Fairyland Christmas Winterland

The kids love Fairyland in Oakland. All the rides are just their size, the rules are loosely enforced so heights that are "almost" are allowed to ride. The park is just small enough that it is totally walkable for a 3 year old. So when we heard that they were hanging lights and having a parade and Santa we were in for sure! The park was not nearly as full as in the summer, so there were little to no lines. It was great! Even with the funny fuzzy animals with Christmas hats running around. A Christmas Siberian Husky and Chipmunk.....OK.

Mini Carousel just Mason's size!

Christmas Siberian Husky? OK.

The boys giving Nana some love

Wyatt and Pop-Pop

Mason with a Christmas Chipmunk, Husky, and Reindeer

Snowflake the Elf gave us a fun Magic Show that held both boys attention for 30 minutes

Santa!!!! I have to say how awesome it was to have a Santa without white skin. I have to say that was even more amazing to me is that Mason didn't even bat an eye. He accepted that this was Santa. I really strive to raise the boys so that people are just people no matter what minor differences we all have. Maybe he never even saw his skin color because it was just Santa to him. Whatever it was I love that my son at 3 doesn't even notice!

Squishing pennies

Dickens Street Fair

http://www.dickensfair.com/

This was one of those things that we heard about last year but just couldn't fit into our schedule. We made it happen this year. The stalls of the Cow palace are transformed to England around the time of  The Christmas Carol. There is saw dust on the floor, people dressed in costume, talking in old English, all the food and drink is of the correct period. There is music playing, and people dancing. It was a ton of fun! The boys really had a great time. I can say that next year we be sure to go again.

Throughout the day Scrooge is on stage and walking the event with different ghosts. Here he is with the ghost of Christmas past:

Some ladies sitting around the local drinking pub:

Mason and Wyatt loved the food....especially the sweet nuts....that is pretty much all they ate for the day :)

To my surprise Mason really enjoyed watching the dancers.

The merry go round was all safari animals. Instead of being held to the ground like modern day ones this one suspends from the air, and has plush animals to sit on. As the kids go around the "safari leaders" would toss a foam rock up the air and warn the kids of "falling rocks". It was ridiculously over priced, but Mason loved it!

Here is scrooge with Christmas present watching some dancing.

By this point Wyatt was done. When Wyatt is done, the day is pretty much over. There is not much convincing this child that there is more fun to be had. He does love Santa, but his patience for pictures, even with mom was over :(

UPDATES :)

Well, it has been a year plus since I last posted. Guess I have been a little bit busy. Here is the quick version of what has been going on in our lives since the last post.

• I am a birth doula. I absolutely LOVE it. I have met some amazing families who have blessed me by allowing me to be present while they became a new family. I also realized that too much of anything is too much. So I am limiting myself to one client a month. It isn't that the births themselves are the hard work, that is what I LOVE. It is all the interviews, and meetings that need to be held on nights and weekends, which is MY family time. So limiting myself allows me to be fully present for those families and also for my family.
• I am now teaching Hypnbobabies Classes. Check out my website! I wanted to be able to really get to know the families I work with, and also really prepare them for what they going to encounter while bringing their new baby into this world. Deciding what class to teach I thought would be really easy but it wasn't. There were so many classes out there that seemed like not a great match for me, or were missing just a few elements that I deemed essential. However when I came across this class series it was a great fit. 
• I am still an Occupational Therapist. I found a great little community hospital where I could treat patients who really needed it, and not have my clinical decisions dictated by the all mighty dollar. I don't  know patients payer sources, I provide the treatments that my patients need. I wish I could be a stay at home mom. That just isn't in the cards now. But I know that my time away from the family is worthwhile.
• The boys are amazing. Mason is 3-- he is sensitive and detail oriented. He loves building things and following directions and really understanding stories. He is also getting adventurous and love running so fast, jumping, and loves his soccer classes. Wyatt is 19 months old now. He is our emotional, opinionated, and fiery one. He is funny and silly and the instigator of all kinds of mischief in our house. It is so funny how two children really require two totally different types of parenting!

We have been so so busy doing so many fun things lately. Hopefully I will be better about posting those things, and be on here in the next couple of days to show them!

Mason's first haircut!

He could have gone longer without one, but he had some very long curls going on behind his ears and on top of his head. At "school" he has even gotten pony tails put in his hair (by request) when the girls were getting their hair done too. So today was the day. I googled and found a place that looked like a lot of fun. We settled on lions and tigers and hair.

When we walked in they had Mason play for a while to get comfortable. Train tables, a tunnel type playing area with big wooden blocks and trucks, and a play kitchen in back.

Here he is getting in the chair, not looking so sure of what is going on.

Magic cape going on, and a fun basket of toys - Elmo, bob the builder, and many i didn't recognize:

At first they cut off they big curls so that we could save them:

Eventually Mason ignored the cutting and got to playing with the stuff in the basket

We got a certificate:

And the finished product:

(check back...he is napping right now)

The start to Mason's 2nd Birthday

Mason work up asking to play with trains. So we figured this was the perfect time to give him half of his presents...since they were trains! He understands opening presents now, but he does ask for help in getting them started.

Wyatt was very interested in what Mason was doing. Mason was happy to show Wyatt his toys, but did not want to give Wyatt one to play with. Oh the fun of sharing that will develop once Wyatt starts reaching for and wanting toys.

Mason is opening his new Thomas back pack that was picked out at The day out with Thomas

Proud backpack owner trying it out...although he is reluctant to put things in it yet. He is still carrying his treasures in his hands.

Mason's favorite breakfast food...and well food in general is waffles. So this being a birthday breakfast it needed a little embellishment: strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, sprinkles, a little vanilla ice cream, and of course syrup. We put a candle on top and sang happy birthday. I was getting ready to tell him how to blow out the candle, and he did it on his own without any prompting!

Here is the birthday boy enjoying his wonderful birthday breakfast. And with a breakfast like this, who has time to use a fork?

This is the first birthday that we celebrated where it has felt like it has been understood. I don't know if Mason gets that this day is the day he was born - but he understands that today is about him and special. It is so wonderful to be able to make him smile and laugh with something as simple as sprinkles. It makes me so sad for the kids out there who don't have this ability to have parents to make them laugh and celebrate and love them. All of the kids who are waiting for adoptive or foster homes.

A day out with Thomas!

A while ago i heard about a couple of really neat train events, and Mason was mildly interested in trains then. We signed up for the day out with Thomas thinking it would be fun...well he has since gotten a train table and become obsessed with Thomas. This was probably one of the best ways we could have kicked off his birthday week! If you haven't heard of it check out A day out with Thomas and the venue where it was held Roaring Camp Railroad in Felton, CA (Santa Cruz mountains) which is a great place to go to ride trains, even when Thomas isn't visiting. We are thinking of going camping and taking the train from the redwoods to the boardwalk!

My parents came up from Monterey to meet us. Mason is just short of two years old here, and Wyatt is 11 weeks, yes he is huge - almost off the charts and bigger than many 6 month olds. For 30 minutes after Thomas pulls into the station you are able to pose for photos with him, and of course we did!

In addition to riding Thomas they had all kinds of stations set up!

The stick your face into a silly picture station:

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The ever popular face painting, Mason's first

Not too shockingly, train tables. I was shocked however at how all the toddlers who did not know each other shared the trains and got along with each other.

There was an art station with coloring book type papers to color/paint, and they had stamps to use...on yourself of course!

They had an electric train set up:

Sir Toppenhat was there, looking a bit strange if I do say so:

Then the main event. We were in the very last car, and the only covered car. While you are on the train they give you a Jr. Conductor certificate! Mason loved the 25 minute ride through the redwoods:

We skipped the temporary tattoo station because there was a line, and honestly Mason didn't have any skin available to get one :) I don't have a picture of the BARN that was turned into a store. They had everything Thomas you could imagine. It worked out perfectly for us since a certain little man has his second birthday coming up.

Mason had his first creamsicle that his Grandpa bought him. Mason wasn't too sure of this whole cold thing.But to be fair he is getting his molars in and his teeth are sensitive now.

and here is Wyatt enjoying a full belly

On our way out we had to sit on the inflatable Percy, who Mason knows by name.

So all in all, it was an awesome day. I highly recommend it to parents of all toddlers - both boys and girls will enjoy it, but especially Thomas fans. We spent probably about 4 hours there, but you could do it in 2 or 6. We for sure will be back for this next year, and we may even be visiting roaring camp before Thomas comes back.