Silly posing

Sometimes the old toys are best

After an unusally long quiet period today, I went in search of Andrew and found this scene. With all the new toys from Christmas strewn about every room, you'd think it would be one of those tempting new delights that would have captivated him. But no, sometimes the old toys are the best. Andrew had brought out some wooden blocks to fashion a long table, a long bench and a collection of doll sized chairs, then carefully set up the tea set on the table, and finally populated the table with every small figure he could find. It took a long time for me to get this picture, as he wouldn't let me take one until he was completely finished and satisfied with the results. Julia was there too, watching this whole thing, but all the hard work was Andrew's. Soooo cute!

Happy Happy

Kids Holiday Party

Julia and I invited the girls of Ms. Merk's kindergarten class, and their familes, to a Christmas Party at our house this afternoon. We were lucky to find that all but 3 of the girls in the class were able to come. We had yummy treats, a pinecone decorating craft, hot chocoloate with MARSHMELLOWS, and a fun take home gift bag for all the kids. The girls and the siblings played together so well, I was really pleased. It's such a nice class of girls. And I loved having a chance to talk more with the Moms, who seem like a great bunch as well.

Wendy and I planned the party together. We made a great team! I say it so often, and I mean it more each time: Thank Goodness for Wendy!

Watching the kids play together, making new friends, having my Mom drop by to say hello, and hosting an event that everybody seemed to really appreciate and enjoy was a slice of HEAVEN for me! I'm so glad I have had this chance to take some time off during the holidays, which made it possible to pull this off. Yipeee!

Nisse doll obsession

I have suddenly and inexplicably become obsessed with dolls, toys and Christmas decorations from Maileg, a Danish company. I saw a collection of Nisse dolls (traditional Danish elves) in a magazine and I followed the clues in the "Resources" section of the magazine until I found an online source. I was thrilled to find and purchase the two Nisse elves that you see pictured here on my mantle.



I absolutely love them -- the tall hats, the simple, homespun feeling.

Once I had the dolls in hand, the tag gave me more clues about the manufactuer, so I went back online and found another source -- a small shop in upstate New York. I began correpsonding with the owner via email and it turns out she's selling the dolls for considerably less than my original source. And she has 2 more from the collection in stock that are different from the 2 I now already own. So, what's a girl to do but buy two more! (They should arrive by the 24th.)

Then, I started wondering if there might be a California source (cheaper shipping!), so I investigated even further and found that there's a high end toy store right here in Downtown Menlo Park that carries toys from Maileg! I hopped in the car and went for a visit. They were all sold out of the Nisse dolls, but they had a delicious pair from their Angel collection, and a pair of mice that were mighty adorable. I'll let you guess what I did then. I'd tell, but it's secret until the 25th...

Yeiks, lets hope I've exhausted the options, or I'm going to go broke on these things!

The Nutcracker

Mom and I took Julia to her first Nutcracker on Sunday. We went to the San Jose show and it was just delightful. Julia seemed to like it, though she was a bit tired, having been up so late last night at Gilroy Gardens. In retrospect, the 1 hour kids version might have been long enough. Nevertheless, we had a grand time. Benne bought Julia a special Nutcracker figure as a momento of her first time. Thanks, Benne!

Annual Gilroy Gardens visit!

Grandpa gets help

Grandpa gets lots of help when I ask him to come over and help me install some new bedside lights in the kids room. Andrew as particulary helpful.

Julia gets a special snuggle from Benne.

And later that day, Andrew and Daddy look like twins!

Not quite the Christmas Card

Andrew's not in a posing kind of mood these days. Camera comes out, and Andrew either sidles away or grimaces at the camera with closed eyes. Not the best conditions for a photo shoot. After several failed attempts to get both children in the same frame, with open eyes and an expression resembling a smile (see the best from the latest lot, above), I've opted for a Christmas Card with two pictures. It was easier to find pictures separately than together. I picked from a set taken during the summer, when Andrew's hair was still long and curly. (Must commemorate that!) So, this one isn't it, but finally my Christmas cards have been ordered. One way or another!