Christmas - Part II: Oakland

After a little delay at the airport (United forgot to put Ava's car seat on our plane so we had to get a loaner), we arrived at Grandma and Grandpa's house and were pleasantly surprised to be greeted by Pooh and Tigger!

On Christmas Eve the whole family bundled up and went to St. Paul's, Oakland (not to be confused with our church, St. Paul's, Tustin) for the early evening service.

The next morning started with a trip downstairs to the living room to make sure that Santa came. Sure enough, Santa filled all our stockings and since she was a good girl Ava got lots of fun stuff including a wind-up horse,

and a pink tricycle with a matching princess helmet.

Ava's favorite gift from Santa, however, was a candy cane. It's always the simple things that make her the happiest.

The family then opened up all our gifts and Ava had plenty to open including a dollhouse and a new water bottle.

Throughout our visit, Ava helped around the house, and even helped Grandma decorate cookies for all our guests.

In the days following Christmas, Ava practiced riding her tricycle on the paths surrounding Lake Temescal and started to get the hang of it.

Christmas - Part I: Irvine

Ava's Christmas celebrations started with a trip to the Irvine Park Railroad Christmas Train where Ava got to ride on the train,

play with her friend Jilly,

and visiting the one and only Santa Claus.

Next up was picking out a Christmas tree and decorating it.

In fact, our whole house was decorated with Ava especially interested in our Advent calendars and our singing snowmen.

Ava's playgroup had a wonderful Christmas party with another visit from Santa and a chance to decorate and eat Christmas cookies.

Grammy and Poppy visited us the weekend before Christmas for an early Christmas dinner and to exchange gifts.

Every Day Fun

Even when Ava isn't going to a specific place or event, Ava's days are always filled with fun.

Some days it's dress up time,

some days she plays at the park,

some day's Grammy and Poppy measure her height,

sometimes she's enjoying her dessert,

and sometimes life is just so funny.

Great Grandma's 80th Birthday

Just after Thanksgiving we were able to celebrate Ava's Great-Grandma's 80th Birthday. Ava got to visit with lots of family and friends. While it was a joyous day, not all of Ava's cousins enjoyed taking pictures.

Before we left, Ava gave Great Grandma a nice birthday kiss.