Advent Calendar summary

Now that Christmas is over I can confidently say that the Advent Calendar I made was a complete success. It took a few days for the idea to catch on but as soon as it did every morning Caleb wanted to go see what was in "today's pocket". I admit that the activities weren't totally out of the norm or outrageous but it did force me to make sure I had prepped in advance and actually follow through. Towards the end Caleb knew how many more days there was until Christmas by counting the number of pockets left. Now that it's done he wants another calendar. I told him we have to wait until next year.

Chocolate fondue night

Bake and decorate cookies

Decorate a gingerbread house

First night of Hanukkah

Visit Santa

Christmas Pajamas Done!

There were a couple of minor setbacks in finishing the Christmas pajamas. Jamie claimed that the pant legs on his pajamas were too wide and he wanted me to take them in. I asked my sewing instructor for help and she said to just cut off the side seam and re-sew. I also had to redo the waistline. When Jamie tried it on after the alterations he said it bunched up too much in the crotch area. (I guess I cut off too much at the waistline). So basically I had to reorder fabric and start over on his pajamas. (anyone interested in a pair of blue snowflake pajama pants?) Even though I got the fabric in early December I put off making the pajamas until yesterday and just finished.

Another thing that was sort of hard to find was plain white long sleeved shirts for the boys. I went to Kohl's and easily found one for me and Jamie but in the kids section no such luck. That's when I turned to trusty and reliable Amazon.

I'm very happy with my first set of family Christmas pajamas. It'll be fun to pick out new fabric each year. 

Christmas trees cut out ready to be Heat n Bonded on the shirts

Lucas' finished set

Nutcracker

A highlight of the Fours program at Caleb's preschool is the Nutcracker performance. The four year olds practice for a month. They learn about the Nutcracker music, story, and dance. I wondered what the four year olds would do on stage.

I went to the dress rehearsal and contemplated just dropping Caleb off and waiting for the actual performance to see the whole thing. I am so glad I didn't! During the rehearsal I brought my camera and flip video camera. I was able to video Caleb's performance while sitting in the middle of the third row. Had I not done that, I would not have seen his face from where we had seats during the evening performance.

The whole performance was about 40 minutes and really was amazing. Amazing to watch 100+ four and five year olds get on stage, follow direction, and not get distracted. Towards the end instead of kids going off stage at the end of their part, they were left on stage to sit and watch quietly. I can't imagine the amount of patience the teachers have but I can certainly imagine how proud they must have been watching their students perform. I certainly was a proud mama!

The video is 2.5 minutes long and a bit shaky since I was trying to also take pictures with my camera while videotaping.

To culminate the performance, the school got group tickets to see the San Francisco Ballet Nutcracker performance. Jamie and I decided to buy tickets to watch it with him. We were worried he wouldn't last half of show but we left about 10 minutes before it ended. We thought he wanted to leave and when we got in the lobby he sort of complained that he wanted to stay. It was interesting to notice that he was familiar with the story and music. He perked up when he heard the music that he danced to and also when he saw the toy soldier and mice fighting scene. Overall I think it was a lovely first theater experience.I hope he enjoys going to more.

War Memorial Opera House

French Laundry

Miracles do happen during the Christmas season. Jamie somehow made a 6:00pm reservation at the French Laundry a mere 3 days in advance.

I must admit that the restaurant is a bit on the formal side which is sooo not our style. Men had to wear jackets and there were no jeans allowed. At one point the gentleman at the next table was asked to put his jacket back on.

I wouldn't say I was blown away by any one dish but I could definitely have had bigger portions of some of the courses. We loved the lobster and crab with white truffles. White truffles are good. And Jamie has added raclette to his list of cheeses he loves. I will also not be forgiven for eating all of the Kaluga caviar before Jamie got a chance to try it. It was a delicious meal. If you can go, you should. It really doesn't disappoint and you quickly will get over the sticker shock of the bill.