Christmas in California part 1

This is going to be a multi-parter, since there was so much activity packed into a weeklong trip. My dad was generous enough to offer to fly us out to California if we wanted for our Christmas gift, and after initially declining, I decided (and convinced Jenna) that we should go ahead and make the trip this year, since future years will be all spent at home and I hadn't seen everyone in a long time. We chose wisely as this was the first of three Christmases since we've been in Colorado that wasn't a white one.

The trip started out pretty interesting. As we were taxiing out of our gate, the pilot got on the intercom and announced that the west half of the airport was shut down for some unknown reason, and we were going to be delayed. We found out on arrival in Burbank that the reason for the delay and shutdown was that Continental flight that crashed on takeoff. Suffice it to say, that an hour delay sounded pretty reasonable given the circumstances.

We got to the Hoskinsons house (my parents) and put Laina to bed, then spent the next day at their house with Laina's three cousins (who were eagerly awaiting her arrival) and aunt and uncle (my brother and his wife). The kids had a great time playing with their cousin Laina, showing them as much fun stuff as they could come up with in a day. We went outside for a while and they all spontaneously broke out in a production of "The Wheels on the Bus" to Laina's sheer delight. I can't decide if she got a front row seat or she's the star of the show.

We basically spent the whole day hanging out, playing games, and watching the kids parade around the house with Laina. She loved it. We spent the night there, then headed up to the Ali's house (Jenna's parents) Monday for Christmas #1. That's all for part one. Here's some pics:

This is a classic "lets make the kids stand facing directly into the sun" picture... sorry guys

Dueling lego towers action. Later I started building lego robots for battle, and Kaity (red dress) kept asking me "Can you build another mighty robot Uncle Colorado Jay?" How could I refuse? Although I don't know how mighty they were if Conner kept destroying them. Incidentally, I'm "Uncle Colorado Jay" because they have another Uncle "J"

We discovered that Laina just perfectly fit inside the lego wagon, along with a teddy bear buddy, so many laps were made with her in tow (with all three cousins getting a 'turn'). Luckily she loves wagons.

She WALKS

Yes, it could be considered a Christmas Miracle! Just one day short of 20 months, Laina decided she can walk all by herself. She has been consistently walking with Jay or me holding her hands, and just in the last couple days would walk a little bit holding onto only one hand. We knew she had the balance and skill to do it on her own, but we thought she was afraid to try. Well today she conquered that fear. I was in our bathroom putting on makeup, and Laina crawled over and asked for the headband on the counter. I gave it to her and continued getting ready. Then I looked over and saw her walking on the tile, all the way across our not-small bathroom. (I love how she picks the hardest floor to fall on for her first walk!) When she got to the carpet, she sat down (for a break I guess), then got back up and continued walking on the carpet, half way across the bedroom, where she sat down again. Then she got up and walked right out of the bedroom and down the hallway! Of course I didn't have our camera with me upstairs, so I had to re-create the moment later. I particularly like how the lighting at the beginning makes it look even more like a Christmas Miracle.

eating crayons

Why is it that the baby doesn't eat crayons - the dog does? I should have taken a picture of the evidence the other day when Ella chewed up a crayon and left little bits and pieces of it all over the floor. And just now I caught her with another one in her mouth. Oh but she sure is cute, isn't she?

Story Time

Laina has been so cute lately, reading stories to her baby dolls and stuffed animals. I caught her on video yesterday reading "Go, Dog, Go" to Little Nut Brown Hare, who she calls Brown Hare. I'm putting both videos I took up here only for the grandparent's sake...I know most people will be bored by the same thing twice. She just says a few different things each time.

Also, check my other blog for my very own banana date bread recipe which I improvised from a few online recipes.