Christmas Day with the Dirstines

We spent Christmas day at Tutu and Sir's house (that's Dada's parents, you know). Aunt Nora and Aaron joined us for the fun. Here I am in my Christmas outfit. Am I adorable or what?
Before presents, I checked out Tutu's piano. It seems like I gravitate to the piano wherever I go. I'm noticing a pattern here...
I also decided to rearrange Tutu's decorations a bit. This reindeer goes here and that one goes here...

I also watched Tutu's animated Nutcracker Suite about 50 times. It plays all the songs from the ballet and has lots of moving parts. Don't worry, I mostly kept my hands to myself. I also made Tutu play all of her animated Christmas things over and over and over, especially the one with the snow people, until Aunt Nora said, "please, stop the madness." Hee, hee!

Then it was time for presents! Tutu and Sir got me this awesome new tricycle.

Here's a video of the big reveal...

I had to test drive it on the driveway. How do I look? I feel like a race car driver...

I also got this great big stuffed turtle. It's the perfect size to hug and lay on.

And Aunt Nora got me this neat turtle puppet and I also got this voice-changing microphone.

But my favorite gift was this dragon castle from Tutu and Sir. There are two knights and the castle makes thunder and lightning sounds and you can even grab anyone who dares approach the gates with the dragon. Cool!

Oooo, check this out...

Aunt Nora helped me to figure out all the castle's secrets, like this slide that lets you roll big boulders on trespassers. Cool!

Here's a quick photo of our family in front of Tutu and Sir's Christmas tree...

And here's one with me and my grandparents. We were being so silly...


Well, it was a wonderful two days with all of my family. Christmas is awesome! Thanks, again, everyone.

Stay tuned for New Year's Eve at Mimi's house...

Santa Came to My House!

Merry Christmas! Santa came, Santa came! He actually came to my house and even ate the cookies I made for him. Awesome! OK, so maybe he's not all that scary. Maybe next year I will sit on his lap. You never know...

Here I am when I first came down stairs on Christmas morning checking out the cool Noah's Ark Christmas tree that Santa brought for me. Wow, neat cow ornament. Moooo!

Santa also brought me this neat truck. It is a car hauler and has a car for the back and makes lots of truck sounds. I love it! Thanks, Santa!
I also got some more cool books. Will someone read this one to me?

Here's a quick video of me and Dada checking out a sticker book I got featuring my favorite Sesame Street character: Elmo, of course!

Wait, here's one more present from Mama and Dada...

Oooo, it's a farm block set. It has a farmer, a barn, a tractor plus a chicken, horse and pig. I was making all the animal sounds and driving the animals around all morning. Thanks, guys!

Stay tuned for more Christmas fun with the Dirstines...

Christmas Eve with the Livingstons

The big day finally arrived: Christmas Eve. As is our tradition, we spent the day with the Livingstons (that's Mama's side of the family). And our good friend Terry joined us, too. She's the one that took this great photo of our family.
The first present of the day was this awesome Cozy Coop. Jack and I are going to share it as it will stay at Mimi and Pop-Pop's house.

Here's Jack checking out our new car...

Then I took it for a spin...

Jack made sure to show me how all the buttons worked. Thanks, buddy!

While we were waiting for dinner, Jack and I played a bit of piano.

Here's a little video of our "concert." I think we are ready for some lessons, what do you think?

Then the present opening began. Our first gift was a neato Holiday Elmo. Jack and I both got one. He plays lots of songs and shakes.

Some more present opening. Cool, books!

Jack got this awesome Yo Gabba Gabba Key-tar. He let me try it out.

Here's Pop-Pop trying it out, too.

Wow, that is a LOT of presents! What a mess!

But everything we received was priceless. Here are some highlights: lots of puzzles from Uncle Jon, Aunt Jenn and Jack, lots of books and a cool Tag Junior from Mimi and Pop-Pop and a neat bag of presents from Great-Grammy and money, too! What a haul!

Here's a quick photo of our little family before getting ready for bed. Awww!

And no visit with Jack would be complete without some "cousin love."

Ouch, I bumped my head.

OK, had enough...

The night was finally over and after a quick bath and putting on my awesome Christmas jammies, I was ready to go home. One last hug from Great-Grammy...

And Mimi, Pop-Pop and Bobbee, too! Thanks, everyone, for all the great food, wonderful presents and lots and lots of love. We all had a great time! Gotta go home now and wait for Santa to come...

Cookies for Santa

With only two days until Christmas, Mama and I baked cookies for Santa Claus. I had to check my countdown chart just to make sure.
Did you know that Santa LOVES chocolate chip cookies with extra chocolate chunks? Mama says they are his favorite!

Here I am putting the cookies on the sheet. I decided to smash them down a bit just in case.

Here I am watching my cookies in the oven. Hi, cookies! (Note from Mama: Don't worry, we have a double-paned oven so the outside does not get hot. I didn't want any of you to pass out.)

And here I am waiting for the cookies to be done. Check out my special "Cookies for Santa" plate. Neat, huh? I hope Santa loves them...

Photos with Santa 2009: Attempt #2

Last Sunday we went the Tutu and Sir's country club for a brunch with Santa Claus. We'd thought we'd give the Santa photo one more try. Here I am eating my lunch. Is the big guy here yet?
Here I am with Mama and Tutu. Santa, where are you?

Dada and Sir, any sign of him yet?

Finally, Santa arrived. I stood with Sir and watched some of the other kids sit on Santa's lap. It seemed like I might actually make it. Fat chance! As soon as Dada got within about a foot of Santa, I started whimpering. You can actually see the tears in my eyes in this photo. This is as close as I would get. And he even offered me a gift.

Thanks for the doggie, Santa, but I'm still not going to sit on your lap. Nice try, people. There's always next year...

Photos with Santa 2009: Attempt #1

A few weeks ago, Jack and I went with Mimi and Pop-Pop and our parents to see Santa Claus. Their nice friend, Lynn, works at a realty office and she invited us for free pictures with Santa. Good idea, right? Wrong. Here's what happened when Mama put me on Santa's lap...total toddler meltdown. Who the heck is this guy and why would I be OK sitting on his lap?
Then we tried just sitting "near" Santa. No dice.

Then we stood "behind" Santa. Better.

We're going to have brunch with Santa tomorrow with Tutu and Sir at their country club. So we'll try one more time to get a nice photo with Santa. Good luck, silly adults!

Happy Birthday, Uncle Jon and Aunt Jenn!

Last night, we went to Great-Grammy Mary's house to celebrate Uncle Jon (December 19) and Aunt Jenn's (December 15) birthdays. She has been making spaghetti dinner for their friends on their birthdays for years. Of course, Cousin Jack was there and we had so much fun! Jack was EXTRA lovey...

Whoa, what a hug!

We also sort of destroyed Grammy's village. She said we could touch it. Mama said it looked like a hurricane came through after we were done.

I did some light reading.

And took up the drums. We put on a parade with Mimi and Po-Po Grace.

And we even decorated our own little tree. Grammy set us up with our own ornaments and everything.

And at the end of the evening, we winded down with a little Yo Gabba Gabba.

Then it was time for cake. Here are the birthday kids blowing out their candles.

Awww, how cute!

One last hug and kiss before we said good-bye for the night. Our jammies even matched. Boy, am I lucky to have such a nice cousin or what!