Christmas and the days just preceeding

We had just about a week at Mom and Dad's after the birthday party, mostly spent just hanging around.  We stayed down on the river, and Mom had fully decorated for Christmas.  Mom had found some gardens in Richmond that had a special Christmas lighting display, so we loaded up the mini-van (Mom, Dad, Jared, Stephanie, Kevin and me) and headed to that.  It was super cool, and I was super glad at this point that Kevin had come to Virginia, as he toted Stephanie around on his shoulders the whole time, making her experience there far more fun than I would have managed alone.  They had a story time for kids, and Santa in residence (whom Stephanie wanted to see, but not really talk to or even get all that close to).  The gardens were pretty spectacular, I only wish we had gotten there in the daylight (we didn't head down until after Stephanie's nap) to see it all.  As it was, we got a good (cold) walk around the property to see the lights and got to visit the library on site for the story time and see the plants and trains in the Conservatory.  

Stephanie was NOT interested in having her image captured that evening

Bird of Paradise plant

The library had these really cool little terrariums on display.

We also got to eat at a favorite BBQ place in Richmond that night, which is a bonus to any family adventure.  Christmas followed a few days later, and Mom made sure that there was no shortage of gifts, so many in fact, that we had to leave some behind to play with the next time we visit.  We also got to spend Christmas (and a good bit of time before Christmas) with Tonya and Jared, which is an added bonus, as Tonya works a lot.  We ended up also visiting my Aunt and Uncle and cousin and wife and their two year old daughter, which I never seem to find time to do on my regular trips home.  

Additionally, Mom made a big deal over the special forks and spoons she had for Stephanie to use at her house and then gifted us a set.  We desperately needed new silverware for her to love, as her favorite set was my college set, and we were limping along with two or three forks and spoons each, and were getting very tired of washing silverware for every meal.  Sure, maybe they have Christmas trees on them, but her favorite cup and plate are from Halloween, so at least we are branching out.  

Good thing we drove, but we would need a bigger car for all of this...

It was nice enough a few days to get some outdoor time.

Took a few days, but Granddidy eventually became popular, and as a reward, got to enjoy some time watching Dora the Explorer.

Good news folks... Only one, maybe two, blog posts about our Christmas trip left!  I won't get to it today, but, spoiler alert, it will be about getting back across the country with Alaina in tow in a four door sedan PACKED, while stopping in several cities to see what adventures we could find. 

The second (and last) third birthday party

As Valentine's Day has come and gone, I thought it might be time to wrap up my posts about Christmas... After staying in New Jersey for about a week, we all headed together down to Virginia to see my parents.  Originally, Kevin was not going to come with me, but changed his mind at the last minute.  Ostensibly, he did not want to miss Christmas with Stephanie, but he did change his mind shortly after overhearing my conversation with my mother about what kind of ice cream cake she should get for Stephanie's birthday party she was throwing, so I am not entirely sure what his motivation was, because I would change my plans for Friendly's ice cream cake.
The birthday party was our first night at Grandma's.  Stephanie loves unwrapping gifts, but by far, the most exciting part was the helium balloon tank that Mom had bought and Dad had used to blow up at least half a basement full of balloons, and the ice cream cake was, as could easily have been predicted, plenty popular.  We even had Minnie Mouse hats, plates and party blowers.  Not too shabby for a second third birthday party!  Thanks Mom!

It's not a birthday party until Jared helps Didy put a party hat on!

In what I consider a great Thomas tradition, Mom thought of everything except birthday candles!  We worked it out!

Having some birthday ice cream cake.

Did I not mention the ice cream cupcakes, because Mom got those too!  Did we let her eat both? Yes, yes we did.

No Bueno!

At some point, Kevin and I picked up the expression "No Bueno" from Alaina.  I'm actually not sure of the standard context in which Alaina uses the expression, but in our house, Kevin and I use it exclusively to refer to something inedible, as in, "No, Stephanie, we don't eat the grapefruit peel, it's no bueno."  And, just as we picked the expression up from Alaina, it was only a matter of time before Stephanie picked it up from us.  At first, she seemed to be using it in our context.  The first time we heard her use it was at my Mom's house.  She got in the play oven and popped out and told Kevin that he could eat her, "but not my feet, they are no bueno."  Weird, yes, but it does make some sense.  Quickly, though, she started using the expression to refer to food she simply doesn't want to eat.  It is really comical to sit at the dinner table and be told, "I don't like that, it's no bueno."  I doubt her teachers at school have no noticed the expression yet, as it is unexpected, but I am waiting for the day that they catch it and ask about it.
Thanks to Dora, this is not Stephanie's only Spanish-  she also says, "gracias" and LOVES when you say "de nada".  Sometimes she says "Thank you for...." just to get you to say "de nada".  We can always tell by the tone that she uses that she is looking for "de nada", and are happy to oblige.  Kevin has a knack for languages; me, not so much, but thus far Stephanie is doing just bueno.

Just realized that I actually have pictures capturing Stephanie's first "No Bueno" moment!