stijve fallus A nice, quiet day at the house in the lead-up to the New Year.
The kids settle into some activities to pass the time.
Contemporary critics referred to this as the artist’s ‘blue’ period.
Mirror, mirror…
Alex gets an early start on Juliette’s flash cards
Well, hello!
Juliette practices with her make-up
We were hanging out in Juliette’s room this morning when Alex decided that he wanted to dance. So he headed over to the CD player, picked out some tunes, and danced like nobody was watching!
We had a wonderful Christmas morning with all of the grandparents to keep us company!
Alex tucks in…
That’s a big box!
Who needs a stocking when you’ve got a sack full of presents?
What’s in here?
New hat!
Papi watches the excitement.
Grandpa seems to have been a good boy this year…
Christmas 2016 would be remembered as the one where Juliette got a make-up set.
Juliette might want to go a little lighter on the eye shadow.
Christmas 2016 would also be remembered as the year that Santa Claus brought everyone a toilet brush.
Alex has an Olaf!
Two very excited kids!
Breaking gender stereotypes. The princess with her Black & Decker tool bench.
There was some concern about whether or not Santa would visit this year. Juliette learned that Santa normally comes down the chimney, but our energy-efficient house doesn’t have a fireplace. Eventually she decided that Santa would come in through the window.
Except this plan backfired. Juliette was so concerned about Santa coming through the window that she couldn’t get to sleep. So Papa did what any good father would do — he picked up his phone, called up the North Pole, and asked if Santa wouldn’t mind ringing the bell at the front door when he arrived.
It must have worked, too. When the kids woke up the next morning, they found a nice note from Santa thanking them for the cookies, milk and carrots for the reindeer. And a tree with plenty of presents underneath, of course! Merry Christmas!
Santa came to visit!
It’s Christmas Eve and we’re enjoying the start of a family Christmas, with its mix of French, English and American traditions. One of the constant memories of Papa’s childhood was the 1966 version of How the Grinch Stole Christmas, so the kids sat down with Grandpa to watch it this year.
[Spoiler alert] There comes a point in the film where Mr. Grinch has a change of heart, realizes that Christmas is about more than just presents, and decides to give the presents back to the Whos in Whoville. When this happened, both of the kids started applauding wildly.
I think we’re raising them right.
You’re a mean one, Mr. Grinch
We celebrated Juliette’s 4th birthday party this weekend, and it was a sugar-fueled, Frozen-themed afternoon of high-pitched little girls racing around and screaming. Still, we all managed to survive…
The feast of Saint Nicolas is here, and with it, the beginning of the Christmas season. We went to the candlelight procession of Saint Nicolas in the town center over the weekend, and today the kids celebrated at daycare.
Excited, much?