Christmas: Take 1

This evening we did a small Christmas celebration with Susie before she takes off for California tomorrow.

We enjoyed a Thai food dinner.. with Ellie trying something (or several somethings) off each of our plates. Her favorites seemed to be the fried rice, the chicken wings, and, oddly, the curry-spiced chicken. She didn't like the bland, old spring rolls ("This is too spicy. I don't like this."), but thought the *actually* spicy curry-rubbed chicken was just fine.








For dessert Ellie enjoyed a sampling of Ben & Jerry's -- having some fudge brownie as well as some mint cookie.






No pictures of present-opening here.. but Ellie was just enamored with the "pretty princess dress" that Aunt SuSu got for her. She put it right on, did "spinning like a princess," and talked about it for the whole night before going to bed. Don't worry.. you'll all see it next week.

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'Tis Better to Give...

Ellie showed off this morning a couple Christmas tree ornaments she made in the art room at school. One of them is a painted piece that Ellie describes as "a gingerbread Mommy, because of all the pretty colors." She painted that one.





The other is a star made up of something resembling paper mâché, but not really.. then cut out using a cookie cutter, which Ellie also did on her own.






Then.. before we left for school.. Ellie did a good job helping me put together presents for her current (and most previous) teachers.. Nicole, Kasey, Lily, and Lavonne. Ellie quickly got the hang of taping envelopes (with our family Christmas card and Dunkin' Donuts gifts cards inside) to the top of the Ghirardelli chocolate bags.









Once at school Ellie gave Kasey a big hug while giving her her gift.



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Hide & Seek / Show & Tell

This morning.. after we lit up the Christmas tree, of course.. Ellie suggested a game we don't play too often -- Hide & Seek. She sat on the couch, closed her eyes, and said she'd count to 20. She really only ever made it to 7, though, so I had to hide pretty quickly each time.





After several rounds of Hide & Seek Ellie wanted to pick out her Show & Tell item for today. "I show my friends my pretty baby blanket!" She also wanted to show Grandma and Grandpa with a couple pictures.






Ellie is getting much better at posing for pictures. She understands she has to hold still, then once she does there will be something to look at. "Let me see that one," or "Let me see that picture, please," are common post-picture utterances.

Due to a supremely inconvenient pattern of buses this morning, Ellie and I wound up taking a walk to school. Thankfully it's warmer than it really should be this time of year (upper 40s today).. and Ellie seemed to enjoy the stroll anyway.



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Late Additions?

This morning Ellie told me about some late additions to her Christmas list. While playing with her little "family," as she calls it -- the farm play set -- she picked up the farmer, who was sat atop his horse -- and told me, "Daddy, I want to have a horse for Christmas."


I told her, "You already have a horse, don't you? It's right there."

"Not a little horse! A big one for me to ride, silly!"

I told her she would have to tell Santa.. and I'm not sure we'll see him again before Christmas.

Ellie also wanted to show everybody the present she picked out for Mommy.



After that she was on a quest to find all the "Ellie presents."



On our way to the bus stop Ellie gave her imagination a good workout. "It's raining blueberries, Daddy! I catch them on my tongue. Yummy!" She first told me that as we were walking.. but I couldn't get a picture until we made it to the Grasshopper.


At school Ellie and Marley were being silly.. putting connecting blocks on their heads. "That's not a hat! Nooooo!"






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"It's Pajamas Day!"

Ellie was quite excited this morning that one of her favorite days at school is back again! She chose her Santa pajamas, appropriately, as we got dressed this morning.. and then asked to have her picture taken in front of our Christmas tree again. "I want to show Grandma and Grandpa my Santa pajamas! Yeaaaaa!"


After that, though, I explained to Ellie that it is very, very cold outside today -- just over 20 degrees -- and we had to get all bundled up to head to school. This turned out to not be a problem at all.. thanks to her snow pants (no snow.. but they're pretty warm) having pockets in them, which she quite liked.





After a fun bus ride to school Ellie was happy to show all her friends her Santa pajamas.. and then drew with some chalk at the art table. Before I left she told her friends about seeing Santa at the Grasshopper.. and about how much fun she had "ice skating." She asked to go again Saturday. Hopefully the rink is open on Christmas Eve.



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Ice-capades

This last Saturday afternoon Ellie and I headed down to the Charlestown ice rink to give ice skating a whirl.

I have been explaining to her how she needed to get use to how slippery the ice is while wearing just her shoes.. before actually strapping on some skates.

She had a lot of fun watching some older kids skating around.. and eventually got the courage up to venture out on the ice on her own.

She never made it too far away from the door to the ice.. but did well, saying she wasn't too scared of the ice being slippery.. and looking forward to when she is "way bigger so I can go really, really, really fast."











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Guess Who's Coming to Breakfast

It was the big man himself! This was a surprise to me even.. so imagine how much Ellie liked it. She was quite excited to see Santa dropping in on the Grasshopper this morning.

Ellie remembered to tell Santa she'd like a shopping cart and a camera for Christmas (check.. and check).. and was happy to say "Hi, Santa!" and take pictures with him.. though she couldn't bring herself to part with her orange juice for them.








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Ellie and the Very Blustery Day

You can't tell it's windy from these first few inside the house pictures.. but it is. Holy cow.

Ellie actually noticed the wind, asking me, "What's that loud noise outside, Daddy?" I told her it was the wind and that it was very windy outside. Don't know where she made the connection, but her first thought after that was, "I need to put on my chap stick so the wind won't make my lips cold."





She was happy after getting it applied.


Then she asked me if I would like any.. and told me she'd put it on for me.


After a quick dance with Dolly (while Ellie sang "Once Upon a Dream") we were off to the bus stop.


Ellie was quick to take shelter in the apartment building's doorway to stay out of the strong wind.


Then at school Ellie said she wanted to match the pegs on that peg board.. and did a good job of putting like colored pegs next to each other as her playtime went on.


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Fish Tale

Ellie and I had a typical enough morning at home.. but she did find a creative way to let me know she had to go to the bathroom after waking up. Over the baby monitor I hear Ellie singing some of her favorite songs -- the days of the week song, the months of the year song, and Jingle Bells. Then the lyrics started progressively morphing into "I have to go pee".. or "I have to pee, Daddy".. while the tune remained the same.

Having breakfast and getting ready for school were par for the course, but it appears there's a new morning tradition developing. Ellie once again asked me to take her picture with the Christmas tree. "I smile with the pretty Christmas tree for Grandma and Grandpa."


At the bus stop Ellie tried to give the big, stuffed Minnie in the Grasshopper a kiss through the window. "Look! Minnie has a very, very big candy cane!" says Ellie.





Then, at school, a fish was on my tail. Ellie chased me around with it saying, "Bite! Bite! Bite! Fishy is biting you, Daddy!"

I asked her if fishies like to eat daddies, but she said, "Nooooo. Fishies only like to eat fish food!"

Phew!






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Getting Warmed Up

This morning Ellie said she wanted to practice for Christmas. "I give you your present, Daddy. And here's mine and here's Mommy's and here's SuSu's."


"We wait to open until Christmas comes."


She then said she wanted to "look pretty in front of the pretty Christmas tree" -- breaking out her trademark "cute" pose.





In case you're curious.. we don't leave the tree's lights switched on all day. Ellie just asks for it to be turned on upon coming downstairs every day. We remember to turn it off before leaving for school.. and then turn it back on as soon as we all get home.

Also this morning Ellie told us her plans for work in the future: "When I grow up I don't bring my princess suitcase to work. I bring princess Minnie [her stuffed animal] to work."

At the bus stop Ellie discovered that she can play hide-and-seek using just her strawberry hat.





On our way into school Ellie reminded me of an apparently pressing engagement. "Remember, Daddy, I have a meeting with Chadwick and James and Meara my friends. Remember?" I think she has meetings on the mind because last night she and Ann stayed at school later than usual to attend a curriculum night meeting.

Once in preschool Ellie and Eden did a very good job working together to build a house for one of the Lego men. They even included a "Christmas tree," as Ellie put it. You can see it laying there pre-planting.


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