We went to our town's annual tree lighting on Saturday evening.
They always have a big bonfire to roast marshmallows in and plenty of s'mores fixings.
There's lots of festive performances to watch. Here Claire and Maggie are enthralled by a Chinese lion dance troop. (My parents were in town this weekend because my mom had a doctor's appointment at the University of Washington.)
And then the tree is lit! I like that they just use this large tree on the grounds of city hall. It's still very pretty and so much less wasteful. It was pouring down rain the whole time, but that's winter in Seattle for you. It's actually not so bad as long as you're wearing the right clothes. I would definitely take forty degrees with some rain over the twenty degrees that was the usual in Pittsburgh.
After dinner at a new-to-us Mexican place, the girls put their shoes and letters out for St. Nicholas before getting ready for bed. We read both of our St. Nicholas books (The Legend of St. Nicholas and the Baker's Dozen) and watched both of our St. Nicholas movies (the CCC version and the Veggie Tales version) over the course of the weekend.
They awoke to new Christmas books, chocolate coins in their shoes, and tickets to see their first performance of the Nutcracker that evening!
We went to a special preschool-friendly one-hour version presented by the Emerald City Ballet at the Meydenbauer Theater in Bellevue.
Upon hearing, "Look at Mommy and smile!" Claire immediately turns in the opposite direction. They insisted on wearing their Christmas dresses. Maggie's is from Janie & Jack and was actually worn by Claire for the last two years. I just love it so much. Definitely the top article of clothing I would save from their childhood thus far. I found Claire's coordinating red velvet dress on clearance at Olive Juice last year.
After dinner at a new-to-us Mexican place, the girls put their shoes and letters out for St. Nicholas before getting ready for bed. We read both of our St. Nicholas books (The Legend of St. Nicholas and the Baker's Dozen) and watched both of our St. Nicholas movies (the CCC version and the Veggie Tales version) over the course of the weekend.
They awoke to new Christmas books, chocolate coins in their shoes, and tickets to see their first performance of the Nutcracker that evening!
We went to a special preschool-friendly one-hour version presented by the Emerald City Ballet at the Meydenbauer Theater in Bellevue.
Upon hearing, "Look at Mommy and smile!" Claire immediately turns in the opposite direction. They insisted on wearing their Christmas dresses. Maggie's is from Janie & Jack and was actually worn by Claire for the last two years. I just love it so much. Definitely the top article of clothing I would save from their childhood thus far. I found Claire's coordinating red velvet dress on clearance at Olive Juice last year.
They had the most wonderful time watching the ballet. To top it off, the dancers all came out to the lobby afterward to meet their little guests. I'm not sure if I've ever seen Claire and Maggie so excited. They got to meet Clara, the Nutcracker, and the Sugar Plum Fairy, but here they are with the soloist from the snow scene. One of the absolute best parts of parenthood is seeing your children so happy.
Aww I love this! They both look so happy! My favorite baby clothes would be both of the newborn giraffe onesies (pink and rainbow stars) - Betsy should be in the pink one when she comes home from the hospital, because traditions!!
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