Christmas with Jonas...

It seems so hard to believe that my god boy Jonas is almost two. It is amazing how much fun it is being around kids. They say hilarious things and pretty much however it is they tell it. I am so blessed to be able to have such wonderful godchildren. For those who may not know Jonas is my best friends son. On Thursday, we did our annual gift exchange and boy was it fun. First, I was able to spend some time playing cars with Jonas. He was a little sleepy and I think maybe that is why he might have been a little more "clingy." It's not exactly the right word, but he would just come up and sit on my lap for no reason at all and say, "Aunt Dani play." How can you refuse such a cute child!

Jonas did a great job opening his gifts. It was so fun to watch the difference a year makes. He was able to pull the paper off all by himself. Next year Aunt Dani is going to try to remember not to be so tape happy, the poor boy.

The last time Jonas came over to Aunt Dani's house he loved playing with my small vacuum. It was the perfect Jonas sized vacuum. So naturally, I thought Jonas needed one of his own. Wow, I think I may buy him a vacuum every year. He was so excited, I could not get it out of the box soon enough. When Doug tried putting the batteries in for Jonas I realized next year I need to be more prepared. I think if I buy the kids toys that require batteries I might just take them out of the box and put the batteries in it before wrapping. These are all little tricks I assume you learn as a parent. I am learning slowly, but surely.

We were able to take a few snapshots of Jonas and me with his vacuum. Between takes though he was making sure the kitchen floor was immaculate. This is one of my favorite pictures. Doug (Jonas' dad) was in the background throwing stuff at himself to make Jonas laugh. In some of the other takes you can see me watery eyed from laughing so hard at Doug's antics.

Little man is so adorable. Up until he went to bed he was busy cleaning the floors. Not that there was anything to clean. His vacuum really picks up by the way. I think Sarah will be able to give Jonas a chore... vacuuming the house! Of course is it really a chore if you enjoy it... Hmmm. I will have to ponder that one. Just before Jonas' bed time he would vacuum a few spots and than turn and say "Dani, I lu you." Talk about melting your insides. The boy is going to be heart a breaker for sure.
After Jonas went to sleep Sarah and I had our own gift exchange where we watched "A Tanner Family Christmas" (Full House) between gifts. Let me tell you I got the best gifts! My friend knows me so well. Today, at work I am using my stress relieving dodge ball set. (Sarah - it is so fun). I just have to be careful not to throw the ball too hard, otherwise I have to go look for it as it bounces off my desk. I also got Some '80 story books that Jonas and Iris are of course going to have to sit through at some point. One of the most thoughtful gifts was the book, "The Dark Crystal." When we were younger my Nanna use to put it on for us. While the movie is a little scarier it holds great memories for me. Dad's family will get to see the sweater Jonas got me on the 23rd and my cute new barrettes. He did a great job picking it out and I can't wait to wear it. When Karie and I are in Florida I plan to read my knew book "Knit Together." I am so excited! Of course friends tree bark that she makes is delicious and I had half the can eaten on the drive home. He he. After the gift opening which was so fun since friend knows me so well, we went to the kitchen to make chocolate covered red vines. Mmmm. Bet you wish you were there - they were delicious. Unfortunately the clock struck midnight and our fun had to end. Why do all good fairy tales have a midnight clause or a similar plot stopper? Oh well, I had to go home to bed sometime. It really was so much fun. I can't wait until our next get together. Merry Christmas!

EMP Christmas Party

Well, it's been another great year at Electro-Matic. I will be celebrating my nine year anniversary in March. It seems impossible that I am almost a decade older than when I first began working for this company. We had a great time at the company Christmas lunch. Here are some of my table mates and co-workers. Adeeb was pretty funny. It was his mission to try every cocktail that Jeremy prescribed. (Dan, Dani, Damien & Adeeb)

Some of my table mates... (Damien, Sami, Joey and Dan). A side note here: Dan is also 50 % Maltese. We had a very Mediterranean themed table... minus Alan from China and Damien. Here are our big drinkers... (Jeremy, Andy and Adeeb). If you haven't noticed yet, yes I was the only gal at my table. I loved it. My peeps.Here are two more of my co-workers from the Warehouse. (Kris, Mike & Dani)Here is a photo of my boss, Steve, with Jeni and myself. We have the honor of assisting Steve in our respective buildings daily. I can honestly say that having a boss you respect and enjoy working for makes all the difference.
Here is a fun shot of Colleen (Steve's wife & my co-worker) and me having some laughs.
Last year the company hired a hypnotist that we all thought was pretty lame. This year however, we had a magician and he was pretty good. We enjoyed his antics and Witt. (Matt and the magician, Nathan the Great).