La Quinta Vacation: Tree Lighting and Birthday Celebrations

On Saturday, day two of our La Quinta vacation, Ella and I started the day playing with our Learning Home. We played so very nicely together. Mommy says that I am so gentle and kind to my little cousin. I try my best, what can I say.

We even did a little dancing to the music of Tutu's "Holly Jolly Christmas" reindeer. I hope you enjoy this little video of our performance...

That afternoon, we even took a little walk around the neighborhood. Ella and I once again shared a stroller ride. I was so sweet and kept giving her hugs and holding her hand. Let's just say that she was tolerant of my affections.
That night, we headed over to La Quinta Resort for the annual tree lighting ceremony. It was cold so we all bundled up and waited for the big moment.

And waited...

And waited...

Finally after a lot of adults talked and yakked at the podium, the big moment arrived! This is the tree before...

And this is the tree after. Spectacular!

Here's a little video of the big moment. Of course, Mommy forgot, once again, that you can only take video holding the camera in the horizontal position, but you get the idea. Mommy says she got caught up in the moment and forgot. I'll forgive her just the one last time...

Here I am taking it all in. I was amazed!

Then Santa just appeared on the stage with no fanfare or introduction. Last year, he parachuted out of the sky. And guess what? We missed it. So we were a bit disappointed in the Santa aspect of the ceremony but enjoyed the tree part nonetheless.

Then we all took turns taking pictured in front of the tree. Here are Tutu and Sir with their grand babies...

And here I am with my parents.

Before we left, Ella and I did a bit of window shopping. Kids can dream, right?

But our adventures for the evening were not over yet! It was off to Jackalope Ranch for dinner to celebrate Daddy's birthday. He's 36. Is that old? Mommy says he's no longer in his mid-thirties and officially in his late-thirties. Ha! We went to this same restaurant last year for his birthday and I had fun reacquainting myself with the "big, big pig."

I also had to check out this "big, big rock." So guess what I did next? Naturally I ran back and forth between the two about 50 times while we waited for our table. The adults were quite pooped after that. Hee, hee!

Finally it was time for dinner. Mommy and Tutu went on the Jackalope Ranch website earlier that day and discovered that they had mac 'n cheese on the menu. So Mommy did not pack me a dinner. But we soon found out that the mac 'n cheese was prepared with jalapenos and was not appropriate for toddlers. Good thing she packed me a banana and plenty of snacks. I also ate french fries and some Cheerios. The adults had lots of fabulous BBQ fare and enjoyed cocktails and appetizers, too. Ella and I just took it all in.

Daddy and I had a lot of fun playing during dinner. Mommy always packs me lots of things to do, like Legos. And Aunt Marisa shared some stickers with me, too. Distractions are the best!

Then I got all snugly in my jammies for the ride home. Happy birthday, Daddy! I love you!

Stay tuned for more fun from our last day in La Quinta! You never know what I might do next...