happy (kids') new year

this new year's eve i wanted to do something different and go to legoland. they ring in the new year at 6pm for the kids. i also had free sealife tickets that expired today, so it was perfect timing.

legoland had cute christmas decorations. it was a bit crowded so we didn't get to take pictures with all the other displays. the tree was really cool.

we were trying to get a good spot in front of the stage for the shows before the countdown, but micah didn't want to stay there and wait. so we went around miniland.

i couldn't resist taking this picture. he stopped to play with the sign, so i had to take it.

when it was finally time for the jumpitz, m&m and their cousins didn't want to stay for the whole thing so we left.

we managed to sneak in the slide, yummy barbecue, and apple fries before the countdown and fireworks.

everything was over by 6:30pm, the kids fell asleep in the car, and we were home by 8pm. it was great! i think we should do it next year. happy 2010!

christmas review

as always, we had a wonderful christmas. it came and went super fast though. above are a couple of pictures we took at jos' house a week before christmas courtesy of photography by roy.

on christmas eve morning, i greeted malia, "merry christmas eve, christmas is tomorrow." after a little gasp she said softly,"oh no, i don't know what list i'm on." i just started laughing. she's so funny. maybe i told her that her name was moving to the naughtly list one too many times.

we attended the 4pm kids mass on christmas eve at st rose. my kids missed the live children's nativity scene because they were too busy looking at the porcelain nativity scene in the children's (cry) room. (yes we were late so we were in there.) after that, the hubbies stayed to sing for the 6pm mass. so jos and i had all 4 kids in the car and headed for the sousa residence. we thought we were brilliant to come up with the idea.

well, we were wrong. it was cranky time and micah & joelle screamed for pretty much the entire 40 minute drive. joelle wanted jos and micah wanted me. we tried all kinds of things to distract them. but there was nothing else to do but laugh. poor malia was sitting in between the screaming kids, but managed to keep her cool up until 5 minutes before we got there. then she started complaining. micah decided to finally fall asleep right when i stopped the car. i told jos that we would not be riding all together again anytime soon.

it's always fun to watch the kids faces as they open christmas presents. micah got cars and malia got princess stuff.

both m&m woke up with a smile on christmas morning. then we all went downstairs together to see what santa brought. santa brought malia a belle dress up doll, just what she wanted. he also gave her a 'how to draw the princess and the frog book' since she likes to draw, and a warm jacket. "this wasn't on my list," she said as she pulled out the jacket. "santa knows you get cold easily," i said. santa brought micah a basketball hoop and some cars shoes. after putting on his shoes and making a few baskets, he grabbed belle and malia started making baskets. then it was on to opening more presents by the tree.

then we made brownies to bring to grandma's house. someone had a little too much fun mixing the frosting. i had to bring him upstairs so he would stop eating it.

wishing grandma letty a merry christmas. it made my heart happy to know that micah knows who grandma letty is now. he can pick her out in pictures already even though we've only shown him a few times.

malia was so excited to open her gift from grandma & grandpa. matching dresses, one for her and one for boo. she really wants to take that doll everywhere.

this drum set from ninong ray was such a fun present for micah and kept him busy during the charger game.

the christmas season isn't over just yet. we still have more presents to deliver. and we look forward to the christmas party we have in mid-january with some friends. but now i just have to figure out where i'm going to put all the new toys!

m&m on ice

we went to darius' ice skating birthday party yesterday at the kroc center in la mesa. malia was so excited to ice skate. i hadn't been ice skating in years, but i managed to do alright. for the first 3 rounds around the rink, malia wanted to hold on to the rail. then she became more brave and we were able to go around just holding hands. then we took a break and micah said to me several times,"i want to ice skate, pwees mama." how could i say no to those big brown eyes? so i got him some skates and brought him into the rink. he was okay at first when he just kept his feet still and i pushed him along. but when he moved his feet and realized how slippery it was, he wanted me to carry him. he went around the rink once and wanted out. then it was back to malia. she was really determined to skate and let go of me and did it all on her own! she was having so much fun she didn't care if she fell down. i hope to take her back there soon.

eastlake snow

this was the second time we went to the eastlake village walk "snow". it's really just tiny bubbles that look like snow falling, just like what they use at disneyland. we had dinner at pat & oscars then enjoyed the snow. the kids love it. well, malia enjoys it a little more than micah does. he's done after a couple of minutes, but malia would stay there all night if she could. today, micah just wanted to eat his breadstick. aww, i love it when they hold hands and aren't fighting.

chrismons

(i've been christmas shopping, so that's why this post is so late.)

about a week and a half ago, we attended the chrismons service at our church. a chrismon is an ornament that is a christian symbol. i signed up malia as one of the kids who would bring up a chrismon to the christmas tree. she had such a concerned look on her face as she was walking down the aisle trying to keep up with the other kids. but she enjoyed it. she brought up the fish symbol. it was the first time we went to this service, it was cute.

lowe's build and grow clinic

i've always wanted to take malia to a lowe's workshop. we finally got around to it because i saw it on a blog i read frequently. it caught my eye because malia had been talking about making a gingerbread house.

i thought it would be like any other class i've taken malia to. that my job would be just to watch or wait around while she does her thing with the class. but when they handed us the kit, a hammer and some goggles, i knew it was a project we would do together. (she's not wearing the goggles because they didn't fit on her face.)

it was fun! and she did a great job. her favorite part was putting on the stickers. we'll definitely go back for another project soon.

gobble gobble

last week when i picked up micah from school, he told me that the turkey says, "gobble gobble." and he had a bunch of art to bring home. i just love school art, it's the best. plus i don't have to clean up the mess. malia doesn't have as much art now that she's in elementary school. no wonder why she's always asking me if we can do arts & crafts at home.

(lia's only thanksgiving art)

thanksgiving day was hot this year. micah's cheeks turned red from being in the sun at the cemetery. then it was off to roel's auntie cecil's house for lunch. there was a 2 year old girl there that had almost the same personality as micah's. so they both were saying "mine" and having little fits. such terrible 2's.

after that, we went to my cousin anna's house. malia just kept eating dessert with her ate jaelen, and micah was fascinated with the dogs. lots of good food! i don't know why i always forget to take pictures of the food. maybe i'll remember on christmas.

on black friday, jos and i ventured out at 4am for deals at the disney store, walmart, jc penny, and old navy. it was fun. after all, santa likes to get in on bargains too!

the long thanksgiving weekend came and went so fast, but we gobbled up good food and good deals.

the tree is up

some people say you're supposed to decorate for christmas after thanksgiving. but everywhere you go, there are christmas decorations. i like to decorate before thanksgiving so i can focus on my after thanksgiving shopping. the kids helped me decorate the tree. micah was trying to play with the ornaments like toys at first, but he quickly learned he's not supposed to pull them off the tree. almost all of our ornaments are disney. the others are m&m ornaments from m&m world in las vegas, recordable voice ornaments of the kids, a chargers ornament for daddy, and a precious moments mother ornament. the precious moments mother ornament is always at the top just under the tree topper. it's for my mom because she always made christmas so memorable. i hope to do the same for the kids. they are already filled with christmas spirit. malia wrote her letter to santa on her own this year. and micah loves looking at all the christmas decor wherever we go. on his recordable ornament this year he said, "merry christmas." and he likes to hear himself say it over and over again. i love christmas!

cyt showcase

it was the last day of malia's theater class today. so all of the classes put on a showcase. since the kids in her class are so young, their performance was very short. very short. but it was full of cuteness. the theme of their class was mary poppins and they performed 'a spoonful of sugar'. of course i'm speaking as a mom when i say that i think malia was a natural up there. we're so proud of her!

another field trip with micah

we don't go to the zoo much, so i thought it would be a good idea to go on this field trip with micah's school. at least i was able to get better pictures on this trip. micah really enjoyed looking at the animals.

we went to the children's zoo first. i have bad memories of going into the petting zoo because a goat started eating my jacket, but this time it was okay. micah was scared to pet the goats, he just pat one on the back really quick. also saw some insects in the children's zoo, so gross but he really liked that. then we watched a show with birds, a wolf, and a seal. then went to the reptile house. after that, we went on a trail behind there and saw tortoises and crocodiles.

then the hiking began, off to elephant odyssey. micah told me that the elephant's name was elephant. it was weird that there weren't very many elephants there when it's called elephant odyssey. we saw other animals up closer like the lions.

micah and i left the group when i knew he was getting tired. but we had to go all the way around and hike back up the hill. we stopped by the pandas on the way. they were awake and so cute, but right when we got in front of one, it went pee and poop. nice. micah wasn't interested anyway. then i was exhausted carrying micah in one arm (he wants to be carried when he's sleepy) and pushing the stroller with the other while going up the hill. now i know why we rarely go to the zoo, steep hills. it was tons of fun, just really tiring.