Christmas

Riley woke up to find that Santa had visited our house. Then, we had Grandpa Malcolm, Gma, Aunt Jen, and Uncle Derek over for breakfast. Right before we were going to head to Bellevue, it started to snow. It was a Christmas miracle! We finished the day with Grammy, Papa Ron, Uncle Jon, and Uncle David. Riley had so much fun celebrating with her family. She was running from room to room with excitement.

Christmas Eve

We went downtown with Grandpa Malcolm, Gma, Aunt Jen, and Uncle Derek. Riley got to see the trains at the Center House, ride a monorail to Westlake, and ride a Christmas carousel. When we got home, there was a huge box on our porch from Auntie Chrissy and Uncle Dave for Riley. She could barely wait for her new kitchen to get out of the box. Then Papa, Grandma Loretta, Uncle Jon, and Uncle David came to our house for dinner and gift exchange. Riley was on sensory overload when she got her new dog rocker open. She immediately climbed on, and intuitively knew it should rock, but had to wait for the rockers to be attached. What a fun night!

2 Days 'til Christmas

We went to breakfast with my dad and Loretta, and then to my mom and Ron's for lunch. Riley got 2 new pairs of sunglasses and fed a whole box of Cheese Its to the dog.

Family Festivities

We got together with Tyler's family in Tacoma to celebrate winter birthdays, retirement, and the holidays. Aunt Christy made Riley this fun hat, which Riley loves wearing around the house. Then Tyler's family came back to our house to continue the fun with pizza and games. Riley thought Aunt Jen's shoes looked nice with her own outfit.

Snowflake Lane

We ended the day at Snowflake Lane in Bellevue. Every night in the month of December, the street comes alive with dancing and marching drummers. They station themselves on little podiums down the lane, and play for small crowds. At the end of the show, snow shoots out over the street. It really makes the season magical.

Reindeer Festival

We went up to Cougar Mountain (right before major snowfall) for the 17th Annual Reindeer Festival. Santa and his reindeer make a stop at the zoo and say hi with all the visiting kids. Riley got to play with her friends on the bronze sculptures and sit in Santa's sleigh. She fed the Alpacas (similar to Llama, maybe the same) and I'm surprised she didn't lose a finger. She did not place her palm flat, so the Alpacas had to search through her fingers to find the tiny morsels of food. Fearless Riley! Then Wyatt, Kai, and Riley discovered a puddle behind a sign, about an 1/8 of an inch deep, and had the greatest time splashing around. You'd think they had found the greatest toy with all their splashing and laughing.