When's Christmas?

With all the holiday decorations I've been working on, Logan's taken a keen interest in Christmas (strangely, he also keeps asking to see the snow/go to the mountains, which we haven't brought up yet, so I think they must also be talking about all things Wintery at school).

In any case, I thought it would be fun to do one of those advent calendars that my mom had for us one (or two or three?) years when I was small. I found some really gorgeous, non-kiddy ones as I was searching, but the ones I liked were too pricey for me to justify.

One of the sites I was reading, suggested a DIY version, if you were so inclined.  I thought, hey!  what a nifty fun idea, and how hard could it be, really?

*sigh*

I'll admit it was simple to put together but a (time-consuming) pain in the butt.  :)  Still, I'm pleased with the results.  When Logan saw the two strands hanging up on the wall this morning he asked, "Are we having a party?"  I suppose it does look a little party-ish!

Anyhoo, for anyone else that's interested in doing the same... I bought the template at happythought's Etsy shop.  I used a heavier paper, as they suggested, by cutting up some of Logan's construction paper (to fit our printer and template's 8.5x11" requirement).  Once printed, I cut each little "cone" out and then scored each one, folded and then taped them together.  I used some twine that we had available, which was a bit thicker than what the shop suggested but has a more "homey" DIY feel which I like.  I added each cone onto the twine one by one (spacing out as best I could so that they were all even) and then hung the two strands up along the dining room wall with some silver push pins.  Nothing fancy but I think it'll add a little fun to our countdown to Christmas.  :)

I haven't decided what little presents/surprises to put in the pockets just yet.  They won't hold much - so I was thinking of some small candies, stickers or tattoos.  Any other ideas?

Dinosaur Hoody Towel

What's that noise?

That's a little boy.

What's he doing?

I'm not sure honey. But I think he might be growling.


Yes, don't mind us. Those loud obnoxious ROARS you hear coming from the dressing room would be my son. He thinks it's great fun. In fact, he gets louder the more I beg him to stop.

I don't know how I happen to attract such crafty friends, particularly when I am sooooo NOT crafty. But nonetheless, check out this dinosaur hooded towel that Amanda made for Logan!! It's A-W-E-S-O-M-E. And so timely for the summer, swim class, and the (Maui) beaches. Oh right, and bath time too.

She also made one for Callum. His has a very cool monster pattern on one side. So, to make sure Logan didn't feel left out, she cranked out this one for him. How thoughtful! Isn't it (and he) adorable?!?

Thanks Amanda! We love them!! :)

Abuelita and Aunt Sarah Visit

I'm finally catching up with the week and have such blogger's guilt for not posting pics and a story about Logan's Abuelita and Aunt Sarah's visit over the weekend that I'll be damned if I don't post about it tonight, before I pass out on the couch watching The Soup. ;-)

Abuelita and Abuelito Riedy, and Aunt Sarah, moved from Washington state, down to Burbank (LA) to be closer to the family and grandkids. While on their drive down this weekend, they passed through the Bay Area to visit with us. Abuelito Riedy wasn't able to stay unfortunately, because he needed to get set up in LA and then ready for work in San Diego by Monday. But, we did have a really nice visit with Abuelita and Aunt Sarah.

Saturday morning we went to Logan's friend Maya's 2nd birthday party.


The party was at a nearby Color Me Mine pottery studio and I thought Abuelita and Aunt Sarah would enjoy coming with us to watch Logan get his art on.


He had an okay time painting his ceramic plate. He certainly wasn't impressed with Mommy trying to help out. Oh well. :) Hopefully it comes out! We ate a little pizza and cake before calling it a day (it was way past naptime).


While Logan napped, Jon and I introduced Alicia and Sarah to a game of Settlers. mwahahahaha

Jon won, of course, but we had a really good time. When Logan woke, we decided to try an early dinner at our favorite Ethiopian restaurant, Zeni. Because we went before the crowds gathered, we lucked out, got a table right away and had a really nice meal (it was Alicia and Sarah's first time trying Ethiopian and I think they liked it!).


Logan had a great time visiting with Abuelita and Aunt Sarah but I think his most favorite part of all was "helping" Abuelita walk with her cane.


It was the most precious thing ever and he INSISTED on doing it any time we were out and about. :)


Sunday we had brunch at our favorite local spot, Stacks. Aunt Catherine, Uncle Danny and Nadia all drove down from San Francisco to join us as well. We had a great time chowing down on yummy food. Logan was the center of attention and loved it. After brunch, we said our goodbyes as everyone needed to hit the road to continue the rest of their drive down to LA.

That afternoon we relaxed around the house, did some chores, and checked out a local toy shop to compare various wooden train sets. Jon has been wanting to get Logan a train set since he was born - and seeing how well he took to Robert's train set only solidified that goal. We compared the different brands out there, let Logan play with a few himself, and then went home to find a great deal online. ;-)

Visiting the Cousins

This morning we went for a nice walk with Logan and the dogs. When we got home, Logan and I played a little basketball, but he quickly got distracted by seeing our bikes - and suddenly was pointing to my bike (which has his seat on the back) and saying "Bike!" and then trying to climb up on it. It was close to his naptime but I could tell I was going to have a tantrum on my hands if I didn't take him for a ride. So we got the bike and helmets out, set out for a ride, and within ten minutes TOPS, he was out like a light. I rode around for another 10 minutes or so and then had Jon help take him off the bike and put him to bed for his nap.


When he woke up, we headed for my Aunt and Uncle's house for a family get together. My cousin Ellen (their youngest) recently got engaged, so we were celebrating the news. Sophia (my cousin Tim's daughter) just turned 2 this past Monday and several others' birthdays were coming up. We also hadn't been together as a big family since last year (for Kai's graduation celebration dinner) so the visit was definitely overdue. And MY how both Logan and Sophia have grown since then!


Sophia is a beautiful dainty little girl - actually smaller than Logan even though he's 4 months younger - but so darling and cute I couldn't get enough of her! She and Logan got along great and played together all day long! The minute we arrived the two of them were playing with the living room toys making a ton of noise and generally having a ball. Jordan (Sophia's older brother) asked them several times to "Please don't make so much noise; I can't hear the movie" as he turned the TV up louder and louder. Yeah, good luck with that kid. I keep asking Logan the same thing. Jordan also really really REALLY wanted Logan to play with him, something "just for boys". But unfortunately Logan didn't quite get that concept and continued to splash and throw balls and generally act like a 20 mth old. Oh well - next time. :)


As always, Aunt Pammie hosts a wonderful party. There was a scrumptious spread to choose from for dinner and a decadent, rich chocolate cake for dessert. She also had a plethora of activities for the kids - which really kept Logan busy. From toys inside the house, to splashing in the kiddy pool, to croquet on the lawn, basketball, tricycles, play-doh and painting arts and crafts. Logan probably did more in the couple of hours we were there than he does all day at school! ;-)

Once it was nearing Logan's bedtime, we decided to head home. We were hoping he'd fall asleep on the ride home but no such luck. He wasn't unhappy though - just wide awake and watching the cars drive by. I'm sure he was still processing everything he had experienced at Aunt Pam's house. ;-) We got home and I worked on putting him to bed while Jon tidied up the house since we were expecting some of the guys to come over for poker night. I gabbed on the phone and did a few chores. Jon lost a couple bucks but nothing too bad. Overall a jam packed day as usual!

(Click on any of the pics above for more of the day!)

Martha Stewart Would be Proud

Yesterday evening Jon and I went to a surprise birthday party for a friend of ours. We dropped Logan off at my parents so that we could stay out late for the night. It was a harder drop off than usual - we had to wake him up from his nap in order to drop him off in time, which already had him out of sorts, and then we literally dropped him off and said good bye in a matter of a few minutes. He caught on as we were leaving and was VERY upset. :( It was really hard for me to go; I could tell he was going to have a rough time getting over it (and I was right). :(

After the birthday party, we caught a late night showing of Angels and Demons. I liked it okay (although it was a little fast paced and some of the plot lines were hard to follow), but Jon wasn't impressed. He's been reading the book and I guess a lot of the character development and key story lines were left out. Oh well, we still had a nice time out. :)

This morning, I picked up some crazy donuts at the new local Psycho Donuts shop. I got several so we could sample them all. Left to Right: Butterfinger, Peanut Nutter Butter, Cookie Monster (with Oreo cookies), plain Glazed, "Apricotology" (Apricot Critter) and Massive Head Trauma (Raspberry Jelly Filled). They were sooooo super sweet that we had tummy aches after a few bites. It was fun to try but we agreed we'll be sticking to our regular ol' Stan's or Manley's donut shops from now on. ;-)


We spent the day running errands before Jon's brother Curtis, Renee and Luke, stopped by for a visit (on their way through town to Monterey). Logan was still down for a nap during the first part of their visit, but the two boys got to goof around and play together some before dinner. This was the best pic of the two boys together that I could snag all night! *sigh*



For Father's Day this year I made not one, but TWO! (ah-ah-ah...), craft projects for Jon. For a person who never does art and crafty things, this is a big deal.

First, I started with the photo cube - I had a couple of small snafus in getting the pictures to adhere nicely to the block, but otherwise I think it turned out rather well. Jon can flip the cube around based on how he's feeling for the day, and show off his cute kid to the guys at work. :)



Then, because I was feeling ambitious, and because my coworker Amanda got this idea into my stinkin' head (thanks Amanda!) I decided to make those cheezy matching Dad/Son t-shirts.

Yes, I really did. With cheezy taglines too (Logan's says "My Big Hero" and Jon's says "My Little Hero").


But, aren't they adorable?!?! :)

Hope everyone had a fun filled Father's Day weekend!