- For friends – too many to list, but I love you guys!
- For how well Nadia is doing in Chinese school. We just signed her up for the spring semester. Her new thing is to give me tests to see what I know. So far I am doing well on colors and fruit.
- For all our fun family Christmas traditions.
- For delicious treats.
- For the fellow staff members at church.
- For pumpkin pie from Costco.
- For the “Truth in Tinsel” advent devotions I am doing with the girls.
Gingerbread Train
Last weekend Mike took Nadia on a Daddy/Daughter adventure (separate blog post coming) and so Amelie and I had some Mommy/Daughter time. I thought we could make a Gingerbread Train since she loves them so much. I also knew that she would enjoy getting to do something on her own.
She was really funny wanting me to squirt icing here and there and she kept whispering to herself, “Dis candy not for eating… only for train. Dis candy not for eating… only for train.” She also hates her hand getting dirty, so each time she put a piece of candy on she would say, “Oh no! Icing!” So I gave her a wet washcloth to wipe her fingers on and then she started trying to negotiate with me, “Why not me lick my hands mama? I just lick them. It’s nummy in my tummy.”
Once we finished she was so proud and she looks at it every day and says, “I like my choo choo train. So pretty.”
California Trip – Day 2
Mike, Grandpa Brian, Grandpa Petlow, Grandma Petlow, Laura Leigh, Ashley, Nadia, me, Amelie, Paula, Michelle, Nonnie and Jared.
We got up Saturday morning and had breakfast with Michelle and Jared at our hotel. They offer a cooked to order breakfast and the highlight for me were the pumpkin pancakes. YUM! After that we went over to Nonnie’s house to open Christmas presents and have play time.
After that it was nap time for all to recover from the travel and parade the night before. Then we headed over to Zodo’s to bowl with my friends from high school, Matt and Staci and their kids. Amelie was not sure what to think of the bowling at the beginning, but Nadia was all in from the start!
Look at these beautiful kids!
After bowling we headed back to Nonnie and Grandpa Brian’s for a family party. Grandma and Grandpa Petlow, my aunt Paula, Ashley and her daughter Laura Leigh all came over for dinner. Laura Leigh is one of the girls 2nd cousins and when she came in and had been playing for a little while she said, “OH I am SO excited that there are girls here to play with this time!!” They colored and played with playdough and giggled for ages. It was really precious.
Dinner was delicious and visiting with everyone was a lot of fun. The day was so busy, but it was fun to see so many people that we love.
California Trip – Day 1
Here are the girls on the flight. Amelie was so excited and told me at least a dozen times, “This so fun! On plane so fun!” They did great and were complimented by a couple of fellow travelers for being such good travelers.
At the end of November we left for a trip to California to visit my family and introduce Amelie to everyone. We flew into LA and rented a car to head up to Santa Barbara where we checked into our hotel and connected with my sister and her boyfriend Jared. We got settled and then headed over to my mom’s place for pizza. During dinner she asked Nadia and Amelie if they wanted to go to a parade. YES they said! Then she asked them if they wanted to be in the parade. Amelie yelled out “YES!” and Nadia hesitated and said no. Then we made it clear to her that Mike and I would be joining them and she said yes. So we finished our pizza and headed downtown. My mom is a big part of putting on the Old Spanish Days each year and they had a float, so we joined some of her friends and their kids.
In the staging area the girls took a photo with these lovely ladies.
Waiting for the parade to start.
I love this shot of Nadia’s hands. She said, “It’s hard to wave for a long time.” Over and over we yelled, “Viva La Fiesta!” which made people in the crowd laugh and smile because that event takes place in August each year.
It was a late night for the girls after a full day of travel, but they had a great time. My mom saved the front page of the paper the next day for the girls and it said that approximately 50,000 people attended the parade. It was a really cool thing for the girls. Thanks Mom!