! I just take Buzz to bed with me now instead.

Dad even took Cuz and me on the teacups. He is a good sport to always go on this ride with me. After the boo boos I spend the day in the part with Paga, Aunt Shalaine, Cuz, and baby Marie. We stayed all day long and even saw the fireworks and Fantasmic! What a great birthday trip to Disney.