Christmas (the short version)

I haven't loaded my pics from the last couple weeks yet, so this will be the quick synopsis, with photos to follow...

Thanks to Uncle Taylor, Isa and I made it down to Olympia the Monday before Christmas. The roads in my neighborhood were pretty dicey and I doubt my car would have done it (if I'd been able to get it up the hill, that is).

Christmas was wonderful! Isa fell madly in love with Santa. Every time she'd see Santa on an ornament, card, etc, she'd yell "Nanta" and start waving. She even learned to say "Ho Ho Ho" which is incredibly amusing. Other favorites of the season were Rudolph ("Ru-rolf") and snowmen ("Noma"). She and Auntie Mollie had a blast playing in the snow. Being pulled around in the sled is thrilling, even when you topple over.

Apparently Isa was a very good girl this year because she made out like a bandit. My parents got her an adorable red kitchen and the play food to go with it. I got her a shopping cart and the dishes for her new kitchen. Auntie Mollie and Uncle Taylor got her George, a rocking giraffe. The family we do a childcare swap with got her a baby doll and stroller.

I was surprised at just how "well" Isa actually plays with the kitchen. I knew she'd like it because she loves playing with the kitchen at a friend's house but I thought she'd just have fun opening doors and shutting them. Instead, she put pots on the stove and stirred them. She would pretend to eat with one of the little forks and even pretend to chew! She also loved to feed both her doll and George. She learned to say "Wawa" during the Christmas break and would go up to the kitchen's faucet, fill her glass, and then drink it. I guess I really need to be careful what I do and say because I have an incredible little mimic on my hands!

My dad and I came back up to Seattle on Saturday and were able to move my car (finally). However, when I walked into the house, it was a whopping 45 degrees. I couldn't get the furnace to kick on and since the planned oil delivery had been missed due to the snow, I thought I was out of oil. They made the delivery on Monday but when we all came up on Tuesday, the house was still frigid and the furnace a no-go. So, back to Olympia we went. Dad came up early on Wednesday to meet the repairman and we eventually had heat.

Now we're home and I'm doing my best to reorganize after the holidays. It used to be tough to get the few new things I got for Christmas into my overstuffed house but now I need to contend with rocking giraffes and kitchen sets! Any excellent excuse to do some long overdue sorting and culling. We'll see how that goes.....

Hopefully photos will be up tomorrow. I'll try to load them tonight.