The L.A. Dime

So here we are almost 2 full weeks into 2011 and I’m just now getting around to writing about our holiday break. Let’s just say that it was fun-filled excitement for 10 days straight!! We were lucky enough to be invited to a Christmas Eve brunch at our friends’ Laurie and Gary’s house and then a Christmas Day dinner with the Thomas’.
Trying to incorporate & establish both German and American traditions, we opened a few presents on Christmas Eve. Nana & Opa sent a beautiful, wooden doll-house (complete with room furnishings, a solar-panel roof and plants) which we set up in Sophie’s room while she was having dinner. We then asked her to come upstairs and uncover the present that had been left for her. We had Nana & Opa on Skype so they could see her anticipation of walking into the room and her wide-eyed amazement when she pulled the blanket off and found the exact gift that she’d been telling us about wanting for the last month. She immediately dropped to her knees and started checking out each room, talking to the little dolls and continued to be deeply involved in play for a good hour. The only way to get her to stop playing was to tell her that since Santa would be on his way soon to deliver his gifts, it was time to put out the cookies we’d baked.
While we expected her to wake up early on Christmas morning, she actually slept in a little but then quickly realized what day it was and was ready to run downstairs. As soon as she made it down the steps and around the corner to see the fireplace, she started pointing at the empty plate and milk glass because she’d lost her words with surprise that Santa really did come down the chimney, not only ate the snacks we’d set out for him but also left some Santa-presents too!! From there on out it was a mad dash to open all the presents – lots of smiles, happy giggles and asking us to break open packaging let us know that she was surely enjoying this exciting event.
The day after Christmas, we headed to the airport to pick up Uncle Chad, Aunt Mandee and cousins Sawyer & Bishop who were going to stay with us for a while to visit & play. Together, we explored Disneyland, Legoland, several hands-on museums, the Aquarium and spent lots of time playing, being silly and just catching up in person. We had a great time and hope to continue these sorts of family vacations again in the future.

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