Sinterklass & Zwarte Piet '09

Every year, the Saturday before the 6th of December, Sinterklass and Zwarte Piet come to visit the Dutch store and when Amanda was a little girl her family would go up to Bellflower and see him and it is a great tradition we have carried on with James and Piper.

This year Oma & Opa sent cute little Piet outfits for James and Piper to wear and they were very excited to do so.

James is a pro at meeting Sinterklass (whom, I will admit, is not as friendly looking a fellow as Santa)

but Piper wasn't so sure about the whole thing.

Here's the best shot we got of both of them...

Either way, it's a great family tradition that will be carried on for years to come :0)

Fort Building with Leialoha

As it turns out we have an amazing architect in out home. After 4 months we have uncovered one of Leialoha's amazing talents and it is...FORT BUILDING!

James and she took a chair, the ottoman and a couch and began to build...

there was lots of stacking and moving, manipulating...

Then the big blanket came out...

Mickey and Frosty even helped out...

and the fort was complete!

James LOVED it! He and Leialoha played in it for a little bit and when it was time for bed they took all of the components upstairs and built a massive 2 - story fort in James' bedroom. Thanks Leialoha for the constructions tips and the great example of what a little work and a lot of imagination can create!