Kit's photo shoot

I am so far behind -- I've got a lot of pictures to share with you!

Julianna took the first of these the day we got back home from Oregon. In this case, my being so hopelessly behind has worked to our advantage, because now there is a series of photos to show you!

Let's begin:

Here is Kit in her Holiday Dress, a Christmas present from Noni! Julianna promised Auntie Sarah she would take this picture for the blog:


At that same time, Katie put Elizabeth in her Holiday Dress and staged some photos with her Christmas presents:





The kids went shopping the next weekend with their Christmas money. Julianna decided to order a new dress for Kit, and picked out this one: "Kit's Reporter Dress." I love it, especially the shoes!



Then Julianna got Kit's Birthday Dress for her birthday from Mommy and Daddy. Katie gave her Kit's Lunchbox (with sandwich, fruits & veggies, cookie, and napkin inside!), and Noni gave her this adorable tea set!



Julianna thought Kit needed to have a tea party with Barbie (who is wearing another of Julianna's birthday presents).



Grandma made matching Gabriella dresses for Julianna, Kit, and the Gabriella doll!

Star Student

Katie was Star Student recently. She had to prepare some things for her bulletin board display:

My favorite food: Spaghetti

My favorite book: "Harry Potter (and the Sorcerer's Stone)" (I guess it's whatever book she just finished, because she is now answering that question with "The Doll People."

My favorite animal: Puppy

A person I admire: My Grandma

My birthday: June 1st

Where I was born: Huntington Hospital

What I do well: Reading, tap dancing, play violin, sew, write stories, spelling.

What I like most about our school: !EVERYTHING!

My wish: For all the puppys in the world to have homes.

_________________
She put up some recent photos:

Noni and all of her grandchildren
Katie during the violin recital
Katie, Julianna, and Jacob
Katie, Julianna, and Nick lying in the snow in Grandma's back yard
Our family Christmas card photo
Katie holding Turbo

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She brought in some objects for her display as well:

Small purple baby blanket
New Minnie Mouse watch
The cross figurine she likes so much
Her violin-playing bear
The book "The Doll People"
"Mesmerizer" (this is something she got at the dentist: it has two colors of liquid in it that drip and drop and make interesting shapes - she and I call it a "mesmerizer")
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A moment in time.

History

After dropping the girls off at school, where they would be watching the Inauguration with their classes, Nick and I came back home. I still needed to eat breakfast, but I switched on the television first. There were Malia and Sasha Obama, in their colorful overcoats, heading through the Capitol Building toward the balcony and their seats. I sat down on the couch.

I would not leave the television until after the ceremony was over. In fact, it was after the Bush family boarded the helicopter and departed and everyone went back inside the Capitol. Breakfast would have to wait.

Nick watched with me, wanting to know who everyone was as they came out onto the balcony. He identified the men by their ties (between the scarves and the ties, it was easy to identify them by color): he would later say, "there's Joe Biden in the blue tie."

Barack Obama has such a Presidential air about him, in the way he carries himself. Nick spotted him the first time they showed him walking through the Capitol Building, and shouted, "there's Barack Obama!" (Although sometimes he says "A Rock Obama.") Obama has an amazing amount of composure. Imagine how that quiet confidence will come across in meetings with foreign heads of state.

The ceremony began. We saw Aretha and her fabulous hat. Not everyone can pull off that gigantic bow, but Aretha absolutely can. I loved it! We saw a quartet of world-class musicians (Jewish, Asian, African-American, and Hispanic) play a beautiful arrangement of "Simple Gifts." We saw Joe Biden become our Vice President, and then we witnessed Barack Hussein Obama take the oath of office. I stood up in my living room, thinking "this would be more fun if I was with other people right now!"

Then Nick said, "can we watch something else now?"

Of course, we didn't. We listened to Obama's speech (well, I did, and it was difficult through all of the "when will he stop talking?" whines) and appreciated once again that Obama doesn't think of this presidency as his, but truly thinks of himself as a representative of the people. It's striking.

I enjoyed the colors in the benediction ("the red man can get ahead, man"), and very much enjoyed watching that helicopter take off and fly away, getting smaller and smaller.

When the girls got home from school, I said, "what did you do today? Did you see history in the making?" Katie said, "we started learning cursive!"

They did watch it, but no matter how many emotions they see from me, they just can't grasp this. They will always live in a world where a black man has been President of the United States. They may never understand this the way we do. And you know what? Hallelujah!

I did manage to run one errand yesterday, but other than that, I felt like I spent the day in front of the television.

Procession to White House, Parade, Analysis, Parties.... !!

Getting up to speed

The drive home was easy, thank goodness. We split it into two days, including a chance to have dinner with friends. We didn't need chains for the drive home, although it did snow on us a bit. Pretty!

The Portland snow, the likes of which hadn't been seen in over 40 years, was pretty much completely melted by the 27th. It sure was tough getting up there, but we were glad we got to see it and play in it before it was gone!

We spent our time in Portland playing with family. Playing, my nephew's baptism, then playing, and more playing!

We drove home on Jan. 2 & 3. This means I had to watch the Rose Parade on television FOR THE THIRD YEAR IN A ROW. It's kind of lame of us to live here but be out of town during the Parade. Maybe next year I'll be able to see it in person again...

The first week back to school after vacation is always kind of a shock to the system. It's kind of a feat just to make it through. By Wednesday, I woke up exhausted and with a headache, and didn't improve until the weekend. I did manage to get Christmas packed up and put away. I'm not quite as happy with my pack-up job as I was last year, but after several re-arrangements, it's all in the bins... so all's well that ends well.

This weekend, the kids spent some of their Christmas money. They all got things that go with their Christmas gifts. Katie got a DS from Santa, so she bought herself a case and a game cartridge. Nick got a Leapster, so he chose a cartridge. And Julianna? Well, Julianna got an American Girl doll from Santa, so she decided to order an outfit for Kit.

I have seen a lot of kid-absorbed-in-handheld-electronic-game this week, especially this weekend! This coming week I may have to crack down.

Today we took the kids over to the golf course to practice on the putting green and the driving range. The Boy got clubs for his birthday from my MIL, so we had to go use them and enjoy the beautiful weather this weekend! Everyone shared the clubs and started working on these skills. I think it really warmed Daddy's heart to see them!

I'm trying to get invitations out for J's birthday party, but hopefully I'll be able to come up for air soon! She decided on a pajama party. We'll invite the girls from morning Kinder over for dinner and a movie ("Tinker Bell" would be a safe choice, I think!) on the Saturday before her birthday. The weekend after her birthday, Julianna is going to Big Bear with Daddy and the Indian Princess tribe!

Handmade for Christmas

The girls made some handmade gifts this year for Emma and Sara, and we are all so happy with them!

We thought of a few things we could make out of bread dough: ornaments, etc. We settled on picture frames. We decorated the frames with braids, twists, and hearts, and then put them in the oven to bake.


When they were done, we coated them with sealant.


We added personal touches to the backs of them.


Then we added the photos:


Voila! Adorable best-friend gifts!

Katie's violin recital

It was one of the highlights of the many December performances. She really looked so comfortable and capable up there, with her instrument. I've seen her practicing, so I know her playing, but seeing her in the context of Yvette's other students was quite instructive for me. She is doing a fantastic job learning music!



She played a few pieces from her lesson book: "French Folk Song," "Baa Baa Black Sheep," and then the finale with all of the students, "Bile 'Em Cabbage Down" (she was one of the students playing the harder part). Yvette had them play in small groups by ability level, diving the song up into solo sections. Katie's group did "Baa Baa" twice: the first time in solos, then as a group.

Great work, Katie!

News from Katie

It was a Christmas filled month! First of all a few weeks ago I made a Mrs. Claus Christmas decoration. But on friday when Itook her home she fell apart so just today I finished glueing her back together.What a funny story! I also made a silouette Christmas card for my family.A few Christmas presents for my parents totalled it up.We read lots of funny or sierious christmas books.I am so excited for christmas. Excactly four more days! Just yesterday I made a little handmade present for Mommy! I am so proud of myself!


Miss U all!:)

See U all in a snowy Oregon!

Katie

December Happenings

We sure have been busy around here!

Early in December, the girls' school had its Christmas Concert. Eric, Nick, and I got a great seat near the front, and enjoyed listening to the singing of our favorites: the kindergarten, third grade, and the school choir!



Just a few days later, the parish choirs had their annual Advent Concert. I sang with the 9:30 Choir, and Katie sang with the school choir! It was a real treat to have the school choir there - that has not happened before. I enjoyed the concert much more than I usually do!

Our family was also happy to help out at Mass by lighting the Advent Candle for the Second Sunday. We got to process in at the start of Mass, and then Eric read a short statement about the Second Sunday and we lit the candle. It was nice for our family to be able to participate in the liturgy in this way.

ALso, we got our Christmas tree! Do you notice that it does not have any ornaments on the bottom 25% or so? Let's think why that might be the case. Oh, yeah. The New Kitten. That's also the reason why we left all of the breakable ornaments in the box. Good thing we have so many ornaments that it's still a pretty full tree without the breakable ones! It was also a good thing that we just set it up the first night, and didn't decorate it until 24 hours later. That cat was completely obsessed with the tree. Now, he just bats at the ornaments he can reach and crawls around in the bottom branches. Christmas is fun for kitties!



Nick's preschool had their Christmas program, too. This was our sixth Calvary Preschool Christmas Program in a row, but the first one when we had no kids sitting with us in the audience! What a treat! We were happy to see Nick go up on the stage with his class and actually (sort of) sing! He was even well-behaved with his classmates in the pews while the other classes sang!

Continuing our string of December performances, the girls had a dance recital. It was all dances from "The Nutcracker." I enjoyed Katie and Julianna's dances! Katie was a snowflake, and Julianna was one of the "children under the skirt." They got a good reaction from the audience when they kept popping out from under that big skirt! Julianna gets a little nervous on stage, and her response to that feeling is to get giggly. It's so cute!



So, between Parent-Teacher Conferences, the girls' dentist appointments, Eric's Dads' class field trip on the light rail to Union Station and Olvera Street with all three kids, caroling with the Brownies, classroom Christmas parties, and third grade Posadas, it's been quite a whirlwind! Katie will be performing in a violin recital on Sunday afternoon. The fun never ends!

Nick's birthday

Nick's birthday celebrations began on Friday the 12th, which was his designated birthday day at preschool. We brought in the snack, including special cookies to share: snickerdoodles with "4"s made out of butterscotch chips!


When he got to school, he got to choose and decorate a birthday crown!




(Also at school that day: the school's Christmas Program! Nick's birthday cookies were taken from the room and put out on the buffet tables for after the concert, but we found them and brought them back in for his birthday snack time!)

On Saturday, we had lots of friends over for Nick's Birthday Party! The theme was "Nick's FORE-th Birthday!" Mommy did invitations by evite.com, since she had run out of time for making invitations by hand :-( . The evite invitation had a picture of a golf tee, and said:

"Please help us celebrate Nick's "FORE"-th birthday!

Join in the fun at the "Nickolympics!"

Get ready to race, throw, and kick!
(And build, bowl, and putt!)

We hope you can join us!

At the "Nickolympics," we had plain white flags for the kids to decorate with marker, paint or pictures of sports for gluing on.

We started off the party with "free play" in the backyard, while kids were also decorating their flags. Then we had a parade to officially begin the "Nickolympics!"




Events at the "Nickolympics" included "kick a soccer ball under the little bench," "knock down the pins," "race the car down the ramp," "jump off the porch and onto the grass," and "throw the bean bag into the ring."






Then it pretty much just turned into "Chaos in the Backyard."




Nick's cake, as requested, was chocolate. Mommy decorated it with a golfer and a basketball player on top, and baseball and football candies around the side. On the top, she wrote "Happy Birthday! Happy Birthday! Nick is 4!"



Mommy also made a vanilla cake in case anyone didn't like, or couldn't have, chocolate. Because she had some extra blue frosting in her piping bags, this one she doodled on in the "Nickolympics" theme.





On Nick's "actual birthday," we went to church, and the Sunday School kids (Julianna and Nick included) came into Mass to sing us a Christmas song. Later on, we went to Julianna and Katie's dance recital (all dances from "The Nutcracker") and then Darell and Kathryn took us out to dinner!


If there's one thing we've noticed about our newly-four-year-old boy, it's that he has become very LOUD and very, very SILLY!



He spent most of his "actual birthday," and the days since, playing with his presents! He has really been enjoying each and every present. Here are a few photos I've captured of some of them:




Nick already had some of this train track, but he got the airport (in the foreground) and more track for his birthday.

Well it surprised me!

The Amazing Race ended in Portland!

What FUN (capital F. U. N.) it was to see them racing in Portland! And for the final pit stop!

The airport, with its green and blue carpet!

Then, "Go to the Bridge of the Gods..." We yelled "It's out 84!"

The Portland Building!

"We don't call it 'Fifth Avenue,' it's just Fifth! Alder! Morrison!"

Some doughnut shop I've never heard of! But is that Berbati's Pan down the block?

Look, gas was $4.11 that day!

And finally, Pittock Mansion! Woooooo!
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Well, I guess this explains why Mom has been watching it this season! But she didn't give me any inkling about it. Good job keeping it a surprise, Mom!

THAT WAS SO MUCH FUN TO WATCH!

One for the Ages!

What a wonderful Thanksgiving - it was a special day!

We loved having people at our house for Thanksgiving for the first time. It was fun finding places for everyone to sleep on Wednesday night!

We had Darell, Kathryn, Grandma, and Noni here. We got started with the food on Thursday morning, while the Macy's parade was on. Many games of Sequence Jr. were played.

We made considerable use of our two ovens, changing their temperature settings between dishes, and it seems that one got turned off while the turkey was cooking. Eric and Darell improvised by putting it on the grill, and it turned out delicious! Darell and Kathryn made most of the sides, as well as a scallop appetizer, a salmon dish, and a small version of Kathryn's family's traditional cheese course. Mashed sweet potatoes, green beans, brussels sprouts, zucchini, AMAZING gravy, just to name a few! So much cooking that one oven's heating coil died on Friday morning and had to be replaced!

Kathryn made an apple dessert, and Grandma and I tried out a new recipe: maple pear pie. Grandma made her pie crust, and I did the filling and oatmeal crumb topping. I think it's a keeper!

Before dinner, the girls read "Thanks for Thanksgiving" to us and we talked about what we are thankful for.

After dinner, the cleanup crew was busy while the kids watched the Kit Kittredge movie with Grandma and Noni. Tearjerker!

On Friday, Grandma and Noni took the kids to the movie theater to see "High School Musical 3." The girls' third time, Nick's second! A fun one. Later, we drove out to Redondo Beach to walk around the pier with Darell and Kathryn (couldn't pass by the arcade without going in!), getting some dinner, and visiting their apartment.

On Saturday, it was dance class and saying goodbye to our visitors. It was shorter than we would have liked, but it was truly a fantastic holiday weekend for us!


I have a few photos to share, but I admit it's kind of a disappointing number. I was too busy enjoying the days - I didn't think about taking pictures!

(Grandma made a special mid-day snack platter for the kids!)

(Darell had a very attentive audience while he was cooking. "This is better than the Food Network!")

(I captured the table before dinner - looking so nice - but then while we were eating, my brain became soaked in gravy and I forgot my own name, much less the fact that cameras had ever been invented)

On Monday, I took Turbo back to the Veterinary Dermatologist for the second injection of the antibiotic. Unfortunately, his paw was looking even worse, and we decided we needed to add another antibiotic as well as an ointment and a rinse, both with further antibacterial agents. And... the vet wants to make sure he doesn't chew at it and aggravate the tissue further:


He HATES this thing.

My Hero

In the same breath that I announce that Nick deserves the award for "Biggest Whiner" (he's at that age where EVERY SENTENCE comes out as a whine), I also announce that he deserves the award for "Mom's Hero of the Week."

Isn't that an interesting pairing.

He goes to preschool on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday mornings. Tuesday and Thursday mornings are our time alone together. Isn't that a nice schedule?

Well, this week, our time alone together sure was a drag.

On Tuesday, I had to run a very small errand at IKEA. A $13 errand. And... you know... whatever else I found in the Marketplace...

IKEA is about 30 minutes away (and.... hey! I just looked it up on Google maps and it says 18.7 miles, 27 minutes! I was actually right about a driving-related estimate!), so we left our house at 9:30 am to get there right when it opened at 10:00.

By 11:20, I was not quite all the way to IKEA, and I had not been able to get a hold of anyone to pick up Julianna from Kindergarten for me. I had to turn around and head back. Nick, who at this point had been sitting in the car for almost two hours, was thirsty, so we pulled into the first thing I saw (Target) and visited the drinking fountain and potty (that was smart of me). Then we drove back home to Julianna's school.

There was an overturned big rig blocking all but one lane of the freeway. We had been stuck in the traffic for over 90 minutes. Whee! Great use of time and gas: altogether a 2.5 hour trip in which I didn't even get all the way to my destination, let alone obtain the $13 thing I needed. No, I have not tried again.

Then, on Thursday, our other day of Time Alone Together, I took Nick to a boring meeting at church where he entertained himself with the Leapster and some snacks. Also crawling around under the conference table. (Looking at people's shoes? Their toenail polish colors? Who knows.) We had to leave the meeting before it ended to take Turbo The Kitten to his appointment with the Veterinary Dermatologist.

The Veterinary Dermatologist was running very late. His first appointment of the day had been over 30 minutes late and he was backed up. This was terrible news to me, since I had already put Nick through a boring meeting! Now he had to wait in the waiting room for what turned out to be 45 minutes! I had paper and pen in my purse, so he did practice writing his letters, and he visited the potty a few times, but whoo! that much waiting in one morning is A LOT to expect of an almost-four-year-old boy.

Dear Nick,
Thank you for putting up with boring, extra-frustrating-and-long errands TWO MORNINGS IN ONE WEEK. I would guess that you appreciate your school days much more after that! The good news is that Grandma and Noni are coming to visit, so next week's days off school will be SO MUCH FUN!
You make me feel like a lucky Mommy for having you.
Love,
Mommy.


Even though the wait was long and difficult (see: almost-four-year-old boy who already sat through an hour-long meeting), I think it was a very good thing I took that crazy kitten to the Veterinary Dermatologist.

Turbo's swollen paw didn't really respond to the two antibiotics the other vet tried, and an expensive fungal culture showed no growth, so I was dubious that it was an infection.

But I was wrong.

The Veterinary Dermatologist took a little sample and looked at it under a microscope, discovering that it is "teeming with multiple types of bacteria." Yes, that is gross, you are right. But I was nonetheless glad to have the start of an answer about this swollen paw that we have been dealing with since October 6! He did a culture of the sample so we can find out exactly what bacteria we are dealing with.

The best part of the story happens now:
He gave Turbo some kind of new, special antibiotic. He took pictures of the paw and told me to come back in 14 days for the next dose and more pictures. He did not charge me for the antibiotic and will not charge me for the next dose or the re-check fee, because if this antibiotic works, the pharmaceutical company will pay him for the photos! TRA LA TRA LA TRA LA!

In other news, he did say that this kitten is quite a handful. On top of that, the other vet had written the following in Turbo's file:
"Feisty."

Ha! I'm right! He does have above-average energy!

Perhaps we should have been more careful when choosing a name... was it a self-fulfilling prophecy?

A future in interior decorating

As I rounded the corner to head upstairs, I came across something...





Nick has quite an eye, don't you think?