EmPiNaDas

This New Years Eve, as we often do, we spent the evening with Dario & Fam. making Empinada's and eating wonderful Argentine food.

James had been talking about it for the 2 days prior to the event. He was so excited to go to "Big Dario's house" and "see Roman and Gabby." And, he had a great time!

He even helped Dario roll out some Empi dough and then helped Dad stuff them. In all, there were over 150 empinada's! And they were so good!!




We could only stay until around 9. Isabel is super picky about going to sleep in strange places. (I think she really just missed Dolphi and Tinafey.) But it worked out great. We saw our friends, stuffed our faces, and had a great time ringing in the new year (even if 3 out of the 4 of us were fast asleep by midnight!)

The Inbetween

Inbetween Christmas and New Years we did a little of this and a little of that. Among the highlights....

JL made a sweet fishing rod holder for the 'man-room.'

Dressing the kids in new clothes for church (what is it about cute clothes that immediately bring on the tears? Like they KNOW I'm trying to get a cute picture!)



Eating at our favorite burger joint.

Playing outside and chillin' in the La-z-James chair.



And of course, playing with new toys!

Christmas 08

We had a great Christmas this year. James had a full understanding of the holiday this time around. And naturally, was super excited for presents! He had been very disciplined and controled around the ones that were under the tree for weeks - so when the time came to finally see what was in them - he went wild!


Isabel surprised all of us with her understanding of the whole present thing. At only 10 mo's of age, she was tearing into her presents with the rest of us! She would get really excited when she'd see the gift and squeal and dance (she'll get up on her knees and bop and throw her arms in the air). Then she'd play with her gift for a bit until it was time to move on to the next one!


James is a funny kid. You never can tell with him which toy is his favorite. He seems to love them all equally. He plays and plays and plays with one, and then moves onto another only to repeat. But, it seems like the leaders (so far) are his chair and his Imaginex jungle playset (which lives in the belly of the shark tent.) The chair is a total surprise to us. I thought he would like it - but I had no idea he would like it as much as he does. It's become his spot. He can always be found in it when the TV is on. And not only that, but he drags his pillows into it and curls up like a ball to just relax! It's terribly sweet. And the Imaginex playset has provided HOURS of entertainment for him so far.




Isabel, on the other hand, has clear favorites! Probably her all time favorite thing is her Cabbage Patch Newborn which she has affectionately named Tinafey. She drags poor Tinafey around by her legs, arms, shirt, you name it. But it's really cute because she also loves on her (even at this young age!) She holds her close and gives hugs and smothers poor Tinafey with kisses. She's also drags her along to bed with her. Another obvious favorite is her Sing-a-long piano that Santa brought. It has a microphone, and apparently Isabel thinks she is quite the singer! She talks and squeaks and squawks and laughs and screams right into the microphone then delights in the fact that she has become so LOUD!




Among everything, there are those toys that BOTH children love. The ball blower is the most obvious joint toy (even though it is Isabel's - James always is "going to share.") Another favorite is the jump horse. James gets on and rides around saying "Ye-haw cowboy!" He always asks if Isabel can ride with him. I usually hold her on the saddle right behind him and then they both ride. Isabel LOVES to ride the horse with her brother!



So thank you, everyone for helping to make this such a fun and memorable Christmas. We only wish y'all were closer so we could see you!

On the Eve

We all woke early to make the drive to Oxacan Tamaleo. Let me explain. Among our new traditions for this year, we have added Christmas Tamale's to the list. JL did some research and found a place just a bit south of here that has recently won several awards for having the best tamales. Only problem? Most people knew this and placed their orders MONTHS ago.

But, after talking to the owner, I was able to hook us up with "whatever they had leftover." Only catch was we had to be there at 8am when they opened to snatch them up.

Let me just say, we were not disappointed. The tamales are delish! I'm not a huge tamale fan (I don't like gritty, non-flavored tamales) but these ones made me a believer! They were wrapped in HUGE banana leaves and SOOO good.

We walked away with 2 dozen! 12 pork and 12 chicken mole. Not too bad for a couple of newbie's that just had to settle for leftovers! We immediately went home and cooked up a bunch! JL made a batch of his homemade salsa and I was in tamale heaven!

After that, we did some last minute shopping. James and Isabel were kind enough to drive our cart around the store.


After that, we spent the day at home playing and getting ready for Santa. James and Dad went to the deck before bedtime to see if they could spot him. But alas, he wasn't around yet.




We sang a few Christmas carols (James current favorite is Frosty the Snowman.)



While the rest of us were singing, Izzy Jeanne sneaked over to the presents and started unwrapping! She got the hang of things in no time!

It wasn't about 10 minutes after the kids were in bed that I heard a little voice from under the bedroom door saying....."I'm awake Santa....I hear you!" :-)

Three Fruitcakes

One from Grandma and two doing the eating!





Incase you can't tell - James was a HUGE fan. He called it "Grandma's special cake." And of course, there's nothing better than Eggnog to wash it all down.

Christmas Yummies

I love to bake. Now, don't mistake this for cooking. Cooking is something I have to do daily to feed my family. While occassionally I do enjoy it, for the most part it is a chore. Baking on the other hand, is something I enjoy doing and find myself doing quite often (thanks to my strong addiction to cookie dough).

But besides general baking - there is Christmas Cookie baking. This is something I started doing when we moved out here and I had the benefit of a large kitchen in my own home. With the exception of last year (thanks to the move) I have enjoyed this tradition ever since.

This year has been no exception. The only thing different? A bigger kitchen!

On the menu this year:

Eggnog Cookies


Peanutty Buckeye Bars




Chocolate Chip Holiday Cookies


Once all baking was complete, I assembled a few of each on a plate and distributed them to my neighbors.



So what if it's 78 outside - this is one girl who appreciates a WARM, tasty Christmas cookie!

Frosty Cakes

We're going to start a new tradition this year: Snowman Pancakes on Christmas morning.


This is me and James taking a test-run. He absolutely loved them. It's amazing how a different presentation of a familiar food can make all the difference.


They turned out to be really fun and easy to make. Key to success: spray the mold with non-stick EVERY time. :-)

Gingerbread Art

Last Tuesday we went over to Jennifer's house to play with Samantha and Jack. While we were there, the kids constructed Gingerbread Houses. It was great fun!



James & Jack had a blast trying to eat up all the goodies that were suppose to be going on their houses.


Samantha had the right idea!


After a while (and probably a mild belly ache) James finally started putting the candy where it belonged.


Isabel observed and offered her advice.


What a work of art!

How lovely are thy branches

We spent Saturday afternoon shopping live Christmas trees. This is the first time (that I can remember anyway) that I've had a real tree. I'm usual content with our fake tree and a really nice, strong pine-scented candle. But after having this tree in the house for a while, I can say I'm a fan of the REAL smell it brings to the house.

James had a great time picking out the perfect tree. He would walk around looking at them all declaring "I like this one Mamma. Oh look at this one too." Even Isabel got in the game by exploring the pine needles scattered around in the dirt.

We ended up with a 9' Noble Fur. They were kind enough to put it in a stand for us before we hauled it home.


Once inside, James and Isabel did their best to help me hang ornaments (read: take them off the tree faster than I was putting them on) and string lights.



After the decorating came James' favorite part. Putting presents under our new creation. He was certain it was Christmas and that we needed to open them up right then and there. Good thing we only have just over a week to go!*


*So far I've been very impressed by his ability to leave the presents alone. He looks at them a lot and says "We can't open presents until Christmas Mamma. I'm just lookin' at them." :-) That's my boy!