The Days Leading Up To Christmas

These days we're keeping very busy as we prepare for the upcoming holidays.  We've had cold but incredibly sunny weather for several weeks, and we realized we haven't been to our favorite park since Anabelle has been a proficient walker.  It's so much fun to walk hand in hand.


Anabelle climbed all over the play structure and loved going down the slide.


We need some more constructive outlets at home for Anabelle's love of climbing, as you can see.  We ended up scoring a great Little Tykes play structure for FREE on craigslist, which has yet to be assembled.  Unlike the bigger one we already have, this one is perfect for little kids Anabelle's age.  Can't wait to get it set up!


Vita has been enjoying lots of time doing arts and crafts, and in particular is refining her abilities with scissors.



We also had a visit with Ernie's sister Jennifer and cousin Dan.


We had a great time, despite the fact that Ernie was sick.  We let him sleep it off, and didn't let that stop our fun.



The girls LOVED being pulled around the house on a blanket.  To this day, any time Anabelle sees this blanket she jumps on top of it, and gets upset if you don't take her on a ride around the house.


Later on we started a nice little fire.  Vita helped chop up some kindling.


We snuggled by the fire, and talked about Santa Claus coming down the chimney.


Vita is so excited about Christmas, and I get the sense she's starting to think it's taking so long that it will never  really come.

So close, Vita.  

Just two and half more days...

Vita's Pirate Birthday... Arrrgh!

This year for her fourth birthday, Vita had a Pirate Party!  Ernie and Grandma Victoria got there early to set up.  Here's Ernie guarding the park.


As guests arrived, each got a pirate hat, patch, and inflatable sword.  Then, Vita would escort them to the ship.  (The park actually has a pirate ship themed play structure, which is why we chose this location.)


A couple of real pirates attended the party!  Here's Captain Mike playing with the kids.


Lots of Vita's friends from school came to the party.  Here's one of Vita's very best friend Cleo!  They have so much fun together!  The reason Vita is a little blurry in this photo is because she was actually in mid air, jumping for joy.  Seriously, she is.


Captain Mike led the kids on a very exciting and dangerous adventure...  Mike found an ancient scroll with a clue that led to a treasure chest hidden at the park.  (Amazing coincidence, don't you think?)  Each clue led the kids to the next clue...


The kids really had to listen closely to solve the complicated riddles and find the next clue.


They were great at it, and here they are re-grouping at the bow of the ship where they found the next clue.


The next clue was at the statue...


The final clue was at the water fountain...  which led them to...


The hidden treasure chest, which was found in the shrubs near some trees! The treasure chest was filled with "goody bags" filled with pirate related stuff for the kids, and some chocolate.  (If you think this picture isn't well composed, then I suggest YOU try to get a pirate and a whole gang of kids to look and smile at the same time.)  Look closely at Vita's face in this picture, and you'll see her cheeks are about to explode off of her face.  She had SO MUCH FUN!


Meanwhile, my other little pirate was in good spirits the whole time, despite the noise and commotion and the cold weather.  In fact, she wanted to run and play with all the older kids.


After the treasure hunt, we all had pizza... sang happy birthday, and ate pirate cupcakes.  Vita beamed as her friends sang to her.


The party took a bit of a turn when we realized that Vita was actually a brain eating zombie pirate!  (Or perhaps she's just a bit messy when eating red velvet cake... I can't remember the details.)


Soon it was cold and dark, so we headed home with all of Vita's "loot".  Vita made out like a bandit.  She opened one gift that night, but we waited until the next morning (her birthday) to open the rest.  Just look at this haul!


Moments later, gifts were unwrapped and Vita played with everything all at once.


Mid afternoon, Vita crashed from all the excitement... with toy and birthday card in hand.


Later on, with Vita's birthday celebration behind us, Christmas preparations officially began with lights and a Christmas tree.

PS - Many many many thanks to my pirate friends Mike and Jackie for making this a very special birthday celebration that Vita and her friends will "treasure" for years to come.