Dear Giuliana: Christmas 2016

Well baby, another Christmas has come and gone. Just like that! You were a little more into it this year but were still a little slow to rip open presents.  We started out the week with cookie decorating at Lauren's house where you got your first gift... a baseball bat at tee set! We immediately took you outside to try it out. Still working on the whole 'two hands on the bat' thing but you got the hang of it pretty quick. Then you continued on the frosting and sprinkle obsession on your cookies. I didn't think you would sleep that night! We got home and you were trying to lick me and were being so silly.

In the morning on Christmas Eve we went straight to the mall to get your picture taken with Santa. Yes, I know, we waited far too long to get this done! But anyway we went, waited an hour and got your picture. You were clinging to my leg when we walked up but we somehow convinced you to sit on his lap and then you actually smiled! It was amazing. I definitely thought you were going to have a meltdown and I was looking forward to having one of those hilarious pictures to show you, but your big smile in this one is much better. Christmas Eve night we went to the Held's house and had more food and desert than anyone needs in one sitting. As usual. The Chargers were playing and what do you know, they lost to the Raiders in another embarrassing upset. Sigh. At least we had plenty of cookies for Santa which you loved making with me! 

Christmas morning we did our little tradition of making hot chocolate, putting on Christmas music, and starting with our stockings. But, Santa brought you a teepee this year, that we were so excited about! We filmed you walking down the stairs to see your reaction, but you really didn't have much of one. You kind of walked right by it looking at it like hmmmm. But once we gave you your milk you went right inside and didn't come out. You started taking the presents from under the tree and into the teepee. It made me really happy because I was pretty excited about this whole teepee thing. We still had to convince you to open the presents and once you did you asked us to open them immediately. Then we went to Nani and Nanu's house for breakfast and more gifts. I think by then you had had enough of the gifts and started to go a little crazy. Later on, the whole family came over and there was more food and more gifts. It was such a nice long day. Each year will be more and more fun with you as you grasp the concept of the holiday. But until then, it is still entirely so much fun for us to try and make these days special for you.

Aaannnd then there was the Starbucks line the day after Christmas. Your face is priceless! You wear your sunglasses all the time now, even at night. My favorite is when you put them on top of your head. You're just too cute! So now we are getting ready to celebrate the new year and once again we can't believe its that time again. Merry Christmas baby!

Dear Giuliana: Flat Tire Blessings

Hi baby girl! Yesterday I got a flat tire yesterday and it just sort of put me in a tizzy for a little while. I've never had a flat tire before so it took me a second to figure out that the loud noise I was hearing while driving was coming from my car. I almost didn't know what to do! Side note: I will be making sure your Dad teaches you a few things if this happens to you! Anyway, I was able to drive it back up to my office and two very nice people from my building came out and changed it for me without hesitation. But while I watched them and they tried to show me the basics of changing the tire and where to find the tools, etc. I couldn't help but think about all the 'what ifs' that could have been. What if that happened when you and I were out running errands? Doesn't seem that terrible I know, but on the other hand what if you and I were driving on the freeway and had a blowout? How terrible that could have been. Normally I would have taken this situation as an inconvenience to my day, but instead all I could do was thank God. Thank God it was only me in the car. Thank God it happened near work. Thank God there are good people in this world who helped me out without question. And thank God you weren't there and we weren't involved in a worse scenario all because of a nail in a tire. It's you, baby girl, that really puts my life into perspective and keeps me aware of the little blessings in each day. It is so easy to take situations like this and think about how 'bad' and 'sucky' they are and overreact when they happen to you, when really it is a blessing in disguise. I'm so grateful for you. You remind me every day to look at the world and look at life with a different perspective, a more positive attitude and I hope that I can help teach you this as you grow up because it is a surprisingly difficult task. Always be thankful for what you have and the little bumps in the road because while it may seem like the worst thing at the time, it probably is actually one of the best. I love you so much!


xoxo, Mom

Happenings: Winter Wonderland at Petco Park

The other day we went to Winter Wonderland at Petco Park with my parents and sister. It is basically a festive carnival type event that takes place on the baseball field with hot chocolate, carousels, slides, train rides, and sledding. It is so fun to see the park decorated with so much holiday spirit! The first thing we did was of course try and snap a few hundred pictures with the trees, reindeer, and ice princesses. Then it was straight to the sledding slide. Highlight of the night! We all grabbed a tube and headed up the stairs to the top. The fun about to ensue was not expected by any of us. I put Giuliana in my lap and off we went down the ice bank. Oh my gosh, what a short little thrill! Giuliana was so excited when we got to the bottom that she immediately said she wanted to go again. She definitely got my thrill seeking bug and love for roller coasters and the like. I took her again later in the night and filmed a video on the way down which was even more exciting because we ended up spinning around and went down the slide backwards. She loved it. We also took pictures with the Grinch and Cindy Lou Who (clearly she's more interested in the blinking ring on her finger) and she went on the train with Karl. It was so fun and I can't wait to take her again next year. Since we don't really have seasons here in San Diego, it is always nice to partake in really festive events.

 

We also took Giuliana to look at some local Christmas lights recently and while it was also fun with her, it started pouring rain so we had to take cover under garage awnings which was an exciting twist to the night. There was a Santa at one house and she began to go up to him and then changed her mind. Clearly that is why the picture is blurry! Hoping we can get a proper picture with the big guy soon, but I will also be ok with her crying on his lap. Those are classic! Other than that, we've been getting ready for Christmas being that it is ONE WEEK away. I have no clue how that is possible, but I'm pretty sure this happens every year. Can't wait to see how she likes opening presents this year :)