Christmas Day

Thought I'd post some Christmas Day shots. We had a great day. Starting out at 7:00am at our house, the girls had a blast opening gifts and eating a special Christmas day meal. Ava got some Legos to build with while Jillian opened a cash register (which has quickly become the favorite play gift for both girls). Jon outfitted the family in new Sharks gear. Even little Eli is game ready. Go Sharks!

Our friends the Johnson's sent us a great snow globe with Finn's picture in it. The girls carry their new friend around all over the house. Give us a big smile Jillian!We next loaded up the van with some gifts and headed out for the day. A grueling 5 minute drive down Blossom Hill road to the Olson's. Uncle Andrew was home from Cal Poly and delivered a group of packages with a theme - Cal Poly Gear. Grandpa O spent a lot of time holding Eli. Grandma O had hot danish - yummy - for breakfast number 2 and we enjoyed some time outside swinging the baseball bat.
Lunch time meant that it was off on the next grueling drive - a whopping 7miles south on highway 85 to the Benson's. Grandma and Grandpa B were waiting excitedly for us to arrive. Uncle Andrew(#2), his girlfriend Michelle and her daughter Haleigh were there Christmas excitement. Some snacks, stockings, and then an early dinner. It was a world wind of excitement during the gift giving. Ava and Jillian got some matching sleeping bags and pillows. The girls had a long day but a fun day. Here we are in front of the tree.

Eli hanging out on the floor with daddy. What a smile!

Merry Christmas 2007!

Stockings - creativity exercise

So Ava reminded us that Eli needed a stocking to hang over the fire place. Since Sara made the girls ones, she needed to run out and get materials on Christmas Eve to make one for Mr. Eli. She made a new one for us too with extra material so that we all matched. She also has been wanting to add something to the stockings to represent the year for the girls. Well we settled on using their birthday party idea for the stocking. We then needed to break out the creativity juices (after the girls had gone to bed) to cut out shapes.


This in the results. Felt cutting was really fun!
A Rocket, a train, a little chick, a butterfly even a hockey stick for Mom and Dad.

Christmas Cookies

Sara had a great idea to make some Christmas cookie for the Grandparents and our friend Rachel. So the girls and I rolled out the dough and then cut all the cookies with cutters - stars, snowflakes, reindeer, snowman. The frosting part was the most fun, but keeping Jillian's fingers from getting into her month was a real challenge. Well those became a tray for us to eat! Ava's choice was the pink sprinkles.


Jillian cutting shapes.

Ava and Daddy having fun!

Frosting time

Jillian's cookies, with little finger licks.

Ava and Daddy's bunch. YUMMY!

Our three month old little guy

Eli celebrated his three month birthday today. We cannot believe how fast time is flying! He is growing quickly and is really starting to show his personality. He smiles all the time and laughs, loudly, at almost any familiar face. He has really taken to his bathtub and is kicking like a swimmer whenever he is in there, soaking the bath giver and everything around him. He is still sleeping fabulously (7'ish pm to 7'ish am) and while naps seem to be intermittent, I'll take the sleeping through the night anytime! His hair is growing in a bit more though his little cowlick seems to be sticking with us. He's considering rolling over and gets to his side before he gives up. Any day now I imagine I'll see him on his belly.

The girls have started calling him Mr. Man and Whammer Hammer ("because he whams his hands like a hammer!") and are absolutely in love with him. I have to keep my eye on Jillian who I have now found feeding him Playdoh and, just today, a watermelon lollipop. The girl loves food and I guess she's trying to share her love with her new little brother. Ava is an adoring big sister and a huge help to me and Eli seeks her out whenever she comes into a room.

We hope you all have a very Merry Christmas. My good friend Rachel from Westmont will be coming into town from Chicago on Saturday and I cannot wait to see her and spend time with her. We'll then be doing the family shuffle on Tuesday celebrating Christmas morning with the Olson side and then enjoying our time with the Bensons and sharing a meal. We hope you all have a great time with your families and celebrating God's gift to us in sending his Son.

Decorating the Tree

Our Tree in all its glory!

Which one can I put on the tree Mommy?

Careful, don't fall.

Merry Christmas from the Olson Kids!

The tree went up perfectly except for the weak branches. We found out how heavy our ornaments were. Oh well. The spirit of Christmas was hopping and we enjoyed a nice cup of hot chocolate with lots of marshmallows. The girls love the the lights and looking at each of the new ornaments we added this year.

Jon

Christmas Tree Farm - the hunt is on!

So the tradition we have for bringing or christmas tree home is to go up to the Los Gatos / Santa Cruz mountains to the Summit tree farm and cut it down. Its a fun tradition because of the hunt involved. Will the tree last till christmas, will it fit in the house (I like tall trees), will it have a random hole we couldn't see before we cut it, or my family's personal favorite, will it fall down this year! (I've gotten some real winners in the past - like my dad; string, wire, support boards, towels anything in the house becomes a great prop to keep the tree up! Well this year was new b/c our newest addition Eli. The girls are more into the "Hunt" and it was a beautiful day up on the hill. The tree we got looked really good, but ended up having "weak" branches. The next post will be about the tree decorations.

Jon