The Definitely Not Christmas Concert - Part 3 (The Aftermath)

Much like Saturday Night Live or Live Aid, these concerts invariably involve an after party in the kids classrooms.  This involves the kids eating food you have paid for with their friends while you stand, seatless, behind them half interacting with the other parents doing the same thing.  And, it's actually pretty cool.  You get to see Charlie in his classroom with all his new comrades figuring out his place in it all.  And, then there is the inseparable P1 Girl Gang in Schuyler's class who are mischief incarnate.   And it's why we do it, right?  To get a window into their worlds and briefly join them.

Schuyler, Destiny, Zarah, and Emma.

The Definitely Not Christmas Concert - Part 2

These shots of Charlie were taken when we were trying to sneak a peak at him in the wild through the windows of his classroom... unfortunately, he caught us!

The Definitely Not Christmas Concert - Part 1

We go to these school events and a lot of the time, we're not sure we want to go.  We've got a lot of stuff to do at work and here we are taking time out to watch 3-5 year olds sing about the various religions of the world... but whenever we finally pull ourselves away from the false obligations of the job world and commit to these things, they always bring joy.  We always get a little bit more emotional about them than we think we should but it's hard not to see things like Schuyler totally rocking out to Jingle Bells (their class had Christmas!) and bopping around with her friends, totally confident and possessed by the music, and not feel pride and joy, as they say.  And Charlie, well, this is his first year.  He's just a little guy of three years on the planet and he's standing up there in front of these hundreds of faces obscured by iPhones and iPads and he's singing about some religious festival and having a goofy time.  

Kids, if we know one thing about you both, it's that you love music and it seems to make you very happy.  

Back row: Ollie Hayward, Jackson Langley, Ellise Dickinson, Emma Allington, Destiny Greaves, Schuyler, Zarah Siddiqui.

Jammin'

A Face in the Crowd

Santa Parade 2

Santa Parade 1

We didn't think this would be that good.  We thought it would be a bit of a waste.  We arrived in the after work, weak sunshine and there were a fair few people there, many of whom were lounging in chairs they had brought with them and a fair few had the foresight to bring coolers.  As we waited outside, watching a whole lot of nothing happening, the kids stopped buying our "the parade will start any minute" line and started getting a little bored.  And, frankly, we agreed and thought the whole thing was a big mistake.  But then it did start.  In the twilight, floats upon floats rumbled past blaring passably seasonal tunes.  There were floats of very embarrassed people from local shops on floats casting samples of their wares into the crowds, there were countless troupes of what appeared to be synchronised hookers dancing, there were fairy tale floats with princesses (Schuyler thought this WAS Snow White and Belle come to visit our little island!), and finally, Big Mr. Claus himself.   The kids were rapt.  They sat on our shoulders, peered through people's legs, and were just thrilled - the feeling that can only be described as "glee".  There is something so infections about an unironic, complete commitment to joy and it just gave Christmas back to us.  Of course, Charlie's stomach slowly overcame his attention span for the floats and we braved our way across the street (like Frogger but with princesses and dance troupes) to munch on the muffins and popcorn Danjelini's had to offer.  A great night.

Par-la-ville Park


It was late and Charlie's stomach couldn't hold off... luckily Danjelini's was open late for muffins and yoghurt for hungry little boys.

Cousins Get Together - Part 3

The next generation... may the force be with you.

Cousins Get Together - part 2

This boy loves balls. 

This girl loves patterns.

This cousin is great with kids.

These kids test the little known Golf Ball On Slide Principle.

This Aunt demonstrates yoga moves nobody else in the family attempts.

Boy meets bird.

Cousins Get Together - Part 1

So this is always one of our favourite times of year - the all-too-infrequent-but-wonderful cousins get together (usually instigated by ringleader Auntie Ardleigh) and this one was hosted by the wonderful Stephen and Sarah.  Part 1 focused on our kids getting their first taste of driving which was pretty funny.  The cars went about 2 mph but were pretty thrilling for the munchkins... if only they had big ones for the adults.

Of Elves and Lego Advent - let December begin!

Resident Goofball

The Elf on the Shelf.  This was supposed to be our godsend, our salvation, our discipline-in-a-box.  Charlie lived in mortal fear of judgment from the Elf all December.  Schuyler was left 90% unconvinced and it kind of encouraged her to test this "Elf" by pushing the boundaries a bit to see if there were any repercussions on the Elf front but the elf kept silent, holding those transgressions inside, waiting to tell Santa overnight.

A very cool idea from Mama:  Instead of chocolate every day, a little Lego toy that formed part of the scene on the box lid.  Neat!  And the kids seemed to really dig it (with the usual half-ignorance/half-cheekiness of Charlie opening a few days at once).