Christmas Day 2008!

Merry Christmas! We were up early Christmas Day of course, but I had no problem getting up because I was so excited for Carina to see what Santa brought her, and open her presents from us too! We had practiced opening up presents a few days before: Mike wrapped up his Blackberry for her to open and that did the trick. She is now a pro! Mike went downstairs first to start coffee (yay!) and take a few pre-present opening pictures. Carina and I waited upstairs until we had the "all clear" from Daddy. This is a tradition I had growing up and I was happy to continue it! Carina was super excited to see that Santa brought her a Rody-she started bouncing right away and wasn't too interested in anything else for a while. Then we called my grandparents in Texas on the web cam so they could see Carina open up their present. They got her a Bounce n' Spin Smart Pony! The web cam has really been the best thing for our family since we are so spread apart. We talked with Papa and GiGi on the web cam too before we packed up to head over to Mike's mom's house. We had a delicious breakfast of Swedish pancakes and banana fritters-yum! Then it was on to more present opening. Carina got a big rocking/bouncing/talking horse...apparently Santa and all of our relatives know how much energy Carina has! It was really a wonderful Christmas, and Mike and I had so much fun watching Carina take it all in. The holidays are so different now that we are experiencing them with our daughter. She is such an incredibly happy little girl and we can't help but smile every time we look at her. She really is the very best gift of all :o) ("Awwww"...come on you know you said it!)

"Whoa! Look what I got!"

Talking to Papa and Gigi on the web cam

Bouncing on my new friend Rody!

Christmas Eve Fun!

The Ogg Family~Christmas Eve 2008
Here are a few photos of our Christmas Eve celebration at Mike's mom's house. Carina had a blast opening presents and zooming around the house-quite different than last year! Santa even stopped by to see the kids and make sure they were still being good. Merry Christmas everyone!

Are you kidding? Of course I've been good!

Is Santa here yet?

Rockin' my party dress!

A Family Tradition...

For the past 28 years, Mike's mom and her family have had a Christmas get-together with her good friends Jim and Meredith. Gloria and Meredith met when they both started working at the university together in 1974 and have been friends ever since. They eventually started the tradition of having dinner and exchanging gifts at Christmas, alternating houses each year. We draw names between the 7 of us and every year we have a theme for the gift. We have a $15 limit, and having a theme makes us get creative! This year we had to buy something that started with the first letter of that person's middle name. I had Gloria and her middle name starts with "J", so I got her earrings (jewelry) and a jigsaw puzzle since she loves to do them! We had a wonderful dinner at Jim and Meredith's home in Healdsburg and it was fun to see what ideas people came up with for their gift. Meredith also started a new tradition for Carina: She gave her two Annalee Christmas mice (picture coming soon!). One was made in 2007 (for the year Carina was born) and a 2008 for this year. Gloria gave Meredith one years ago because they are made in Meredith, New Hampshire! So Meredith wanted to start getting one for Carina every year. It will be a very special collection for her, and it will always remind her of her super sweet "Uncle" Jim and "Auntie" Meredith!

Auntie Meredith reading to Carina

Carina with Auntie Keiko's purse-She already wants to accessorize!

Elfin' Around!

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

My Birthday Present

Mike got me tickets to see Phantom of the Opera for my birthday back in October, and although at the time December 12th seemed far away our big weekend was suddenly here! We had a wonderful dinner at the Market Street Cafe right across from the theater. (I highly recommend the gorgonzola-walnut ravioli!) By the time we got to our seats I was so excited-I must have asked Mike what time it was at least 6 times! I vividly remember seeing Phantom for the first time as a kid, and I couldn't wait to experience it again. I wasn't disappointed! It was incredible-I even had goosebumps during some of the scenes! Mike enjoyed it too, which I hope means he'll want to see more shows in the future. The next morning we got up early, (I guess we can't sleep in even when we have the chance!) had breakfast and shopped the rest of the day in Union Square. It was really nice spending time together as a couple-my hubby spoils me rotten and I love it! We were anxious to get back to Carina, who is getting her molars and had a bit of a cold. I felt so terrible leaving her at her grandparnent's when she wasn't feeling well, but apparently she was just fine! Mike you are the best and I had so much fun-I love you!

Yes, we saw Phantom, not "ntom"...this is what you get when you ask random people to take your picture!

Ah, shopping paradise! I love Union Square at Christmas time!

A Tribute...

I went Christmas shopping with Mike's Mom, Aunt Lynn, and cousin Trisha yesterday. This is a tradition we started about 4 years ago, and we definitely shopped till we dropped! We were in Corte Madera, and I had a coupon for Gymboree so I decided to find an outfit for Carina there. I have a bit of a love/hate relationship with that store. I think their clothing is super cute and good quality, but I usually can't bring myself to buy anything that makes my eyes pop out of their sockets when I look at the price tag. I know they are not the most outrageously priced children's store, but when I know that Carina will out grow the clothes so quickly it's hard for me to justify buying them. So because I am a bit of a nut and maybe a little over-caffeinated, I have composed a song to dedicate to Gymboree. (Don't make fun of me, this is my blog and I can be as ridiculous as I want!)

Oh Gymboree
(think Oh Christmas Tree)

Oh Gymboree, oh Gymboree
Why must you be so pricey?

Your clothes are so adorable
Wish they were more affordable

Oh Gymboree, oh Gymboree
Why must you be so pricey?

A dress that costs $79
Won't even fit in two weeks time

Oh Gymboree, oh Gymboree
Why must you be so pricey?

I try to buy on sale but still,
Mike would faint if he saw the bill!

Oh Gymboree, oh Gymboree
Why must you be so pricey?


(I did get her an outfit of course, but it's a Christmas present so I'll post pics of her in it later!)

She really is a peanut!

Carina had her 1 year well baby check up yesterday. Yes, she has been a year old for 2 months, but Kaiser does the 1 year check up between 12 and 15 months old. Anyway, the Bean is in excellent health. Well, I'm assuming she is...it was rather hard to hear the doctor over her protests of having to put her clothes back on. Dr. Miller said as soon as he walked in "14 months old? She'll be fussing in 2 minutes!" I thought, "Oh no, not my sweet, easy-going little girl." Ha ha...rookie mommy assumption. She was in a bit of a stubborn mood, and nothing in my diaper bag of tricks interested her in the least. I finally just put her down and let her run back and forth across the exam room, and prayed there was a huge vat of Purell somewhere to dip her in! I try not to be a germ phobe, but doctor offices are just paradise for all sorts of little critters.

So as I was saying, she is doing great. Dr. Miller did comment that she was a bit on the small side, but he wasn't concerned because she has shown consistent growth overall. She weighs 19 pounds, 13 ounces and is 30.5 inches tall. (No forward facing car seat yet!) She is in the 14th percentile for weight! He wants to see her again in about 4 months to check her growth. I told him not to expect too much-it's not like she is coming from a family of NBA players! I somehow managed to get her clothes back on and head over to the nurses office for her battery of shots. The poor thing was due for 5 vaccines! I had the option of spreading them out over several visits, but her doctor said it was fine to do them all at once. So being the caring mother I am I decided that my daughter could be a human pin cushion to avoid multiple trips to Kaiser. Of course she was not thrilled about the shots, but the nurse was super fast and blew bubbles when she was done to distract her. Carina was such a little trooper that I rewarded her with a Peppermint Mocha from Starbucks afterward...oh wait that was me...she was asleep within 3 minutes of being in the car! We are so lucky that our little Peanut is a happy, healthy, and active little girl!