Tree Decorating

We picked out our Christmas tree the Monday after Thanksgiving.  It's the first time Piper has ever had a real tree at home.  Our first year in Ohio we borrowed our landlord's four-foot artificial tree so that's doesn't really count.  Piper just went crazy at the Christmas tree lot.  The lot even delivered and positioned it in the house.  How nice!  It's the first tree we've had (this is our fourth, if you count that fake one) with a true tree topper.  We're all grown up.

The next day Piper and I decorated the tree while Simon napped.  I made sure to get some new extra ornaments that Piper could put on the lower half of the tree that Simon could remove/mangle without injury.  She did an awesome job decorating.  Her favorites were all of the ones with our pictures on them.  We have quite the collection of personalized ornaments.  Surprisingly Simon has been really good with the tree so far.  He's only removed a few ornaments and he doesn't really seem to notice it any more.

I still need to take a picture of the full tree and our house decorations.  That'll have to be another post.  My mom came and did some wonderful Christmas crafts with Piper.  I'll feature those later too.

Trip to Nan and Chad's

The day after Thanksgiving Rick took off to Vegas with some of his brothers to watch the Jayhawks play in a tournament.  My mom suggested that we take a little road trip to see my sister.  What a great idea!  Crazy enough, the last time I was at Nan and Chad's house was also my first visit and I was five months pregnant with Piper.  

Despite a slight hiccup at the beginning of the trip (read: drove over a screw and got a flat tire), we had a blast.  Piper AND Simon were equally enamored with their cousins.  Simon really loved Chad too - can't you tell?  It was like having built-in babysitters.  We decorated gingerbread houses, ate amazing food, were serenaded by Emma and Claudia, toured the Jelly Belly factory and just laughed and laughed.  Such a fun time.  Glad we could do it.

Park Day

Sad as it may sound but this particular park day was only our second since moving to our new digs.  Most parks around here only have sand which I'm not fond of.  Give me wood chips or mats any day.  We joined some friends this time and had lots of fun.  We even broke out Piper's old jacket for Simon.  Too cute!  

Piper just loved having all these playmates to play with.  Simon liked the steering wheel, and the snacks too, of course.

Beach Trip

Here is Simon's true first trip to the beach.  We went once in Ohio but it was more of a short, impromptu visit.  This time we did it up right.

As usual when it comes to swimming, Simon is more interested in the graham crackers, or any food for that matter.  We saw a sandpiper which was fun.  The water was cold but it was a beautiful day.  

I caught a crab for Piper which she proceeded to completely bury in her bucket.  I couldn't believe how daring the seagulls were.  At one point, they were trying to get the crackers out of my bag.  I had to close things up good after that.

Don't be hatin' all my cold-weather friends but we could probably do another beach visit now if we wanted to.  It's been that warm lately.  That's SoCal for ya.

He's demonstrating how to properly eat a graham cracker.

Knott's Berry Farm

Rick's folks came to visit a month ago.  During their visit we ventured to Knott's Berry Farm.  Now, despite being from L.A., I hadn't been to Knott's in probably twenty years.  It was fun to go back and see what's changed (a lot) and what hasn't (the bad-guy shoot-out on the train and funnel cakes).  We had lots of fun.  It was very warm but great.  

Piper had a blast.  Her favorite ride was the only one that was self-propelled (you had to pump it with your arms).  Simon was pretty content sitting in his stroller since he was too small for any of the rides.  He didn't conk out until late in the afternoon but he was so well-mannered.  He was fascinated by the balloon-man, as he is a sucker for balloons.  

Thanks for the wonderful day out Ann & Rich!

He's just like his Dad - beautiful eyes and adorable dimples.

Piper's favorite ride

Finally Halloween - Yea, I Know It's Almost Christmas

Piper decided to go as a secret agent for Halloween this year.  Easily done.  Black shirt, black pants, black shoes, black knit cap, black utility belt for her flashlight and rope, and black "night vision" goggles.  Do you sense a theme?  

Simon went as a cowboy though we did contemplate Piper's old pirate costume for a bit.  Piper requested that both girls go as secret agents so I donned a black shirt and cap too.  She also wanted both the boys go as cowboys so Rick donned one of his check shirts and an extra cowboy hat we had hanging around.

As you can see, they are both such cuties in their costumes.  We ventured out to our ward's Trunk or Treat where Piper practically galloped from car to car.  Simon stayed in the stroller while Rick handed out candy. 

We went to Grandma and Papa's house on Halloween night but Piper didn't want to put on her costume for them.  I wasn't about to fight her on it since I was at the beginnings of a bout of the flu.  She enjoyed handing the candy out more than getting it, I think.  She would stand on their porch yelling, "Kids, kids, I've got candy.  C'mon!"

                                       

All done with pictures, I guess.

Ready for action!