It's that time of year!

The holiday lights were up in our neighborhood the day after Thanksgiving.  It seems like folks in Ladera Ranch can't wait to get into the Christmas spirit.  Our neighborhood even has a holiday light contest for the best lighted house.  For some, this is taken seriously.  I hope to one day invest in a crap load of Hanukkah stuff so we can win one year.  You'd think they'd have to let us win at some point if only for not wanting to look like they passed up the Jews!

This past weekend I made an attempt at hanging some blue lights outside.  Yikes - I was not aware of what it takes to light a two story house!  I quickly learned this was beyond my skill set and that we'd have to hire a light installation company to do our lights or I would have to settle for some nicely lit shrubs.  Sigh...

Liam is psyched for the holidays.  He's been asking about Santa and I tell him that Santa won't be coming to our house, but he will go to Grandma Kathy's house.  He seems a bit confused by this.  All his friends keep talking about Santa and it's hard not to become bombarded with Christmas everywhere you go.  I've decorated for Hanukkah in out living room.  I have a table with our menorahs and other festive items.  I also hung  various blue and silver bulbs from our windows and put up some glittery Stars of David that Liam and I made last year.   I doesn't compare to the Christmas decor in most people's homes.  And this wasn't my goal.  I know Christmas and Hanukkah are not equal holidays for Christians and Jews.  But I wanted Liam to experience the holiday spirit in his home since he's been asking about the holidays.

For gifts, the kids are mostly getting books and puzzles.  But Liam is also getting a Razor scooter and  kid's digital camera.  He's obsessed with taking pictures.  Maybe he inherited it from Grandma Kathy? 

Oh, and we took our holiday picture!  It's pretty darn cute!  It was not easy trying to get both kids looking and smiling at the camera at the same time. But we got a shot of Liam smiling and Marlo looking like a cutie pie.  Maybe it's because I was raised by a photographer, but our family pictures mean the world to me.  I'll wait until the holidays are closer to post it!