Christmas Day at our House

Christmas Day was wonderful. We were so excited to watch Liliana open her Santa presents. In her words, "Santa got me just what I wanted!" She got her Jasmine costume, her bell off of Santa's sleigh like in Polar Express ("now I can believe in the magic of Christmas!"), and her all time favorite...her "juice glasses" that she hoped for. She also got lots of other goodies from Mommy and Daddy and her other family members.





That afternoon we continued our year-old family tradition and went to have drinks at the Ritz. It was a beautiful day and there were carolers in the lobby that Liliana danced to.
That night we had an amazing prime rib dinner at home with my parents, Uncle, B, and B's mom Karen.

Christmas Eve at the Gale's

We had a great Christmas eve at Aunty Barbara and Uncle Steve's. Our kids are SO CUTE together.

These are matching Cinderella jammies and robes that my mom made the girls. She sewed an outfit for all of the kids and grandkids. So special.

Pre-Christmas Fun

Our neighborhood has a couple of streets that go ALL OUT with decorations. We love bundling up and taking rides in the golf cart after dinner to check out all of the lights.

Liliana got her own tree this year. Grammy bought her a bunch or ornaments from Cabo and she had some Disney ones, a Clara ballerina one, a picture of her and Layla, and some other special ones to fill her little tree. She picked it out all by herself.
Grammy and Poppa came to spend an early Christmas with us on Friday. It was so nice to have them. They SPOILED Liliana with so many wonderful toys.

Liliana loved making Christmas cookies with her Grandma and her Grammy.

OYSTERS!!!

Liliana is an expensive date. We have cut back on our sushi dinners because she eats so much sashimi and tobiko (small fish roe) that we just can't afford to go every week or two like we used to. She also has a healthy appetite for oysters. She can easily put back over a dozen at dinner, and we happen to like them also, so we limit our oyster buying as well.

My parents came to town for Christmas with a special holiday treat--5 dozen Hog Island oysters (some of my faves) and they made the "Hog Wash" which is much tastier than a traditional mignonette. My dad shucked them and we all sat down to an oyster and champagne feast. Liliana ate about 25 to herself and we all shared the rest. It was perfect.

Another indication that Liliana has expensive taste is that one of her favorite places to go grab a drink and a snack is The Ritz in Laguna Niguel. They have an amazing view at their outdoor bar and they give Liliana a fancy lollipop whenever she goes, so she requests the Ritz on occasion. My parents were here for her birthday weekend and they took her out for the day. When I got home she was so excited because Grandpa took her shopping for a new dress AND she got to have oysters at the Ritz. I think we have created a monster and it is already too late to turn back.

The Nutcracker with Grandma and Grandpa

Liliana is newly obsessed with Clara the ballerina from the Nutcracker. My mom and dad took her to see it this year and she LOVED it! My mom said that she leaned over during the show and started kissing them to show her gratitude. And at intermission she did not want to leave her seat for fear that she would miss something. It definitely made an impression on her and her ballet dance moves.

Boat Ride in Newport to see the Christmas Lights

Taryn and I bought a Groupon for a Duffy Ride through the harbor to check out the Christmas lights. Boat parade was over, but they were all still lit up and it was fun to look at all of the decorated houses as well. We brought Grandma and Grandpa Anthony and Nana and Pop-Pop Graber along, which was special. Ashlyn and Liliana giggled together most of the ride and were very excited over the pretty lights.

Santa (ssss)

Liliana spoke to so many Santas during November/December. She met a couple at the mall (one pic below), one at school, another at the Holiday Train ride at the Irvine Railroad Park, one at the Christmas festival in San Clemente that she went to with her babysitter "Big Hannah", and another at a holiday party at the Ahmer's. That doesn't include the many that she saw all over town. After one of her Santa experiences she looked at me and said, these can't be the real Santas. They all look different!" I told her they were Santa's helpers and that Santa was in the North Pole and that satisfied her.

The first item on her Christmas list this year were a pair of "Silly Straw" glasses--the kind that you drink through and the liquid circles around your eyes before going into your mouth (pics on the Christmas day post). She saw them in a Restoration Hardware catalogue and became obsessed with them. I laughed and told Adam that she wanted "beer goggles"...big mistake. She latched onto that term and told every Santa that she sat on, and adult that asked, that she wanted "BEER GOGGLES" for Christmas. Very inappropriate. You should have seen the looks I got. I finally got her to stop by explaining that wasn't acceptable for a kid to say and Santa would not bring them to her unless she called them "juice glasses". It took her a couple of days to get out of the habit, but she finally did.

Christmas Music Class and Christmas Cookie Party

We went to Miss Marek's holiday music class at her house with the Riese girls and Aubrey. We also went last year and had a great time. She sings Christmas songs and reads a Christmas story. After singing and playing with scarves and instruments the kids get to have a Christmas treat by the tree.

After class we went to Sarah's to decorate cookies. The girls had so much fun decorating (and tasting) cookies. I told Liliana that she could have a couple but that the rest were for Santa. "No, Santa doesn't need any cookies. We can leave him veggies. The cookies are for ME!"