Merry Christmas!

And finally... december

It took a little longer for me to get to the month of December but here I am almost at the end with a quick review.

December would not be the same without a visit with Santa at Complexe Desjardins.  This is the day that the girls and I play hooky from school and work.  With our dear friends C and J, we begin our day with a fabulous lunch at Baton Rouge followed by some shopping in the mall while we wait for the crowds to die down.  While the big girls shop, the little girls play in the playground that they set up.  So one mom shops and the other mom keeps an eye out.  And after eight years of doing the same thing, it is quite the well-oiled machine!  And a fantastic tradition that will go on forever I hope  :)

Also a tradition is my Annual Cookie Exchange which is in its fourth year.  Twelve wonderful ladies were present this year and once again an amazing selection of cookies were produced.  I love this party!  It yields such great masterpieces!

The sample cookies.

12 bakers baking.

And yet another tradition!  For the second year in a row, we have been invited to V & J's Vodka and Latke Hanukkah Party.  Lots of vodka and latkes are served at this shindig and there is always some sort of entertainment.  Last year it was Gord with his Olympic torch and this year, their daughter, SQ, cut 10 inches of her hair to donate to Locks of Love.  Great job SQ!

SQ and Cara-Li hugging after the haircut.

Next on tap was our Annual Adoptive Families of Quebec Christmas Party.  It was a little more intimate this year but lots of fun was had by all the children, and adults too!

New this year, Cara-Li has been taking some serious gymnastics lessons on Monday nights.  She is quite talented so we thought that we would try to focus on that.  We were finally allowed to watch them on the last day of class and it is quite evident that she is talented.  Her teacher said that for the next session she would be bumped up to a higher level.  Look at that candle stick...

Also new this was... Alexia's first ballet recital.  Oh my goodness!  Can you say cute?  Unfortunately, my pictures sucked as the room was very dark.  But here's one where she looks just like an angel with her halo on...

And let's not forgot yet another first... Cara-Li's piano recital.  She and 15 or so other children went to a retirement home to play for the residents.  It was Cara-Li's first performance in front of others and she was nervous.  But she did extremely well and it was great practice for the big exam in June...

After the recital, we rushed off to my Italian Christmas party which also is becoming a tradition  :)  This year Cara-Li was asked to dress up as Mother Mary for a little skit they did for the grandparents.  It was very cute...  And so was Joseph  ;)

And Alexia had her gymnastics show.  This is where they get to show the parents what they have been doing throughout the year.  Once again, Alexia was very proud to show us her skills.

And lastly, we were all invited to Alexia's school on their last day for a wonderful Christmas Concert in the church followed by a party with lots of fabulous goodies to munch on.  Somehow, we all forgot to have lunch after that!  And did I mention, Alexia can sing like an angel?  She is too cute and can she ever sing loud.  You can hear her little voice right over everyone else's  :)

And in between all this, we all went to see The Nutcraker and Quidam, Cirque du Soleil.

That's it for now.  see you all soon!