'Twas the week before Christmas

You can tell the holidays are nearly upon us. One more day of school and work, and then Mom arrives tomorrow night.

Meanwhile, we had a busy day of celebrations. First, Lydia and Colin had a "showcase" at school, where they performed winter-themed songs with both their classes and the Cub Choir, which meets weekly after school on Thursdays. Colin dressed as a snowman for the event, with a black top hat, a blue scarf, big black "buttons" down his white t-shirt, and his nose painted orange. Then, Eric had a short performance at the end of his pre-school day, wearing a green and red hat. Nicole attended that alone, but took video. Finally, Lydia and Rachel had brief tap dance performances at the ends of their after-school classes this afternoon.

Then we went home, had a quick dinner, and hosted a cookie party with our neighbors. Despite the short notice—Nicole only passed out the invitations a few days ago—it was well attended, and we had a good time.

Now, everyone else is asleep, and I'm up baking Finnish holiday bread (sweet bread with cardamom, which I make using sourdough) for Rachel's multi-cultural fifth grade lunch celebration tomorrow. I made the same thing for Lydia's class the week before Thanksgiving.

Yesterday the three older kids got their solid green belts and two medals apiece at taekwondo.

Tuesday there were extra swim lessons and a basketball practice, and we learned that Rachel and Lydia had done well enough on their latest round of advanced learning testing to qualify for the Highly Capable Cohort. This gives Rachel additional middle school options next year. It probably won't mean anything different for Lydia until then. Colin also tested, but he had an extra reading test, so his results aren't available yet.

Sunday was Lydia's eighth birthday party, an intimate gathering at home attended by twenty-four of her classmates and other friends. Actually, it was quite raucous and nearly overwhelming at times, but Nicole did a great job of planning and we got plenty of help from other parents who stayed. The twenty-eight kids, including ours, did a scavenger hunt around the neighborhood for gingerbread man clues Nicole had hidden, with much enthusiasm despite the rain. Then back at home they decorated "gingerbread" houses made of graham crackers, ate a home-made brownie and mint chip ice cream cake (Lydia's idea), and played Heads Up Seven Up to keep calm.

After the party, to celebrate the success of the endeavor, we went down to Pacific Place for dinner at Din Tai Fung (Lydia loves dumplings). They seated us with no wait, which was a first. After, we went to the Sheraton to see the annual gingerbread displays. There we waited in line for what felt like ages to see the Grinch-themed creations. It's a holiday tradition we enjoy, but next year we'll try to go earlier, when the lines are not so long.