Breakfast with Santa

I did it! I actually did it! I sat on Santa's lap and Daddy took the pictures to prove it. Many of you may remember that for the past few years I have sat in front of Santa, not on his lap, and that last year I absolutely refused to sit in front, beside, or anywhere near him. Mommy and I talked a lot about it this year and I said I'd think about it.

Yesterday morning, all three of us had Breakfast with Santa at Nordstrom. He was sitting in his chair when we arrived and lots of kids were sitting with him and taking pictures but I wasn't ready yet. While we were eating our breakfast, he came around to talk to the kids and collect our letters, but I still wasn't ready and my letter wasn't finished - spelling American Girl Doll takes a long time. After breakfast, there was a neat puppet show with marionettes and I enjoyed that a lot.

As we were getting ready to leave, I remembered that I hadn't given Santa my letter yet. He was sitting in his chair again so I went over and before you know it, I was in his lap. He was very nice and he told me that he gets the American Girl catalog, too, and he knows exactly which doll I want. Then he gave me a candy cane and told me to be a good girl and he'd see me next year. It wasn't scary at all and I am so glad I did it.

The other great part about Breakfast with Santa was that I ran into my first friend in Santa Barbara again. The weekend after we arrived, we had gone to see a kids' version of The Pirates of Penzance. We sat behind a nice little girl named Madeline and got to talking with her parents. And Madeline was at the Breakast with Santa, too! We sat next to each other during the puppet show and we talked quite a bit. Madeline is only 3 and she won't sit on Santa's lap, she waved to him and said hello but that was all. I tried to tell her how nice he is and how easy it is to sit on his lap and not scary at all. But she's not 4 1/2 like me.

Madeline and Me

Now that I've sat on his lap, Santa will surely bring me my American Girl Doll!

Halloween

I decided to be a tree for Halloween and Mommy made my costume, with some major creative input from Auntie Joyce. On the 30th, I had a party at school, then a playdate with my friend, Jacob, then another party at Ella's, with all my Peps friends. It was so much fun! Halloween was another fun day with a big party at Zoe and Maren's and then trick-or-treating with Daddy. I don't care too much about the candy but I love going house-to-house and also seeing all the other kids' costumes.

With Mrs. Breysse and Mrs. Baricevic (teachers at Our Lady of the Lake)

At Jacob's house

With Ella, Sasha and Tyler

Santa Barbara!

Thanksgiving Day at the zoo

We finally made it to Santa Barbara and are settling in to our new life. I started school a couple of weeks ago at Notre Dame School and I love it! My teacher, Mrs. James, is super nice and so are the other kids. The best part is that I get to wear a uniform. I have a dress, a skort and a pair of long blue pants that I can wear. Daddy drops me off at 8 am and then goes on to work. Sometimes Mommy comes along and then walks home. We've found many fun things to do in Santa Barbara but there's lots more to explore. Some of our favorites are the zoo, Butterfly Beach and the local farmers' markets. I especially love the farmers' markets because they have strawberries, blueberries and raspberries and they taste like summer!

In my dress uniform

Notre Dame School

A Visit to the Farm

It was a beautiful Fall day and we went to Kelsey Creek Farm in Bellevue. It was so much fun - there were bunnies to pet, legos to play with, a little pumpkin patch and an old-fashioned water pump. I tried it by myself but it was much easier when Daddy helped. After I picked the perfect pumpkin I got to decorate it with two of my favorite things, markers and glitter!

Goal Brasil!

Daddy went to Brasil to see the manufacturing plant for his windmills and he bought Mommy and me real soccer jerseys! I love mine and I can't wait to start playing soccer.

First Day of School

I am in pre-kindergarten at a new school this year - Our Lady of the Lake. The first day was last Monday. I like it a lot and I've already made new friends like Audrey, Mimi and Liam. My teachers are Mrs. B and Mrs. Breysse (she's nicey!) We get to play on the playground with some of the bigger kids from the school and I like running around with them. There is a hamster in our classroom named Kitty. It's going to be fun!

Wyoming!

We took the Great American Road Trip and drove to Jackson, Wyoming via Northern Idaho and Montana. It was a wonderful trip. I had a great time and didn't even mind the long days spent in the car. One day we even drove 10 hours! There was so much to look at. When we got to Jackson, we stayed at a condo with Papa and Nana right at the foot of the Grand Teton Mountains. We drove up to Yellowstone National Park, which Mommy and Daddy kept calling Jellystone (something to do with Yogi Bear). We arrived just in time to see Old Faithful erupt and we saw buffalo and mule deer. I searched and searched for bears with my binoculars but no luck.

Playing frisbee with Daddy outside the condo, in the shadow of the Grand Tetons.

Buffalo on the side of the road in Yellowstone

The stinky Mud Volcano

Visiting the geysers with Nana and Mommy