Dec. 9, 2010 - lots of Christmas fun

Hi Santa!

Riley and her friend Selina sitting on Santa's lap. Selina was less impressed by Santa Claus and only stayed there long enough for me to take this picture.

But Riley talked and talked to him, repeatedly showing him the lights on the tree

Play Cafe has a fun dress up area and doll house

Popping out of the house

Walking through the tree farm with Daddy, in search of the perfect Christmas tree

Riley learned how to use the saw; Mommy wasn't allowed to touch it for obvious reasons

I think this is a great tree!

But daddy wanted something a little bigger

Our tree is down...

...and now its back up in our house

Riley helped Daddy string the lights

Her face when Chad turned on the lights; she loved it!

Saturday night we went into San Francisco for dinner and our favorite beverages at an Irish pub

Riley was thrilled with all the decorative lights

Macy's on Union Square in downtown San Francisco was all decked out

In front of the Union Square Christmas tree

Watching the ice skaters

Having fun playing around Union Square in San Francisco

Christmas CA style

Up close, the 80 ft Christmas tree was enormous!

Riley loved helping put beads on the tree

Riley and Mommy each have a Silver Santa to hang on the tree. Mine is much, much older, a special gift from Margaret Miller

Comparing her hand now to the print ornament she made last year

One happy reindeer

The completed tree

Re-hanging ornaments

We had a crazy busy week full of Christmas activities. On Friday our playgroup met at Play Cafe, another indoor toddler play. In addition to all the fun with our friends, Santa came for a visit! A lot of the kids cried and were scared but not our social baby. After saying hi with me, she sat on his lap and showed him the lights on the Christmas tree. When he asked what she wanted (Book? Bike?), Riley repeated back everything he said; apparently she has a very long list. She really enjoyed meeting Santa and now gets excited every time she sees his picture.

On Saturday we went to a nearby tree farm and cut down our tree. We've always had fresh trees but this was the first time we cut our own, and it was a fantastic experience. The trees were all beautiful, and we had so much fun walking around and checking them out. Of course, any time Chad can use a sharp tool, he's thrilled. We all left happy.

Decorating the tree with a toddler is...challenging. Riley wanted to be a part of everything: stringing up the lights, adding beads and putting on the ornaments. We put only plastic or wooden ornaments on the bottom half of the tree but she still managed to break a nose off Frosty. Somehow we got it all done...only so she could take everything off again. Every morning Riley pulls off the tree skirt, takes down a few ornaments and removes at least 1 strand of beads. I'm hoping she gets tired of this at some point before Christmas, but at least she is thoroughly enjoying the holidays.