Pulling Taffy and Paddling in the Pool

Daddy scheduled another jam-packed Saturday. We pulled taffy at the Farbach-Werner Nature Preserve. Genevieve selected vanilla and orange. It was less sticky than we expected, but far more work than anticipated. Our hands were cramped! We understand why it is better left to machines. It was fun learning the history of taffy pulling and how it was a way to flirt in the earlier years. Genevieve thought the end result was delicious.

We went to Happen, Inc. to make Christmas decorations (Gigi made a tree ornament and put together a sleigh) and found Santa himself was hanging out at Happen! Gigi chatted with him, but not about gift requests – mostly art projects and Daisy the cat (Aunt Lizzy's cat whom we've been house sitting for the last 3 weeks)!

Grammy hosted us for a swimming session in her indoor swimming pool. Genevieve was so excited to learn that this existed. She loves the fact that there are steps that gradually descend into the water so she can go in at her own pace. Why was it that she wouldn't go in the deeper end(with Mommy) until Daddy got out? Maybe because Daddy encourages (that it, forces) her to do more than for what she is ready.

Sciontastic

Today was Genevieve's last day of school. It was one of Waldorf's many special festivals: WinterGarden. There is no festival like the Advent Spiral. It is a very reverent, sacred ceremony. This festival celebrates the inner light that we carry within us through the darkest half of the year. There is nothing as magical as a glowing, lit, Advent Spiral in a dark room on the day of the Winter Solstice! Genevieve held her apple and lit the candle with Miss Carmey's help. She proceeded to admire all of the other candles and decorations while a gentleman was playing the guitar.

Later in the day, Nicole, Daniel and Alice came to Cincinnati and visited prior to leaving for their holiday in Germany. Our biggest treat of the season was the use of their car! The family went to Ludlow Avenue for a Clifton Holiday Celebration. Gigi made a bagel bird feeder, had holiday cookie treats at Kellers IGA, stood in line for face painting at Toku Kids and received a balloon flower handcrafted at Graeter's. The coup de grace was a carriage wagon ride drawn by two beautiful horses -- down Middleton, Bryant, to Clifton and back to Graeters singing merrily along the way. Gigi was amazed that mommy new the words to a "new" song, Deck the Halls, but by the time we rounded Clifton Avenue, she had figured it out too. Genevieve spotted eight lighted reindeer on top of the library and one (Rudolph?) on top of Graeters.

Happen Inc's Big Event

Tonight, we picked up our three Santa plates for milk and cookies at Happen that we made a few weeks back. There were over 90 plates displayed on long tables. The elves had different cookies to sample. Below is a picture of the finished plates which will hold the cookies for Santa on Christmas Eve.

Daddy went to a special Crossroads service for Keri Shryock, who passed away the night before during a performance of Awaited, a contemporary retelling of the Christmas story.

My Own Private Festival of Lights

The second try (no lost privilege for bad behavior as was the case Dec 2nd) worked out for The Festival of Lights at the Zoo. Because of the bitter cold and sketchy driving conditions, the zoo was nearly empty. It was a winter wonderland with snow covered trees. The Madcap Puppet Show featuring "Broccoli Nose" - named by Alex- was performed for a house of about 20. Daddy first saw this show three seasons ago (when Gigi was just 8 mos) and had been pining for it to return; it was well worth the wait! Done in blacklight, the puppeteers were all in black and could not be seen. The results were magical. The glee on Gigi's face (and Lily's) was the best birthday gift a mommy could have (with the exception of daddy's gift). On the carrousel, she chose the ostrich as usual. The talking tigers were a hit once again, and even sang "Happy Birthday" to mommy. The baby cheetahs have really gotten big. Gigi could have talked all night. A train ride finished off the evening at the zoo.

Because it was the last night to use Frisch's Halloween coupons, we had dinner at Big Boy - which is big fun with cousins. Genevieve enjoyed her usual: pancakes and piles of fruit.

The Most Exciting Monday! EVER!

WOW. So much fun in one day! The Museum Center remains one of Gigi's favorite places. She requests trips there more than any other place (with the possible exception of Aunt Kristen's house). HOWEVER, today it was EVEN BETTER! The special exhibit feature was her favorite Big Red Dog, Clifford - complete with all his friends and family. She fell in love with T-Bone's bone from his doghouse; wooden and just the right size for her hands. On top of that, Holiday Junction - with train displays and a miniature train ride for kids only - was in full swing and bigger and better than ever this year. To top it all off, SANTA was there! Not only did she get to sit on his lap and yak quite a while, later he came over to the train table and chatted it up with Gigi. It is surprising that she did not burst into a million pieces from the excitement of it all.

In the evening, we went to the Holiday In Lights at Sharon Woods with Grammy. First, as we pulled into the parking lot we were greeted by Everett Green, the strolling christmas tree....(Kara to fill in) Inside Santaland, we heard a dulcimer player, saw a puppet performance of Ebeneezer Scrooge, admired the train display, and were treated to a magician. Genevieve's favorite was jumping in the balls in the indoor playland.

Next was the highlight: an outdoor light display viewed from our car. The display of fantastic colors adorned hundreds of trees as well as more than 100 moving and holiday themed figures depicting everything from Santa and elves to Godzilla. On the way home, Grammy was hungry so we pulled into her favorite burger joint, Wendy's. The perfect nightcap; a single burger with lettuce, pickles and mustard!

Happy Birthday Party, Dear Lily

Gigi attended cousin Lily’s fifth birthday party today. The party was a magical fairy party. Each guest was invited into a fairy transformation tent where she donned pink fairy wings, dramatic eye make-up , and was sprinkled with sparkly fairy dust. Each girl got a wand to tap the next girl to be transformed. Once every guest (five girls and Alex) was fairy-ized, each decorated a fairy treasure box. Then came the fairy treasure hunt (pennies in Kristen's living room), and "Pin the Wings on the Fairy." Genevieve thoroughly enjoyed herself and is already planning her own fairy birthday party.

In the evening, on the way home, we picked up Grammy and went to the live Drive through Nativity that the Montgomery Methodist Church puts on. There are about 10 different live historical scenes depicting the times surrounding Jesus' birth. They even have you tune your radio into a frequency with accompaning music. What a nice gift to the community!

Mt Adams Reindog Parade

Daddy was pumped! He was finally going to get to see the reindog parade. After picking Grammy up from Saturday lunch, we drove to Mt. Adams only to find the streets blocked off and parking nonexistent. With the parade only minutes away from starting, I illegally parked and hurried off Gigi and Mommy to the parade (I stayed behind with Grammy) so that at least someone (though, not me) would be able to witness hundreds of dogs dressed up ridiculously in their holiday garb. (at this point, I will pass the blogging onto Kara - she was not so impressed)