Two More Christmases and One Unicorn

We are 100% officially done with Christmas 2010! Our Christmas celebrations stretched over 1 month for this holiday season...and now we can focus on Valentine's Day!

Last Sunday we had Grandpa Bruce (Scott's dad) and Grandma Sandy over for Christmas dinner...and gifts for Ava, of course. She has totally caught on to the idea of presents, and now we have a hard time keeping her from opening any gift she sees!

She absolutely LOVES the little vanity that she received from Bruce and Sandy. It came with a toy hair dryer, which she likes to use at the same time Mommy is getting ready in the morning. Plus, it has a drawer - the perfect place for all of her play makeup and jewelry that she got this year. I found her today in her room, twirling in circles, talking on her phone, telling someone that she needed to start getting ready to go out. Atta girl!

Grandpa Bruce and Princess Ava...and Darla, posing for the camera

Reading about Alice in Wonderland

Grandma Sandy providing support for Ava

The vanity!

And let's not forget the guitar...oh she rocked it!

She recevied the unicorn pillow pet on Christmas Eve...last week she was trying to ride it around her room!

Tonight we celebrated Christmas with Grandma Deb (Scott's mom) and Grandpa Whitey...and peas disguised as blueberries! (Not really, but that's what Ava thought the topping on the cheesecake was...) She received another round of really great gifts, including her first luggage set (super cute!), and a great guitar/piano/drum toy. Apparently the grandparents decided that Christmas 2010 was the year to give instruments...but not to keep at THEIR houses of course! :)

Ava and Buddy waiting patiently to open gifts...

Really cute boots for the snow

This package was as big as she was, and she couldn't wait to get into it!

Ta-da! A three-piece luggage set! Perfect for trips to the grandparents' houses!

And the last gift of the evening...

Again, waiting patiently for Daddy to put the strap on her guitar/drum/piano

Showing Grandma Deb how it works...

And finishing off the evening with a quick game of soccer. We also found out that she is NOT a fan of keep-away...

Quick update on Mommy...I have accepted a new job (same company), and will be leaving the Travel division at BI. I'll be heading back to the Technology Solutions Group...full circle from when I first started at BI! I'm excited about this change, and am looking forward to learning new things, and meeting a few new people (although I've already worked with quite a few of the people on my new team in my last stint there!)

See, 2011 is off to a great start already!

Comments

Typical Suburban Family said…

WOO HOO! Congrats to you on your new position!! What an exciting start to 2011.

January 10, 2011 at 8:33 AM

Exploring Local Places

Last Sunday was the perfect day to explore an area that neither Arya nor I had been to before. We headed east to walk around the Vermillion Falls/River and Greenway area. The path was nicely paved, with lots of overhead shade from trees; there were so many families out on bikes and walking, and we had a nice view of the Vermillion River. Arya got some great pics, and I enjoyed spending time outdoors with my sweet girl. This weekend, G and I will be heading out to explore a creek area in a few towns just south of us. And I've already got an idea for another creek I want to walk by next month (it's a bit further away, and I'd rather put that aside until Arya is off at college) The tree leans to find the sun On the way home, we stopped at the DQ in another town (we have a love/hate relationship with the DQ in our town, so I wanted to avoid it.) The warm weather felt great, and we enjoyed some sweet treats while watching the world drive by. We're counting down the days unti...

What a Week

The weather has been unseasonably warm this fall, so we've been able to extend our outdoor projects just a bit. This past week Scott's been working in the garden, cleaning everything out, and repairing the back wall of our garage. Ava was such a good little helper, scooping up dirt, but still trying to keep her hands clean while doing it! I swear, a box is all she needs to make her happy. Princess Darla. Princess Darla has had enough. I personally like how she and Ava have the same expressions in this picture. Apparently Spanky was bored - check out that yawn in the background! We went down to Grand Meadow this weekend, and as always, it was so fun to see Ava and Isabel play together. They actually had several little conversations with each other - and they were so polite while doing so! We even had them share a room last night...boy, that was a challenge. I think they finally fell asleep around 10:00pm. And of course, Ava wa...

Malls and Zoos

Last Sunday, my friend Kristin and I went to the Mall of America to listen to Kim and Penn Holderness talk about their new kids' book about ADHD. They interact so well with the audience, and they are a joy to watch and listen to. At the end, we met them and got my book signed. It was a great way to spend a Sunday afternoon with a friend! It's been a busy week. We sold Bernice (the Mariner) on Monday morning and had a company evaluate the Pilot on Monday night. They offered us much less than we wanted, so we passed. But someone we know is coming by this afternoon to look at it, so maybe it will go home with a new owner tonight. Fingers crossed that we're down to just 3 cars in the near future! Insurance is ridiculously high, and selling these two cars will save us at least $800/year. Every little penny adds up! G and I ran a bunch of errands this morning, then topped it off with a trip to a French bakery I had been wanting to try in the next town over. Ooh la la! Since he...

Go, Go, Goers!

Search This Blog