Happy Hanukkah!

Tonight is the last day of Hanukkah. At school last week we made special crowns and cards to celebrate! We light the candles every night to remember the miracle of Hanukkah. And then, after playing dreidl, we get some Hanukkah gelt. Here is a little secret about the gelt - it is made of CHOCOLATE! Sometimes Daddy tries to steal mine away. I hold on tight and don't let him get it! But in the end he gives me kisses and sneaks it away anyway, I don't mind sharing.

Merry Christmas Everyone!

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE! We've had an amazing few days, starting on Christmas Eve with the children's pageant at the Oakland UU Church.My friend Frannie was one of the little mice; Grandma Debbie, Papa, and Rosemary sang in the choir; and Rosemary was one of the three wise men - improvised beard and all. I tried my hardest to raise my hand, but I was too big to be Baby Jesus and too little to be the moon. Christmas morning started with stockings and the traditional family breakfast of eggs, pineapple and sticky buns,before opening so many great presents that my head spun. Here Rosemary and I are showing off our new swan and ostrich puppets from Uncle Corey and my new rocking horse from Grandma Debbie and Papa. And here's a demonstration of the cupcake-making abilities of my new pink kitchen from Santa.

We ended the day with a lovely Christmas dinner of roast beef, kale and white bean soup, mushroom risotto, sweet potatoes in orange peel, and chocolate mousse and pecan pie for dessert! It's been quite a holiday for us and our first ever in California!Happy holidays everyone. I hope yours were as fun and exciting as mine!

Cookies!!

With the holidays coming up, I decided to try my hand at some cookie making. I mixed up the dough, and then invited my friend Zoe, who came over with her friend Mira, to help make them.Zoe's mom helped us take turns rolling and cutting, but our favorite part was the sprinkles - the cookies turned out to be delicious and quite attractive too!

Post #300: My Baby Sister is Coming Soon!

My baby sister is due in less than a month now and I can't wait to meet her. She's in Mommy's belly stilljust like Pedro is sometimes in mine.

Getting Healthy Again

I've had a fever the past few days and have NOT been very happy about it. Thankfully, G'ma Debbie has been there to look after me when I can't go to school and Mom and Dad haven't minded staying up all night with me coughing in their faces. I'm finally starting to feel better though and have started doing some ball squats to ward off any more sickness.

Keeping Busy

Things have been a bit hectic around here, so I haven't had a chance to update lately, but that doesn't mean I haven't kept busy driving tractors, playing at the Alameda beach, collapsing with friends after a robust session of jumping on the bed, and just generally chilling out.

"We Eat Snow"

Last night just before bedtime -- when we said goodnight to Aunt Julie, Uncle Chris, and cousins Courtie and Lily -- we realized Denver was getting the first snow of the season. Of course we had to go check it out so I put on a hat, jacket and shoes right over my jammies and learned how to eat snow.

Happy Thanksgiving!

We had a lovely Thanksgiving at Aunt Julie and Uncle Chris' house today, with 18 people from the Schuster, LaFontano, and Van de Water clans. It was our first holiday without Omma and we lit a candle in her honor before agreeing how thankful we were for a strong family and good friends that feel like extensions of it. We big girls stuck together and had a great time playing, including an awesome princess-dress-up-fest after the big feast.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone.

Going to School

Another exciting thing that has happened this fall is that I started school. One of the most fun things about that is that I sometimes get to ride there in my carriage, with my butterfly helmet, pulled by my daddy. As I informed my mom the other day, daddy is "really strong"!

Happy (Much Belated) Halloween

So we've been a bit distracted this month. But that doesn't mean there hasn't been time for fun. I dressed up as Puff the Magic Dragon (of the red variety) and went around the block with my cousins Cheetah-Girl-Courtie and Princess-on-a-Horse-Lily in Denver.For the next three days I couldn't stop talking about the one piece of candy I had: a delicious cherry lollipop. And before we left I got in some Halloween fun with some of my local pals, including checking out all of Violet's pumpkins and visiting a cemetery with Dorothy and a ladybug (I mean Zoe and Delaney).

O.BA.MA! O.BA.MA!

With the intensity of the last two weeks, it was a good thing that Obama won on Tuesday. It was a much needed tonic and sharing it with 70 friends complete with dedicated kids room & babysitter

made the celebration especially sweet!

A Fitting Tribute

Over 400 people paid tribute to Omma's life on Sunday with beautiful eulogies, songs, and readings (click here to see the full service), followed by a symbolic releasing of balloons so her spirit could dance among the stars.

Goodbye Omma

This morning Adam's mom, Eliza's Omma, passed away after 18 months battling cancer. Sandy was the backbone of her family, guiding Adam and Julie through childhood, adolescence and adulthood as one of the strongest, closest, most well-adjusted families I know. She and Spud are a model for us in marriage and in how to raise a family, and her loss leaves a gaping hole.

We will miss you every day, Omma.