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!