Merry Christmas!!

Surprisingly enough, Dylan didn't wake us up until 8:00 this morning!

He had that innocent, sweet, joy in his voice when he yelled as loud as he could, "WAKE UP!! SANTA CAME!!!" It was like music to my ears...even if I wasn't quite ready to wake up!

The next hour was spent ripping open presents, and Cody was trying to run after everyone with a trash bag. This is the only time I can remember Cody trying to be the clean, organized one!

So here's the breakdown...Santa brought Dylan the Nintendo DSI he wanted so badly, and a bunch of games to go with it. Madison wasn't quite into the opening of presents, but she was checking them out and playing with them a lot more than I thought she would, and she got lots of new great baby toys! Santa brought Cody a new blu-ray player, and the DJ Hero game for his XBox, and Santa brought me a beautiful, big Coach bag, and the Flip video camera. Everyone was happy, and the house ended up trashed even with Cody's trash bag.

We went to the Grandparents house in the afternoon, spent time with family and had a wonderful dinner together! Everyone got along, and drama was no where in sight!

Cody & the kids with Uncle Corey


Before...





I'm convinced my son could break a record with how fast he opens presents.





Maddie trying to reach in her Santa bag for more...


She found more...


She's calling Santa to say thank you!


Dylan & his new Nintendo DSI...


This is what my house looked like after...



Grandma's house...






It was a wonderful, magical Christmas...but they always are!
Hope everyone else had a fabulous Holiday!

Kids & Trees...

I knew Christmas morning would be so crazy that it would be hard to take good pictures of the kids by the tree...so I did it early! And they are so cute!!!

A Very Disney Christmas!

It's the 23rd of Christmas, and I figured if we are going to have to battle crowds, we might as well battle them at Disneyland!!

And boy were there crowds to battle!! It was one of the busiest days I've ever seen at Disneyland...but we still had fun!



Maddie's first visit with Santa! And of course Dylan made sure to ask for that DSI he wants for Christmas!


Mrs. Claus was there, too!


We waited in this spot for an hour to see the parade...great seats.


Every year at Christmas time they decorate Small World in lights, and they do little light shows every 20 minutes or so. It's the best!




My little guy, having a good time...


The Castle, all up in lights!

Love!

I've been practicing, and tonight I got to show off my new cooking skills...for people who don't live with me & therefor have to pretend to like my cooking.

We had Dominic, Hobin and Deborah over for dinner, and I made a prime rib roast, mashed potatoes & fresh green beans. Everyone loved it, and not a single person got sick! Success!

Hope everyone is enjoying the Holiday Season as much as I am!

Random Cuteness...

I can't believe how big she's getting!

Random Cuteness...

My boys...aren't they gorgeous?

Bah Humbug...Not really.

Today Cody & I took Dylan to see A Christmas Carol at the El Capitan. I love the experience of going to the El Capitan to see Disney movies, and this was no different. They really know how to get you in the Christmas spirit!
They started with a Christmas show, which includes a lot of singing and dancing with the characters, and it actually snowed (well...)in the audience, which Dylan thought was amazing...even though it ruined our popcorn.

The movie was in 3-D, and I just loved it!!

Hope everyone is having a fabulous holiday season!!

Kooza!

Sonia's gift to us for Christmas this year was a trip to see Kooza, in Santa Monica. Best gift ever! I have never seen a Cirque show, and I must say, it was even more awesome than I expected it to be!

I loved everything about it...the music, the performances, the costumes, were all amazing!

Madison was bouncing to the music, and staring at the lights and performances, and Dylan must have said "Wow" about a hundred times. Did I mention it was amazing?!
And the tent was right on the beach! I couldn't think of a better location!

Thank you Sonia, we love you!

You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch...

It was the day after Thanksgiving that I saw this story on the news.

Bill Fogerty is a man who runs the "United Labor Agency of Orange County", and every Christmas, he collects food and toys to give the less fortunate, so that they can have a nice Holiday.

Well this year, on Thanksgiving day, someone broke into the warehouse where all the food and toys were being stored, and stole it all. $100,000 worth of food, and $25,000 worth of toys. All that was left was a couple canned goods. I couldn't believe that someone could do that. He said he even thought maybe this was the end, and it was just time for him to retire this tradition.

Well, I was watching the news just a couple of minutes ago, and was even more surprised. Ever since the story was on the news, Bill Fogerty has been receiving hundreds of emails from people offering to help build the supply back up. He has since received truckloads and vanloads worth of food, and the Marines even dropped off nearly 2,000 toys!!

This right here is the true meaning of Christmas.

Random Cuteness!

A Visit From The Tooth Fairy!

I cannot even tell you how long this tooth has been loose! I was beginning to think it was never going to fall out! He said he was messing with it during class, and it fell out, and then his best friend announced it to the whole class. Dylan couldn't have been more proud! He looks so cute with that little empty space in his mouth!



The Tooth Fairy came and left Dylan 5 dollars! He was a little disappointed. He thinks that since it was a major tooth, he should have at least gotten 10!!

Happy Thanksgiving!!

It was a day of family, football & amazing food, cooked of course by my Grandma.
Everyone ate way too much, even Maddie had a little plate, and she loves those cranberries!!
I have so much to be grateful for & I am truly blessed.

I hope everyone else had a wonderful holiday!

Big Bear...

My Grandparents have this little cabin in Big Bear that Cody has been wanting to go to for years...and we finally made it!

It was cold...never above 50 degrees, but it was beautiful. Huge trees everywhere, little (and some not so little) cabins right by the lake, and the tiniest, cutest little village ever.

We only stayed one night, which was fine because that's about how long it takes to see everything there. We walked through the village, looked in all the little Christmas themed shops, and drank hot chocolate. Did I mention how cold it was?

Then we spent the evening with one of Cody's friends...because of course my husband knows someone all the way up in Big Bear...why would this be a surprise?

While we were trying to get Madison to go to sleep, Cody built the best fire ever...he was very proud of himself...we don't make many fires in LA.

Anyway, I took absolutely NO pictures this trip, because my hands were too cold to mess with the camera. But take my word for it...Beautiful!

Random Cuteness

My Little Princess.



She gets cuter every day.

Maddie's 9 Month Pictures...

These are getting increasingly difficult to take each month.

This time, she has decided to eat her 9 month sticker.


And try to grab the camera...










I wonder how next month will be!!

My Little Star

Dylan & I drove an hour away to Torrance for his first commercial shoot today.

The commercial was for a local restaurant, Norm's. There were a lot of other kids on set, so he was thrilled! Half of the time he was in the restaurant filming, and the other half he was in the school trailer. I wasn't able to watch them shoot, so I hung out with the other Moms.

It was a great day, a long day, and an awesome experience!

His commercial will be on TV sometime in the Spring of 2010, so it's still a while away...but don't worry, I'll remind you!

School Pictures!!

This is my 3rd one of these, and I am so glad to add this to my collection!

I feel so old to have a "collection" of school pictures hanging on my wall. Most of my friends don't even have one of these yet!!

They are so great! The whole experience of school pictures is amazing. You send money in an envelope to school, the whole time worried that your child's class will be the last to have their pictures taken, so of course their hair will be all messed up and their clothes dirty. Then you have to wait another 6-8 weeks to see them!!

Of course, like any mother would say, no matter how messed up their hair is, I am never disappointed...he always looks perfect!

Family History...

Dylan's class has been working on a family project for a while...collecting pictures, old recipes and artifacts, and making a family tree.

Today is the day that all their hard work is showcased!! All the parents were invited to the classroom to see the "Family History Museum". The kids really worked hard, and they all turned out really great!


Dylan's project.


Dylan & his friend Marleigh.


My favorite little troublemakers!

Happy Halloween!!

Our Halloween started on Friday, at Dylan's school. I volunteered in the classroom in the morning, and helped the kids carve jack-o-lanterns.
Then, right before the end of school, there was a big costume parade. All the classes stood outside in a huge circle, and each teacher lead their class around the circle while they played "spooky" music. The kids loved it.

Here is Dylan & his best friend Aidan, waiting impatiently for the parade to start.


And here is Dylan with his teacher.



On Saturday we went to visit Grandma and Grandad so they could see how cute the costumes were.


Awh, I love the way they look at each other.


Dylan posing in his soldier costume.





My Little Cowgirl.





Then it was all about trick-or-treating!



It was a fun day! Dylan loves Halloween...I love Halloween because it means Christmas is almost here!