Pre-Holiday Fun

Christmas shopping with my cutie elf

Oakland Zoo's Light Festival
We went to the Oakland Zoo for some holiday fun. They had lots of Christmas lights, hot cider, rides, and a Santa. The highlight for Liliana (and us) was seeing Santa and telling him her holiday wishes. This was her first Santa of the season so we got to hear her Christmas wishes for the first time. She told Santa that she wanted a REAL living Cinderella to come to her house on Christmas with a suitcase full of toys that she would share with her. Then she told him that she wanted Cinderella to spend the night and cuddle her in bed and that she could go home in the morning. She said all of this in a loud, rushed, confident voice with a HUGE grin on her face. Santa started cracking up, gave her a hug and looked at us and said, "wow...I think I need a...hot chocolate!" We laughed and told him that we drink a lot of those around our house. :) 

Cookie Decorating with Schaffers
Our new friends from Liliana's class invited us over for lunch and cookie decorating. Kayla (who is in her class) and Liliana have so much fun together. 

"Family Wonderland" at Oakwood Health Club
Our health club did a winter festival filled with treats, games, face painting and a Santa. Uncle Colin came and Liliana ran into one of her friends there and they had a blast together making art projects for each other and jumping in the bounce house. My babies had on super-cute matching reindeer outfits that my mom got for them. 

 Anthony Family Christmas
It was my first Christmas being away from my parents. My brother and B went to Chicago, my parents went to Costa Rica, and we went to Yuma. So, we all celebrated together early. Liliana and Maverick were spoiled with love, attention, and gifts. My dad and Adam have been playing a lot of racquetball at the club together so my mom got them new rackets. Some funny pics of them below. Liliana gets so silly with them--silliness is in her blood. 

 Union Square
We went to Union Square with the Walters to see Santa at Macy's, have lunch, and go ice skating. We took Bart over and when we got off of Bart on Market Street (where there happens to be a lot of homeless and it can be a little stinky), Liliana took a deep breath and said, "I love the smell of San Francisco. I love the taxis and the shops. It is so fancy here!" She is turning into quite the little city slicker. :) 
We had the best time with the kids! Liliana and Paxton laughed together all day and ran around like crazy in the St. Francis looking at the decorations and the huge gingerbread house and making all kinds of friends. Liliana gave this Santa the same run down on her Christmas wish even though I have tried telling her that Santa cannot give actual humans as gifts and that Cinderella needs to be with her family on Christmas.

Our skating adventure was short and sweet, but Liliana loved it. It was drizzling and a lot of work for me to keep her between my legs, but she smiled the whole way and begged me to go faster and stop taking breaks at every turn. It was a success and I will definitely take her once more (maybe in Tahoe) this winter. Check out how cute her tiny little skates were.