Christmas Recap 2010 (long)

It was probably one of the busiest Christmas seasons this year but one of the best in a long time. Even with a new baby I didn't want to neglect the first Christmas in our new house. I love having a Christmas tree. We didn't put one up last year but I decided to be brave this year. I left the bottom empty except for lights and then filled that in with small stuffed animals. That way the kids could take them on and off the tree without me worrying about lost or broken ornaments(or driving me crazy). It turned out well and the twins only got to the upper ornaments a couple of times when they pulled a chair over. They know to wait until I'm nursing and sneak off to do their mischief.
Two of my best friends, Leah and Elisabeth, made these stockings as my birthday gift this year. Aren't they amazing? They are made from wool felt, just like my stocking as a child. They have name tags and those are baseballs on the boy's stockings. Each one is lined with fabric. They remembered me saying how I didn't want store bought stockings but didn't know when I would find the time. I have the best friends!

Mom & Dad's

Sarah's

The Boy's

Our newest ornament

Another new addition, of course

Our newest decoration

What happens when your husband vetoes your Ugly Christmas Sweater theme party?

Your friends show up anyway in their holiday finest to sing carols on your front lawn.

(pics stolen from TheMostess)

We instilled the Christmas spirit into Louis (who is indifferent when it comes to all holidays). And he got to show off his newly installed sound system to the ladies.

The babies got to wear their holiday attire and check out future dating material.

I was in on Louis' surprise, so I put out some treats.

We had friends over Christmas Eve. Good friends and good music. What more do you need?

Team Murdock

Team Jacobs

We ate some yummy food. I finally got to use my Spode Christmas china.

We hit the bottle (of cider)

Then pulled out the hard stuff.

Danced!

And Rocked out baby style!

Proud Papas
Notice how Braden is checking out Blakely while Colin isn't looking. I heard those two were "on a break" so Braden is making his move.

Christmas morning we hung out in pajamas and opened presents. The tricycles from Nana and Grandpa were a hit.


My two favorite gifts:

A NookColor

It's easier to read using one hand (especially when nursing at 4am) and easier to read scriptures at church than on my phone.

A new cookware set. This has been on my wish list.


Christmas outfits for church

And lastly, a trip to Gilroy Gardens on Monday to enjoy their Holiday Lights.

Where's Braden?

A Very Android Christmas (With Chrome Too)

Dear Google,

I can't thank you enough for making my husband's Christmas very merry. After last week's post I got a call from Erica Baker at Google. She said the Chrome team wanted to send Louis a laptop. We were sneaky and had it addressed to me with no outer marking it was from Google. I snagged that box and hid it with the cleaning supplies (somewhere he would never look). The poor guy was dying all week. Google this and Google that... He had been tipped off one was coming and he gazed forlornly out the office window at the FedEx truck going up and down the street. I made him suffer until Christmas morning. Now he has ANOTHER gadget to play with. But he is happy and that's what matters.

As a bonus, the Google team threw in some Android figurines, so I decided to make good use of them.

I bet we are the only family on the block with an Android nativity set.



The 3 Wise Men bearing gifts. (Hey, don't judge, I'm a believer in DIY.)

THANK YOU GOOGLE CHROME TEAM (and I apologize for every swear word I directed at your phone when I couldn't get it to work.)

Love,

Kristine

An appreciative wife

Half Birthday

Celebrate! These two twinners are 2 1/2 today.
I can't believe these two are heading towards 3! Time goes so fast.

Rolling turning into somersaults and handstands and words becoming sentences. Preschool in 2011.

All My Husband Wants for Christmas is...

Dear Google,

You're making my life tough this holiday season. My husband is already impossible to shop for. There are very few things he wants. This year he has just one thing on his list and only YOU, dear Google, can get it for him.

You see, last week, you introduced something called the Cr-48 Chrome Notebook. I heard you have like 60,000 of these things shipping out to people around the US. And trust me, have I heard all about it. Louis, for whatever reason, thinks he should have one. He talks about nothing else. He says he signed up even though many of his friends just had them show up at their door.

It's not that we need another gadget in our home mind you. I'm practically tripping over iPads and laptops and Android tablets as it is. But every time the doorbell rings, or the mailman drives up, or I come upstairs to the office to show another package that has come for the Christmas season, the only thing Louis says is “Google?” And when I tell him “no” those sad brown eyes look at me with such disappointment. What's a gal to do? I just want to make my man's Christmas merry.

So what's the deal? I think we've been pretty nice to you. We are big fans of your work. After all, both of us use Blogger. We both have Android phones, even though I'm still getting used to mine. Our kids are simply addicted to YouTube. Louis has enough black Google t-shirts to go weeks without wearing the same one. Our newborn sports his own Android onesie, the twins play with a Google soccer ball and yell “robot!” whenever they see the Android logo. So was it something we said?

I'm having a real hard time around here these days dealing with my husband. He just sits and looks out the window, with his Mac laptop sitting unopened, discarded like yesterday's news. And when he is down like this, it’s pretty hard to get him up off his bum and doing important things, like taking garbage all the way to the curb or emptying the dishwasher.

I don't know why he's obsessed, but he is. It's Chrome this and Chrome that. What is CR-48 anyway? I don't dare ask him for fear of getting one of those "you really should know better" kind of looks. It's getting crazy around here.

So Google, can you help me out (make my life a little easier) and please SHIP MY HUSBAND a Chrome notebook as soon as you possibly can? I don't think it will be Christmas without it.

Sincerely,

Kristine

*To clarify- your can't go out and buy one. Google sends them out to people who they think are worthy to test one.

Scenes From a Walk

Last Friday with no where to go and nothing specific planned we went on a leisurely walk taking our time to enjoy the 65 degree weather. The leaves are turning color and falling which made for some wonderful colors. I love these simple moments and watching the kids discover more about the world around them.

Off we go!


Playing in the leaves.




Pointing out the neighbor's Christmas decorations.


Fall finally arriving.


California winter.



Mommy's little helper.



Checking out "yucky water" at the park.



Collecting leaves and rocks.


What's a walk without finding the perfect stick?


Sarah made sure Braden got his own leaf.


Home sweet home.