Santa and Rudolph are coming to town!!! After a lovely Thanksgiving, we immediately set out to pick out the perfect Christmas tree! Me, Mama and Dada searched high and low for the perfect huge tree for our living room...and we found one! Meanwhile, Keevah Nyx was not happy about the big trees; she wanted one just her size! She kept begging for a tiny tree, and Gee & Grandpa of course got one for her! So now, Sissy has a "tiny tree" in her bedroom where we read bedtime stories and sing Christmas carols every night.
Mama and Dada relaxing with a Christmas cocktail
Our BIG tree!
Keevah and her tiny tree in her bedroom
Singing christmas songs by Keevah's tiny tree
Christmas Nyx
The past few weeks have also been packed with Christmas in Napa activities. We saw Santa - FOUR TIMES! The real one with a real beard! The first was at the Napa Christmas Parade. Second, at the tree lighting at Vista Colina resort in Napa. Third at an Italian restaurant where we also got to make some ornaments and drink hot cocoa. And finally, on the Santa Train! We loved visiting the North Pole on the Santa Train this year, and Nyx particularly enjoyed singing along with all the Christmas songs.
Napa Christmas parade with Keevah and my friend Haines
Waving to Santa #1
Santa #2 at Vista Colina t
Santa #3
With the conductor on the Santa Train
All dressed up to visit the North Pole
We are also enjoying our daily Advent Calendar treats...and trying to hunt for our Elves on a Shelf each morning. We are trying to be on our best behavior so the Elves don't tell Santa that we have been naughty! I have asked for Harry Potter Book 4, and a special request (only told to Santa himself!). Keevah Nyx has been begging for a puppy dog! Fingers crossed that we have been good enough to get our requests.
This is how our Elves arrived - on a ton of balloons!
Elf snow angels
The Elves added a red nose to Keevah's deer!
Cocooned!
I also had my school Christmas concert. We sang some really fun songs for all the grown ups, and I think I got all the words right!
I'm super tall, so always in the back row, to the right.
This month, we also finally got to Tahoe again. We have been so busy with other travels, that we hadn't been up in several months. There was lots of snow on the ground, and I went skiing every day with Dada. I even went down Black Diamond runs again! Wooohooo! The best part of this year is that Keevah Nyx gets to ski with us. No surprise, but she was not scared AT ALL! She kept hollering "self do it!" at Dada whenever he tried to help her. I even took her on a few runs on the bunny slopes...despite Mama and Dada being a little nervous about this endeavor. We did great, and didn't fall at all!
Family of snow angels
Keevah and her big snowball
Teaching Keevah how to ski for the first time
Grandpa and Keevah
Mama and I made Olaf!
Nyx is skiing!
Watch out!
Dada, me and Keevah at Heavenly (on the bunny slope)
The whole gang
Cupcakes for Keevah's THIRD birthday
Below follows a bunch of random ski videos that Mama is too tired to pare down! Enjoy!
Stay tuned for the next post of Keevah's birthday and CHRISTMAS!!!!!!!!
We just got back from an amazing trip to Mexico to celebrate Dia de los Muertos! This was my very FIRST international trip (somewhat delayed due to all of Mama's surgeries...), and I had the BEST time ever! We started in Mexico City - after a super late flight. Dada was in Cuba, and meeting us in Mexico - so Mama flew with big brother and me by herself. We left at midnight - I've never been allowed to stay up that late, and I had a great time running all over the place...until about 5 minutes before we were supposed to board the plane when I finally fell asleep! Whoops! We met our friends, the Gonzalez family, who live in Mexico City - and they showed us so many amazing places. We played at a local park, visited the main square that had Alebrije (spirit animal) floats from a recent parade, and ate at many amazing restaurants. They served lots of rice and beans...my favorite foods! The Archaeological Museum was also super amazing - lots of old stuff that they dug up from the ground...mostly I liked the gold jewelery and the old bones. Since it was Dia de los Muertos, there were so many awesome skeletons around...and since I love skeletons, I was super excited every time I saw one.
All ready for Dia de los Muertos!
My favorite Alebrije (kitty cat with baby kitty cat hatching from egg; complete with wings and bird feet!)
The dragon/cat/serpent monster is getting Declan!
Making friends with Mr. Skeleton
Palace of Fine Arts
Diego Rivera mural
One of many ofrendas
Frida Kahlo & Diego Rivera
More skeletons!
MY CHURROS!!!
Archaeological Museum
Templo Mayor Muesum in Mexico city - excavated pyramids!
After a few days in Mexico City, we traveled a bit South to San Andreas de Mixquic, a small indigenous town that really knows how to celebrate. This tiny town had about 100,000 visitors that night - and it was so much fun! There were stalls selling all kinds of crafts and foods - and I got a cool mask to wear. We got to walk in the local cemetery at midnight, with only candle light to guide us (along with everyone else). I wasn't spooked at all - it was really a special night. The decorations were so colorful, and the skeletons were not scary at all! I wish we had an awesome celebration like this back at home!
a HUGE Catrina
sugar skulls were everywhere
Big brother riding a REAL bull
cemetary at midnight
Dada is cheating at poker with the skeletons
With Aztec warriors
Next, we all traveled to Puebla, a small lovely town about 2 hours from Mexico City. We spent three nights in a lovely renovated old hotel building, right next to an amazing and active market. I purchased my favorite new animal - a textiled kitty cat that I have named "Frida"...after Frida Kahlo of course! Puebla had a huge parade for the holiday, complete with lots of skeletons and masks. The town square was active and lively, and there was a beautiful old cathedral that we visited as well.
One of many marigold displays
Such a lovely town with some of my favorite colors
The main cathedral in Puebla
Declan got to help knead the clay at the Talavera pottery factory
Frida Kahlo mural
Another beautiful courtyard ofrenda
This ofrenda was for a deceased writer - he's depicted here with a typewriter
The whole gang: Gonzalez family (Ernesto, Viviana, Gabriella, Olivia) and Mama, Dada, Declan, and me at our hotel in Puebla
All the Coco family!
Then, we finally said goodbye to our friends, and we headed to Zihuatanejo for 5 nights in Paradise! We rented a house RIGHT ON THE OCEAN! With an infinity pool, and my favorite part - hammocks! More beans and rice...I think that's all I ate this whole trip! We swam in the ocean every day - I kept saying that it felt like the 'cuzi - since the water was so warm. We had a memorable day of swimming with the dolphins - I wasn't afraid at all and gave them big hugs and kisses. I was too little, but Declan got to even hold onto them while they swam in the water! After the dolphins, we got to go save some baby sea turtles. There was this nice man who tries to help them by digging up the eggs and burying them behind a fence so the eggs don't get hurt. Then he digs them up 45 days later and sets the baby turtles free into the ocean! We got to help with this - i dug my very own holes and pulled out SO MANY turtles. Mama was pretty concerned that I was going to decapitate a few, but I was very gentle. Declan and Dada also got a ton of turtles - we ended up with about 600 of them!!!!
We enjoyed the lovely little fishing village, did a little shopping (Mama and Dada dragged us into a Tequileria!). Declan and Dada even did some snorkeling while I slept with Mama on the beach. Declan got to go on a jet ski too! I was super jealous, but contented myself with the boogie board. We loved it in Zihuatanejo so much that we can't wait to go back!
Zooming on a dolphin!!!
There were over 50 turtles in each hole!
I didn't decapitate any of them!
Over 600 baby turtles starting to wriggle in the sunlight
The release!
Go turtles go!
At the pool at our home for the week, overlooking the Pacific Ocean
The ladies
Boat ride!
Declan & Dada saw parts of a sunken boat, and even a large sunken statue under water
Mama and Declan go jet-skiing!
And Dada & declan did too...I can't wait until I'm old enough!
I tried boogie boarding instead...
digging a hole to China
Falling asleep while being buried in the sand
Matching Mama & Keevah rompers
A happy Mama at dinner
Looking for the "green dot" at sunset
It was warm even at night
After a late dinner and a long vacation - we both fell asleep in the stroller...
We got home and had a few days to recover. We had three days of school, and then it was Thanksgiving break! We had our annual friends-giving, and Gee & Grandpa even came this year. I liked the turkey and pretty much nothing else, except for I always have room for dessert. Now, I'm all ready for Santa to come soon!
All our friends and family for Thanksgiving
Dada was jogging when we took the pretty photos, so here's him with his sous vide Turkey!
