Caity's Christmas Story

The Christmas Accident

Close to Christmas, a beautiful Christmas fairy named Rose was born.  When Rose turned four she realized that some states had no snow during Christmas.  She thought that was terrible!  She tried to find clues down on the ground.  She never looked up in the sky, so she tried and figured out that it's not cold enough.  She went back to her home in Coligh with her polar bear and found a spell.  Then she went in the clouds and shouted, "Colswinter, holswinter!"  That worked, but on Christmas Eve it was a blizzard. Rose thought it was wonderful, but the people did not like it.  Rose knew how to undo the spell.  She shouted the opposite, "Holswinter, colswinter!"  It worked a second a time.  Now Rose knows not to mess with snow.

THE END

Christmas Performance Number Two

Here is the dancing debut of Malena.  The cutest part I did not even get on camera.  Before the teacher began Malena made an announcement that her best friend Madison was not there because she had another performance.  She then informed everyone that just two would be dancing that night.   She showed all the confidence in world in front of the mini crowd. Where did this girl come from?  

And here it is....

 

Christmas Performance

Caitlyn is in her second year of dance and loving it.  Her dance teacher says that I gave birth to her mini me.  I am just thrilled that we have found a teacher that appreciates her enthusiasm for life and allows her to express herself.  During December, the studio has an observation day where all the parents can see what they have learned.  They also perform one of many short routines they work on in the first semester.  This year, they did it to Loverly from My Fair Lady.  Caity was all about embracing the character of the dance and wanted to go all out.  When she arrived she found that her friends did not share the enthusiasm and quickly removed the make-up and tattered shirt that she was perfecting all day.  Oh well, at least I got a picture of it.  

Without further ado...

This Thursday is Malena's turn, stay tuned!

Ha! Tricked you!

The sweet innocence of Malena is being replaced by her growing 'little/big sister' personality which is always looking for a laugh to repay her antics.  The latest one involves the Tooth Fairy tradition.  Malena has a rubber ring that has lost a petal.  I saw it on the ground and thought that it was a tooth.  That gave her the idea to trick the fairy into thinking that it is indeed an actual tooth.  Malena has put the petal under her pillow to wait for the fairy to place a few coins in it's place for a few nights.  Since the Tooth Fairy has missed our house before (OOPS)  and taken a few days to get their money, she has not given up her hope that she can cash out on this rubber petal.  I was guiding Malena to the decision to not trick the fairy, but she thinks it is hysterical that the Fairy will leave the house with just a rubber petal.  It is dark after all.  She doesn't care about the money which is comforting.  She just gets a kick out of tricking people, and wants to big just like Caity who has already gotten several visits from the Tooth Fairy.    

Shhh, The Secret Is Out

The big Christmas secret has been revealed to Caitlyn.  Apparently that is later than most, but that doesn't make truth go down any smoother.  There were tears and question after question as I sat down holding her at the kitchen table easing her into this new chapter of her life.  The next day it was as if a switch had been flipped that shot her forward into pre-teendom.  She had her first sleepover, asked for more chores, and tithed to the church on her own.  

I discovered  an hour worth of Caity episodes on the camera that I condensed to give you a taste of last year.  Even her voice sounds older now.  She is coming into her own and I watch with a touch of bitter- sweetness in my heart.  Mostly sweetness and excitement for the years to come and continued growth---  though no rush!

Ahh, peace and quiet.

As sad as we were to not be going home for Thanksgiving, it was nice to have a low-key holiday.  We were fortunate enough to have Dad home with us for four days.  The kids (and myself) loved every minute of it.   All four played and played while I watched being incredibly thankful for all things in my life and for the bonding moments encased in the kids' memory boxes from this rare moment to breathe.

 I made my first Thanksgiving meal. I was pleased with how it turned out. Thanks goes  to all of the wonderful cooks I have gotten to watch throughout my life.  

The rest of the holiday was spent chilling and re-decorating the girls' room.  Caity has been asking for some more space for quite a while, and we tried to supply that for her.  The kitchen table is not as conducive to school work as it was last year, so a change was needed.    The color of the moment is AQUA.  Aqua clothes, hair things, notebooks, and now her room.   

It was sad to see the pink and green stripes with butterfly accents go that were a labor of love when we first knew Malena was coming into our lives.  It is absolutely crazy how you can become attached to paint.  That is one reason why Colin sleeps among rainbows, clouds and white picket fences as that is the first 'home improvement' project I did here.  Ah, memories.

The room won't be complete until we pick-up and assemble the new bunk bed tomorrow night.  As Caity says goodbye to pink, Malena is expressing herself through black.  Hmmm,  I haven't figured out how to incorporate that yet.  Good thing she is only four and her likes are fleeting.  Otherwise, they could have ended up with bright yellow and orange in the room.  

I haven't shopped at all and am having trouble getting amped up to go searching for 'that' gift.  I  like the pace that I am keeping right now.  The chauffeur part of my job starts up again tomorrow and holiday extravaganzas beckon, but right now I am enjoying peace in our little Aqua heaven.