And we are in our way...

Santa came, and now we are on our way to BellyMomma's! New toys keeping us entertained (for now).

We're ready...

Cookies have been made, left at the hearth, and kids are tucked into bed. We hope he comes!

Not so tiny dancer

Our favorite Miss Manda is growing up. Just look how sophisticated she looks here, all dolled up for her Christmas recital. We had a great time watching her and the other pretty girls dance. All were mesmerized. Good music, good dancing, and lots of holiday cheer. After the dance we realized we forgot her flowers at home (bad, bad me) and the boys realized they were not so sure of miss manda....why are her lashes so long? And why so much makeup? Why does she look so old?

Sitting and waiting for the show to start.

 The dudes talking during intermission.

 Post show, this is as close as a full family shot we got with her. The boys were just not sure of this older looking chick.

 Miss Manda had to work for a hug...

Got him!

 This one also was not so sure.

She won them over, obviously.

The Big Guy

So when your kids are little, like brand new little babies, you take a lot of pictures of the babies just laying there. 'Cause thats what babies do. And to other people all the pictures look the same, but to you each pic marks a change. Maybe the baby frowned slightly, or raised an eyebrow, or maybe, just maybe, he sort of smiled. Sort of. And naturally you need a picture of every expression so you keep all 1000+ pics you took each day.

So when you look at the Santa pics below, you might not see much change in some pics, but to me there was big change here. For one, C warmed up to Santa quickly this year. And while G was as gregarious as ever, he sat back and let C enjoy Santa without interrupting. We're growing up, y'all. 

Break

Its taking a little while to adjust to the teacher schedule. For the last few days I have had the slightest nagging feeling that I should be at work, or at least have a good reason not to be there. Just not quite used to having days off for fun. But dont you worry about me, I am sure I will adjust.

Before we move on, let me tell you about my new favorite lip product. Sure, its pricey, and yes, I needed to charge my phone but focus-this stuff is worth the money. Highly recommend. The people who gave it 4 stars dont know what they are talking about.

On our first day off, we went to the aquarium. Lovely time in the new frog exhibit. We learned the difference between toads and frogs and oohed and aaaahed at the specimens.

We steered a shrimp boat, rode a slide, touched some marine invertebrates.

In general we had a really good time. The aquarium was not crowded, thankfully, so we could walk and see and explore without masses of people blocking our way. With a little more freedom to move I noticed a very endearing thing my boys did instictively. It seems Mrs Marisela at their school has done a nice job teaching them to line up and walk with hands behind their backs because they automatically did it when we lined up on the moving sidewalk through the aquarium tunnel. Order, people, we need order!

We rounded out the evening with my college roommate and her family visiting for dinner. I had help with my appetizer making. The tomatoes for the goat cheese and crackers were seasoned perfectly!

We've also hit the library, where the books are almost of as much interest as the kiddie computer kiosks.

And this book almost made it home with me, until I remembered I gained 10 lbs since broken ankle and bread was not going to help me take it off. Damn you, ankle!

And last thing for today, our tree this year. The glow makes me so happy.

Letters to Santa

Is what we are writing here! Madam is proof writer, on an as needed basis.


And if you're wondering, all of the bruises and cuts on G's face are self inflicted.