Merry Christmas 2008

Today is Christmas day and Stella and Des had an absolute ball opening all of their numerous gifts under the Christmas tree this morning. We didn't think that Des would be interested in opening gifts, but we were wrong. For every gift Stella opened, he made sure he opened one too.

"Hmm, I wonder which ones are for me."

Ommy and Poppa were thoughtful enough to send Stella's & Desmond's stockings to NJ since we weren't spending Christmas with them. So we started off the Christmas morning festivities with the stockings first.

Here's Stella with her homemade stocking (it's pink with panda bears on it) that her Ommy made and filled for her.

Stella opening her first gift...

...a giant Play-Doh set that came with 20 different jars of colored play-doh as well as 45 different molds, cutters, and shapes. This was Stella's favorite gift by far and she played with all week long during the remainder of our stay in NJ.

Desmond opening his first gift...

...a Doodle Pro. This was Desmond's favorite toy from Xmas. He actually sat still for awhile playing with it, drawing & erasing, over and over! That is pretty amazing considering that this boy doesn't sit still for more than a few seconds for anything.

Some of the other highlights include a kid's digital camera for Stella...

...as well as a stuffed dog that is super soft and cuddly...

...Disney princess slippers...

...and BOB learn to read books Set 3.

Desmond got some Tadoodles crayons (designed especially for tiny hands to hold)...

...a giant coloring book to use with the crayons...

as he is doing here but he soon thought it was more fun to rip the coloring book than color on it ;)

...an Elmo piano book...

...and a mini Cookie Monster that talks and laughs when shaken.

We had a great time celebrating Christmas in NJ with Mama's family. Can't believe another year is almost over.

A Very Merry Christmas Eve Party

Amamma and Appachen hosted a Christmas party today at their house for nearby family and a few family friends. Stella and Desmond got dressed up to the nines in color coordinating outfits and had lots of fun at the party.

"Hey Ladies, how you doin'?"

Des is a lot more friendly than he used to be and went over to strangers and showed him his toys and let them even hug him.

Mama with her favorite girl...

...and her favorite lil' guy!

Trying to get the 2 kids to sit still and smile for a picture with each other or for a family picture was impossible. These pics below are the best of the bunch of the many we took.

Aunt Sil with the kids

After the party, Stella went off to bed very excited about the fact that it is going to be Christmas tomorrow. She can hardly wait. It is so fun to see her really get into Christmas this year and get excited about Santa and gifts and all of the other fun stuff related to this holiday.

Dada's Work Xmas Party

We went to Dada's Xmas party today that was held at his supervisor's house. Stella and Desmond got dressed up in their Sunday best.

At the party, Desmond was quite the ladies' man making friends with this little girl named Lavinia and giving her hugs and kisses without any prompting! Parents, better lock up your daughters ;)

Des and Stella also enjoyed playing/pounding on the piano.

As the kids were nearing their nap and starting to melt down, David's boss allowed Mama to take the kids to his master bedroom and watch some TV. Des jumped on the bed for awhile and then roamed around the bedroom looking for things to pull down and destroy.

We also went to see Santa later that night. Stella was super excited to meet Santa this year but got extremely shy once it was actually our turn to meet Santa. We thought that Des would scream at seeing Santa but, to our surprise, Des was laughing and pulled on Santa's beard which then made him laugh even more!

Seek and Destroy

That seems to be Desmond's motto these days. He is such a BOY and all he does is walk around the house with a look on his face that says "Hmm, what can I pull down or climb up and destroy today?" For example, he insists on flipping the toy piano over rather than have it right side up and will get mad if you put it back right side up. He bangs the singing Elmo doll onto the floor over and over. He loves pulling out all of the diapers from the diaper box. He pulls out the clothes from the drawers that Mama has neatly folded away. He pulls out the collapsed cardboard boxes from the recycling bin and drags them into the living room many, many times during the day. If the pantry door is open, he will go in there and pull out anything and everything he can reach. He loves throwing the Leap Frog alphabet magnets through the safety gate down the steps to the foyer. He will push the step stool to where he wants it to be and will climb up all the way to the top in an attempt to get something out of his reach (that is what he is doing in the above pic with that "uh oh, I'm busted" look).We can go on and on...

Outdoor Winter Fun

Ommy was here babysitting the kids the week right after Thanksgiving while Dada and Mama were out of town. While she was here, Ommy took the kids out to the nearby playground on a daily basis. Here are some cute pics from their fun filled time outside, despite the chilly weather.

Roseola Infantum Strikes!

Des came down with a fever last Wed that lasted through Sat and then after the fever subsided, he developed a grainy red rash all over his torso which eventually spread to his face, mainly his cheeks and chin. He was eventually diagnosed with Roseola, a common childhood illness. He was one grouchy boy when his rash appeared but can't blame the poor little guy.

Normally, Des sleeps in a fleece sleeper, but during his feverish days, we put him in a cotton sleeper, a hand-me-down he got from his cousin Eli. Mama thought Des looked so cute in his cotton two-piece jammies (the first time he has ever worn a 2-piece PJs) that she just had to take some pictures. Mama just loved how tight they were, accentuating his cute buddha belly!

Holiday Traditions

One of our holiday traditions is the Advent Calendar. Several years ago, Ommy bought this cute little Advent calendar house that has numbered doors that, when opened, play the tune of "Santa Claus is Coming to Town". There are cute little figurines at the top of the house that move and dance to the music as well.

Stella loved this Advent calendar last year because she would get a chocolate candy treat when she opens the correct numbered door. And this year is no exception.

Desmond loves it too; he loves the music that plays as well as the treat (Twix) that he gets when he opens the correct door.

Every night after dinner, the kids really look forward to opening the numbered door of the day. Des even points to the house and asks to open the doors at random times during the day because he just loves to hear the music and watch the figurines move. So sweet!

Deck the Halls...

We went and got our Xmas tree today after we ate our dinner. After Stella finished taking her bath, she helped Mama and Dada decorate the tree while the Gup went to sleep.

Stella helped put the "ball" ornaments (as she calls it) on the tree...

...but she liked putting the ornaments right next to each other =:)

Stella was especially excited to put the star on top of the tree, with a little help from her Dada, of course.

This year, we only placed the decorations on the top half of the tree so that a certain curious 1 year old will not be able to reach them and pull them down.