Santa was very good to Stella and Des this year. When they first got up, the kids opened their stockings first. Then after a leisurely breakfast, we (minus Appachen who, unfortunately, had to work today) all gathered around the Christmas tree to open our presents. Stella was in charge of distributing the gifts to their rightful owners. The above collage is a glimpse into the mayhem of Christmas morning in NJ.
Stella got board games like Candy Land and Chutes and Ladders, Hello Kitty slippers, Crayola paint set, and several DVDs and CDs she has been wanting. Des got Lincoln Logs, a cool Hot Wheels Drop Force track set, a cowboy dress-up costume, a stuffed Mickey Mouse doll, CDs and DVDs, and, of course, puzzles.
As soon as we were done opening all of the gifts, Des immediately wanted to play with his new wooden jigsaw puzzles. Here he is doing a Tigger and Pooh 12-piece jigsaw puzzle for the very first time all by himself without any trouble.
I guess he has graduated from a puzzle master-in-training to a little puzzle master himself! We are so proud of you Des!
Amamma and Appachen hosted a Christmas party at their house on Christmas Eve. The kids had fun playing seeing some of my extended family. But they mostly spend the night playing with the twin girls from across the street. But somehow we forgot to take pictures once the party started. Here are a few shots we did take before many of the guests arrived.
We left for NJ yesterday and arrived there late last night (around 11:30 PM). We had one layover in Dallas and overall, things went smoothly...the flights were on time, we had enough time in Dallas to eat dinner, and the flights were smooth. Des had a few crying spells here and there on the last leg of the flight, which was the longest leg (about 3.5 hours), but luckily, he fell asleep the last hour. While we were waiting to board our flight in Fort Smith, Ark, the kids loved this Winter Wonderland display that they had setup in the airport. They especially loved the snowmen!
Fort Smith is a rather small airport and it was not very busy when we were there, so the kids had all sorts of room to run around before boarding the plane.
We went to get our yearly picture with Santa today. We figured that the line wouldn't be long at 12 noon on a Monday, but we were wrong. I guess everyone else had the same idea. We waited over an hour in line but the kids did great since we fed them lunch in their stroller while we were waiting in line. The whole time we were in line, Stella kept saying that she was on the "nice list" and that she was going to ask Santa for a big girl bike when it was her turn.
So our turn finally came and I put Stella on Santa's lap; she resisted a little bit because she was shy. She wanted me to sit on Santa's lap so that she could sit on my lap. Des didn't cry but wasn't too thrilled about sitting on Santa's lap. After I placed him on Santa's lap, I went to stand by the photographer and when Des saw me, I heard him say,"There's Mama" several times in a way to tell himself that everything is okay because Mama is just right there. So sweet!!! He had that "deer caught in the headlights look" to his face the whole time and did not want to smile for the picture, whatsoever. He wanted us to get it over with ASAP.
Stella was very sad after we finished taking pictures with Santa b/c she thought Santa was going to give her her big girl bike right then and there. She really, really wants the bike and she was trying to hold it together afterwards but her lips were quivering and her eyes welled up. We had to explain that Santa was getting his list ready today but will bring her gift to her on Christmas day. But since we will be in NJ for Xmas, we are going to give it to her tomorrow morning prior to leaving for NJ for the holidays, telling her that Santa left her an early Christmas present.
Stella had her first piano recital today at the Stella Boyle Smith Concert Hall on the campus of the Univ. of Arkansas. We couldn't be more proud of our little girl!!! She was the youngest and least experienced student there. When she walked up on stage, I thought about the tiny baby girl with the big eyes that the nurse placed on my belly seconds after she was born almost 4.5 years ago and now that same little girl was about to play in her first recital! It brought tears to my eyes.
Stella was the first to perform. When she was introduced and called up on stage, everyone started clapping for her even before she got to the center of the stage to take her bow. That sort of startled and amused her at the same time. The half smile and look of bewilderment on her face as she turned around to look at the audience was priceless to me...I don't think I will ever forget it.
Anyway, her teacher helped her get situated on the bench and Stella started to play her piece, Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, Variation A. Seconds into her performance, Des who had been fine up until then, got himself stuck in between the bottom and back portion of his seat and he just starts screaming. He was screaming pretty much the whole time Stella performed. Stella looked over at Des but kept her composure and played her piece without interruption...a true performer. And wouldn't you know it, Des stops crying just before Stella finishes. He behaved himself the rest of the time, being quiet when he was supposed to and clapping when he was supposed to. It was such a shame that he had to scream during his sister's first ever recital.
When Stella finished, she started coming down the steps on the left side of the stage but then changed her mind at the last minute and skipped across the stage to come down the steps on the opposite side of the stage. That just made everyone laugh. Stella doesn't get that she is supposed to be serious during a recital. The way I see it, she has the rest of her life to be serious and somber. She is a bubbly 4-year old girl who was happy and proud to have completed her first ever recital!!!!
Well without further ado, here is the video of Stella's first piano recital... with Desmond's screaming and all. Enjoy!
The Gup wanted to sleep with Stella last night and got in her bed all the way under the covers and was sohappy at the idea of sleeping with his big sis! Stella was game at first because she thought that it was just a big joke.
But then, when we turned off the lights and said good night, she was not having it. She said, "No, Guppa has to sleep in his crib, and I have to sleep alone in my bed." This made Des very sad and he was not a happy camper when we had to pry him off of Stella's bed to take him to his crib.
This is a blog about The Fish (aka Stella Grace), The Gup (aka Desmond James), and The Scoot (aka Sasha Lily)...the three most important people in our lives. Stella is our firstborn daughter, Desmond is our second child and only boy, and Sasha is our most recent addition. These three keep us pretty busy and they fill our lives with lots of love, laughter, and joy.
We figured a blog would be a great way for friends and family near and far to keep abreast of what was happening in Stella's, Desmond's, and Sasha's lives. We hope that you enjoy reading about the day to day adventures of The Fish, The Gup, and The Scoot!
