Our Gilroy Christmas

Two weekends ago, we had our first taste of Christmas with our annual gathering in Gilroy, when we get to see almost all of Tim's aunts, uncles, cousins, and kids of cousins! So thankful that his cousins open their home to this giant crew, and cook amazing Italian food while they're at it! This year, the kids had a piñata and the adults, as usual, had a hilarious white elephant exchange that ended with our little family "winning" a Santa suit. The kids promptly wiggled into it and had fun pretending to be the big guy!

 

Thanks to all who help make this fun day happen! What a great way to kickstart the Christmas season!

 

 

Nutcracker Nuttiness

The Nutcracker story was not a part of our holiday traditions when I was a little girl. We had plenty of other Christmas traditions that I've carried on, including tree trimming fun, board game tournaments, Christmas Eve Mass, and, most holy of all, watching Home Alone to kick off the Christmas season ;)

But the first time someone told me after Clara was born, "I bet you can't wait to take her to see her first Nutcracker!" I have to admit I had no idea that Clara was the name of a character in the story, or even what the story was about!

Luckily, Clara has been a little quicker on the draw, and since she was about three, has known that a little girl with her name figures prominently in The Nutcracker. We've had the storybook for years, and saw an abbreviated version of the ballet two years ago, but this year was the first time we braved the real deal: The San Francisco Ballet's Nutcracker.

Clara loved every minute of the experience, from dressing up in all-time favorite dress full of sparkly bling, to donning her favorite coat, and driving to the city with one of her best friends, Molly (not to be confused with our Molly, always known as Molly May in this company). She sat as close as she possibly could to me throughout the performance, so she could squeeze my arm and share her oohs (over the set design), aahs (over the falling snow on the Snow Queen) and giggles (at the Mouse King falling into the orchestra pit in his death throes).

Molly May was a little less thrilled about this adventure, probably because it was at naptime. Right after intermission, she protested loudly that she was "totally bored," and then dramatically laid across my lap and completely passed out, looking like a silvery, angelic fallen angel when the lights came on. This illusion was completely shattered when I had to wake her up! Yikes!

I love making new traditions, and I think this one will definitely stick, especially with a little Clara in our house to remind us of how special the Nutcracker story is, along with the little girl who dreams such a fantastic dream!

 

Tiny Dancer

This little girl could not keep the smile off her face for her impromptu "holiday show" at her dance class. There were no bad pictures of her because she was beaming and/ or giggling the entire time! Here's a glimpse... and yes, she is the teeniest, tiniest in her class! (Just excuse the craziness that is her tights. We have major seam-on-the-toes phobia.)

Ho! Ho! Ho!

This year's Raley cousin photo shoot for Hop and Mop's holiday card was not about to be outdone by previous years. Mop took a gamble that a certain almost 9 year-old boy would not object to some glittery puffy paint and pom-poms, and decorated nine little shirts to spell out "Ho! Ho! Ho!"

This year, everyone is mixed up...bonus points if anyone can correctly identify all of the little people here!

 

Thanks to some planning ahead, Mop even made sure we could get a complete "Ho!" out of our little family, and a "Ho! Ho!" from the Stechers.

 

 

 

Finally, we got some outtakes from our H, O, and !

 

Trimming the Tree

With rain pouring down in sheets outside, we got cozy inside this weekend and started the big job of making the house ready for Christmas! I love trimming the tree, and the kids do, too, especially when hot chocolate and holiday music is involved.

 

Our three little helpers did all the work, and our resident engineer (Joey) even set up the train tracks all by himself! Here's hoping he'll be up to doing the outside lights in a few years ;)

 

Giving Thanks... for Cousins!

This is what our Thanksgiving looked like this year... with a soundtrack of crazy, happy, wild kids! I didn't get a picture of Shawna's beautiful table complete with her pretty china, silver and crystal, but the only one who was allowed near it was Luke! This crazy crew stayed at the kids' table!