Hollywood Stars

Thank you, Aubree, for sending the boys home from your party with these adorable sunglasses!

Christmas in Northern Cal

To be honest, I have sort of dreaded the Christmas post because there were just so many pictures to try to filter through. Here is a little break-down of all the fun and excitement we had!

After helping Grandma decorate it, here are Dylan and Tyler sampling Uncle Alvin's Birthday cake

Opening Gifts at Grandma and Grandpa Shek's house

On Christmas morning, Tyler woke up and refused to open any gifts until he was ready. He sat on my lap and snuggled with me and kept saying that he was just "too tired" to open any presents. About 20 minutes later, his wackiness emerged and he started to get into the fun.

But, he still was not quite ready to begin. Being the diva that he is, he moved a little closer to the tree, requested to be bundled in a blanket and waited a little longer.

Meanwhile, Dylan patiently walked around drooling over all the gifts from Santa. He kept looking at us as if he were saying, "I think Santa got it wrong because this scooter actually was supposed to go to me!"

Once the diva was finally ready, the crazy gift-unwrapping commenced

After some serious scooter-riding, Tyler decided to take Kellen's wheels out for a spin. Dylan was happy to go along for the ride.

Christmas Dinner with Lari's family and my parents

The next day, we were able to unwind by hanging out at Grandma and Grandpa Shek's house. Dylan played a little Chopin for all to enjoy.

Santa's sleigh must have been too full when he dropped off the toys up in Northern California because when we got home, we were all surprised to find another gift for Dylan under our tree.

Santa's Practical Joke

Twas the night before we left town for Christmas
And all through the house

Not a creature was stirring
Not even a mouse

The bags were packed in their suitcases with care
In hopes that to Northern Cal, we soon would be there

Tyler and Dylan were nestled all snug in their beds
While visions of scooters and basketballs danced in their heads

And Arthur on the computer and me at the table
Thinking of that little babe being born in a stable

When below our feet arose such a clatter
I sprang from my chair to see what was the matter

When what to our sniffling noses should appear
But a scent so repugnant, our eyes watered with tears

Into a mass of tissues, my nose I did dunk
I knew in a moment it must be a skunk

Humane society, pest control, and exterminators were called
But nobody could help us - we were completely appalled!

So, away the next morning we went on the road
And hoped that the skunk would depart our abode

But, our home was too nice for a skunk to leave
So a trap was purchased to give our noses reprieve

When we woke in the morning, we had caught that nasty guy
He was stinky, but happy, and almost quite a cutie pie

But, away with you black and white mammal
Dash away, Dash away, Dash away all!

Our friends and family won't come to visit with such a fright
We just wanted a Merry Christmas to all and to all a Good Night!

Power Napping

Because of Tyler's overly-energetic personality, he still requires a good 2 - 3 hour nap each day. A couple of weeks ago, his buddy, Topher was in town, so the boys played hard all afternoon. When it was time for Topher to leave, it was too late to put Ty down for his nap. By 5:30, he must have been so exhausted because I found him asleep on his most uncomfortable plastic chair.

Thanksgiving - Dylan

When I was trying to narrow down which pictures to include in the previous post, I realized that our snuggly Dylan was in quite a lot of pictures. So many, that I decided to devote an entire post to his willingness to give loves to everyone!

Thanksgiving Week - Sacramento

We drove up to Sacramento to celebrate Thanksgiving with both of our families. It was so fun to spend time with the family and to share the season with those most important to us. I won't go overboard on the details, but here are some highlights:

* Tyler running to see Grandpa Shields' clocks every time they dong
* Dylan finally giving up eating baby food out of a jar (thank you Grandpa Shek for making delicious food)
* Late-Night shopping with my mom on Black Friday
* Arthur insisting that he watch the kids while my mom, sister and I go to see the movie Enchanted
* Tyler running through the "wilderness" backyard with Grandma Shek
* Catching up with Becky, my good friend from high school
* Eating at New Canton, a Shek family favorite
* Only stopping 1 time on the 6 1/2 hour drive back home (woo-hoo!)

I will, however, go overboard on the pictures!


*** Because I refuse to give compliments to my brother-in-law, I won't say a single thing about the pie he made. I only included a photo of it in this post because I did a good job taking it's picture. :)

Midnight Mucus

Last night Tyler woke me up twice. Once was to go to the bathroom and the other was to pick his nose. He said, "Mommy, I have boogers. Will you pick them please?"

Thanksgiving Week - Disneyland

Arthur took Thanksgiving week off from work, so we were able to go to Disneyland before making the drive up north to Sacramento. It is one of our favorite ways to get into the Christmas spirit here in Los Angeles. After a full day of adventure, we were in the car reminiscing about how we got to see Mickey and Minnie Mouse, drive the cars on Autotopia, ride the rockets, and watch the parade. Tyler talked non-stop about how much fun it was. Toward the end of the conversation, I asked him what his favorite part of the day was, and of course, he replied, "The elevator buttons!". The funniest part about that response was that he only got to ride an elevator 2 times the entire day: Once when we were leaving the garage to go into the park and again when we returned to the garage. Next time we want to thrill him, we are just going to drive him to the mall!

A Christmas Miracle

Tonight was our church Christmas party, and I prepared myself for yet another disappointing year that Tyler would refuse to sit on Santa's lap. We didn't even take our camera because there has never been any cute photo ops in years past. And, if you read this post, you would understand what I am typically dealing with in unfamiliar situations with Tyler.

While we were waiting in the Santa Claus line, Tyler actually was excited! I just kept waiting for the anxiety and screaming to commence. We were next in line, and Tyler said, "Mommy, it is almost our turn!". When the little girl in front of us started to cry, I thought my luck had run out, but my little guy actually went right up to Santa, sat on his lap, and said very clearly, "I want a scooter for Christmas!". Then, he continued to sit patiently while his picture was taken.

When I returned to our table with the good news, Arthur wanted to see it for himself. So, we decided to go back and try to get a picture with both the boys. Once again, Tyler ran back to Santa's knee. Surprisingly, Dylan was the one who was not going to have anything to do with it.

On a side note, stay tuned for some fun pictures from Thanksgiving week that I hope to post tomorrow.