The Most Wonderful Time of the Year...

...unless your name is Jason. With the holidays fast approaching I begin to think about all the things that need to be done around the house to make it festive and cheerful. For me this means Christmas lights on the house and lots of baking and cooking. Alas, for Jason the consequences of holiday merry-making are putting up the Christmas lights (yes, they must be straight) and cleaning up the kitchen after I've used every dish in the house. At least he had a little helper this year!

Isabelle and Jason working on the first strand of lights. Note the happy smiles - as if Jason has been counting down the days to these joyous hours he will spend testing hundreds of tiny light bulbs to find the one causing the whole strand not to work.

Five hours later. What happened to your smile Jase? And where did your helper go?

Jason is so lucky to have a wife who knew he would need some time away from those Christmas lights. Just look at this refreshing break I'm giving him!

I'm sure that after washing these dishes Jason was rejuvenated and ready to head back up to the roof.

Please don't feel too badly for Jason. He will get to enjoy all the goodies I made, including this new recipe for cranberry-pistachio biscotti. Besides, doesn't every man love to help around the house?

Ballet

Since the end of September all Isabelle has wanted to wear are twirly dresses and all she has wanted to do is dance (at least in the privacy of her own home). As soccer is quickly coming to an end we are in need of a new Saturday activity and Isabelle has requested ballet lessons with her friend Laney. Some of you may remember Isabelle's short-lived dance career this summer at The Little Gym. She preferred to watch from the doorway and never did one dance step. While skeptical as to how a new dance class would turn out we dutifully signed Isabelle up for a trial class in ballet and creative movement. What a difference a few months, preschool and a best friend can make! Isabelle blew us away with her direction-following, grace (for a three-year-old) and enjoyment of the class.
Isabelle's class is at the Turning Pointe Dance Centre, which is definitely a step up from the Little Gym program. Isabelle loved the big dance studio with wall-to-wall mirrors to watch herself spin, twirl and leap. She also really liked running into the dressing room with the other girls to change her clothes after class and was very adamant she do this by herself with no help from me. If Isabelle continues to like dancing she will be in a recital in the spring!
On another note, I am quite excited about Isabelle's dance class as I can now spend Saturday mornings enjoying my coffee while I watch Isabelle's class, rather than spend Saturday afternoons chasing after soccer balls in the wind, rain and cold!

Striking a pose

Most of the girls in this class have been attending since September. We thought Isabelle was doing a pretty good job of keeping up! In these videos we are watching through a window so there is a lot of background noise. The girls were hearing music as they danced.

We really like the instructor, Erin. She was very patient and gentle with the girls.

I'm sure Isabelle thought she was in Heaven during this segment of the class. She was the only one of the girls who followed the teacher's direction to twirl across the floor. Little did Erin know that this is what Isabelle lives for. She probably just thought Isabelle was very comfortable with solo routines!

We Have a Court Date

I spoke with our caseworker Christy today and we are one step closer to bringing Baby M. home! A court date has been set for December 12th but, before anyone gets too excited, there are some stipulations. There is a new process in place for approving adoption paperwork which involves a second branch of the Ethiopian government. Because of this many families do not make it through court on the first try and need to be rescheduled for 1 1/2-2 months after the first date. We are being cautiously optimistic that we make it through the first time. That would mean we could travel as early as the first of January, making winter break from school that much more fun! We are also prepared to wait until February or March if things don't go our way in December. Everybody keep your fingers crossed for us!

High School Musical

Today Isabelle went to her first movie in an actual theater. So, which show would she choose for this momentous event? Perhaps one with adorable fuzzy animals or a talking dog? No. After viewing several trailers online Isabelle chose High School Musical for three reasons:

1. Dancing
2. Singing
3. Even amongst the preschool set Troy is "totally awesome" (alas, her words)

I do reconcile the choice with the fact that HSM was given a G rating, compared to Madagascar's PG. And really, who doesn't love a wholesome musical every now and then?

Isabelle also decided that today was the day she really needed to have her sparkly pink purse with her.
I took this before the movie started. Later, Isabelle was totally rocking out in her seat.

My very independent girl with her very large bag of popcorn.

We don't have anything to worry about, do we? :)

Happy Halloween!

When we were at Disneyland this summer Isabelle saw Tinkerbell fly through the night sky above Sleeping Beauty's castle to begin the fireworks show. From that moment on she has loved everything that has to do with fairies and magic. While there was much discussion with regard to what she would be for Halloween (everything ranging from a monster to Cinderella), it was not a surprise when Tinkerbell was the final selection.
We went trick-or-treating in my friend Meghan's neighborhood, which has something for everyone. Full-size candy bars for Jason, lots of decorations and children for Isabelle, hot apple cider and wine - definitely for me. Meghan's house is quite the attraction and draws huge crowds. Last year she had a Wizard of Oz theme, complete with a yellow brick road, stage show from the balcony and theme music blaring from her speakers. This year her husband decided to turn the house into a scene from Jurassic Park. He spent weeks building a velociraptor out of wood and rigging his garage to open and have the dinosaur jump out at trick-or-treaters. He used a black light and florescent paint to make it really scary and spent the entire night acting out the scene from the movie where the dinosaurs escape from their enclosure. In case you're wondering, this is what a retired Navy commander does with his time. It was pretty spectacular and I'm sure they're already thinking of what to do next year.

As for Isabelle, she thoroughly enjoyed her night as Tinkerbell. As she was going to sleep she looked up at me and said, "Mommy, I wish I was a real Tinkerbell and I could really fly in the sky." Oh, if only personal jet packs were a feasible reality!

Isabelle's wand and wings lit up so she sparkled wherever she went.

Could Halloween really be complete without her friend Winnie-the-Pooh in the form of a trick-or-treat bag?

Now it's time to get down to the serious business of eating that candy!

The hardest part of the evening?: Getting Isabelle to actually say "Trick-or-Treat!"

Let's talk candy.

Remember when a piece of chocolate-covered peanut butter was all it took to make you sublimely happy?

Pumpkin Muffins

Monday was Isabelle's snack day again so we were faced with the ultimate decision as to what to bring. For those of you who have not yet experienced helping a child choose a snack to take to preschool, you may not realize what a critical decision this can be. For a three-year-old, choosing snack might be analogous to planning a dinner party. First, there has to be variety. A selection for one's guests is imperative. Second, there must be a theme and this theme must be carried over to the beverage selection and choice of linen. Third, one must account for the special dietary needs of one's guests - no nuts at preschool please. Lastly, it has to be something that is fun to make and pass out to one's friends.
Taking all this into account Isabelle chose to make pumpkin muffins with raisins on the side. She also served a lovely 2008 organic apple juice and found pumpkin napkins that perfectly highlighted her choice of entree.

Selecting her ingredients.

Ready to bake.
Mini-muffins are all the rage amongst the preschool set.

Mixing the dry ingredients.

Working on her whisking technique.

Isabelle feels she is ready for her own cooking show.

Voila! 24 miniature pumpkin muffins!

Preschool Days

We just got back Isabelle's first ever school pictures. As professional photo shoots have not been her favorite thing in the past, I was apprehensive about how the pictures would turn out. I was fully preparing myself for the possibility that her picture wouldn't be taken at all and instead I would be left hanging a blank blue background on our wall to commemorate Isabelle's first year in preschool. However, I totally miscalculated how rule-abiding and direction-following a person Isabelle can be - especially with her teacher! Not only did her individual picture turn out great, the class picture, which I can't post, is amazing! I have to brag a little and say she is the only child in the class actually looking at the camera with a smile on her face.
A few weeks ago I took the afternoon off work to take Isabelle and her friend Laney on their first ever field trip. It was really fun to have two giggling girls in the backseat, especially since all they wanted to do was make silly faces at me.

She even crossed her hands obediently!

Off to the pumpkin patch!
Laney, Isabelle and J.J. J.J.'s sister is also in my kindergarten class this year! The girls being silly on the hayride.

Holding hands while waiting to go through the hay maze.

The best part of the trip? Popsicles at the end!

A few nights later Jason took Isabelle to preschool in the evening for Daddy/child pumpkin carving.