The Nutcracker

Maya and I went to the see the Nutcracker this year. It was the first time for both of us. She wasn't too sure what to make of it at first, but she gasped and sat up a little straighter when the snow flakes danced on stage.

I think her favorite part of the day, besides the make-you-own cupcakes at lunch right before the show, was when I bought her Clara, the nutcracker. As soon as she saw it, she stopped walking and just stared at it. "Mommy!" "Mommy, look!" I couldn't say no, and I didn't want to anyway. We picked up a soldier nutcracker for Guillermo.

Gingerbread House

On the kids' second day of holiday vacation, we made our gingerbread house (We saw Arthur Christmas on the first day). They love this tradition, likely because they sneak candy while they build it. I think of it as sort of prep for the train cake we make each Christmas Eve. But I also like it because I know that for about 30 minutes of the day, Guillermo and Maya will get along. In fact, they actually like each other. See the proof below:

Having fun!

The finished product

Hanukkah

At his holiday concert.

Guillermo's class performed a holiday concert at a retirement home on the last day before Winter break. They had been rehearing for weeks. They sang several songs and told holiday "Holiday Ho Ho's" or jokes throughout the performance. Guillermo was part of this joke:

"Hey Guillermo, what does December have that no other month has?

"I don't know, Derrick. What does December have that no other month has?"

"The letter 'D'"

Even better than the joke, though, was that Guillermo volunteered to dance to "O Hanukkah" during the performance. According to his teacher, he has some moves. It was so fun to watch and he apparently really enjoyed the song. In fact, on Christmas morning, he wanted us to play "O Hanukkah" on the stereo while we opened presents.

Holiday Parade

We braved the cold for another Chapel Hill-Carrboro Holiday parade earlier this month. (it wasn't that cold).

Here are some pictures:

Guillermo, fighting off his friend to get candy.

Maya and one of her bffs.

Lego Fest

Will took Guillermo to Lego Fest. They came back tired, but armed with goodies.

Ninjago

With a storm trooper

Can you find them?

This is one of my favorite fall activities: Hiding the kids in the leaves. Unfortunately, I missed it this year, but Will snapped up these cute pictures.

He's in there

I see an arm

UNC Gymnastics

Guillermo's forward roll

Maya on the bar

Maya has been taking gymnastics since the past summer and loves it. The UNC Gymnastics team hosted a day day of gymnastics for the children of faculty and staff so we took the kids. Maya's eyes lit up when she saw the UNC team practicing and warming up. We didn't tell Guillermo where were going when we loaded him up in the car and even when we walked across campus, knowing he'd rebel against the opportunity. He wasn't too thrilled when he walked into the gym, but he quickly spotted a few friends and then spent the next 90 minutes having a great time on the gym floor. He didn't take one break and left the floor only after he collected the autographs of each one of the female gymnasts. He insists, though, that he doesn't want to go back next year :)

She's a Daisy!

She's a Daisy

Maya and her good friend, Sophia

Maya joined a Daisy Troop this year. The group meets once a month and she counts down the days starting with the Sunday before her next meeting. Most of the girls in her troop are from the neighborhood or from her preschool. It is a really cute troop and my friends are the leaders, which makes it more fun for me. I like it for another reason. I like mindless sewing. I don't like sewing that requires thought or skill, but I love sewing on her badges, and man does she have a lot of them.

Merry Christmas, I mean Happy Halloween

Maya and Guillermo

It's nearly Christmas, and I have been lax, too lax, about updating this blog. This fall has been fun, watching Maya jump right in to kindergarten and Guillermo, well, be Guillermo. We've had a great time, but I haven't been very good about documenting that fun here. So, the next few posts are catch-up posts, starting with, of course, Halloween.

Indiana Jones

Maya, a princess