Dear friends & family,
Merry Christmas 2012 everyone! It’s me- Dylan!! Mom and Dad have been super busy with the new
house, so I decided I would take care of the Christmas letter this year. Yes, you heard right… NEW house! I’m only 3 years old and this is my third
house! Crazy, right?!? I know dad loves real estate, but this is
getting out of control! I’m thinking
this one is going to stick for a while though… Mom and Dad really like it, and
I do too!
Let’s see, where to start…
In March I turned the big 0-3!
Wow how time flies when you are having fun! Mom and Dad threw me a great “Toy Story”
party in the backyard! It was so
awesome- all my friends were there and we played in a huge jumpy! Buzz Lightyear even showed up!! He was the hit of the party wearing pants
only a real super hero could pull off!
In April we went to “Daddy’s spot”- Lake Tahoe. Daddy did the 9-hour drive with all of our
luggage (dads are so good for that sort of thing) while Mom and I got to fly on
a big airplane! It was a very exciting
ride! All of that bouncing around in
the sky was so fun! The pilot even made
several announcements to “Hold onto all children!!” I think he wanted to make sure we were getting
lots of hugs, which we were- the flight attendants made sure about that! Mom kissed the ground when we landed, which I
thought was a little weird... I just
wanted to do it again! I love
airplanes!!
We had a great week in Lake Tahoe. We played in the snow, went tubing, and went
out for a lot of nice dinners! Mom and
Dad went skiing a few days and even did a spa day! I hung out with my babysitter- so fun! I’ve learned that babysitters let you get
away with a lot more than moms and dads do.
One word: Nice! Next year I think
I’m hitting the slopes though- those ski things just look like too much fun!
In May I hung out with Bam-Ma while Mom and Dad visited Big
Sur for their 7-year anniversary. They
stayed at some fancy-pants hotel, the Post Ranch Inn. Not my cup of tea- no playgrounds! They seemed to really enjoy it though- lots
of relaxing, hiking, and fine dining.
They even went to some natural hot springs. Ask Dad to tell you that story sometime… Pretty funny!
One day home and she’s off again! This time Mom took me with her though! We got on another big airplane and headed
east to North Carolina. This plane ride
wasn’t nearly as fun- no sudden drops out of the sky! But mom seemed to enjoy it much more. You know what they say… “happy mom, happy
life” (wait- isn’t that supposed to rhyme?).
MiMi met us at the airport and the three of us headed north to Virginia
to surprise Aunt Erin for her big 3-0 birthday!
Erin was so surprised!! We spent
the weekend at Mom’s friend Colleen’s lake house and did a little wine tasting
at all of the nearby vineyards (again, juice for me). It was so much fun! I even got to meet my new girlfriend
Kendall! She was still inside Colleen’s
tummy at the time, but that didn’t stop us from becoming fast friends! I loved staying at the lake and watching all
of the boats. Speaking of boats… Captain
Steve took me out on the big pontoon boat and even let me drive… really fast!! It was awe-some!
In June all three of us got on a really special airplane… a
night plane! I got to wear my jammies
and fly through the stars! Mommy and
Daddy thought I would take a nap… fat chance!
Airplanes are just too fun!! We
flew all night and when we landed we were in Boston! We didn’t get to see much of Boston- just a
quick stop at a Dunkin Doughnuts for breakfast (when in Rome… do as the Romans,
I mean Bostonians!). One four-hour drive
later and we arrived in Northport, Maine!
This place was super cool- lots of water, cute little villages, and
lobster!! The best part- Papa Bob, Nana
Barb, Corey, Caitlin, Auntie Erin, Uncle Doug, Aunt Teri, and Uncle Jake all
met us there! We had family from all
over- North Carolina, Virginia, and Colorado… all in one spot! Nana Barb rented us two super cute houses
right on the ocean. It was
Mainetasic! We visited Camden, Belfast,
“Ba Haba”, and Acadia National Park… too many lighthouses to count! My favorite part- our visit to
Vinalhaven! We rode a really big ferry
boat and I loved looking at all of the lobster “booties” with Papa. We ate lobster, went for a bike ride, and did
some hiking on the island. It was a
perfect day!
The next day we went sailing. A little thunderstorm isn’t going to stop us! I laugh in the face of danger- wa ha haa!! Mom
doesn’t laugh in the face of danger… she double and triple checked the weather
before we headed out. While we were out on
the boat, Corey and Daddy thought it would be fun to pull up a lobster “bootie”
in the harbor, which is a bit of a “no-no”.
Daddy sweetened the pot by betting Corey $100 she couldn’t pull one up. Mom was freaking out that the Harbor Master
might see… but of course they did it anyway!
(Shhh… don’t tell!) No lobsters
in the pot though- just crabs. It was
still fun! BTW Daddy still owes Corey
that Benjamin Franklin- I’m gonna hold him to that!
August was a pretty big month for me- I started
Preschool! I was pretty stoked because
my girlfriend Abigail and I were in the same class- Miss Hannah and Miss
Sierra! Now I know what you are
thinking… “Don’t you already have a girlfriend- Kendall??” Well, it’s “boy-code” really. A boy under 5 can have as many girlfriends as
he wants. And I plan to take full
advantage of that rule while I can!
Abigail and I, and all of our other friends, had so much fun at
Preschool! We sang songs, painted, did
Yoga, rode bikes and learned a whole bunch!
Later in August, we went to a cookout at mom’s friend Jenn’s
new house in Del Sur. This is where it
all started. The whole “let’s move
again” idea. Hey I’m not complaining! The neighborhood is super nice, there are
tons of parks and pools, and it’s much closer to Mom and Dad’s work. Plus,
I got to meet a few of the local ladies at dinner that night and I must say…
not bad! I met Jenn’s “bun in the oven”,
Lily, and Kathleen’s little girl Addie, who is the same age as me! Addie was a little forward, putting her arm
around me and wanting to hug. At first I
was a little hesitant, but I warmed up real quick. She is quite a cutie and a fellow Hokie! What’s not to love? So Mom and Dad liked the hood, and I liked
the girls. The next weekend we took a
look at the model homes (for fun) and then next thing I know, Dad was getting
out his checkbook! That week we listed
our house, and sure enough it sold right away!
In September Mom celebrated the big 3-something birthday! We had a BBQ at the house and all our friends
came over to play. No jumpie at this
party though… grown-up parties are kinda lame like that. My friends and I had fun though and did a
special “birthday show” for Mom. I think
she really loved that!
In October, my big cousin Ava came over for
Trick-Or-Treating! It was great! Ava was a princess and I was a dinosaur! A green
dinosaur- my favorite color! I don’t
want to brag- but we were pretty stinkin’ cute!! We hit the whole block this year and got so
much candy! When we got home I didn’t
want it to end, so I handed out all of MY candy to all of the girls and boys. It’s good to share! My Mom, Dad, and dentist, were all very happy
with this decision!
In November, the week before Thanksgiving, was move day. I was sad to leave San Elijo Hills, my old
house, preschool, and all of my many friends.
But I know we will all stay close- I’m only 20 minutes away! Heck, my BFF Hans has already come over to
visit three times!! So far I’m really
digging the new house! I’m really close
to the “big kid” elementary school that has an awesome playground and there is
a pool right down the street! Plus
Jenn’s “bun in the oven”, Lily, is now fully baked and out of the oven! She’s a little small now, but I can’t wait to
chase those pigtails around the neighborhood!
She’s only three blocks away!
MiMi came out to help with the move Thanksgiving week. Mom and Dad put her to work right away unpacking,
cleaning, and painting! Good thing MiMi
likes to do that sort of thing! And
thank goodness she was here- Mom is NOT good with a paintbrush! She tried painting the bathroom for 30
minutes and it was horrible- paint everywhere!
I think even I could have done better!
We had Thanksgiving dinner at Bam-Ma’s house. It was a wonderful meal. Ava and I even had our own special “kids
table”! We ate lots of turkey and
pumpkin pie- Yum! The Monday after
Thanksgiving, I started my new school- The Kids Bay! So far I really love it. The playground is a giant Pirate Ship! Who wouldn’t love that?? My teachers, Miss Andrea and Miss Stephanie,
are also super nice! Plus I’m meeting a
lot of new friends!
I’m really looking forward to Christmas this year! I’ve been talking to my Elf on the Shelf,
Frederick, every day and being a really good little boy! Let’s just say I see a lot of new toys in my
future!! Plus, MiMi, Aunt Erin and Uncle
Mike are all headed west for the holidays!
I can’t wait to see them! We are
doing a big Christmas dinner at our new house with whole crew! Should be fun!!
I’m sorry this is a little long. I hope I didn’t bore you with all of my
stories. I want to make sure I write all
of this down though... One day I’m gonna
look back and say “those were the good ole days”!
So here we are, wrapping up 2012 and welcoming 2013! We wish all of you the very best this holiday
season and very, VERY happy New Year! We
hope to see you real soon! And don’t
forget, all of you out-of-towners always have a free place to stay at the new
“Casa De Bradley”! Come visit us
anytime!!
Love,
Dylan
