Thanksgiving to Christmas is always a whirlwind. Add some traveling in there, and it went by in a blink. As the girls get older, I find it more difficult to take pictures and videos. Bringing out the cell phone means the girls want to play with it, and they now always want to see the pictures after we take them. Since I use my phone much more for work than Colin does, he's been the one taking pictures and videos on his phone so that mine has less chances of being dropped and cracked or broken.
One event in December I always look forward to is the Pullen Park Express. It's a really inexpensive holiday event where the park is only open to ticket holders from 5-9p for about 6-8 days in December. The ticket allows you entry into the park and a train ride around the park. This year, tickets for the event sold out in less than 30 minutes when they went on sale in July. I wasn't getting my hopes up to go, but was checking to see if people were selling theirs on Facebook. I did get lucky to find someone who was selling tickets at face value (instead of the price gouging lots of others were doing), but the unfortunate part was that it was for a day when I was going to be in Asheville for work. Colin ended up taking the girls, and they had a good time despite the freezing cold night (one of the few during the month).
Enjoying bike riding after school
Rose has started practicing riding on her pedal-less Strider (balance bike)
The girls and daddy on the Pullen Park Express train ride
We found lots of holiday events to attend wherever we were. In Cary/Morrisville there was a train ride around the shopping plaza with a light show to Christmas music on the movie theatre. On that trip we enjoyed some hot chocolate. During a trip to Charlotte to meet up with my parents and brother for our Christmas gift exchange, we found another shopping plaza with a train ride, face painting, and reindeer ears.
Enjoying holiday festivities in Charlotte, with a train ride, face painting, and reindeer ears
At school, the girls had some fun events leading up to their big holiday lunch including holiday pajama day and crazy hat day. The only time we tried meeting and getting a picture with Santa was at the neighborhood holiday party where there were no crowds and after we got to hang out for an hour or so in the same room with Santa. Even then, Zoe didn't want to sit with him so mommy had to be in the picture. Since we were going to be traveling for Christmas, we decided to put up our fake tree instead of getting a real one. The girls were engaged for an hour at most and then Colin took them outside to play while I finished putting the branches on. Our tree is fairly large and looks amazing when it's up, but it does take a long time.
Excited about their Holiday gear
Our picture with the Oxxford Hunt Santa
A holiday tradition we started last year includes creating and decorating gingerbread houses. Last year Colin built them all from graham crackers and a frosting recipe he found online. This year we opted for the kits. The kits made the process so much easier and allowed us to spend more time creating with the girls instead of prepping on our own. Our houses came out great and both girls enjoyed eating treats during the process. Rose is our chocolate girl and Zoe likes any of the sugar-sweetened candies.
Building one of our two gingerbread houses
One of our amazing gingerbread creations
Since the girls' school closes for an extended break at Christmas, I decided to take the two days off from work to spend with them before we traveled to New York. During one of the days, we had a lovely outing at the Museum of Life & Sciences in Durham. It's one of our favorite places to go and we always try to see the zoo animals, the wolves, the bears, the lemurs, and ride the train. Lately, the girls have also been into seeing the butterflies. After we have lunch, we usually make our way to the awesome treehouse area so the girls can climb a bit before we go. Most times we have to play a little music, go down a few more slides, and run around in the soundscape exhibit before we can actually leave. Naptime is always late for Zoe when we go!
Enjoying a beautiful late December day at the Museum
Our trip to New York has become routine and the girls are proving to be good travelers. Now that they can both face forward, I can more easily help pass them food, toys, drinks, etc. We still usually have our morning break to stretch our legs and get the girls out of their PJs, and we try to have a longer play time right before or after lunch before finishing the final few hours.
In New York, we didn't realize it, but we have also started a tradition of going to the NY State Museum on Christmas Eve. The carousel there is free and we just made the last ride of the day on our trip this year. Last year it was just the four of us, but this year we brought Aunt Karen along for the excitement.
The girls are posing for Aunt Karen at the NY State Museum
This year was the first time I can remember waking up to a White Christmas. I don't love snow, but there is something special about the anticipation of snow on Christmas morning. The girls were excited to wear their pretty dresses, and they managed to sit through the Christmas morning church service. We haven't made a big deal about Santa, so there wasn't a rush to open presents Christmas morning, but the girls did enjoy opening their presents mid-late morning.
A white Christmas in New York for 2017
Dressed up at church
Opening Christmas presents
The whole week we were in New York it was freezing. It was literally in the negative and single digits in degrees farenheit! That was the major bummer for us Southerners. We had to find museums and indoor activities for the girls for the whole week. We took a trip to the Boston Children's Museum one day, the Saratoga Children's Museum another day, made a couple trips to the YMCA so the girls could go swimming and so we adults could do some exercise, and had moving night at Aunt Karen's. With all the indoor activities, we were waiting for the illnesses and sure enough Zoe spiked a fever two nights before we left, and Rose was screaming with ear pain the night we were planning to drive back. We called the doctor during the drive home and managed to get one of the latest appointments of the day. Zoe's diagnosis was RSV and Rose had a double ear infection.
Consistent morning temperatures all week in New York
Movie night at Aunt Karen's
Serving food at the Saratoga Children's Museum
Colin and I did enjoy a late night out for New Year's Eve, our first in a very long time. The girls did great going to bed for Grandma and we got to celebrate Colin's friend's wedding with his closest friends in Lake George. It was a bummer that the weather was so cold. They had planned a bonfire, which was canceled. We still had a great time and stayed warm indoors and on the dance floor! I'm pretty sure Colin danced the most I have ever seen in our 16 years together.
Celebrating a New Year's wedding in Lake George
Starting off the New Year with celebrations and dancing is always good. It was too bad our girls started off the year sick. Thankfully, they both quickly recovered and we got back to enjoying the outdoors before long.
When I arrived back home from my January work trip last week, I was tired. It was late, I had a few long days with productive, but exhausting meetings, my to-do list in several areas of my life was too long, Colin kept the girls up so they could see me before they went to bed, and Zoe had a bad rash that was going to need medical attention in the morning. After a good night's sleep and recovering (to some extent) from the most recent trip, I realized that feeling so drained may have been a result of so much travel over the past 10 weeks. I'm still feeling a little drained after a 3-day weekend, but it was good to get more things checked off the to-do list.
Between November 7 and January 11, I've spent almost 6500 miles in the car. The bulk of those miles came from trips up to the northeast for both Thanksgiving and Christmas/New Years. And while sitting or driving the car is one aspect of travel that can be difficult, I find the packing, unpacking, and recovering from the trips to be the hardest. My monthly travel for work is the easy packing since it is just me. But trips up north require thoughts about the weather, holiday outfits, activities we might do, and making sure things like clothes, diapers, snacks, food, beverages, and activities are available for the 12 hour trip. Most of that planning and packing falls to me since I get to rest in the car (or entertain in the backseat) while Colin does the bulk of the driving.
In between all these trips, which took place just about every other week, we tried enjoying some holiday events in or around home. We enjoyed a holiday potluck with Portuguese friends, gingerbread house making with our friends and neighbors, tried making Aunt June's famous cookies as a family of 4, and checked out a few holiday light displays and shows. We capped off our holiday fun with the annual Pullen Park Express, which is a fun evening of endless rides on the carousel, holiday crafts, a train ride around the park, and the girl's first (and only) time meeting Santa.
All dressed up for a holiday dinner
Girls enjoying their fancy, sparkly silver shoes
Scheduling and actually doing activities with two toddlers is no easy feat. They did surprisingly well in their holiday outfits, but we spent more time entertaining them and chasing them around the holiday dinner than talking to anyone. Colin spent a long time building gingerbread houses, only to have Zoe eat part of one and Darwin completely demolish (ie - eat) our neighbor's house. The clean up for any food activity is always a challenge and I wonder if it is worth it. But, I know it is. While Zoe is still too young to follow some of the rules, I see Rose focus and take pride in her work. And watching Zoe naively eat a gingerbread house is endearing. I sometimes catch myself all wound up in a type A personality, and it seems we all have different triggers. I am constantly grateful for a husband who is much more relaxed and doesn't seem to mind spending an entire afternoon putting together gingerbread houses that will all be demolished either during decoration, or shortly thereafter.
Gingerbread house decorating (or eating if you are Zoe)
Rose likes to organize mommy's cookies - perhaps picking up on some type A organizing skills
I've never been too eager to have the girls meet Santa. It seems cruel to force kids to sit on the lap of a stranger so we adults can take a picture. We gave Rose the option to meet him and she said she wanted to, so we went for it. She was completely into it this year, but we made the mistake of trying to have Zoe sit with Mrs. Claus for the picture, an experience that petrified her. When we got to Santa we didn't bother trying to see if Zoe wanted to sit with him. Even Rose was a little reluctant to sit on his lap, until they got to talking about the movie Frozen.
Our friend Lucas and his family joined us at the Pullen Park Express
Rose hamming it up on the carousel
Zoe enjoying her ride on the carousel with mommy
Ready for the train ride
First time meeting Santa
While traveling 12 hours is not ideal, we continue to make it bearable by leaving between 1-2am after a few hours of sleep. It helps if we can have the car packed early so we can go to bed shortly after the girls do. They typically sleep for the first 5-6 hours, and are fairly content in the car for most of the morning. We have been able to make pretty good time on our recent trips. Unfortunately, during the Christmas trip, I battled a sore lower back, which has been hurting on an off since starting the trip.
Rose alternates between sleeping and playing in the car
Zoe could sleep for most of the drive
While visiting family, we were able to engage in some new and some regular activities. There was some snow on the ground in New York, so the girls got to try sledding down Colin's parent's front lawn on Christmas Day. We also checked out a museum in Albany that has a free carousel. We rode it about 3 times. In Rhode Island, we checked out the awesome Boston Children's Museum and managed to make a trip down to the beach. It was a little too cold for me, but Rose enjoyed playing in the sand.
All smiles waiting for the carousel ride in NY
The girls loved spending time with their entire family over the Christmas-New Year's trip. Rose looks up to her 6-year-old cousin Isabella, and is exhausted after a day of playing together. Both Rose and Zoe love the attention from their aunts, uncles, and grandparents. I always feel like I've gained 10 pounds when we get back, but there is so much comfort in being surrounded by family and food during the holidays. I also like getting a quick glimpse of winter and then heading back to our warmer weather. Though Colin and Zoe managed to catch a bug during the week, it was short-lived for both of them. My back was (and continues to be) a major bummer, though I hope some rehab and massages (Merry Christmas to me!) will be the fix I need.
Opening presents in New York on Christmas Eve
Rose posing with presents on Christmas morning
Girls opening presents on Christmas morning
I'm glad we were able to enjoy some holiday fun and visit with family to celebrate the season, but I'll admit that I am very grateful to have a few weeks with minimal travel and scheduled events on my calendar. It felt good to take down the tree and Christmas decorations this year. For me, it was the promise of a less hectic schedule ahead. We've started to get back on track with our diet (except for a few lingering sweets). Now, I'm hoping the weather can cooperate so we can enjoy some walks to the park as a family on the weekends and I can get back to some regular exercise.
I hope you were all able to enjoy the comfort and joy in your family/friends this holiday season and that your New Year is off to a tremendous start.
One of the really awesome things about where we live is that there are so many holiday events for families and kids that are affordable. There are parades, visits with Santa, electronic light shows on houses, light displays on farms, Polar Express rides, and holiday shows.
I wanted to do so many things, but since we were out of town the first couple weeks of December, we missed several of the events. The only things that were on schedules were the parades and the Polar Express rides. We missed all the parades since they were held early in the month, and almost didn't get to do the Polar Express ride at Pullen Park. Tickets went on sale in July and I happened to notice that day. I'm so glad I bought tickets right away because they sold out in a day (yes, in July!). There are only 6 days (two consecutive weekends) when the park opens up in the evening for Christmas celebrations. Only ticket holders can get into the park after 4pm and a ticket gets you a ride on the train. The train, which Rose loves when it's not the holidays, rides the same route around the park and has Christmas lights on it. You can only ride once, but there are other events and things to do in the park. You can ride the indoor carousel as often as you'd like and it plays Christmas music. There's also a scavenger hunt, visits with Santa, carnival games and art stations for the kids, and the normal park items (slides, swings, etc).
Back in July, I bought tickets for the second Saturday. When we made plans to travel north in early December, I realized we were going to miss it, getting back to Raleigh on Sunday and not Saturday. The other nice thing about our area is that there are a bunch of local Facebook sales pages and mom's groups. I posted on several of these sites to see if anyone wanted to switch their tickets with me and someone did! We just had to make sure we were back in Raleigh to catch our ride around 5pm. In a previous post, I mentioned that we drove back home from Albany at 2am. With just a few stops, we were home around lunch time, giving us plenty of time to get to the park in Raleigh.
Even though we were tired, it was still fun to enjoy the Christmas fun as a family. Rose loves the train and carousel, so even if she didn't engage in anything else, it would still be worth the $8/ticket ($24 for all of us). Surprisingly, she did some of the carnival games and enjoyed getting treats on the scavenger hunt. Zoe got to enjoy her first ride on the carousel. She was awake for most of the time we were there. The weather was warm, so we didn't have to bundle up much and the food was pretty good.
Waiting our turn for the carousel
Rose and mommy on the carousel
Family picture at Pullen Park's Polar Express
A tired family on the Polar Express train ride at Pullen Park
We have an artificial Christmas tree, but decided that we were going to get a real tree this year. With just a little over a week before Christmas, many of the cut-your-own tree farms were sold out of trees, or only had weekend hours. Instead, we picked out our tree at the North Carolina State Farmers' Market. There was one vendor trying to get rid of the rest of his trees and gave us a pretty good deal on one that was about 8 feet. The weather continued to be crazy warm leading up to Christmas and we were out shopping for a tree in light sweatshirts. I was not complaining!
Picking out our Christmas Tree
While we were up north the first few weeks of December, we did go to a few holiday light displays, one being the famous (and free!) LaSallette Shrine and another at the first or second Winterfest at Diamond Hill State Park in Cumberland, RI. Even though the weather was mild for northeastern standards, it was still very cold and we were all bundled up in heavy winter coats, hats, gloves and scarves. Winterfest was our first time seeing the new laser lights, which were really cool in some of the forest areas of the park. I thought their $10 admission was a little pricey for having to walk around the event ourselves. There was also lots of open spaces without much to see and do, and no place to get warm.
In North Carolina, we had a little cold spell right before Christmas, but it meant that we needed hats and gloves once the sun set. There were several options for checking out large holiday light displays in the area and we opted to go to the farm where we spent a very long day in the fall. Hill Ridge Farms was where Rose enjoyed a hay ride, train ride, tunnels, farm animals, and more a few months ago. At Christmas, the tractor ride takes you through a very large light show, with Christmas music blaring in the wagon. They also run their train around a big open field (with a few lights) and keep many of the farm features available into the evening. Rose is too small for their large bouncing ball and huge tunnel slide, but she enjoyed swinging on the large log, seeing the farm animals, and drinking hot chocolate. They have a few fire pits and sell kits to make smores, but we didn't do that this year. Entrance for their "festival of lights" is reasonable, at $10 per person for the tractor ride, and only an additional $3 for the train. The only downside was that we sat at the front of the wagon and inhaled lots of exhaust during our ride.
Visiting Hill Ridge Farm's Festival of Lights
Heading to the wagon ride inside the farm
Selfie in the caboose of the train
Rose and daddy riding the swing at Hill Ridge Farms
Rose and daddy swinging on the log at Hill Ridge Farms
In addition to our ticketed events, we also did our annual driving around to see holiday light shows, this year adding a trip to try Duck Donuts and pick up hot chocolate for our drive. I probably love the light shows more than anyone else, but hope that both girls enjoy it with me as they get older. There are some very impressive synchronized light shows in the area, with a map to the addresses available online. I posted a video with one of the light shows two years ago and this house continues to be the best in the area.
For Christmas this year, my parents joined us in North Carolina. With rain and mild temperatures predicted for the whole week in the Raleigh area, we opted to spend the holiday in Hilton Head, SC, a place none of us had ever been. I found a reasonable rental through VRBO.com and we set out, packing everyone (including Darwin) into the 7 passenger 4-Runner on Christmas Eve for 3 nights and 4 days.
The 5 hour trip was uneventful, the rental property was bigger than we expected and the weather remained warm for the 3 days. On the flipside, the weather was damp down there too, and while we didn't have rain, the beach was foggy pretty much every day. We were able to check in to the property early, but by the time we got settled, went grocery shopping and ate, there wasn't much time to enjoy the beach on that first day. With it being Christmas Eve, we had to get our shopping in for the next day before everything closed. It was late in evening before we realized we forgot to pick up a few essentials (like coffee!!). We had a few adventures with finding an open store, but eventually got our coffee, milk, and bottled water before returning back to the rental.
The unit was very accomodating to our needs. There was one master bedroom with a patio and full bath, and a second spacious bedroom with a double and twin bed that was attached to the second full bathroom. The sleeping quarters were separated from the main living area with a door and each bedroom also had it's own door. Rose slept in the twin bed in the second room with my parents while Zoe slept in her "beach bed" in the master bedroom with me and Colin. The kitchen, which also had a washer and dryer, opened to the dining area and living area. Cathedral ceilings added to the spacious feel of the apartment. We were super comfortable and about a 10 minute walk to the beach. We didn't notice many amenities offered through the resort complex and all of the outdoor resort pools were closed for the season.
I found the water to be a little too cold for my liking, but had the sun been out, I may have done some swimming. Rose had a great time enjoying the pools of water that formed at low tide. We managed to have Zoe dip her bottom in the ocean, but as you can see in the video, the water was too cold for her as well. The day we left for the beach and the whole time we were away, the skin on her face cleared up and looked amazing. I think it's a sign that we need to live at the beach! :)
Enjoying the foggy beach in Hilton Head, SC on Christmas Day
The day after Christmas, we managed to explore a little bit of the island by car and we did get out again for some dessert after dinner. It was the only time we did much outside of the rental property/resort complex. We just assumed most of the attractions were closed on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.
Rose holding Zoe at the ice cream parlor in Hilton Head, SC
On our final day of the trip we had to be out of the apartment by 11am. The morning was spent packing the car, cleaning the apartment, and making sure we didn't leave anything behind. Rather than spend the day in traffic (which we assumed we would get on I-95), we decided to spend the day in Savannah, GA. Colin and I had been on a trip before having the girls, but my parents had never been.
Savannah was less than an hour from Hilton Head on back roads, so we arrived just before lunch. Knowing the city has many good restaurants, we used Yelp to find one and managed to find a good parking spot near Chippewa Square, between Forsyth Park and the waterfront. We ate at Fire Street Food, a restaurant that could appease a variety of palates, and then walked around the city, taking in the historic sites, hanging moss trees, and the overall hustle and bustle of a city. By the time we got to the waterfront, we were ready for some dessert and picked up beignets at Huey's. Since Zoe's skin has been better when I don't eat dairy (more on that in another post), I did not indulge in any, but took everyone's word that they were delicious. With our bellies full again, we continued back towards Forsyth Park (and our car), stopping at a playground to let Rose enjoy some kid time. We found a cute little playground near a huge cemetery that was not crowded at all. At that point we were debating when to leave, seeing that traffic continued to be bad on I-95, and knowing good food options would be slim once we left the city. Rose was getting tired, but fighting a nap as we continued on to Forsyth Park. At the park, we took a few photos at the fountain, saw a man propose to his bride-to-be, and found the very busy toddler and preschool playgrounds (but didn't stop to play here). With it approaching dinner time, we decided to find a restaurant close to the car. Unfortunately, Yelp didn't provide us with many ideal options, so we settled for a little coffee shop near the car. They had a very tasty hummus and pita platter and some salad/sandwich options. At the time, we were slightly disappointed that we didn't get a better meal, but in hindsight we all had a more pleasant ride home with the lighter fare.
Walking down to the waterfront in Savannah, GA
Rose playing with other kids on a waterfront boat
Enjoying the hanging moss trees
Some toddler fun at a playground in Savannah, GA
After getting the girls fed and dressed in their pajamas (I hate that cities rarely have changing tables in bathrooms!), we got on the road around 7pm. Rose didn't take long to fall asleep and even Zoe slept most of the way. She only needed a bottle once during the 4hour and 45 minute trip. Yes, we managed to skip all the northbound traffic, and were home around midnight.
It was a nice and relaxing Christmas holiday, filled with love, laughter, and peace. These are the best gifts we can give and receive.
Dressed up on the eve of Christmas Eve
At some point we will all look at the camera
Impossible to get them to look at the camera
And my poor rashy Zoe!
Opening Christmas presents on the eve of Christmas Eve
Yay! Another doll
I hope your holidays were enjoyable and that your 2016 is off to a great start. We celebrated the New Year by the backyard fire pit with friends, family, and smores.
