Christmas was lovely. Santa brought the kids some fun surprises by the tree upstairs, and some candy under Cat's miniature tree in her room. We spent quite a bit of time video chatting with family and were able to talk to lots of people that way, so that was really cool. And the rest of the day was mostly devoted to playing together and enjoying gifts.
In the evening, Ben's brother and his family came over. We had a Feliz Navidad dinner of fajitas, refried beans, and Mexican rice. It was delicious. The cousins had fun exchanging gifts and playing together. We also spent some time gathered in the family room singing Christmas carols, some accompanied, some unaccompanied. That was definitely a highlight for me. The perfect "note" to end on. Hee hee hee.
We had a lovely Christmas Eve. After making a French Toast breakfast, we decided to open our Christmas Eve gifts in the morning instead of waiting until the evening so that the kids could actually enjoy them. The kids opened their presents to each other, which they'd all bought with their own money (except for Luke), and it was really sweet to see how excited they were to give their gifts and how much they enjoyed the gifts from their siblings.
After that we just hung out and played with new games and toys, took care of some last-minute items, delivered treats to neighbors, and then while Luke took his nap, Ben took the kids up to his office to play in the snow. It's located up high on a mountain and they have lots of snow so the kids loved it, even though it was only about 20 degrees. I cleaned and baked while they were gone. When Ben and The Bigs got home, we watched "Charlie Brown Christmas." Then Ben bathed the younger kids while Cat helped me get ready for our first-ever Bethlehem dinner. Cat vacuumed and put down a blanket and lit candles for us.
We had homemade pita bread with homemade hummus, olives, grapes, nuts with a nutcracker (the kids' favorite part), and goat cheese. I really wasn't sure what to expect, but hoped that the dinner would at least not end in disaster. It was actually really lovely. The atmosphere was perfect and the kids had enough things that they liked or were willing to try that they didn't get upset about the food. We just might try it again next year.
That night we had at least two kids still awake at 10:30pm, which is unusual for us, even on Christmas Eve. But eventually everyone went to sleep, while visions of sugar-plums danced in their heads, I'm sure.
Santa's Helpers, trying to get packages ready to mail.
One of our attempts at being more service-oriented was for the older kids to be Secret Siblings
for each other. With only three of them, it didn't take long before they figured out who was a Secret
Sibling to whom, and with them being as young as they are they didn't do a whole lot with it,
but perhaps we'll try it again next year and be able to do a little more.
Oh, how they love cutting out cookie dough.
Eliza's music class had a sharing day where parents saw the kinds of things
they've been doing in class. I love that the teacher incorporated singing, instruments,
yoga and other movement, along with other developmentally appropriate skills such as
taking turns, following directions, and developing creativity into her classes.
Methinks she would make a good music therapist.
Luke and I attended the kids' school Christmas activity, Sing Around the Tree.
Eliza's grade sang "Christmas Don't Be Late," Jack's grade sang "Feliz Navidad,"
and Cat's grade sang "Marshmallow World." There was also a fun "Elf Yourself" video that Cat's
teacher made using pictures of all of the staff at the school. That was really cool
With a little help from me, Cat made this cute little pillow
as a Christmas gift for a good friend.
Making Mud Cookies is really just an excuse to get covered in powdered sugar, right?
One night when Ben was out of town, a friend and I loaded our kids up in the car and
drove them to a house in PG with a cool light show that is choreographed (?) with music
that is broadcast from a radio station. After watching all of the songs, we drove around
and had a Christmas Light Scavenger Hunt, then came home for hot chocolate.
Gingerbread Man Decorating. A must-do.
One morning during Christmas Break, I told the kids to choose their favorite Christmas
picture book (some of which were ours, and some were from the library) and pile up
blankets and pillows in the family room. We turned on the fire and just read Christmas
stories. Cat and Jack were only interested for the first 4 or so stories, but after that I kept
reading to Eliza and Luke and it was just lovely. It was definitely a highlight of the
Christmas season for me.
(originally published March 24th, 2016) WARNING: This is a mega post intended largely for the entertainment of grandparents and my own personal records.
In Mid-December, the kids had their piano recital. This was an exciting occasion for Jack and Eliza, as it was their first time performing for a formal audience. They both did a great job on their solos, and though their duets kind of fell apart, I have video evidence that they had a good handle on both of those pieces a month before the recital.
Jack and Eliza worked a lot on their duets, learning them slowly by rote since neither of them were reading music at that point. I was impressed by how solid they were on their individual parts, even with having to move their hands to different positions. Listening to each other and following one another was a whole separate skill which seemed to come more easily to Eliza. Our piano teacher has her students learn duets every fall, and I won't be surprised if these two are paired up again next year, since they're at almost exactly the same skill level.
I cut off the video below in time for you to see how eager Jack was to rush Eliza to her seat after their duets so that he might have his chance to perform. His first piece is one he wrote himself. He was only given the idea of a title in his lesson book and really enjoyed having the freedom to be creative on the piano. The second piece was a lucky find. I was looking through our collection of piano books and found one that I somehow acquired from my house growing up. It was beginner Christmas music with accompaniment and Jack chose "We Wish You a Merry Christmas" and was really excited at the idea of having people sing along.
Eliza opened the recital, performing "Twinkle Variations" from her Suzuki lesson book. Then later she played "Silent Night" from the same Christmas book Jack used and she wanted Cat to accompany her. Eliza knew this one really well also, though she had some rough spots in the recital.
Cat performed one of her duets, Norwegian Dance by Grieg, and as much of her current concerto as she had prepared in about three months of practice. That one is Beethoven's 2nd Concerto, accompanied by her teacher.
Well, it's about time I say a little something about the goings-on at Christmastime. We had a good December this year, with fun things kept to a manageable pace. It worked out well. Here are some things we did during the first Twelve Days of December.
Polar Express Train Ride
We've done this for the last few years now and it's always a lovely way to spend an evening. It didn't disappoint this year. This is a fun miniature train that plays Christmas music and rides through festive lights to Santa's house, then after taking pictures with Santa the ride back to the starting point is flanked by large pictures and scenes from Christ's life and accompanied by sacred Christmas music.
Trimming the Tree
We decided to try our luck and buy a cheap tree from a grocery store this year. We didn't even see what it looked like unwrapped until we got it home, but luckily it was beautiful. We bought it on a Saturday night and Ben and Cat got it set up in the stand that night but I told the kids it was too late to decorate it that night; it would have to wait until tomorrow. I intended to work on it as a family in the afternoon, after church, but the kids couldn't wait that long. I might have been a little late to ward choir practice that morning, but it's alright.
Handbell Performance
I took the kids to a Christmas performance by the Utah Valley Handbell Choir at the Provo Library one evening and it was really cool. We all had a good time watching the performers play the various bells. The kids who could read were also invited to come play handchimes, and Cat and Jack had a good time with that too.
Real Santa Pictures
We waited in a long line at an outdoor mall one cold evening to get a picture with our favorite Santa. He took the time to talk to the kids, and they were excited to see him. I think this is the happiest Eliza's ever been with Santa.
