New Year (December 28, 2014 - January 3, 2015)

This was our last week of 2014 and the beginning of a new year.  We were at home for the entire holiday break, but we got out to do lots of local things.  Nothing too exciting, just lots of time together.  And finally with everyone healthy.

December 28:  We decided to get out of the house and to Dolores Park.  Both kids ran into a friend from school, so they were pretty happy.

They played together plenty, as well.

It was Grandma's last night in San Francisco.  So they also got plenty of time in to play with her. 

And one last Miss Spider on Grandma's iPad before bed.

Complete with Darth Vader, of course.  Thanks for coming for Christmas, Grandma!

December 29:  Our construction crew removed a truck of debris and garbage from our house, which means we can get back into our garage.  And the kids found the bike trailer.

Liam had a lot of fun pushing Brenna around.

December 30:  Friend Sue came over to visit.  The kids had a lot of fun playing hide and seek in the hallway before saying hello.

Brenna wanted some popcorn.  And while it was cooking, she went through the baking drawer.  Then, she sat on the floor to eat popcorn.  She yelled out, "Momma!  Ravioli likes popcorn!"  And this is what I found - Brenna hand feeding popcorn to a very grateful dog.

December 31:  Inspired by our morning at Dolores Park, I set up a playdate with Liam's classmates at a nearby park.  We were the first ones there, so Brenna and Liam got the playground to themselves for a while. 

They chased each other around a bit in the cold.  It was a good excuse to bundle up and wear their warm fuzzy boots. 

This is winter in San Francisco.  It really felt like New Year Eve.

Even Ravioli got to celebrate - with the ham bone from Christmas dinner.

At bedtime, we bundled up the kids and celebrated an 8:30 countdown to the new year on our deck, with party hats, noise makers and confetti poppers.

The kids had a blast.  And they had no idea that it was not yet midnight!

January 1:  The kids love these little pop up laundry bins.  They were them and hide in them.

Liam has been loving a new game at bedtime where he jumps around on our bed and gets a pillow thrown at him.  Simple pleasures.

January 2:  It was cold.  But we had been wanting to get Ravioli and the kids to the beach.  So, we bundled up and went for it. 

It was pretty clear and not too windy, which helped.  And Ravioli was thrilled.

We did a bit of exploring on the rocks at Crissy Field. 

And on the sand. 

Brenna tried to throw Ravioli the ball in the Chuckit.  But she gave up and threw it by hand when she couldn't get the ball to release.

 

Liam figured out the Chuckit, though.  He was so proud and Ravioli was thrilled.

January 3:  We decided to get out of the house for a scooter ride, donut run and playground visit. 

Liam mostly pouted at the playground because there was a kid with a toy gun and he wouldn't share the toy with Liam, despited repeated pleas.

But Brenna had a great time.

After naptime, they got a little time to play games on their tablets.  They are both really into the tablets for games these days.  And they are getting pretty good at handling them.

After dinner, we broke out one of Liam's science kits that he got for Christmas.  This one was "bubble science" with lots of little experiments for the preschool set.  It was a lot of fun!