Holly Jolly Trolley

On Saturday we headed over to the Capital Trolley Museum because we heard a certain someone might be there...

All aboard!

Tavish held his ticket tightly...

He picked out his seat and waited patiently to go...but he did say "it's not chugging!" while we were waiting.

Guess who rode on the trolley with us?
Santa came up and talked to each kid on board...Tavish was excited but refused to look him in the face.

Well, hello! Do you want come sit with me?

Afterwards we got to pose with Santa...

...and check out some of the other trolleys in the car barn.

Tavish had so much fun we went for another ride!

Party like a rock star...

like 3 year old rock stars...
This is Tavish with his GF Elaine (the future Mrs. Tavish)...they both turn three right in the middle of holiday season so we moms decided to do their party together at a little monkey's gym...it was super fun!



there was playing...



and climbing...



bubbles...



and music...



games...



and Tavish loved this most of all...
they put him in the middle of the parachute and all the kids spun him around while they sang Happy Birthday to him...he was soooo excited he was jumping around...it was hilarious



there were cupcakes (which Grandma Pat spent all day Thursday baking)



two birthday kids...



and two very happy three year olds!

His family birthday party that evening was a little more tame, but still fun with grandparents, aunt and uncle, build-your-own pizzas, a giant chocolate cake and lots of presents! We no longer feel bad about him losing most of his toys in the flood...his toybox is full again!

It's beginning to look a lot like...

Seattle, actually...

This isn't snow it's rain...
Grandma Pat is visiting and we wanted to take her to see the lights at the Temple, tonight was the only night we could go so of course it rained...mom felt right at home :) and it actually turned out great because rain=no crowds.

The view of the Temple is beautiful but if you turn around and look back, this one is pretty awesome too...

We checked out the outdoor Nativity...I'm sure the wise men wore galoshes...

Then we checked out the Nativity collection in the Visitor's Center...here's the one from Poland.



and South Africa wins the prize for coolest animals in their Nativity...I think that's a warthog in the front!

An Outing...

While Grandma Pat was here we took her to my favorite holiday display in DC...the Botanical Gardens, every year there is a different theme with little trains running through it, this year was animal and fairy houses...these are a few of my favorites...



















And for some reason, although Tavish can spot the actual Washington Monument miles away, he couldn't find this one right in front of his nose...

Gratitude

Coincidentally, Tavish ate his last piece of Halloween candy on Thanksgiving. Today, while we were driving in the car, he asked if we could go to church to get some more Halloween candy (where we had trick-or-treating)...

Me: it's not Halloween time anymore buddy, it's Thanksgiving time.
Tavish: Thanksgiving time?
Me: remember the big dinner you had at Auntie Wana's house yesterday? It's so you can remember what you are thankful for...what are you thankful for?
Tavish: ummm, water (he's holding his cup of water)
trucks
cars
buses
stop signs
popcorn (he's eating popcorn)
towers...they get knocked down and you fix them (we're driving past a tower)
signs (we're driving past a bunch of them)
cupholders (he's putting his popcorn in the cupholder of his carseat)
Christmas trees (we're driving past some)
Me: I'm thankful for the sunshine and the beautiful day
Tavish: (excited) I'm thankful for the beautiful day too! And you like carrots!

there you go...we are thankful!

oh Tavish...

I'm putting Tavish to bed last night, we read books, cuddle, say good night and I turn out the light...
Tavish: my eyeballs are turned on but I can't see!
Me: oh Tavish...

Thanksgiving 2011

The feast...looks good Auntie Wana and Uncle Joe!

Note the empty chair in the front...that's mine...I got to spend the day in the OR removing foreign objects from parts of people's bodies where they didn't belong.

Guess who the turkey is here?
Answer: not the actual turkey.
This is Tavish's "time out" face (per him)...we see it a lot.