New Year's Eve

 Following our tradition of the last few years, Dean and Jenny had a New Year's Eve bash for both sides of their extended family. Here, Cora and Jen's niece Ellie and nephew Matthew show off their dance moves as they compete on the Wii.

 Meanwhile, Euan and Violet played with Euan's new train table.










I baked up some sugar cookies and Ellie helped Cora decorate them. Ellie loves children, and Cora followed her around and wanted to be wherever Ellie was. It was cute!
That night both girls, and Ellie's big sister, spent the night with Dean and Jenny. They all shared a big bed, and it went really well! It felt a bit strange leaving their house in the wee hours, leaving Cora, but she slept well and was a good girl in the morning on New Year's Day.

Here is the gang, minus the two littlest ones. Violet, true to form, woke up a bit after midnight, in time for us to pack her up and take her home to bed.

Violet adjusted to the time difference about halfway through the trip (finally!) but woke up each night between 11 and 1. At that time we would take her downstairs to finish her night in Euan's playpen. This worked fairly well.
 




May all our family and friends be blessed with health and happiness, peace and joy. To 2012 - CHEERS!

Fun with Friends, in England

 Cora had a great time playing with Chelsea, as always! She has grown up so much the last few months, with her adorable short haircut. Such a pretty girl!

 Violet enjoyed seeing her friend Callie again. JT and I got to spend a half-day together shopping on our own, no children, so I could buy another umbrella stroller for our time at Heathrow and LAX.

 Euan and Violet - it's great having cousins so close in age, and all three children play pretty well together.

 Nan and Pop gave Cora the laptop computer she had been asking for. Cora is doing well with the simple spelling words on the computer's learning game.

And, here are Ben, Chloe, Cora and Violet with the Duplos. Ben and Cora always have fun together, too.

Boys' Day Out

It's always hard to get my Dad a present, Christmas or birthday. For the last few years we've been buying him CD's and videos but he doesn't even open them.
So, what do you get the Dad for Christmas who has everything?
A day out at a Tank Museum, that's what.
On Thursday after Christmas, Dean, Dad and I went to the country's largest collection of battle tanks. About 40 miles away, in the small village of Bovington, is the training base for the British Army's tank battalions and the Bovington Tank Museum.

As a boy my Dad used to visit this museum. When Dean and I were boys, Dad used to take us. For many years now we've all been wanting to go back. The museum has been extensively renovated and now charges admittance; it was once free to get in years ago. It houses tanks from all major wars from many different countries, many of them still running, "The First World War Experience" is complete with trenches, and a section on "The Story of the Tank," which explains why and how tanks were developed and how they have evolved into today's modern battle machines.

As we walked the exhibits and read all the information, we were told about a 1990's British tank, the Chieftain, that was opened up, and we were allowed to get inside it. I sat in the loaders position, Dean in the Gunner and Dad in the commander seat. It was very cramped and must have been incredibly noisy. We were told that in the event of a nuclear attack, the crew would have to stay inside the tank, in their positions, for four days.

In all, we spent five hours learning and exploring hundreds of tanks throughout history.
It was a great day out for all of us.

To top it off we had fish and chips on the way home.

Christmas II

Our Christmas present to Euan, who just turned 2, was a balance bike. Euan is 100% boy, and loves wheeled things, went right up to it and sat down. "Bike! Bike!" he kept shouting. The bike, with its disk brake and kick stand, is quite cool.

 Time to open presents! With three little ones, the opening was louder and more fun than ever. Cora helped pass them out.

 Blocks!

 Another Calico Critters/Sylvanian Families animal set, the Hopscotch Rabbit family. Cora is sure they will get along with the cats very well.

 

A jam session, Gord and Dean on acoustic guitar, Stace on Violet's battery-powered model. Cora liked playing with it, too. Even Violet later got to have a go.

Christmas I

 We were fortunate enough to celebrate THREE Christmases this year, one in California and two in England. Our first English Christmas was Christmas Day, our first full day here.

Cora woke up to find that Santa, or Father Christmas, had come by and left her a Peter Pan dollset! She had asked for a Peter Pan doll, which are VERY hard to find these days since the movie is so old. Cora thought she was very lucky to have received not just one doll, but a whole set from the movie.

Violet also likes playing with the set, especially the Wendy doll, a word she says especially clearly.

 Before our afternoon feast of roast pork and vegetables, there was a lot of work to be done. Brussel sprouts are a roast dinner must-have in England, so here, Cora is helping Nan prepare them. Big Nan joined us for dinner on Christmas, and we all enjoyed a Christmas Carol sing-song with Stace on Gord's guitar.

 Our second English Christmas was on Boxing Day, when Big Nan, Dean, Jenny and Euan came over for a day of eating and presents. Cora cleared her plate of the delicious roast turkey and trimmings.

Nan and her grandsons, after she gave us our gifts. Thanks Nan! We'll let you know what we get with the money!

London lights

Merry Christmas from our other home, where we arrived Christmas Eve.

It wasn't our best flight - I'd rank it second to Cora's 10-month-old disaster as our worst. (Think forgetting the umbrella stroller for a start, and overtired screaming toddler and that same toddler throwing up all over herself and mummy on our descent to Heathrow...) 

But all good (and bad) journeys come to an end, and soon enough we were exchanging warm hugs with Nan and Pop. They loaded the girls and our luggage into their car, and we were off to see the Christmas lights of London before we caught the train home to Somerset.

Covent Garden

 It was chilly, crowded, and fantastic, walking around on Christmas Eve surrounded by cheery Big City hustle and bustle. Our first stop after we took the Tube into the city was Covent Garden, where we warmed up with a baked potato.


Then we made our way to the festive atmosphere of Regent Street, a beautiful West End shopping district.

 Here is the Liberty Department Store, established in 1875 and occupying a gorgeous Tudor-style building from the 1920s. This was a fun store to explore, as was seven-story Hamleys, which rivals FAO Schwartz as the largest toy store in the world.

 The famous Christmas light displays were beautiful!

We were ready for a nap on our 2-hour, 20-minute train ride home. We are so grateful for the chance to spend a brilliant Christmas Eve together!

Soccer

Cora has really enjoyed the soccer/football session this past month, and we've signed her again for January classes.  She has paid attention, played hard, and had other parents remarking on her intensity and hardness as she aggressively takes the ball and passes it to her teammates. 

Quite a difference from two months ago, when Stace called me over and over from class, whispering in horror that Cora was sitting down on the grass with another girl, as they played with each other's hair.

Happiness after Cora scored a goal!

 And a little post-game relaxation on the swings. She is still 4, after all! Thanks, Dad, for taking these photos!

O Christmas Tree, our Christmas Tree

Cora's preschool presented "The Littlest Christmas Tree" to all the parents Wednesday, on the last day of school for 2011 and the day of the class's Christmas party.

 The play was kept a top secret by the kids, and so Stace and I were happily surprised to find out that our Cora was playing the title role! Above, after being ignored by families selecting their Christmas trees, she is being decorated by the rabbits of the forest.

 There were lots of cute songs and hand motions, and we could always hear Cora's voice as she sang. As the play ended, she wasn't too cool to wave heartily at us.

 Proud daddy and the star of the show!

 Maya, Juliana and Natalia were able to come out and watch, and Maya took part in the Christmas party after the play. The children decorated Christmas trees - sugar cones - with green frosting and candies. Violet ate her weight in candy and kept asking for more. While Cora's never been overly concerned with sweets, Violet definitely has a sweet tooth!

 As the icing on the cake, Santa paid the children a visit! This Santa looked very much like Don, the leader of my small group at church. Hmmm. He called all the children up by name and read out the lists they had written earlier. Cora was consistent with what she's been asking for all season - a computer, a dollhouse, a Peter Pan doll, and a Barbie doll.

Below are two videos from the end of the show. Enjoy!

California Christmas 2011

On Sunday evening, we celebrated our California Christmas with my family, complete with a delicious dinner, light-looking, and gifts.

Our local newspaper does a great job highlighting the neighborhoods with beautiful Christmas light displays.

 Stace and I did the classic Wakefield Court already with the girls, so on Sunday we went with Grandma and Grandpa to a new street.

Then, it was back to Grandpa and Grandma's house for hot chocolate and presents. Violet liked her doll, with the magical vanishing milk and juice bottle.

•  Melanie gave Cora a Tinkerbell doll with real fluttery wings, when you press the button on the back. Cute!

Cora was thrilled with her present from me and Stace - a dollhouse. Cora had been asking for a dollhouse all season, and Stace and I decided to take the plunge.

This one by Calico Critters, or the old Sylvanian Families, came with furniture, two working lights and two kitty friends.

At home on Monday, Cora spent hours getting things out and setting them up. She said over and over, "Thank you SO much for my dollhouse! I love it!"

The house has lots of tiny pieces, like forks and knives and jam jars and colored pencils and a desk with drawers that come out. Cora will keep it in her room, with the hopes that we lessen the number of times we lose things.

Violet also loves playing with the dollhouse, as you can imagine.


Here, Sebastian meets Violet's new kitty friend, a gift from Auntie Melly. It walks and makes cute noises! Our real cats weren't sure what to think.