Entries Tagged 'holidays' ↓

This is our egg dying fun at Blau haus. Ezri loved drawing on the eggs with crayons and putting on stickers after dying.

Today I told stories at Ezri’s park district preschool. It was a blast. I spent an hour with books and preschoolers. We sang, danced, ROARED, and had a lot of fun. At the end of my visit Ezri came to give me a hug and a number of her classmates followed her lead, so I got heaps of preschooler love. I feel very lucky.

To the DGPL librarians who will see this same group of children in a couple weeks I read Dinosaur Vs. The Library, Shark in the Park, Barry the Fish with Fingers, Grumpy Bird, Do You Know Which Ones Will Grow?, The Doghouse, I am Invited to a Party, and A Cheese and Tomato Spider. We sang Alice the Camel, The Day I Went to Sea, and listened to BOOTS by Laurie Berkner. We made mixed-up animals on the flannel board and my blue kangaroo hid behind flowers in the garden. All the stories went over well, so if you end up repeating some of them I am sure the kids would be pleased.

Here we are under the tree pre-present opening.
Ivan woke up at 7:30. Ezri did not appear until 9 a.m. due to her festive Christmas pinkeye.
Ivan saw the unwrapped red rocking moose left for him under the tree and called it,”Ee-Oh! Ee-Oh! Ee-Oh!” We’ve since learned he uses this word for strollers too. Perhaps it means conveyance?

Ezri is unwrapping a really cool pop-up book. She helped Ivan unwrap his gifts too. I liked it when she unwrapped a present in pink cupcake paper and said that clearly Grandma Tam who wrapped it “knows me because I like cupcakes AND pink.”

The kids love the Star Wars spaceships that came with small Vader, Luke and R2.
They did a pretty good job sharing the present. Only occasionally did we hear Ezri says, “No, Ivan, no! I want Vader!”

We had to take a brunch break. Bacon and coffee – hoo-ray!

Ezri loved the new pink sleeping bag and insisted on taking it to sleep with in her bed. It has made one out of the house foray now to a New Year’s Eve party.

It wouldn’t be Christmas without new books.

Eric unwrapped his Dr. Who lego compatible mini figures.

Ezri and Eric tested whether all the doctors could fit on the lego police car from her stocking. It’s tight, but they just made it.

Ezri in a new dress that is both striped and pink (two of her signature fashion favorite trends) and wearing the paper chain we made to decorate for our holiday party.

We put the tree up and did just a little decorating.

After our first pass at decorating, Ezri’s ornament placement may have needed adjustment.

The next day we did some more work on the tree. Here we are junking up our tree really nicely.

Ivan found an ornament shaped like a star. He holds it aloft saying “Tee-Ko Tee-Ko!” That’s his version of “twinkle twinkle.”

Here Ezri is showing the “baby frosty” who she hung next to the “mama Frosty.”

I am so happy to have a tree full of ornaments – many homemade. We have ornaments made by Ezri and ones Eric & Amy made as children and ones Tam made during my childhood and ones from special friends. It’s completely festive.

Happily holding the owl purse that she’s been filling and unfilling all day.
We took it shopping today.

Ezri could not wait for chocolate dreidel cake and gelt.

They got harmonicas for Hanukkah.

Songtime at the Hanukkah party

This year Jason and Lori helped take the kids on the Polar Express (AKA a metra train out to Aurora).

Here they are getting ready to board.

Peek-a-boo with Santa on the train.

Ezri sitting with Santa. This year she asked for a Minnie Mouse. She asked for Donald Duck last year and she claims next year she will ask for Daisy Duck.

Later in the evening Lori did balloon art for the kids. Here is Ezri in her “Foofa” hat.

Here is Jason fishing for the kids with a balloon fishing pole.

Lori even taught Ezri how to blow up balloons using the pump.

It was good times.

We had an excellent Thanksgiving dinner at Grandma Liz and Grandpa Harvey’s house.
With Grandma Tam and Grandpa Mark there too, all four grandparents were present, along with Aunt Amy and Uncle Tim. Biggest Blau family Thanksgiving ever.

Amy gifted us all with Michigan T-shirts, auf Deutsch, for what should be obvious reasons.

Ezri participated in a wagon train of trick-or-treaters.

Our party included a good witch, a lion, a fire fighter, a ladybug , a sailboat and the two Blau droids. We left a sleeping baby pumpkin inside.

and visit with a BIG PINK BEAR TOO!

Ezri wandered about at the beginning of the storytime before the show telling people “Human cyborg relations.” Occasionally she would point at Ivan and say, “That’s my counterpart.” Grandma Liz made her gold suit and we printed her mask from the internet. Her R2 counterpart’s outfit is courtesy of an etsy shop called “The Wishing Elephant.”

We met some friends who were Powerpuff girls (aka Blossom and Bubbles) for a bit of a dance party and some early trick-or-treating.