SClarita Christmas Fun

We had a very fun weekend, full of Christmas activities. We started out by going out for drinks Friday night with our real estate agent and mortgage broker and their spouses, to celebrate our home purchase. They both worked so hard to get our sale to go through, despite the annoyances that come with buying bank-owned properties. Stace and I highly recommend them - let us know if you are looking for a real estate professional!
On Saturday morning we went to a holiday and literacy festival at Hart Park in Newhall, where they brought in snow for the kids to play with. Cora seemed to like it fine, though it didn't occupy her for very long. The festival had lots of booths with books and toys, and performers sang, read, danced and acted out scenes from literature on stage. What a great free event!
We then walked over to Heritage Junction, where Cora enjoyed checking out the 108-year-old engine that has been fully restored years after a fire at the movie ranch owned by Gene Autry. Cora loves trains, which she calls "tee tees," her version of "toot toot." She gets excited when she hears them nearby. A funny memory - Cora loving watching the train pass by while we were driving, and immediately asking, insistently, "More ta Tee Tee! More ta Tee Tee!" How great to be thought so powerful, that I can control the trains!
Heritage Junction features old houses integral to the history of Santa Clarita. The houses have been decorated for Christmas, and we really enjoyed seeing them. A lot of work has been done since we last toured the buildings, and it's really worth a trip if you've never visited. Cora and I are posing in front of the Edison House, one of several houses built in 1919 for the Edison workers who electrified the town. In the front parlor, volunteer docents offered cookies, brownies and hot apple cider - it made me miss my grandma, as she always made Christmas cookies and loved volunteering.
On Sunday, we went to Mountasia to attend the children's Christmas party put on by Stace's work. Cora enjoyed her pizza lunch, which she ate while sitting on a booster chair like a big girl for the first time. She ate one whole piece, minus the crust, and a couple of bites from the second piece.
Here's Cora in the fire engine brought in to entertain the kids at the party.
On Sunday afternoon, we walked the short distance from our house to the hospital, to watch the big Christmas tree-lighting ceremony. Also this weekend, we took family portraits at Sears for the first time, and in the evening we took photos with Santa through my MOPS group. When I say "we" took photos with Santa, I mean it - Cora wouldn't go near him without us there. She is still very much in her "mummy mummy mummy" phase.

Here's Cora entertaining herself before the Christmas tree was lit. (She started saying "yes" last week, so I wanted to get it on tape.)