December Daily: Days 18-26

Woohoo!

I just finished my 2012 December Daily album.

Before I share the remaining pages of my album, here's a look at the title page: 


This photo, taken at Picture People last week, works perfectly as the first page in my album.  I just pulled the photo into Photoshop Elements, added a few words, and printed it at Costco.  (Yes, we had our holiday photos taken AFTER Christmas!  Initially, I was just going to get Noah's first birthday photos taken, but then thought, Why not do holiday photos, too?)

And now, here are days 18-26:

December 18: I made grasshopper mint chocolate bark for the first time, and it was SO easy and SO delicious!  Here's the recipe, in case you're interested in whipping up a batch. 

December 19: We're lucky to have a persimmon tree in our front yard, which produces fruit every December.  This year, Brian picked 20 persimmons off the tree!

December 20: The three of us drove to Nevada City for the day.  There, we browsed some shops, bought three Christmas books for Noah, and feasted on a slice of pizza and a calzone at Pete's Pizza.  Noah ate a bit of the pizza AND some of the calzone, too!

December 21: Our cousin, Christa, treated us to lunch at her place.  It's always fun spending time with her, and her enchiladas were awesome.  Even Noah thought so!  

December 22: We celebrated Christmas today with my dad's side of the family.  Noah loved playing with all of his cousins!

December 23: I actually took this picture on another day, but wanted to include it in my album.  Although they are rare--especially during the holiday season--low-key days, where we stay in our pajamas, play with toys, read books, and listen to Christmas music, are so much fun.   

December 24:We celebrated with Brian's family on Christmas Eve, exchanging gifts, eating, chatting, and just enjoying being together.    

December 25: After 8:00 am mass, we drove down to my parents' house where we opened presents and ate brunch before my dad left for work.


I just love this picture of McKayla in her Santa hat.  Can't believe she's in the fifth grade!  

Unfortunately, Katie and Preston couldn't be with us this Christmas.  We wanted to let them know we were thinking of them, though, so we snapped the picture above and sent it to them via text message.

Later on that day, we opened gifts with Brian's family and then headed home for dinner and more present opening!  Noah loved ripping open his gifts--once he got the hang of it.  And now, he loves ripping paper of any kind.  

December 26: Although I started brainstorming ideas for Noah's birthday party early on in December, I kicked my planning into high gear the day after Christmas.  I found so many cool ideas for the party on --where else?-- Pinterest.  There, I created a "secret" board, where I pinned my finds.  I'm planning to write a separate blog post on Noah's party soon.

I'm really happy with this super simple album.  I love that it's small.  I love that it contains lots of photos and some journaling.  I love that it documents our December days as well as Noah's first Christmas.

Here's hoping you had a magical December, and that your new year is off to a wonderful start!

 

Spending Time with Christa

Brian's cousin, Christa, came to visit us last week.


Having a guest come and stay the night with us is a rare, but welcome, treat.


While I was whipping up Grami's meatballs for dinner, Christa and Brian played a few Wii games.


After dinner, Christa and Lucy (our 7-year-old yellow Lab) played with a toy Brian received from his parents this Christmas.


Lucy chased this remote-controlled Thunder Tumbler all over the family room, living room and dining room while Christa, Brian and I looked on...and laughed.


Lucy couldn't figure out why this little truck was whizzing around the room.

She was quite interested, but perplexed.

She was not amused by its antics, but determined to catch it.

In fact, Lucy tried to bite the truck, first by its wheels and then by its antenna.

A couple of times, Christa put the truck in reverse and ran over Lucy's paws before she had a chance to back away from it.

It was highly entertaining.


Fifteen minutes later, the toy truck had clearly sustained some damage, but it was still running and in one piece. Lucy, on the other hand, was out of breath from chasing the truck, so we picked up the vehicle and placed it on the kitchen counter. That way, Lucy couldn't gnaw on it or chew it into itty-bitty pieces.


Lucy and Rudy headed downstairs with us, so we could watch Shrek 3 (which Brian and I had never seen before) in 3D. I never thought I'd say this, but ogre babies are adorable.

The following day, after filling our bellies with french toast, sausage and fruit, we drove to Nevada City to explore the shops.

I bought two stuffed Christmas elves and a Life is Good knitted cap, all of which were 50% off.

I was eager to show Christa my favorite Nevada City store for home decor, Country Collectibles, but when we arrived at the shop, we learned that it has closed its doors and will only be selling merchandise online. Bummer!


After working up quite an appetite browsing the shops, Brian, Christa and I enjoyed burritos at Las Katarinas, a Mexican restaurant on Broad street.

Thanks for coming to see us, Christa. It was a delight spending time with you.

J