Is it really December already?! Following Halloween, the kids sorted and resorted their candy over and over in different ways. I asked if they would like to donate any candy, and their donation piles were much bigger than their piles to keep. Landon sorted the donations by the holidays he would like to give them (ad said we should include toothbrushes too).
A couple of times I've checked in on quiet Brooklyn in her room and found her rocking in her chair while "reading" a stack of about 10 books.
"Pajamas and Playdough Day" at Giggles & Gluesticks! Following by a sibling sleepover in Brooklyn's room
Home Depot Kids - building helicopters
These kids LOOOOOOVE going to work with Daddy (mostly due to the candy drawer)!
Vovo and Vova sent some animal masks. We love them!!
Landon has been playing a lot of basketball. He wants to "practice dribbling every day before school," and when he didn't have enough time before school one morning he got really upset. His dribbling has gotten tons better, and he even tries to do tricks. He says he plays a lot at school during lunch, mostly by himself, and we love to scrimmage at home.
I went to check on the kids before going to sleep and found Brooklyn fast asleep with her beanie on.
She and I baked Grammie's birthday cake. Well, ONE of us baked...
Later that week all 4 of us enjoyed our first meal that we all cooked together - there was more help that night. Landon has been wanting to help cook more and more (just not when it's anyone else's idea). And we ready Thanksgiving books in a fort by the fireplace fire.
Both kids really like to climb and jump! We attended Landon's school's Family Fun S.T.E.A.M. Night. It was Willy Wonka themed, so they got to make candy necklaces, write in chocolate pudding and do all kinds of candy-themed crafts. They also had a book fair, where Landon bought 2 books with his own money.
What blue candy? Treats for Brooklyn's potty training reward (3 days without any accidents! Then 3 accidents in a day). BUT by the end of the month she went 2 weeks with only 1 accident! We're finally getting there!!!
I went to Jacob's last football game while the kids had a dance party night with Daddy. From what I hear they danced pretty much the whole time I was gone...to "Kung Fu Fighting," Queen songs, "Roses," "Jump, Jump," "Jump Around" and "Garmedon."
Brooklyn read her first book, "Scarecrow"! She is really good at sight words and letter sounds!
We've started playing lots of (mostly animal and superhero) Trivia at the dinner table, as well as Categories and Telephone.
We flew to San Jose for Thanksgiving. This was Brooklyn's first flight she could remember and she got nervous as soon as the airplane took off, but they did great on the flights and we had a nice time celebrating the (potentially) last holiday in the house Daniel grew up in.
Brooklyn is all about coloring these days. All of a sudden she went from scribbling across pictures to coloring in the lines, and she loves it!
We spent a day in San Francisco to show the kids the sights, and we saw many of them: Golden Gate Bridge, Fisherman's Wharf, Pier 39, sea lions, a submarine, Lombard Street, Ghiradelli Square, Alcatraz (from afar), AT&T Park (yuck!) and even hopped on a double decker bus. L&B's favorite parts? The arcade and using umbrellas.
Thanksgiving morning we participated in the Turkey Trot. Landon and I walked/jogged the 5k (Landon's first race!) while Daniel pushed Brooklyn in the stroller for the 10k. Landon and I started out jogging, walked a bunch of it, but at the end (when we rounded the corner by the Sharks stadium I told him that the Ducks are better than the Sharks if I beat him to the finish line) he had no problem sprinting!
We headed home for a yummy feast!
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| Thea Dina, Tony, Landon, Brooklyn, me, Daniel, Vovo, Vova, Robert, Zoe, Lucas, Amber, Peter, Jacob, Victoria, Andrew, Elizabeth, Maria, Greg, Pam & Andreas |
...and playtime with cousins!
The day after Thanksgiving we headed to the mall to check out the Christmas decorations with Babcia. Santa even said "hi" to us!
That night Daniel and Landon (along with Peter, Amber & Jacob and Jeff, Melissa, Ryan and Sean) attended a Sharks game. This wasn't Landon's first game, but it was the first one since he understood hockey and that he and Daddy bond over their love of the Sharks. He had a BLAST!
Amber shared her nachos with Landon, and during the Sharks' Power Play when he had a chip in his hand he knew he still had to do the chomp chomp thing with his hands. He got flustered and just shoved the chip under his chin and "chomped" along with the other true fans.
While the boys were at the game, Brooklyn and I visited my old friend, Sarah, and her family. Brooklyn enjoyed playing and making crafts with Emily and Jacob while I held Baby Grant and caught up with Sarah and Devon.
After returning home from San Jose, we went to see "Dr. Seuess' The Grinch." In the first scene of the movie Landon cracked up for a whole minute so loud that everyone in the theater could hear him. It was so cute to watch him not be able to contain himself! Later that day we decorated the house for Christmas. They were so excited to decorate their own little trees. Landon said, "I was so excited (to put his musical sleigh decoration) I almost cried."
Brooklyn and Zoe had their last ballet class. Brooklyn really seemed to enjoy it, but when I asked her if she wanted to take another ballet class it was a resounding "no!" On to a different activity...
We told the kids about our upcoming vacation, and Grammie came the following day. We took her to Bainbridge Circle to see the beautiful holiday lights.
