For those of you that are celebrating today, Merry Christmas! We've been really busy lately. Since we're having a mellow day, I finally have time to update the blog. Here's a run down of our recent activities:
On the 15th (which feels like ages ago), we went down to Morgan Hill to have brunch with our friends Chris, Nicole, Ryan, Derek, and Sabra. Chris and Nicole made a tasty meal, which included pancakes, waffles, eggs, and sausage. We then headed up to Mel and Pete's house in Sacramento for a belated Hanukkah party and to celebrate Mom's birthday. Alanna had a blast playing with Mel's new kitten, Stella.
On Wednesday the 19th, Alanna and I met my former coworkers, Ipsita and Julia for lunch in Morgan Hill. It was nice getting to catch up, although Alanna barely sat still during the meal (it was slightly stressful for me). Good thing we ate at Marie Callendar's, a toddler friendly venue.
On Thursday, Alanna and I went downtown to check out Christmas in the Park. It is a free exhibition in San Jose, with many animated Christmas scenes and decorated trees. Alanna really enjoyed it.
On Friday we had a play date with Susan and Dax. Alanna got to help decorate a Christmas tree for the first time. It was really cute, there were lots of ornaments gathered in one, lower section of the tree. After the play date, we headed down to Santa Cruz. Alanna had a sleepover with Grandma and Grandpa, so Justin and I could go out to dinner with friends. We went to E&O Trading Company in downtown San Jose, to celebrate Tiffany's birthday. It was nice getting to visit with friends over a delicious meal.
Saturday was Justin's birthday. Happy Birthday J!!! We slept in (haha) until 7:30am, and then I made Justin breakfast before we headed down to Santa Cruz to get Miss A. After Alanna's nap, we went over to Susan, Brad, and Dax's house. We celebrated Justin's birthday with Patxi's pizza, chocolate cupcakes, and homemade ice cream. Justin and Brad drove up to Palo Alto to get dinner; it is worth the drive for their delicious, Chicago-style pizza. It was definitely an ideal birthday dinner for Justin!
On Sunday we went back to Christmas in Park. I think Alanna enjoyed it more on Thursday, but at least Justin got to check it out. I'm always ready to eat these days, so we headed over to San Jose's Japantown for lunch. We're so glad that Alanna is an adventurous eater. She really enjoyed tofu from the miso soup, avocado roll, and the donburi that I ordered.
Yesterday morning we hung around the house. Alanna and Justin spent time outside running around, looking for snails, and watching squirrels. In the afternoon we went up to San Leandro to celebrate Christmas at Bryan and Carol's. It was a lot of fun and the meal was delicious. Alanna enjoyed climbing up and down the stairs, dancing while Justin played the accordion, and of course opening up presents. We were sad to realize that we won't be going back next year, since Bryan and Carol are moving to NY next month, but hopefully they'll come back to celebrate with us!
Today has been nice and relaxing. Alanna slept in this morning (probably due to all of the excitement last night), which was a nice treat for Mommy and Daddy. We went for a walk this morning and then played outside. We're planning to take it easy for the rest of the day. We may go and look at lights this evening, since Alanna loves them.
Well, I hope you are all having a wonderful holiday season. I can't believe 2007 is coming to a close next week!