Happy New Year!

Welcome 2011!

We stayed close to home this New Year's Eve, celebrating with Anna at 7:30 p.m., and then Jason and I had to hold our eyes open with toothpicks until midnight. 

Anna "toasted" in the New Year with sparklers, a super-mini-fireworks display and sparkling grape juice (she looked at us very skeptically when we handed her a plastic champagne flute and said, "I don't want wine!"  Once assured it was grape juice, she gulped it down, proclaimed it good and wanted more.)  After the sparklers were gone, we took a short night stroll through the neighborhood to look at Christmas lights.

When we got back home Anna said, "Mommy and daddy, thank you for having such a good holiday for me!".  So sweet!

Hoping everyone had a fun, safe celebration and passing along best wishes for 2011.  We know it's going to be big for us!

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.