Baby's First Christmas

Baby Finn celebrated his first Christmas in style, surrounded by the Greenleaf family. This was his first time meeting 'Uncle' (a.k.a. Devin). I'd say they got along just fine!

The Greenleaf Boys

We enjoyed each other's company in different spots around the city throughout the week. We spent some time at The Children's Museum and Seattle Center, where Finn took his very first carousel ride with his dad. Clay said Finn had a huge smile on his face during the ride, but his eyes were wide and shifting back and forth as if he was trying to focus on something....anything! Carousels make me dizzy too, little buddy.

Koen measured himself up to Big Bird. Keep eating that spinach, dude.

Finn and Collin logged some serious bonding time.

Space Needle!!

Just a bunch of kids, horsin' around...

We played dodgeball at Jump Sky High, an awesome place filled with all the trampolines you could ever ask for! Such a great time.

Brother on Brother: the final survivors of the round.

Finn was too little for the trampolines, but that didn't stop him from jumping in Papa's arms!

Hey! There's the Space Needle again!

Nana & Papa lovin' on Finn

What better time for family photos than when we have

1) amazingly beautiful weather, and

2) the whole family in one place at the same time.

More horsin' around.

I tell you what...it's a lot harder than I thought it would be to capture a photo of nine people simultaneously airborne!

Koen saw a new point of view at the Olympic Sculpture Park.

Nope, this is not the mystery Greenleaf family member,

but a guy panhandling on a downtown corner. He was going above and beyond the competition, however. Check out his services offered ('with or without teeth'). Hysterical!!

The favorite time of day around any Greenleaf household is 'nap-thirty'. This was a common sight to see and obstacle to step over at our house this past week.

And then there was the big day. In true tradition, the kids got new jammies on Christmas Eve. As a kid, I was always so excited to get new jammies on Christmas Eve, even though they didn't help me fall asleep any faster that night!

Finn loved unwrapping presents on Christmas morning, all the brightly colored ribbon and crinkly paper!

Unfortunately, once he had the gift in his hot little hands, all he wanted to do was eat it.

Shandy made a pretend beard and mustache for Koen,

so that he could be Uncle Collin's look-a-like. Pretty funny.

The week was fabulous and flew by all too quickly. We had a lovely time and miss everybody already! Thanks for coming Nana, Papa and Devin!

Merry Christmas to all!!

Dasher & Dancer

Swanson's Nursery hosts a couple of reindeer each year. They are furry and adorable, but I think Koen was disappointed to see that they didn't have red noses.

Their names were Dasher and Dancer. Our timing was miraculously perfect as the caretakers were just about to feed them. Dasher is apparently quite dominant over Dancer, especially at meal time. He kept kicking the gate with his hoof, demanding his dinner and snacks. They got raisins and carrots with grains of some sort.

There were also a camel and a donkey in the next pen. They are best friends, with no less than a five foot difference in height between them. Nonetheless, they enjoy rough housing and nipping playfully at each other. Can you picture it? I wish I had snapped a photo of them, too. Their names were Curly (camel) and Mo (donkey).

Inside, we enjoyed the awesome train set for a while. 'Fog' rolled across the tiny pond, a miniature Santa sat fishing off a little bridge while his reindeer grazed nearby, and a very life-like helicopter hovered over the scene. Too cute.

Ahhh, I love all of the free entertainment around the city during the holidays!

Santarchy?

SantaCon (or Santarchy) "is a mass gathering of people dressed in Santa Claus costumes parading publicly on streets and in bars in cities around the world. The focus is on spontaneity and creativity, while having a good time and spreading cheer and goodwill."

O.k. I feel totally out of touch with the world lately. I was sitting with some girlfriends, having a lovely tea party/baby shower in Capital Hill, when the coffee shop was literally taken over by Santas! No joke. We had to end the party because over 200 Santas were on their way in...no room for all of us!

My friends said it was 'Santarchy'. Huh? I gave them a blank stare.

Have you heard of this, or am I just disconnected? I found it so amusing that I took pictures of the crowds on my way home. Quite a sight. I even had the unfortunate experience of seeing two Santas relieving themselves in the bushes while I waited at a stoplight. And even more unfortunate was the fact that the bushes had no leaves on them! One was a Mrs. Santa Claus, if you can picture it. Yikes.

I'm just glad Koen wasn't in the car with me. Can you imagine the confusion in his little brain? He's still trying to figure out what/who Santa is.

Santa

Collin and Shandy came along for the ride tonight as we paid a visit to Santa (in the mall, not the North Pole). They arrived to our house a bit early, so we busted out the play dough to kill the time until Clay got home from work. Check out their festive creations. No...this play dough does not glow in the dark, but it sure looks like it could!



So we have a bit of a history with Santa. Koen has only once sat on his lap without a fit...he was 6 weeks old. In hopes of avoiding any sort of psychological trauma to our child, I've decided to put the Santa visits entirely into his hands. Last year, he flat out said "No" every time I asked him if he'd like to go see Santa. So the season came and went, and I heeded his wishes...no Santa.

But this year, his friends have been talking about Santa a little bit. Koen even got to take a good look at Drew's picture with Santa. I made sure to point out Drew's smiling face. After a short moment of thought, Koen decided that he DID want to go visit Santa. So all week we talked about what he wanted to say to him. We discussed that it would be Finn's first time meeting Santa and that they could both sit on his lap together!

Nope! Koen stopped me right there. There will be no lap sitting for him. He clearly stated that "Finn will sit on Santa's lap, and I (Koen) will stand by him." Ok. That's fine, I thought.

We colored a picture and wrote a little note to Santa. Mind you, Koen still doesn't really 'get' the whole Christmas-Santa-presents thing. I'm still sitting on the fence about how far I want to go with it. I kind of like the fact that he's not tangled up in the greed of it all (for lack of a better word). I briefly explained that soon it will be Christmas, and on Christmas Santa will bring him one present to open! I did not forget to mention the 'naughty or nice' thing, however. I feel that can definitely be used to my advantage right now. :)

Anyway, in Koen's note he wanted me to ask that Santa bring him a 'blue' present. That's all. A 'blue' present. So funny, and simple! I love that kid.

Well, we waited in line, quite a long one for a week night. Shandy and Collin kept Koen occupied, playing with him and being goofy in the silly mirror. Koen even waived at Santa through the fence a few times, and Santa waived back! Wouldn't you say this is a kid who's ready to meet Santa?





I mean he was all smiles until the very last moment. And then....



Yep, he fell apart at the very last moment. Talk about trauma. After 30 seconds, and seven adults jumping around, whistling for him to look up and smile, Clay went in for the rescue. It was bad. Koen had gone completely silent, tears streaming down his cheeks, eyes squeezed shut, and his whole body was trembling as Santa held him tight. He was literally trying to find his happy place. Poor kid! I mean, really! Poor, poor kid. It broke my heart. I gave him a big hug and asked him if he was o.k.

And, as if to twist the knife a little more, he looked at me and said, "Mommy, I said I would STAND by Santa, not sit on his lap." So this one is on my conscience. I'm the dope who threw him up on the jolly man's knee. I feel so bad. I can't help but wonder how it would've turned out if I'd remembered my son's simple request. :(

Oh well. Better luck next year. Or should we even attempt it again? If it's a completely traumatic experience, why bother at all? I would guess that at least 75% of the kids in line tonight were carried away in hysterics (not just my kid). Who knows, maybe Finn will totally love Santa in the years to come and we'll keep up the visits for him? I just wish we could have at least gotten a smile out of the smiliest baby in the world! :)

Moms have birthdays too!

Ahhh, lovely day. Today was my birthday...34! The day was sunny and crisp....and I mean COLD crisp. But it was nice. Clay let me orchestrate the whole day from start to finish. I treated myself to a little shopping first thing this morning. Running clothes. Yeah, it's time to get serious...rain or shine. I'm not going to wait for the January 1st 'New Year's Resolution' season. Wish me luck!

I came home and snuck in a nap with Finn on the couch after lunch. Then we were off to see The Storybook Theater production of Snow White. I'm sure Clay was a little scared beforehand. It was a musical meant for kids ages 3-10. But it was pretty fun, and even got us laughing out loud several times.

Then it was SUSHI time!!! Yep, we returned to our newly discovered Kisaku Japanese restaurant. Soooo yummy! And what's a birthday without a little Molly Moons ice cream? I ordered a scoop of Pumpkin Clove.

Finally, we trekked out to Mt. Baker Beach in south Seattle to see the Christmas Ships. This is a parade of ships, decorated with lights for the holidays. Each night throughout December they stop at different beaches and waterfront parks around Seattle, and put on a musical show of some sort. Tonight's entertainment was provided by The Northwest Boychoir. There is a bonfire on the beach, and complimentary hot beverages (we somehow missed those tonight).



Notice the somewhat frozen smiles on our faces. Ooooo....it was bitter cold out there on the water, but we were bundled up and ready. The show only lasted about 20 minutes, perfect. Then we took the boys home and put them to bed.



I spent the whole day, just me and my boys. These are my peeps and there's no one I'd rather spend my birthday with. I love my little family!

Lovely, lovely day.