Early in December we heard that Santa was making a special stop at the Huntington, and so we rushed down there to meet him. Both kids did pretty well, even though we expected Calvin to lose it. Of course, we had to remind Ellie not to pout around Santa. She did bring her list, as well as lists that she made for me, Nick, and Calvin. Calvin's list had ball and fake kitty (stuffed animal kittens).
Then we got the tree and decorations up around the house. Calvin tried to help, but, he was mre excited about finding the ornaments that he could throw.
And then that evening, we went with friends to a community event and saw the Christmas Tree Lane, tree lightening. Christmas Tree Lane has super told trees that are huge that they (I guess the city?) put lights on. Its absolutely beautiful and so much fun.
On the 13th Ellie had her ballet recital. All the music was from the Nutcracker Suite and Ellie and her class had music from the party scene. There were two shows (the big kids danced twice, the little kids each did one show). Ellie did really well, including helping direct her friends while on stage.
December 16th was a busy day. I wasn't going to be able to make Ellie's school concert on the 17th, but I talked to the principal and I got a sneak peak on the 16th during their dress rehearsal for the concert. I snuck in to the auditorium as Ellie and her class were about to walk in; I think Ellie was a little startled to see me. It was pretty fun to see the kids and their teachers in there world. And again, it just reinforced how Ellie is at the right school and has amazing teachers.
And then, the evening of the 16th, was Ellie's after school program showcase. The kids were so cute, and did a great job.
On the 17th was Ellie's concert that Nick attended. Hopefully he will read this and upload his photos and put a couple on this blog post. He's asleep right now, or I'd ask him.
On the 18th, Ellie's last day of school before break, was Calvin's holiday party at his school. He wasn't too excited to participate (you can just barely see him on the floor, throwing a fit in the picture below), until he saw the cookies, but we all had fun. There was circle time, and there was a visit from Santa and his wife, Calvin was very excited to see them..not at all.
Today, after attending a birthday party, Ellie and I invited some friends over for gingerbread house building. Well, Ellie and her friends tried really hard to make gingerbread houses from a kit and had fun...I think (there was some tears of frustration, but not from Ellie). My friends and I got to catch up on all the exciting events we have been dealing with, and how school was going for the girls. The girls made quite a mess in the dining room, but they all worked together to clean it up. They had fun playing together.
Of course, through all this fun we replaced our HVAC system, 3/4 of us had strep throat, Ellie had a cavity dealt with, there was some crazy work hours from both me and Nick, we attended a few other parties with friends that didn't make the cut for a blog post, and we had the normal daily grind of making lunches, school, naps, piano lessons, and everything else. Its been a doozy and we are all looking forward to a little bit of a break.
'Tis the season!
