New Year's Eve

I realize this post is a little late...

We went to the bay area to celebrate the new year.  We started our trip with a visit to Dyani's new apartment in Palo Alto.  Her parents, brothers, and aunt/uncle were there so it was a very full house.  Eddie and Batiste were like two peas in a pod: munching on chips, following each other around, and checking out Batiste's new big boy bed. 

Eddie insisted that I sit in Batiste's bed to read them stories. Unfortunately I don't speak French so I couldn't read most of the books he picked out.

Batiste is such a sweetie--he was content just to sit on my lap in his little bed.

Donovan made a scrumptious pot roast dinner for all of us and I brought pecan shortbread cookies with some jars of lemon curd for dessert. That night we headed back to my parents' house full and contended.

Since Edward and Jennifer had been in New York visiting her family over the holiday, we waited until NYE to "do Christmas" (i.e., exchange gifts) with the Levies. They arrived in Livermore on the morning of December 31 so we got to hang out with them all day.

The neighbors across the road got some new horses in their pasture so we took Eddie over to see them.  He thought the stray kitty following us around was much more interesting...but I loved petting the horsies and feeding them carrots and apples.

Once we got back inside, Eddie was suddenly interested in "riding the horsey."  So we pretended that the dog crate was a horse by adding a reins (dog leash) and plopped Eddie right on top.  I don't have pictures of it, but later that night we strapped his booster seat on top to act as a saddle so he wouldn't fly off when we pushed the crate around on the carpet.

I don't know where this fits in time-wise, but we did make some bread at one point. Eddie helped Grandpa with the kneading and was rewarded for his effort when Grandpa fashioned the dough into a choo choo train for him!  We didn't bake it that way, but we should next time.  How cool!

That evening we did our gift exchange.  Eddie got some fun books and a fish tank from Uncle and Auntie!  (His mama may have asked for it so she wouldn't have to clean the old bowl quite as often...)  He spent most of his time going from person to person helping them open their gifts. 

After exchanging gifts my parents and us Bowers went to see the lights at Deacon Dave's while Edward and Jennifer drove over to Dyani's house for her party. I don't think Dave had ever been so Deacon Dave's lights so was nice to share that experience with him.  Eddie liked it so much that we went through a few times...and then stopped to play on the cement lions outside the gates!

That night Edward and Jennifer took off to Palo Alto to party with Dyani while we bedded Eddie and then headed to my friends' house down the road.  I got to wear a new Stitch Fix dress and the gorgeous bead-and-crystal necklace my mom gave me for Christmas. Sorry, these are terrible pictures but they are all I have from that night.

 

Of course we got to the party way later than everyone else, but we still had some delicious cocktails and chatted with some seldom-seen friends until the ball dropped.  Being lame parents, we scooted back home around 12:45am so we wouldn't be zombies the next morning when Eddie woke up.

Edward gave my dad a new landscape rake so we put it to the test before we drove back to Davis.  Eddie insisted that he also get to use a rake, so my dad dug through the barn to find the old rock rake he'd cut down to kid-sized back when I was a tot.  

And what's a trip to Grandpa's house without a ride in the wheel barrow?

 It was a nice trip to Livermore that was just the right balance of fun and relaxing.