We walked around the neighborhood and looking at pretty lights:
For privacy reasons, I’m only posting photos of decorations that do not also show the houses. Fi also enjoyed several walks around the neighborhood to “pet” all the animals that were on front lawns, that included pigs in Santa hats, lots of deer, and some penguins.
We went on a little hike:
All I got was this photo of my dad looking at a giant nest. It reminds me of what my hair looks like when I wake up in the morning.
We waved goodbye to pull-ups forever:
Officially, totally, and completely potty trained! We had to make new squares on her chart, and now she actually has a whole new chart with lots of squares but no prizes (she doesn’t want or need them). I don’t like to talk about potty training because some day Fiona might read this and be embarrassed, but I also use the blog to keep track of her growth and development (as opposed to a baby book) so I am going to say that at this time last year, she stopped wearing pull ups or diapers during the day because she learned to pee on the toilet (very quickly, I might add) but still needed pull ups for pooping. She never had any accidents and knew exactly when she needed to go, but did not want to use the toilet, claiming that “someday” she will do it, “maybe when she is grown up.” It went much like sleep training, a few stressful days of crying followed by success and peace. Short term pain for long term gain, I like to say. I knew it was time when, on the day before Thanksgiving, she announced that she was going to poop in the potty, then went and did it, with no problems. I just needed to wait until both John and I were home for an extended period of time so that we could provide each other support and so that we did not have anywhere else to be. It really happened quite fast, all things considered, and we couldn’t be more proud of her. Fi goes every day and even goes by herself now.
We addressed and sealed what felt like a million holiday cards:
We bought a Christmas tree, got a nice fresh egg, then saw birds at a nearby aviary. Fi’s favorite said “Mama” a lot, and Fi ate her first candy cane:
We made ornaments from recycled cardboard and decorated the tree:
We lit candles, both in my chanukiah and one that Fi made in Sunday school at the temple:
A failed holiday card display:
It lasted less than a day. They kept falling off and there was not enough room for all of them, so we took it down.
We opened presents and played with them, and dressed up dolls:
If it looks like it was still dark while we were opening presents, it’s because it was. Somehow Fiona learned about Santa (I swear neither John nor I told her about him) and woke up very early Christmas Day wanting to know if he visited and if we can open presents. It was cute and exhausting at the same time. If you ever read “Happy Birthday Little Pookie” by Sandra Boynton, were felt exactly like the parents in that book. I made a butternut squash soup for lunch (using the last of the squashes from the garden, those things last forever) and a turkey for dinner that night, including gravy from the drippings, and we were joined by my parents so John could have a nice Christmas dinner, surrounded by Jews. The weather was beautiful and warm.
We went to the park:
We went to the beach, poked anemones, and saw dolphins (sometimes living in Southern California is soooooo hard):
We took a harbor cruise with Cousins David, Kaitlyn, and Lindsey and saw many sea lions (yes, we incorrectly called them seals) and one harbor seal:
We had lunch then rented the boat. It was an impromptu meeting and I hope to have many more, it was such a wonderful day. Sadly, even though we live here, and have lived here for almost 13 years, we never took one of these little harbor cruises. It took my cousin, who lives an hour away, to show us the cool stuff you can do not far from our house. You can rent an electric boat to putter around, for very little. Now we know what to do when company comes to town!
Fi went to the zoo (no photos), while I decorated Rose Parade Floats. I cannot show pictures because most of them have students in them, but if you watched the Tournament of Roses Parade on January 1st, I did the eyes of most of the monsters on the Monster Truck.
We made pizza:
It turned out well despite discovering that my bread flour had little buggies in it and having to substitute all purpose flour instead.
We went for a bike ride and ran around the park:
A cartwheel may have occurred.
Other random stuff:
A makeshift bib and an odd seating arrangement:
We read to the Harvest Festival Friends:
We helped Caz weed around his house:
A Tribble Garden:
In more Fi developments, she announced that she likes onion, garlic, and zucchini again, and even tried eggplant again, so I no longer have to pick the zucchini out of her dinners or pretend I didn’t use onion and garlic. I knew she didn’t mind them when she devoured guacamole with raw onion many times without complaint. She even eats sushi now. So, my little girl is growing up even more.
I made a steak and ale pie for New Year’s Eve (this time with real ale instead of wine) and we were once again joined by my parents. The pie turned out deliciously if I do say so myself. We drank mimosas (except Fi who drank orange juice) and watched the beginning of “The Muppet Movie” while eating popcorn, then called it an early night when Fi lost interest in the movie and my parents wanted to go home. Also, it was Fi’s bedtime, just before 8. We occasionally let Fi watch movies when she is sick, or on a special occasion such as New Year’s Eve. We are wild party animals, I tell you!
New Year’s Day (and the lowest tide of the season so far, –1.9 feet):
The day after New Year’s Day:
Rock’s tushie is still there:
Happy New Year Everyone! I have no resolutions, but we did manage to hang a bunch of things that needed hanging on the walls and the house is overall more organized and less cluttered feeling, but that has more to do with actually having time to do the task than the time of year in which it happened.
I hope everyone has a fantastic 2014!
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