'Tis the Season!

We had a VERY busy holiday filled weekend. Sophia was "Very" excited to see Santa and told us how she couldn't wait to sit on his lap. We were a foot away from him and she exclaimed "I'm so Excited!!!" however when we closed in she wasn't having it. Long story short, we opted for pictures in front of the tree and Preston's expressions were priceless! We also had a special visit from Auntie Mary Ann and Uncle Jack so Saturday night we had dinner with them at Nana and Nonno's. Sunday Marta came over and helped make a gingerbread house(not as easy as it looks) and gingerbread man cookies and gingerbread trees for Preston's big Winter One-derland birthday party next weekend. We've been very busy decorating the house. Preston's been really good about not disturbing the Christmas tree although we do have a baby gate around it:)



Visit from Auntie and Uncle!




Christmas Goodie making time:)






...and Preston being Preston

More Solvang plus Cold Springs Tavern for some turkey!

We spent Thanksgiving morning wandering through town and enjoying the shops. The trees had all changed color and the streets were lined with these bright yellow leaves. Sophia had a blast playing in the leaves~pretty sure she'd never seen leaves this color. We then packed up and headed to Sunny Fields Park a.k.a. the "castle park". When we pulled up Sophia said "I can't believe it!!" with her mouth wide open. It must look so enormous through her eyes. She was in heaven. We played there for a bit then headed to Cold Springs Taver to celebrate Thanksgiving. BT had made a late reservation so they mentioned us being in a "separate dining area". We had no idea it meant our own cabin up the hill! We had kerosene lamps on our table and and old school telephone on the wall to call the main dining room. Our meal was amazing and ended with homemade pecan pie and carmel bread pudding. We all decided to make this our new tradition(and hopefully we can get that cabin next year!!)







LET THE TURKEY EATING BEGIN


Our cozy private dining cabin:)

Our Turkey Day Festivities in Solvang.

We're splitting our Solvang/Turkey Day trip into 2 posts b/c we took sooo many pictures! We took this same trip at the end of maternity leave with Preston and loved it so much that we decided to spend Turkey Day up there with Nana and Nonno. We love the Hadsten House for a few reasons, the indoor pool, the wine and cheese when you arrive and a full breakfast in the morning! It's also perfect walking distance to town and mama also loves the bedspreads(major plus) ha! The first night we ate at the Hadsten House restaurant and went to the Farmer's Market in town. It was so cole that our cars were covered in frost in the morning. The kids had so much fun exploring the hotel room and Sophia was obsessed with washing Preston's bottles and loved her long bath before we met up with Nana and Nonno for dinner.

The kids lately...

The pictures Leyla gets of the kids during the week are too cute not to document. They're both at such fun ages. Presto's first birthday is just around the corner and he's getting more and more active(just today we watched him launch a toy helicopter over his head and across the room) and more curious(his love for the fridge and the pantry for example). He's more smiley than ever which shows off all his new pearly whites. He has 4 teeth on the bottom and his top 4 are all coming in with his two front teeth winning the race! Sophia is our comedy relief. She loves saying "It's ok mommy...don't give up" if I'm having trouble with something. She's also very loving and says "I love you so much mommy/daddy" and "you're my best friend" to us a lot(heart melts). She loves hugs and kisses and she's definitely our social butterfly and is STILL teething EEKS! She's weighing in at 30lbs exactly and just discovered a love of mustard just like her mommy:) Some of her current favorite songs are(which she has mommy sing on repeat every night in the rocking chair) "You are my sunshine", "Jingle Bells", "Rudolf the red nosed Reindeer" and "Say Say old Playmate". Here are some recents shots of them: