Only 2 weeks away!

Vinny is having a small friend birthday party with a couple of friends at Jungle Playland for his birthday. I made his invitation and loved how it turned out, so I thought I would share.

It's over.

I can't believe that Christmas is over. After 6 celebrations, spread out over nearly 2 weeks, I was able to enjoy an extended holiday this year :) I just wanted to thank everyone for the wonderful gifts for us and for everyone spoiling Vinny. He didn't get a gift that he wasn't excited for!
I have to admit, I am kind of sad it is over. I always look forward to Christmas so much, and then poof... it's New Years.
We loved spending time with everyone and look forward to getting together again soon!

And the countdown begins...

Christmas at Karen's (Christmas #6)

I didn't get my camera out much but here are a few pics. We had a nice time hanging out with everyone.

Tony and Reidar got to bond over the ping pong table... Tony was very proud that he was the ultimate champion!

Christmas with my mom (Christmas #5)

On Sunday, we went and had Christmas with my mom, Dan and his family. It was great to get together, and Vinny had a good time. He was acting up A LOT, but he had fun. :)

Vinny's Christmas Program

I was finally able to get Vinny's program off of my camcorder. The first few minutes of the vicdeo is the prayer, but the whole thing is about 13 minutes. Enjoy!
If for some reason you can't see this video, you can go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WBUs-cq0-5M and watch it there.

Santa came! (Christmas #3)

Rather than jumping out of bed to see if Santa had come, Vinny called me from his room, "Mom, I need you!" So I went in. He told me that he needed to get up to see if Santa brought presents, but he didn't know if it was morning yet. So we got up, got Dad, and went out. Vinny was so sweet. He had to make sure that we all had our presents to open.

This is the gift that Vinny picked out for his Dad. It is a 5 pack of Ferrari Hot Wheels cars. When he saw them at the store, he was super excited and said that it was what Dad would want!

Opening DS Games

Vinny did not want his picture taken at all. But I did snap a few. He was so cute. After everything that he opened he said "This is what I have been really wanting!" He loved everything and was so grateful. It was a nice reminder on Christmas morning of what a loving and sweet boy he is.

Vinny has been using my old pink DS for several months and has gotten very good at it. He saw at the store that they now had new red DS XLs with Mario Kart and it is all we have heard about since. This is what he asked Santa for when we went and saw him. So, of course that is what he got from Santa. He is super excited about it. Like I said, he didn't want to be in front of the camera, but I was able to get a little video of him.

I know that this is the first Christmas that Vinny really "got" what was going on and "got" Christmas. It was wonderful for me and Tony. I am not ready for it to be over yet. Seeing the pure joy in Vinny's face as he sings his Christmas songs and talks about Santa is something I hope that I will never forget. Seeing that pure excitment and happiness from him is my favorite thing ever.

Fisbee's last night

Vinny went to bed about 8:00 on Christmas Eve, which is about an hour before he normally goes to bed. Santa was able to come by 9:00, which meant that mom went to bed early too.

Our tree after Santa came.

Fisbee hung out under the tree waiting for Vinny to wake up the next morning. Vinny looked everywhere for him, and we so excited that he was under the tree.
After the presents were opened, I told Vinny that we needed to pack Fisbee up and put him back in his box with his book and we would get him back out next year. Vinny told me "I will really miss Fisbee." Next thing I know his eyes are all filled with tears and he starts bawling. He said that he would just miss him too much and he wanted to let him stay for one more day. How could I saw no? So, Fisbee is sitting on the shelf again :)
I never would have thought that he would get so attached to him. But, at least I know that he really believed!

Christmas Eve (Christmas #2)

I had to work Christmas Eve day, but had a wonderful evening at my Dad's. Kara and Reidar joined us and we got to celebrate with Dad and Chrisana. It was great to get together and visit.

Vinny had to help Papa open his presents too!

Vinny had a blast playing with him new Lincoln Logs with Reidar and Papa.

"Neigh! Neigh! Neigh! Neigh! Neigh!"

Thank you Dad and Chrisana for having us over and for the great gifts! We appreciate everything! Love you!

**Note to self- Learn how to use the setting on your point and shoot camera. Of all the pictures that were taken, only 2 turned out. Ugh. **

Composano Christmas! (Christmas #1)

We went to Rebecka and Alicia's house for our annual Composano Christmas. It was great to see everyone. We always have a great time. The food was great too! Thanks for hosting, you guys!

Sledding

We took Vinny up to Lake Wenatchee this weekend to go sledding. He did so well and had so much fun!

Vinny's Christmas Program

We didn't get many pictures, but these are the ones the Chrisana took. I do have video, but it is stuck on my video camera.
Vinny did an awesome job. He sang super loud and did the hand signals great. Tony and I were so proud!

Grandma....

Vinny was wearing his Christmas jammies tonight, so I thought I would video him. He thought it was pretty funny.

Big top cupcake

Vinny has been begging for a big top cupcake maker... so Grandma got it for him. :) We took it home and made one the next night. I have to admit it was kind of fun. I can't wait to make another for Vinny's birthday! It turned out really cute!

What Vinny forgot...

Vinny keeps remembering what he forgot to tell Santa that he wanted when he went and saw him, so we wrote Santa a letter so that Fisbee can deliver it tonight...

1. DS
2. Super Mario Bros
3. Hockey game



I guess that we aren't quite as done with shopping as we thought we were...

Warm Beach Christmas Lights

We went to see the Warm Beach Christmas Lights tonight. It was awesome, as always. We spent over 2 hours there walking around, going on the train ride, riding ponies and just checking out all the cool displays.
They had a santa there, but Vinny didn't want to see him because he wasn't the "real" Santa, just a helper. My kid is a Santa Snob.

Ho! Ho! Ho!

We went and saw the "real" Santa Claus yesterday. For those of you who don't know the story, this santa went and had his legal name changed to Santa Claus. He comes to Marysville every year for Santa pictures. He is the best Santa, and if you ever get a chance to, you have to go see him.
Vinny was super excited! He even brought Fisbee in to visit.

My favorite

Love this one too!

Santa told Vinny to close his eyes and pretend he was sleeping. Vinny isn't a very good actor.