Christmas Day

There's not much else to say about our Christmas holiday - here are some shots from the fantastic day.

Welcome Woody!  Anna delighted in all of her gifts -
and in helping everyone else open theirs...

The aftermath.

Jason's one Christmas request - popcorn. 
Ask and ye shall receive...40 packets of the good "movie theater" stuff.

Atlanta had an historic white Christmas -
the last time snow fell on Christmas Day was in the 1800s!

Crazy Floridian.

Tope also got in on the Christmas action -
she loves her new peppermint scratching thing...

Tinkerbell and her fairy friends also spent time riding a brachiosaurus and stegosaurus. 
I thought fairies were supposed to fly?

So that's what our dining room table is supposed to be used for!

Settling in for Christmas dinner - horseradish and herb crusted
rib roast and lots of yummy sides.

The day following Christmas the ladies went to the Center for Puppetry Arts to see Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer - we were all very impressed by the production.  And, I loved the Fraggle Rock exhibit...what memories!

Amy Elf & Maddie Elf

Anna Elf & Maddie Elf

Anna's Rudolph puppet

Grandparents Galore

Whew, what a holiday season.  The Bergstrom household was a busy place during Christmas, namely because we were blessed (yes, blessed!) to have both sets of grandparents with us for the holiday.  Anna especially reveled in the attention that only grandparents can give – you know, the “You can do no wrong and of course I’ll play with you for hours on end,” attitude that must magically appear when grandchildren are born.

We had all sorts of fun, watched a ton of movies, and of course, ate A LOT.  Our Christmas Eve smorgasbord combined the traditions from both sides of the family – Swedish meatballs, mac & cheese (the really cheesy, gooey authentic kind), shrimp cocktail, Pozole soup.  Needless to say we did not go hungry.  I think the dishwasher was run at least three times a day and many thanks to Grammy and Grandma for keeping the kitchen clean.  Their efforts were truly amazing, it was like a team of kitchen elves would magically appear and take care of the dishes.

I’m so thankful our families can come together and have a peaceful time filled with laughter and fun.  That’s the biggest memory I have from the time we spent together – laughing, lots of laughing, which is never a bad thing, right?

The ultimate pampering - Gramma Turner on braid duty,
Grammy Bergstrom on manicure duty.

Hungry Hungry Hippos Brigade

"Reading" to Fa Fa

'Twas the Night Before Christmas

The days leading up to Christmas were chock-full of activity.  I think the level of activity helped fuel Anna's excitement about Santa's impending visit.  Plus, we welcomed FaFa, Grammy, Aunt Maddie, Gramma, and Papa Odie, which added even more fuel to the fire.

We started a new tradition this Christmas Eve - singing Jingle Bells and other carols after setting out Santa's cookies.  Anna gave everyone a jingle bell to ring and she was little Miss Eagle-Eye, calling out anyone who wasn't jingling their instrument, even if the pause was for a few seconds.  As Papa Odie said, "There's nothing like being reprimanded by a three-year-old!"  A (not great) video of the sing along is included - apologies in advance for my loud, off-key voice!

Hayla and Anna working hard on treats for Santa (and us!).

Setting out cookies and milk for Santa, and veggies and water for the reindeer.

Bye Tinta, I'll see you next year!

Singing Jingle Bells for the crowd.

The Return of Tinta

Tinta the elf made a very welcome return this year. Anna has eagerly hunted for him each morning and it's been especially cute to watch her and her pals show each other where their elves are hiding each day when they visit each other's houses.

One day, Tinta was joined by two snowman and made some big mischief here. They apparently decided to snack on two gingerbread houses made by Anna and Hayla and, well, they knocked them down. Anna, Hayla and Kylie were all very giggly and in disbelief when they saw the wreckage upon arriving home from school one afternoon. The scene caused Kylie to ask, "Anna, does your elf always do bad things?!?" Ahh, the magic of Christmas...

A-N-N-A

Warning - this post is a pure brag. Anna was coloring a card recently for some close family friends and decided she wanted to write her name. I was uberly impressed by they effort and had to document it. Pretty good for a just turned three-year-old if you ask me!

All Smiles for Santa (ha!)

I had high hopes for Anna's visit with Santa this year. As you may recall from last year, it didn't go so well...

This year, prior to our visit with him, she very excitedly made a list with two requests:
1. A Bug's Life the movie
2. A monkey toy

I love the difference in the two requests - one, extremely specific, and the other, very vague. When we've asked her for more details on the "monkey toy", her face exudes an, "Uh, duh. A monkey toy, stupid." expression...and we've been unable to get any elaboration on what exactly she has in mind. So fingers crossed on Christmas morning.

Anyways, I digress. Back to the visit with the big man. As we were waiting for our turn, Anna was fine, with a capital F. Calm, cool and collected. However, when they called our number, everything changed and Santa became public enemy #1.

She did sit on his lap, but, as you can see, the two of them did not have a sweet conversation covering her list items. To Santa's credit, he tried everything to squelch the tears - playing with her bunny, offering a candy cane, and even having me sit on his lap with her. But, to no avail. She did not calm down until she was off his lap.

After the visit I asked her why she was scared and all she would offer was that, "her tummy was nervous." I get it - parents prodding and pushing you to sit on a stranger's lap and request toys from him - it's a little weird.

As we were heading to the car after the visit Anna stopped and said, "Hey, he didn't give me A Bug's Life. I thought he gave presents?" So maybe that was it...no instant gratification?

Even though she's not smiling, I love these pictures because they capture her exactly as she is at this stage, and we'll look back fondly on this memory for years to come.

The Big 3!

Our sweet little gal is 3 today - a fact that blows my mind!  People always said that time literally flies when you are a parent and wow, is that ever true.  I can't believe three years ago today we were welcoming Anna into the world.  It seems like she has been in our lives forever yet at the same time I feel like it was yesterday that she was the tiny infant in the picture below.

We celebrated her birthday last Saturday with friends at one of her favorite places, Kangazoom.  The kids jumped and slid and ran around like crazy and we capped off the celebration with Toy Story cupcakes, stickers and coloring.

When we got home Anna could barely contain her excitement at opening her gifts, which makes me really look forward to Christmas morning and her visit from Santa.  Some of her reactions were priceless and I so wish I had caught them on video.  Among the biggest hits was a Jessie the Cowgirl Toy Story talking doll (of course) from Gramma and Papa Odie.  When she opened the package she exclaimed, "Oh no no no.  Oh my goodness.  My own Jessie doll?!?"  Jessie was proudly taken to school for show and tell this week.  Grammy and Fa Fa gave her Toy Story 3, which she has already watched three times.  We gave her a scooter (yay for toys that can be stored outside!), which upon seeing it she asked, "Why's there a scooter here?  That's just the orange scooter I wanted!  Is this for me?  Can I touch it?"  And then she zoomed off...

With all the hoopla of the birthday party, she was a little confused this morning when I came in her room singing Happy Birthday with a cupcake and candles.  She asked, "It's my birthday again?"  I can see where the confusion comes from.

So, Happy Birthday Miss Anna.  I can't wait to see how you blossom over the next year...I know it will happen in the blink of an eye.

Texas Turkey

This Thanksgiving we traveled to Texas to spend time with my side of the family. Trips like this are always so packed with hugs and cheerful greetings that it makes me really wish we lived closer to all of our family.

First stop — Grandma Dodie’s house in Cisco, Texas, a small town about two hours west of Dallas. We spent long hours playing games, catching up with cousins, cooking, and of course, watching football. Anna, the youngest by far, made herself right at home with the aunts, uncles and cousins she had never met at all or last saw when she was about three months old.

The Turner Grandkids with Grandma Dodie: Liz, Christine, Madison,
David, Amy, Jason, Anna, Ted, Jamie

Lucky for her, this crowd enjoys playing games, and so were more than willing to play Memory, build puzzles, and have tea parties. She quickly attached herself to Ted, the youngest of the cousins (he’s a Junior in high school) – she thought him a kindred spirit because his pillow was covered with a Toy Story pillow case. If he was out of her sight, she would refer to him, never by name, but instead by the endearment, “The little boy who is big.”

Playing games at Grandma Dodie's

I had promised Anna we would go see “Tangled” while we were staying at Grandma Dodie’s so one day we packed up the troops and headed to the closest theater in Abilene, about 45 minutes away. Unfortunately, when we arrived, the movie time we were shooting for was sold out so we decided to buy tickets for the next show. When we turned to leave, Anna did not understand we would be seeing the movie in a mere two hours, and proceeded to have the biggest melt down of her two-year-old life. We’re talking a 15-minute-screaming-arms-flailing-red-faced-stiff-body-unwilling-to-get-in-the-car-seat-tantrum. It took two of us to get her buckled so we could go eat lunch before the movie. All was well once Anna realized we really were going to see the movie, but woah, the fireworks. The movie was great, by the way, and worth the wait.

On the Saturday after Thanksgiving we started what will be referred to as the “driving portion” of the trip. We headed down to San Antonio for a mini reunion with my mom’s side of the family – with chili and tamales (yay TexMex!!). Upon arriving, Anna was thrilled to see two little gals much closer to her age, her second cousins, 1 year old twins Zeneia and Zaria. She proudly showed them all of the important toys she was toting in her backpack. Her excitement was raised even more when Callan arrived – a “big” girl who quickly took Anna under her wing and played with her outside (I was very excited, too).


The Sramek clan: Tara, Cindy, Ralph, Callan, Dave, Austin, Grandma Sramek,
Dee Ann, Matt, David, Madison, Clay, Beverly, Charley, Amy, Anna, Jason, Andy & Nikki


That evening we headed down to the Riverwalk for more TexMex and enjoyed the cool light decorations adorning the river. Anna really, really wanted to go on one of the boats, but the lines were too crazy, being the Saturday after Thanksgiving.

On Sunday it was off to Fredricksburg, to see Uncle Jim and Aunt Linda’s new house (so nice!). The boys hung out watching football while the ladies headed into the town for some shopping in a very quaint town square.



Goofing around in the shops in Fredricksburg

Sunday evening it was back in the car and back to the Riverwalk for a boat ride – the crowds were much more reasonable…in fact they were non-existent. The boat capped off our trip and it was back to the ATL on Monday morning. At the end of the trip, we had logged nearly 1,000 miles gallivanting across Texas, but it was definitely worth it to be able to reconnect with the family members we don’t get to see too often. But, I can’t wait until teleporting is perfected – sign me up!

Cruising the riverwalk in San Antonio

Shady Ladies

Making green bean casserole on Thanksgiving morning

Playing with Grandma

Walking the wall with the twins

Jumping with Callan

Stopping for ice cream and a pony ride in Fredricksburg (good thing she had her cowgirl boots!)

Sock puppet entertainment during a leg of the trip