Hiller Christmas 2009

I hope you aren't sick our Christmas celebrations just yet - we are lucky enough to get to do Christmas morning twice on the years we go to CA for Christmas Day. We celebrated with the Hillers two days after Christmas this year and opened presents with the whole family. I am happy to report that Claire was out of the time out chair more than she was in it this time around. We had a great time and were once again shown the Hilller's generosity.

More CA Pics

More pics from our trip to California - spending time with the cousins and getting a taste of country living. It was a nice break from noisy neighbors, traffic, and work.

P'Ville Christmas

This year we spent Christmas at my parents in Northern California - we went for a full week so Claire and Miles got some good May and Papa time. I have a ton of pictures from the visit, so I will try to self-edit and not post a ton of them... well, maybe I will. It is a beautiful area and I forgot how much I miss the trees and mountains until I am back there.

We visited Apple Hill, an area filled with apple orchards and wineries, to get caramel, apple doughnuts and fritters, and just some time to walk around and feed the ducks.

My brother Kenny came up for a few days and played with Claire and Miles - he is really good with kids and is the fun uncle because he'll play with them when the rest of us are tired. :)

We also got to see my sister Becky and her family, and my brother Erick who lives about 45 minutes away from my parents. We had a house full of toddlers and babies - each of us have had a baby within the past 4+ months - in August, September and November. Claire tested our patience big time - I have never seen her be such a stinker... We felt like we were putting her in time out constantly and it wasn't very fun to be a parent sometimes. At one point Matt was heard saying, "Christmas spirit, where are you?" over and over again. Yeah, it was bad. I hope my siblings will let us come and visit again someday. :) But kids are forgiving, and they kept playing together. At one point Claire had gone down for her nap early after hitting McKinley with a wooden piece from a rocking horse, and 30 minutes later Kinster came to tell me that Claire Bear was sorry and could come back to play.

But the spirit did come, when we got to bless Becky's baby Gabriel at my parent's house on Christmas day. We read the story of Christ's birth from the Bible, and then my dad gave Gabe a blessing. It was a really special moment and I am so glad they decided to have the blessing at the house so we could all be there. Matt said Gabe just looked up at my dad with the sweetest look on his face the whole time. Wonder what those little guys are thinking ...

My grandpa Johnson came up for the blessing, and we took a quick picture with all the adults together.

Another fun tradition that my sister brought back this year is the Christmas pinata - now I know that seems kind of weird, but we always had a pinata on Christmas Eve at my Grandma Dennis' house so we thought the next generation should get introduced to it as well. The other fun part was that my dad was outside practicing his bagpipe playing Christmas music that I'm sure neighbors a mile away could here, while we were whacking the pinata... kind of a collision of cultures going on at the Johnson's.

Child Labor

When were were kids, if we wanted to watch TV in the afternoon, when we weren't usually allowed to, we had to either fold clothes or brush my mom's hair. She has the system down! Mom loved having her hair brushed, and so do I - so, I am starting Claire on the same path. She is pretty good at it and is learning to brush down, not up and down and all around. Plus she tells me my hair looks cute, which I like to hear. :)

Christmas Dress

I could never get both kids in their Christmas clothes on Sunday - one would be napping or cranky or eating while the other was ready - so here is Claire hanging out on the stairs while the rest of us got ready for Church. I have a few Christmas dresses for her this year - I buy them a year in advance, but then I see a cute one the next year that I have to get too. Miles has the cutest suit - I'll have to post that picture later.

Visit from Sophie

My good friend Sophie came to town this month to participate in a roping competition at the South Pointe and we got to go visit her and her husband, and see their horses. Claire doesn't get to see animals up close like that very often - we watched the roping for a bit, but then went down to the stable area. Claire was kind of scared but interested at the same time. I love that Vegas has these kinds of events that bring my friends to town; I don't think I would see them as often as I do if I lived somewhere else.

Getting in the Holiday Spirit

It was so fun to watch Claire be so excited for Christmas - picture Buddy the Elf when he finds out Santa is visiting Gimbles (SANTA!!!) and that is the energy level Claire has every time we see Christmas lights. And I mean every time. She calls them Santa lights - bows on presents are Santa Flowers, and she does recognize Baby Jesus too, lest you think all we talk about is Santa. Here she is helping Matt put up our Christmas tree - the first year I have every had a fake tree in my life! We bought it last year to use on the years we go to my parent's for Christmas, and I have to admit it was way easier than a real tree.

We also went to a place called The Magical Forest, a winter wonderland that has trees and displays sponsored by local businesses. Matt's brother Aaron got us free tickets so we all went together. It is more magical for kids I think, and Claire had a great time running through the seven levels of the candy cane forest, talking to polar bears and seeing a ton of Santa Clauses. She was more fun to watch than the exhibits!

Essay Contest - win free teeth whitening

A friend of ours is doing this holiday essay contest with his dental practice - if you live in Vegas (or are willing to come here for the teeth whitening), then check out the contest and enter:

It’s the holiday season and Wagner Dental is excited to announce our Share a Smile holiday essay contest. We invite you to share a holiday memory that still brings a smile to your face. The story can be any that touched your heart. Our favorite essays will be featured in the Wagner Dental newsletter and blog and the winner will receive a complimentary ZOOM teeth whitening. You do not need to be a patient of Wagner Dental to participate so please send this opportunity to your friends.

To participate in the contest, post your essay to your personal blog – be sure to include the word “smile” at least once in your essay. Link the word “smile” to Wagner Dental’s website. Then email us the link to your blog at wagnerdentalessay@gmail.com. If you don’t have a blog, you can hand deliver your essay to our office at 2045 Village Circle, Las Vegas, NV 89134. Or if you don’t want to enter our contest, we appreciate a link to our website listed under your “favorite sites” on your blog.

Essays will be accepted through the 21st of December. Essays should be under 300 words. The winner will be announced on January 5, 2010. If you have questions about how to post to your blog or to submit the essay, please email us at wagnerdentalessay@gmail.com. Don’t pass up this opportunity to share the joy of your holiday memories and possibly win a whiter smile from Wagner Dental.

Words

We have been showing Claire the "Your Baby Can Read" videos for maybe 10 months or so, but we have only recently started using the flashcards and books that go with it. Matt has been going over them almost daily with Claire and she is getting pretty good at recognizing the key words. We have her watch "Words" while she eats breakfast since she is strapped into her booster seat - we have a captive audience. Here she is going over the latest round of flash cards with Matt.