Gingerbread houses





Every Holiday season, Great Aunt Tish in Vermont sends Graham and Julia a Williams Sonoma Gingerbread house...we still have it sitting on the Dining Room table. Last year, at age 3.5, Graham and Julia opened it and started eating it upon its arrival...this year, at 4.5, they 'chilled' on that idea.

 

Perhaps because we made our own Gingerbread houses. The houses were assembled (thank you, Safeway!) and, with the help of frosting, gumdrops, marshmallow snowmen, M&Ms, candy canes, and all types of 'stuffster' voila! Graham and Julia created imaginative houses...well, they did eat a few of the decorations..

 Above, Graham's creation

 Julia's, on the left with candy cane hearts, Graham's on the right

 Graham put snowmen on his roof.



More Holiday Photos

Here are some shots from Terence's iPhone re: Kennedy Center's Santa Brunch and one shot of Graham in the auditorium before the Nutcracker...little man, little lady.

Oh, and our trusty indoor 'family' tree...as opposed to the 2 trees that Graham and Julia have, and the one outdoor tree that stays up until March or so...

 

Did I mention that Julia opened almost all of the gifts on Christmas morning, as she was the only one awake at the proper time? And that mommy, who had helped the elves in the basement workshop until the wee hours of the night, warned daddy to 'go downstairs, I hear childrens' voices.

Once downstairs, Graham stated there was a a bicycle in the basement bathroom.

"Oh, I think an elf needed to go to the bathroom, then heard Santa's sleigh start to take off, so he left the bike in the bathroom." My answer 

The truth was that I thought that, indeed, the children would wake before Terence and I did, so I did not want the bikes with training wheels under the tree. That is, bikes that can bash into walls and down the 3 indoor Christmas trees.

Facebook showed photos of friends whose children were so in order, so 'in front of' wrapped gifts. I bet such photos were taken weeks before Christmas, and not on the actual day.

 

<

Santa and Happy New Year

.
Blogger has changed for some reason, so bear with me on the posts...just trying to upload photos since it's been awhile
Here is a photo of Graham and Julia at the Kennedy Center "Brunch With Santa" prior to the truly lovely Nutcracker ballet (long, one intermission, but the children held their own...not bad for 4.5 year olds!)...

Now, what was the Kennedy Center thinking? They stuck poor Santa--a v. good Santa--in a dark corner, where it was difficult to get a photo of him...well, here it is...

And also, a photo of our 14-foot outdoor tree...er, including the ladder that I had to get on to put the lights--ahem, WRAP the lights around each branch at the top--oh, did I mention we also have 3 more trees inside?? Let me find a photo or two...

OK, this year, Graham and Julia decorated (mean: me) their trees in colorful lights...it was fun...you can't see it, and I will take a photo of it later, our 'family' tree which is all bathed in which lights to reflect the outdoor tree which lines up with the indoor tree through the v. large window in the parlor...oh, never mind...it gets so complex, for someone like me, who is so not into such things...but, alas, at Christmas...well, lights mirror one another, indoor and out, and trees align and Santa comes...what can I say? I'm a sucker for the magic of Christmas!

I have more photos...let's see if Blogger will cooperate...I do NOT understand what is going on with Blogger...but I want to upload another Santa photo from our friend Kristina's party...god bless, she hired a Santa!! I did not have to go to Pentagon City to go to the Santa there (and frankly, I think the entire idea of a little kid sitting on a strange man's lap is...well, creepy anyhow)...
I digress...let me dig up that photo from the party

OK, I'll get back to you on that...:) Happy New Year

 

Remembering the Johnson Men at Arlington National Cemetary: Ed, Paul and George

I took Graham and Julia to Arlington National Cemetary as we observed Veteran's Day...and we visited Uncle Ed's grave. It actually made Julia sad, she didn't really like the idea that we were stepping on graves--a good observation, because Arlington graves are so close-packed together, unfortunately for what that represents, that it is impossible to avoid 'stepping on a grave'...

I recorded some of their musings, here are comments made about the 'people sleeping' under the ground:

What do they do at night?
What if the have to go to the bathroom?—J

Maybe they have a funny Cat in the Hat machines down there (to help them go to the bathroom)—G

What if they were hurt? -- J

What do they wear? -- G

Are there heads under the stones? -- J (thus, Head Stones)
I'm sad about your Uncle Ed -- J

Alas, the recording ends with me saying ‘no no no  no no’...I think that was either when Graham tried to climb onto a tombstone, or Julia walked up with a rose that someone had left on a grave. I had her return it to the gravesite. It was all in all a rather moving moment…but I don’t think Julia liked it

Graham, after figuring that he couldn't climb the tombstones, pull them down, or kick them, brightened up and said: "I know! I'll roll down the hill!"

There are photos of him below doing just that.

Later, at night in the bathtub, Graham said: "Mommy, how do I spell my middle name?"

J-O-H-N-S-O-N

I guess something 'stuck' from the trip to Arlington!

 

 Look close, you can see Graham's legs at the 2:00 point!

 Julia, who must do everything her brother does, joins in...

 Rolling, rolling, rolling...

 Hey! Look at these great sticks!

 Can I take one home with me?

Gotta love boys...Graham always finds something to do!



Mount Vernon

This was a fun pre-Halloween trip with Graham and Julia. We took a hay ride, saw the farm, walked down to the water, roasted apple slices, saw how people lived 'way back then' ...
This trip triggered many, many questions: Did they have electricity? Toilets? How did they travel? Did they have cars? What was George Washington like? Why were his teeth made from wood?

Graham wore his astronaut costume, and was saluted to and waved at everywhere...he took it all in stride, and waved back to most people...Graham, surprisingly, wore the entire gear--backpack, helmet--the majority of the time, I never had to carry anything for him. I love the touch of wearing the fireman's boots (the astronaut 'boots' -- flimsy clunky things -- arrived by mail the next day)..
Julia wore a ballerina outfit, she wasn't up for the mermaid just yet "I'm saving it for Halloween!"
Julia said her favorite part of the trip was 'seeing how people lived way back then'...

Here are some pictures...

How 'they' dressed 'way back then'

Stately workhorses pulled us on the hayride

Watching the bulls on the farm

Sweet things...

Wiped out astronaut and ballerina

My legs don't have any more power in them, mom...can we go home?

Halloween, Mermaid and Astronaut

Halloween was so much fun...Graham tired out after visiting a 'haunted house' here in Georgetown, so he came home to hand out candy with Terence. Julia and I trick or treated for many many blocks...I had to carry her at one point--she was just so 'high' about trick or treating...it was so fun to watch her try to hike up her mermaid tail to climb the steep steps of the old homes (why didn't people sit at the bottom of the steps so the wee ones were safer?)...

 

It was surprising that Georgetown has such an active trick or treating community. Nothing like Capitol Hill's truly festive and community-oriented feel--but the flow felt easier to handle here in Georgetown, we did not get 'slammed' for a period and then have it drop off...the trick or treaters were pretty consistent...

I'll post more photos later, I just feel the need to update! We've been up to soooo much lately...I can't believe Thanksgiving is next week, then Christmas!! Then...egads.

Singing at Washington International School.

 Julia, my little Mermaid

Rocket Man Graham!