A brace of Christmases

Christmas number two for Benito...

Other than Ben spending the first five minutes of present-opening sobbing this morning, Christmas has been lovely. (He was hungry and we couldn't feed him until 30 minutes had lapsed on his meds.) Ben still doesn't understand the concept of unwrapping presents at all, and we had to physically pull him off of one of the toy boxes so we could open it for him. It's all part of the toddler Christmas experience (as is getting up with him FIVE times last night). It's so mind-blowing to think about how incredibly different things were a year ago! Every age is amazing, but Ben sure is more fun the older he gets.

Last night we had a fantastic time at the De la Garzas' Christmas Eve dinner, and tonight I'm making a (mostly) paleo roast duck feast for us and our neighbor. Too bad we all have to go back to regular life tomorrow.

16 months vs 4 months

magnetic blocks from Mama and Dada

boxes are more fun

watching the De la Garzas make "reindeer food" Christmas Eve

Christmas eve hugs

Ben and Oz enjoying my new beautiful Christmas rug

paleo banana bread in a "homemade" loaf pan

...one more from a year ago; hardly looks like the same boy!

Merry pre-Christmas with the Cannons

Grandpa time

Ben and I just spent the past week in El Paso with my parents and all three of my siblings. It was fantastic to have all of us in the same town for a while!

Ben is starting to pay attention to what's outside the plane window

Think constant house party with around-the-clock dance powwows and perpetual toddler entertainment. Ben has the best family. Just saying.

 

makin' s'mores!!!!

Uncle Greg and the uncertain tiger

geologist Uncle Matt explaining the topography of pizza

overstimulation, much? Naaaa

more Grandpa time

baby's first "mountain climb"

don't fall off the mountain!

birthday cobbler 

Uncle Matt's primate impersonation

walk this way

a game of "throw the pinecone"

St. Nicholas puppet my dad made when I was little

best airplane distraction toy ever!

dance party with Auntie N

(and from a few weeks ago here in San Antonio)

What a difference a year makes!

I left my turkey in San Fransisco

Union Square (& our hotel in the background)

While our Thanksgiving was completely lacking in turkey this year, it was very full of dim sum, street car rides, and Hackett-family fun. We spent the holiday in San Francisco with Clay's family, and had a fabulous vacation. We got in to town at two in the morning last night after an almost 12-hour hotel-to-home travel-time (our connecting flight was delayed). Traveling with a toddler is delightful (in so far as you can watch them enjoy new things), but also pretty harrowing.  

The first day in SF we spent a bit of time being mystified by the workings of the streetcar system, visited the Bay Aquarium (Benito especially loved the underwater tunnels), and did some Union Square shopping (which was insanely crowded). For the first time in Ben's life, he went an ENTIRE day without taking a nap.... which was just as *fun* as it sounds. The next day we took a boat to see Alcatraz and later had some incredible dim sum. That evening, Clay's wonderful mom offered to watch Benito so that the rest of us could go to a magic show. 

The show was really awesome. It was in a little old speak-easy, and before the show, the magician came out and talked to everyone and did a few card tricks. The venue was so intimate (only about 25 people could fit in the theater), the magician was able to get assistants from every group of people in the audience. Clay and I were actually the first "volunteers" (no, we didn't actually volunteer) he called up. He had us each pick half of a large playing card from two different decks of cards (they were already cut in half), and then the cards we picked were *magically* the ones in the envelope he had placed on the table. He also did some "mind reading" tricks and some slight-of-hand tricks. It was a fabulous evening!

On our last day there we spent more time shopping and went to Chinatown. Ben loudly protested extended amounts of time in the stroller, so we took him to the park (I think he is very happy to be home this morning with all his toys and a lot of room to run around in). 

our dim sum Thanksgiving feast

Clay... on Clay Street in Chinatown

checking out the "muck" (as he calls "water") from the dock

Benben and the grandparents

Christmas tree on the pier

Street Car line nap

Clay and his pappy at Alcatraz

Grandpa Ben, the peek-a-boo book-reader extraordinaire 

St. Mark's Park on the edge of Chinatown

bed time after a day of NO NAPS

the San Fransisco PD was giving out free stickers on Union Square