Best Christmas

It seems as though the anticipation for Christmas this year is bigger than most.  Everyone seems to be so excited for Christmas- and totally in the spirit.  You know the feeling when you are really excited to see the persons face whom you are giving a gift to?  or the excitement of putting the ornaments on the tree and lighting it up for the first time of the season?  Or all the warm sugary vanilla cinnimony smells that float through the air.. there is just something about Christmas that brings back great memories.  Dan and I have both said- that this Christmas seems especially exciting.  Maybe its that we are spending time with close friends, or that we are looking forward to reconnecting with friends/ family in the next few weeks as we head down to LA then to Australia.. or maybe its that its Dyllans FIRST Christmas...

I have to say.. its so much more fun experiencing the excitement through her eyes.. even though she isn't quite old enough to really understand what Christmas means, or that its an exciting time of year- its still fun thinking back to childhood and what imagination brings to those curious enough to wonder.  Although Dyllan still hasn't sat on Santa's lap yet (yikes, I guess tomorrow is our last chance!)- I think she is beginning to understand that its a time where her family and friends come around to hang out- people are in a good mood and happy to play, things slow down, and most of the focus is on her... We took Dyllan to see Santa 2 weeks ago- got her all dressed up in her Santa clothes (we dressed up too!)- and she fell asleep (passed out!) on the way there.  We made the mistake of taking her swimming just before her Santa picture.. so naturally she was exhausted.  We decided between waking her up and standing in the Santa line- it was best to bring her another time.  So- tomorrow is the day.  Hmm... Dan is skiing tomorrow with the boys- so it looks like it will be just Dyll Bug and I.  Maybe just the Bug...

For now- I will leave you with some photos from tonight.  Jessica, Ellen and Emily came around to help pack and make dinner.. drink wine, and get in the holiday spirit.

Eating Christmas lights..

Santa Claws

Ohhh bother...

Santa's Helpers

Andy came around with presents for the Bug!  Lucky Girl.. its not even Christmas yet.

"What... I drink where I want!"

Anthony came around with a wide variety of beers for sampling. Awesome.

Goodbye Seattle

Well the time has come for us to say goodbye to Seattle and "G'Day" to Sydney.  Yes, we are moving to Australia!  We are very excited to start this next chapter in our lives.  Dan has taken a job with Fitness First as a cluster manager and is eager to get back into the health and fitness industry- while Dyllan and I can't wait to hit the beach and spend some quality time together (tanning, surfing, catching up on the latest celebrity gossip, sucking on lollies).  We are very fortunate to have a great home to move into as soon as we arrive.  Dan's parents just bought the house behind them (talk about good timing) so Lionel (Dan's youngest brother) Dan, Dyllan and I will rent it out starting January 19th- when we arrive in Sydney!

Things have been pretty busy/crazy around here lately- trying to tie up all loose ends, finish work, spend quality time with friends and family and prepare for the holidays.... but things are coming together nicely.  We will spend Christmas here with the family- Christmas eve up at Robin and Karen's house (with cousins, aunts, uncles, etc on mom's side) and Christmas morning with the Thorsvigs for our annual Christmas brunch and lots of Cinnamon rolls.  Then early the 26th we will head off on our road trip down to LA - Mylo, Dan, Dyllan and I in Dad's truck (thank god for the truck- we have a lot of gear!)  We plan to pop in for a few days and visit Debbie in SF which is something we have wanted to do for quite some time now- then head down to grandpa's house. 

For New Years we are heading down to the OC to our friends Jake and Colby's house where we will ring in the new year - house party style (are we getting old?!) with Jake, Colby, Teri and Danny.  Lucky for us- Dyllan Bug can sleep in the guest room while we have dance parties, and play games.  Sounds like the perfect NYE to me!

We are so excited to spend some time in California before we leave for Australia.  We had such a great time at grandpa's house over the summer- running along the bluffs, bike rides along Hermosa beach, happy hours in Manhattan, sight seeing with grandpa.. getting the cousins together with Dyllan Bug.  We cant wait to return.

We will be making 2 more stops- we plan to head over to Borrego Springs to see Borrego Bill and Elaine.  We have wanted to see their desert oasis for a while but haven't had a chance to make it out until now.  Bill and Elaine  we will be forever indebted to.  They have so generously offered to take Mylola Maria Sussex- Newton for a few months while she waits for her permission to enter quarantine in Australia (5 months !! then 90 days in quarantine in Australia!)  Lucky we have such a great Aunt and Uncle- they are lifesavers.  I hope Mylola is on her best behavior.  We can't wait to go mountain biking, take Mylo on walks, work on craft projects, catch up, make good meals, and explore the desert. 

From Borrego we plan to drive over to Phoenix and see Teri and Danny - one last time.  We will  spend a weekend with them before heading back to LA.

Phew.. that's what we're up to in a nutshell... I will update more regularly from now on.. as you can tell- we have been very busy.  Now off to do some packing before bed.

Lipstick

Lipstick already? ... No just making a mess of her beets.

Dan's hiking team at 3,000 ft

On Sunday Dan packed up his girls and hiked Tiger Mountain while I heald an open house. 
Dan posted this photo from his phone.  Stay tuned for more Dan posts...

Dancing Dyllan

"Bugs" on Barney

Last night when I got home- Dyllan was full of beans to say the least! I needed 5 min to finish an email- so I turned on the TV to Barney, hoping to shift her attention to something other than me. The episode was about "Bugs"- so naturally this Bug enjoyed every second of it. Dyllan was glued to the TV- wide eyed and fascinated with Barney and his friends.





 Yesterday Dan and Dyllan spent the entire day together- they went swimming, hung out at kids club, and played/ worked from home. Dan called me around 5pm hysterically laughing
because every time he turned on the music Dyllan would bop around -
dancing to the beat. (Hmmm wonder who's been teaching her to dance?!) 

He also told me that Dyllan managed to climb our entire flight of stairs
all by herself! Yikes! I had only seen her wriggle up one stair... She
must have been full of beans! Or sugar - as we later realized when she
would NOT stop moving- dancing- clapping-  waving! After settling her
down in her bed around 7:30pm (an hour later than normal) we looked at
the ingredients on her new "apple- strawberry" puff treats that I
picked up from target cause they were cheap... We noticed they were
loaded with sugar! Oops! Guess we learned our lesson: 1) cheap does
not equal better 2) keep Dyllan busy during the day with toys/
activities not food 3) sugar really winds babies up!  haha
Better luck today- she gets to go to her Auntie Kathy's house- where
she gets all day attention!!  And has to eat her squash..

Dyllan's favorite toy

One great big stuffed animal!! We are working on "no tongue to face
( Mylo)"