First holiday program

Someone had his first holiday concert.

He was a little nervous (hence the fingers in his mouth).





After the concert Santa made an appearance and helped distribute presents.









And then there was food. Ellie's friend from school was also there to see his sister.




Here is a video of his debut of Jingle Bells. Enjoy...and just wait for the most adorable moment right at the end.

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Panto

Tonight Ellie and I went to A Cinderella Christmas, a panto at the Pasadena Playhouse.

It was amazing.

I had no idea what a panto was but apparently it's an interactive, comedic musical. The cast was full of talented individuals and the music was great. It was so much fun. Ellie and I both were laughing and cheering and booing the evil stepsisters.










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I make my lunch!

For the past several days Calvin had insisted on making his own lunch. I have even caught him in the fridge and gathering lunch items without me. While I appreciate the energy and excitement over making a lunch...he needs to do better at closing the refrigerator door.









Also, they had latkes for snack at school!


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Haircuts

All four of us have gotten haircuts recently. Calvin did really well, he was very stoic. Ellen, initially worried about losing her long hair, enjoyed the process and especially the sparkly braid.













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It's beginning to look like Christmas

On Saturday E and I went to the Nutcracker. It was a blast. Not only was it great but Ellie was so engrossed and watched the choreography. She has enough ballet training now to watch the leaps and arabesques and compare it to her own dances and recitals.






Then on Sunday, she got together with her oldest and dearest friends for some cookie decorating, ornament making, and some music video making (their own self directed activity).










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Carolers

We will try again another time. But it's enjoyable despite the chaos and forgotten lyrics.

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Winter Program

Second graders singing "If I had a Hammer" in 2016.

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Swim party

Both kids got invited to a birthday party last weekend. The party was actually for Calvin's teachers twin sons, who Ellie has been friends with for a few years. Ellie has also befriended the twins' female cousin who is exactly the same age as Ellie. The kids were so excited to go. And it was a swim party at an indoor aquatic center.

Ellie participated in lifeguard led games and activities while I swam with Calvin. In the end it was awesome and Calvin kept trying to get his teachers attention to show off a new skill. The added bonus was I got to check out the facility for swim lessons for Calvin.
















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And another ones down...

Today Ellie went to the dentist for a regular checkup.

Her bottom tooth was loose and she had been complaining it hurt. And the adult teeth are like halfway in. So the dentist decided to pull it out.

Poor kid, she has had two teeth removed (one extra was removed surgically) and has only had two fall out normally.

The dentist also said we have to keep a close eye on the teeth as the adult teeth may come in before others fall out which could be an issue outside of the front two. We also may have a major overcrowding issue. So, maybe besides college we need to save for orthodontia.









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Knotts Merry Farm

Nick got an invite to one of the local radio station holiday party/event at Knotts Berry (Merry) Farm for last night. The doors opened at 9pm.



It was late. But fortunately both kids napped in the car as we drove down to the park.

It was fairly empty, so there weren't that long of lines anywhere.

We started the evening hitting Camp Snoopy and rides Cal could do. My thought had been that he would fall asleep within an hour and then we could hit the big kid rides. (Spoiler alert: I was wrong).

We rode every train in the park. Calvin loved them all.












He didn't fall asleep till after midnight. The chocolate sugar bomb that I gave him at 11:30 probably didn't help. It was nice that the kids rode some rides (including the little kid roller coaster) together without adults.









Ellie was brave. She rode some large coasters including upside down ones and one that went backward. One was so scary I actually hurt my vocal chords from screaming.







We made it home around 2am. I think everyone (except me, as the driver) was asleep before we were out of the parking lot. Good times.

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Peace

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Magazines

Ellie has a couple magazine subscriptions which she loves. Calvin is a little jealous. Well, he has his own magazine subscription to Zoodles, an animal magazine aimed at the under 4 (pre reading) set.

However, he prefers his fathers Sports Illustrated.






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Parties

On Saturday Calvin attended two birthday parties. The second one Ellie was able to come which worked out well as the birthday girls older brother is in Ellie's class!













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