Last Saturday, everyone managed to dig themselves out of the snow and get to the mall, where Ane was hosting some friends at the American Girl Store for her birthday party!

Let me just say that every single girl who came to the party was worried that the weather might prevent her from going.  Who cares about school… WE CAN’T MISS THE PARTY!

So glad everyone has their priorities straight.  Ahem.

Anyway…

The party was held in the store’s party room.  Each girl brought her doll, if she owned one, and those who did not were able to borrow a “loaner doll” from the bistro that adjoins the store.  The dolls were all given paper crowns, and Ane got a crown of her own.

This is my favorite picture of her, because you can just sense the excitement coming off her.  She is glowing.  The dolls sat next to their girls in these cute little booster chairs (which you can buy in the store) and enjoyed their own “cups of tea” while the girls ordered lunch.  While we were waiting for the food to arrive, the girls got to do their craft.  Each girl got to make a fleece sleeping bag for their doll, so they spent time tying square knots to make a fluffy fringe.

The menu was quite expansive, and the food was actually very good!  Which was a very pleasant surprise – so often, kid-themed restaurants are big on the ambiance and lousy on the food.  I did not hear anyone say “But I don’t like any of this,” and everyone ordered exactly what they wanted.  Everyone got to choose an appetizer and a entree.

The girls could barely eat, they were so hyped up (everyone ended up taking a doggie bag home), and then the cake arrived.

While the girls ate their cake and ice cream, Ane opened presents – and cleaned up pretty well with the American Girl swag.

I did manage to take a group picture of all the girls and their dolls…

… and while they were eating the cake, the goodie bags arrived.  These were also part of the party package, and they were NICE.  Each girl got a doll t-shirt, a book, and a doll’s balloon.  Even I was surprised at the quality of the goodie bags.

Ane said that this was her most favorite birthday party ever, and all the girls agreed with her.

While this was not an inexpensive party (you don’t want to know), and we’ve already told Ane that a party like this will not be happening again, it was actually worth the money.  The food was good, the service was excellent, and the craft and the goodie bag exceeded my expectations.  It was actually the easiest party I’ve ever thrown, because all I had to do was show up with a credit card in hand.  Every single other thing was taken care of, right down to the cake.  So, it was a once-in-a-lifetime experience, but I have a feeling that Ane will actually remember this party for the rest of her life with a huge smile.

We finally made it to Great-Grandma and Great-Grandpa’s house.  All of us.  Including our family, the Major’s bunch, Grandma, Gichan, Auntie and JW (her boyfriend), Obachan, and the two people who live there…

There were 18 of us.

Yikes.

There was a terrific meal, then Tad recited the Christmas story from Luke chapter 2 (courtesy of him memorizing A Charlie Brown Christmas)…

… and then the kids got to open presents.

All the kids got things they loved, but Rerun immediately wanted his new Dinosaur Train book read to him.

Tad got a new copy of a favorite book, Uncover A Shark.  He had a used copy of this and loved it so much that it fell apart.  He was thrilled to have a new copy.  Berry was fascinated with the model of the shark and Tad was more than happy to tell his cousin all about his favorite thing.

I love this next picture, because he is just so earnest in telling Berry all about great white sharks, and Berry is actually paying attention.

And finally, finally, FINALLY, our Christmas celebrations had come to an end.  The funny thing is, having these celebrations as spread out as they were may have actually been better for Tad.  He was able to adapt and adjust with each celebration, and Christmas wasn’t over so fast that my little elf had no time to be upset that it was over.  He was distressed when the tree came down, but mostly because he wanted to see his favorite ornaments.  When I told him that Christmas was over now and the tree needed to come down, he looked at me and said, “Mama, maybe next time?”

“Yes, Tad, Christmas will come again next year,” I promised him.

It’s amazing to me that he can now think of and anticipate the future, and that he is beginning to recall the past.  I am so proud of him.

My nieces were introduced to the wonders of rainbow jello – a family tradition at New Year’s which is not remotely Japanese at all.

The ham… ate chicken.

Yes, Rerun discovered the wonders of funyu chicken (a family recipe) and of eating off chopsticks.  And he kept eating.

Then he wanted more.

The ham was pleased.

And he wanted MORE chicken.

He got more chicken.  I could not believe how much meat this child was packing away.

And then we took two girls…

… added another one…

… and you know what’s coming next.

I couldn’t pass up the matching shirt picture.  Even if you can’t see Ane’s or Belle’s anymore.

And no, the partying was NOT over, if you can believe it!  We had one last party!

My nieces arrived on the late evening of the 28th, and brought their parents with them.

This is my oldest niece of this branch of the family, Belle.  She is 5 and a half years old.

Since she is the oldest, she became Ane’s instant friend.  They had a wonderful time playing together.  I also got a lot of love from this niece of mine.

Since I don’t get to hear “Aunt Deanna” that often, every time I did hear it was a treat.  Belle is old enough to tell me jokes and tell me about school, but still young enough to want to snuggle.  My heart just melted when this picture was snapped, because she had just sat down with me after coming to me and saying, “I just want to sit next to you.  Can I?”

YES.

This is Berry, the next oldest.  She is 3 and a half.

Berry is the family princess.  She takes her imagining seriously, and loves dressing up and being a girl.  She also loves giving hugs.

I could listen to her talk for hours, because she has the cutest little-girl voice and a southern twang to go with it.  Plus she says funny things.  She could not pronounce Rerun’s name properly for the life of her (she enunciated all the vowels with a drawl), but it was so sweet.  I couldn’t reproduce it if I tried.

This is Beth, the next oldest.  She is 2 and a half.

Beth is also a girly girl, loves pink and flowers, and wants to be a “big” girl.  She’s very intense and very focused, but has wonderful speech skills for her age.  She was a little shy around me when she arrived, because she didn’t remember me at all (the last time I saw her, she was 6 months old), but she warmed up quickly to everyone.

And this is Bette, the baby of the family.  She is just 5 and a half months younger than Rerun, so she is 16 months old.

She is quite the cuddler – LOVES to be held – but was fascinated by the antics of everyone around her.  She became a willing partner in crime to Rerun…

… but was most happy within the orbit of her own Mommy.

That is my sister-in-law, Q-Bee, super mom to these four little princesses.  She is a quilting enthusiast and made me one as a Christmas gift.

My brother liked it so much, he claimed he almost decided to keep it and get me something else for Christmas.

Speaking of my brother…

(We’ll have to photoshop Ressis into this one.)

He’s gone by the name “the Captain” for years on this blog, but we can’t call him that any longer… he was officially promoted to Major on January 1st!  So, here he is, the Major!

Auntie and I were having some fun with his new rank… “Major” works so well for name-calling.  Hey, we’re his sisters.  We can get away with it.

Within the first few days of their arrival, there was a Christmas luncheon, then our belated Christmas celebration at Grandma and Gichan’s, with the Major, Q-Bee, and the B Squad all there…

(Other people have better shots of this – Berry cracks me up, though.)

… and then we had a belated birthday tea with the cousins at a local tea shop.

We had a lot of fun with these parties.

We had a little less than a week with the B Squad, and something was crammed into nearly every single day.

And the New Year was upon us!

We were quickly reaching Hanukkah proportions, and it wasn’t even over yet!

Nana and Papa arrived on the 26th, and their purpose was twofold.

One: give grandchildren Christmas presents.

Two: celebrate early birthday with their only granddaughter with lunch at Red Robin…

… which also included a birthday sundae!  However, Red Robin is really nice and also brought the boys a small scoop of ice cream each, too.

Right after lunch, Tad and I slipped out to get him to speech therapy – my attempt to keep him on a normal schedule in the midst of all the holiday chaos.  Everyone else went back to our place and Rerun went down for a nap.  When we got back, Ane was allowed to open her birthday present from Nana and Papa.

It was an American Girl doll storage tower – someplace her doll can stand, plus shelves for shoes, drawers for accessories, a mirror on one side, and an earring holder.

Ane was super excited, if you can’t tell by her grin.

The next day was her actual birthday, so our day was completely eaten up by that.  The day after, the 28th, the kids were invited to a birthday party at Pump It Up, so I took Ane and Tad while Rerun stayed home with the Webmaster (who worked from home that day) and had a regular nap.  But while we were busy partying and celebrating birthdays, there was a plane full of cousins headed our way…

The executive decision had been made to let the kids open their gifts under the tree from Grandma, Gichan, Auntie and Obachan (who was also there).  The stockings would wait until the Cousinpalooza Christmas.  The kids had no complaints about this arrangement, so long as they got to open something.

Obachan gave the boys matching Batman shirts, something which pleased Rerun quite a bit.

Obachan had also knitted a whole new hat/scarf/fingerless glove set for Ane in purple, which she was super excited about, especially because the hat has ear flaps and will keep her ears warm.

Auntie won the award of best gift for Rerun, when she gave him a set of plastic race cars from Cars 2.

Grandma and Gichan answered Tad’s last Christmas wish.

And there were more Harry Potter Legos for Ane (from Grandma and Gichan).

I had drawn Auntie’s name for a stocking stuffer this year, so I let her open my gift to her that evening.

When Ane saw that Auntie had also gotten a Powerpuff Girls T-shirt, she was really excited that they had matching shirts.

Rerun rejoiced in his haul.

(While standing on Grandma’s coffee table.  This was neither condoned nor encouraged, despite its cuteness.)

And on his way home, he contemplated the bounty that was his Christmas Day.

And then the next morning… Nana and Papa arrived.  This was turning into the Christmas version of Hanukkah.  How many times were these kids going to get to open presents??

Tad was first up on Christmas morning, woke Ane, and then they both came into our room to ask if it was okay to get up.  Rerun was still out cold, so we had to wake him.  The tree and stockings were a sight to behold.

The kids were dying to dive into their stockings, but I foolishly insisted on a picture first.

And that’s the best one of the bunch.

So, we got into the stockings.

Santa delivered right off the bat.

Rerun was still figuring out the whole unwrapping deal.

Once the stockings were all opened, I insisted that we break for food.  Mom and Dad needed coffee.  And the kids needed some sustenance to get through the morning.  I whipped up some scrambled eggs and broke out the yummy doughnuts that I’d bought from our local favorite shop, Frost Doughnuts, as a Christmas morning treat.

Then we tore into what had been left under the tree.  Santa had brought each kid a LEGO set, which they were thrilled over.

Even Rerun got something Santa knew he would love.

Mom and Dad came through with some fun new T-shirts and other clothes.

The kids also gave each other gifts.  I helped them out (wink wink).  Ane got a set of doll clothes from her brothers.  Tad got something else he’d been wanting – a shark ship, from Ane and Rerun.

(Granted, it wasn’t the exact one he’d asked for, but he was so happy about it, that it didn’t seem to matter.)

Rerun got something from his big sister and big brother that they knew he would love.

Yes, that is a plush T-Rex.  He knew what it was instantly.

And then… the BIG ONE got opened.

Yes, it was…

An XBox 360 and Kinect!  For those of you not familiar with what this is, the XBox 360 is a game console, and the Kinect is an add-on to the 360 that picks up your body movements to play games.  It’s been recommended for autistic kids, and our kids have had some experience with both the Wii and the 360, and we decided that the 360 and Kinect would be the better choice.

Once all the presents were opened, we had the whole morning and afternoon to enjoy playing.  While the Webmaster set up the XBox and Kinect, Tad desperately wanted me to set up his new game from Ressis and Oddball.  So, Sharky’s Diner got set up.  Do you think they know what he likes?

Once the XBox was in place, it became the hot item.

But Tad was not about to let me off the hook that easily, and I got suckered into an hour-and-a-half build of an X-Wing fighter.

Apparently, I did a good job, because he was happy with it!

We had a nice, leisurely morning, and then Rerun took a nap.  The older two continued to play, until it was time to go to Grandma and Gichan’s for dinner!

But would they get to open any presents, or would they have to wait until their cousins got here…?

We then had pizza at Grandma and Gichan’s house once we were all done, and then came home to get ready for Santa’s visit!  But we allowed them to open one present.  The Webmaster grew up in a Christmas Eve family, where everyone opened their presents on Christmas Eve.  I grew up in a Christmas Day family.  So, since we weren’t with the Webmaster’s family, I let them open their presents from the Webmaster’s cousin Lolo, who sent us a package early.  The kids were dying to open them, mostly because they were among the few presents I’d actually put out under the tree.

Rerun had a little difficulty remembering what to do, but then he caught on.  Each of the kids got a new thermos from cousin Lolo and her family!  Ane got a Clone Wars one, appropriate for a “warrior princess,” as her Dad has taken to calling her.  Rerun got a Cars 2 thermos, which he loved.

And Tad…

Obviously, someone remembered what he likes.

Rerun loved his thermos so much that we couldn’t pry it out of his hands for the traditional “Christmas Eve in pajamas in front of the tree” picture.

The Webmaster took Rerun off to his crib, while Ane and Tad prepared their offerings for Santa.

Ane decided that each of them should pick one cookie to leave for Santa.  She picked the Peppermint Bark cookie, Tad picked the Gingerbread Bear, and Ane decided that Rerun would have chosen the Butter Spritz, since that was his favorite.

And then, with a last check on NORAD’s Santa Tracker to make sure they would be asleep by the time he got to the Seattle area (he was flying around Colorado when they headed for bed), it was time for sugarplums to dance in their heads!

Anyway, it should be Flashback Friday, but I’d rather be in the here and now, and the here and now is… NIECES!!!

(And their parents, too.)

We had our annual Christmas luncheon with family and friends yesterday, and this year it was at my house.  Q-Bee brought the girls, while the Captain stayed at Grandma and Gichan’s place and hung out with Gichan.  The Webmaster and Tad joined them there to escape the estrogen.

I finally got to hug my youngest niece, little Bette, yesterday for the very first time.  She is only five months younger than Tad.  I have a lot of hugging to do over the next week.  Plus the rest of the B Squad – Berry was ready for a hug the minute she walked in my door.  Belle was constantly coming over to me for another hug.  (It might have had something to do with the cupcakes and hot chocolate I’d promised them, but maybe not.)  And Beth, who has a cold and jet lag, still gave me a really big hug once she got acclimated to her new surroundings.

They are all so sweet and I have missed them oh-so-very much.  And Ane was absolutely in heaven – cousins to play with!!!

Tad – well, they’re all GIRLS.  So what?

Rerun… found a partner in crime.

With his brother away, the Batcave was fair game.  Bette was more than intrigued by it, and Rerun willingly aided and abetted her curiosity.

Today, we will celebrate a belated Christmas with them.  I am so excited that they are all here!!  The only possible thing that could make this better are the two missing pieces of the cousin puzzle – Little Cousin and Little Cowgirl.  (And their parents, too.)

Aunt Deanna needs more hugs for Christmas, girls!

The kickoff party this year was on December 17th, at Uncle Buddy and Auntie J’s house.  This was all Gichan’s side of the family, so it was anyone connected with my two uncles (Uncle G and Uncle Buddy) my dad, or Obachan.  With only myself and Auntie around, and only my cousin B at home that early for Christmas, it was a quieter evening.  Still, the kids managed to have a lot of fun, and this year, the older two actually ate a decent dinner!  Tad even tried some lovely roasted brussels sprouts that Auntie J had made.  They were SO tasty.

The kids got really excited over the first presents of the season – especially when it appears that people have been keeping up on what they really like.

And because these relatives understand the delicate complexities of sibling rivalry…

Rerun’s Little People Batcave was a find by Uncle G and Auntie T.  I had NO idea this even existed, and it is just perfect for Rerun.  Not that it completely keeps him out of Tad’s stuff, but he does love it.  Tad likes it, too.  It figures.

Ane began raking in the American Girl swag…

… and she also got a lovely Mulan doll from Uncle Buddy and Auntie J.  It’s one of the singing dolls, and it’s supposed to sing when you touch the sensor in its hand.  That is a lie.  It sings when AIR brushes over that sensor.  Good thing it has an off switch.

The next day was fun at our house.  Mama was a total sucker and assembled the Trio Batcave for Tad, and then the fun really began.

And if you’re wondering how Mulan could possibly fit into the world of Batman… apparently Ane was making Mulan tell Batman what to do, like brush his teeth properly and go to bed.  Maybe she was the ghost of Martha Wayne.  I don’t know.  But Ane was happy and Tad paid very little attention to the doll being waved in front of him.

Rerun was a very happy boy.

Tad was totally enthralled with the newly-constructed Batcave and played with it for hours.

But more fun was yet to come!  Our next party was one I’ve already covered, with Friend and Doc and their boys.  Then Ane, Tad, and Rerun had to wait until… Christmas Eve!