A New Look

Monday was the day we'd been waiting for, for more than 18 months. After waiting for certain teeth to fall out, and her expander to make more room on top, Cora had her braces put on Monday morning.

Here is her before smile...

















Next is halfway through the process, with the brackets glued on...

And, all done! (At Cora's request, I'm not posting the closeup of her braces.)
We are so pleased with her orthodontist's office. Great service so far!

The best cure for a sore mouth (next to Advil)? Lots of new books to read! We checked out an armful at the library after her appointment. She was such a trooper! No complaints, even though we all know she would have had some discomfort.

Even more helpful was a bit of frozen yogurt. Cora chose red and green bands for her braces, naturally.

We think she looks pretty darn cute with them on, even if they do help her look more grownup.

Weekend Fun

On Saturday, we went to a Christmas party at our friend Luis and Audra's house. Stace and I had a lot of fun with Colleen and Rigo, Angelica, and of course Luis and Audra.

With Grandpa available to watch the girls for the evening, we extended our date with an afternoon movie. We enjoyed Dr. Strange, the Marvel Comics film with Benedict Cumberbatch as the lead. He's a favorite of ours.

On Sunday night, we met up with some Mom2Mom friends to look at Christmas lights together. A friend who lives on one of the amazing streets hosted us, with cookies and a hot chocolate bar. It was a great evening.

Also Sunday, Melanie came over with Gibby, the new kitten she and Nick picked up this past week.

He's an adorable blue-eyed Siberian, a breed that doesn't trigger allergic reactions. Nick is very allergic to cats and dogs, and Gibby is his first furry friend.

The girls loved playing with him, and our cats tolerated him, with only some minor hissing.

Speaking of cats...
Cora and Violet made and taped up some cute icicle and snowflake decorations. Spencer did not approve.

Class Christmas Parties

Friday, the last day of school before the three-week break, was a fun day of parties for both my girls.

Mrs. Shafarman's holiday party was a lot of fun, and included the dreidel game for the fourth- and fifth-graders. Here, Cora shows the dreidel to her partner, as the students win or lose stacks for pretzels.






I feel so privileged to be able to help out in class for these special occasions.

 The snowmen craft came out so cute! Here are Sophia, Gianna and Cora with their snowpeople.
Unfortunately, the craft involved one of Sebastian's favorite toys - the puffy balls used for earmuffs. He quickly removed one once it was on display at home.

Cora is a lucky girl to be in Mrs. Shafarman's class. She is a brilliant teacher who pushes her students to become better.

After Cora's party, I went across the building to help Violet build her gingerbread house. A bonus from being in a K-1 split class is getting to do the project again!

As a big first-grader, Violet needed no help at all, but of course I love being a part of it all. She did a great job.

Violet loves her teacher, too, and it's great to have the familiarity. Behind her is the gift card tree the class put together as a Christmas gift.

And then, after our fun day of partying, we were off on our three-week Christmas break!

Flight Home, Lunch and Reading Fun

Our trip home went smoothly, aided by two gingerbread people Stace bought the girls as gifts at a Pikes Market bakery. These little two-hour flights are so fun!











We flew up on Virgin America, and home on Alaska Airlines. Both were excellent, and on Virgin America, we flew for free using air miles.

 

On Wednesday, I went to La Grande Orange in Pasadena for lunch with some of my mama friends. Melanie works here, partly through my connection with my friend Melissa, and this is the tree Melanie decorated for the restaurant.

Unfortunately, she couldn't serve us, because she and Nick were off to pick up their new family member, a kitten!

Later on Wednesday, Cora had a checkup at the orthodontist, and she pulled out Cora's tooth that was being pushed out awkwardly. The numbing shot hurt more than the actual pulling.

On Thursday night, the school held its annual Barnes and Noble night, where some of the teachers dress in costumes and read stories. The sales from the night benefit the school.

Here are both girls' teachers, reading together: Mrs. Shafarman as the Green Crayon, and Mrs. Hawthorne as the Blue Crayon.

This event is always so much fun!

We took Melanie and Cami along with us, and Cami, Cora and another friend settled in with books.

Seattle and Redmond Fun

After the wedding, we had a couple of days to unwind in the Northwest. Though we miss having Uncle Bill and Aunt Patty nearby, it is nice to have a reason and easy means to explore Seattle, and their new town, Redmond.

On Monday, after a restful morning, my Dad, Melanie and Nick took off (in our car) for the trip home. We then borrowed Uncle Bill's truck and went into Seattle, about a half hour away, and met up with Elizabeth and her friend Tim for lunch. 

We met them at the Crab Pot, a fun restaurant where the waiter dumps a huge bowl of shrimp, mussels, crab and clams onto the table (along with red potatoes, corn on the cob and sausage coins). 

You attack it with wooden mallets and eat well! It was a yummy experience, a first for me and Stace. Not frugal by any means, but a treat that was worth doing at least once in a lifetime.

We then went a couple of blocks down to the famous Pikes Place Farmer's Market, a must-see on anyone's Seattle list.

We got some mussels for Elizabeth and Tim to take to his father in Chicago, giving us the excuse to buy something from the famous fish-throwing, singing fishmongers in the market.



















All the shopping worked up a thirst for coffee in me and Mom - thankfully, the original Starbucks location is right there. Circa 1971, the shop is 45 years old!

We enjoyed the fresh, wintry air as we wandered a beautifully decorated downtown area. We always are up for visiting winter weather (and returning to our own version)! We had arrived Friday night to some snow on the ground, but it melted away in rains on Saturday, much to Cora's sadness.

While we were in Seattle, Cora and Violet had a relaxed (recovery) day with Uncle Bill and Aunt Patty. They played games, watched Christmas movies, and generally had a nice time.

We flew home Tuesday evening, but had time in the morning to stop by the Chateau Ste. Michelle winery just minutes away from Bill and Patty's home.

Uncle Bill took us, while Aunt Patty played with the girls at home.

We had a tour and tasting, and all was delightful.

It was a lovely trip, and we look forward to visiting again!

Will and Anna's wedding

My cousin Will and lovely Anna were married over the weekend, and we were thrilled to take part in the wedding.

We flew up to Seattle on Friday night, and enjoyed seeing Uncle Bill and Aunt Patty again in their beautiful new home in Redmond.

A large number of family members gathered from all over the country, and it was wonderful to be together.

Violet helped out as the flower girl, complete with a baby's breath crown and Aunt Patty's mother's glass basket for the petals.

Violet absolutely loved her special job, and had so much fun with Will and Anna. (And now, Cora and Violet have both been flower girls three times.)

Violet pretty much followed Anna around for part of the reception, looking awestruck. It was adorable.

We all had fun on the dance floor!

Cora, meanwhile, was a super helper to Auntie Mel, who did the wedding flowers. She set up the floating candles on the tables and generally helped wherever she could with the setup. Melanie paid her, and said she would have struggled without her help.

It was great seeing my cousins again, including Elizabeth, who used to live in the L.A. area but now lives in Chicago.

Melanie's flowers were gorgeous - here is one of the centerpieces. She and my dad drove up to Washington in our car, which had the room necessary to bring up lots of flowers from the L.A. Flower Mart. Los Angeles has lots of flowers in winter that aren't easy to get in other areas. (Plus, having our 7-seater helped us not have to rent a car in Washington.)

Here is the bride's bouquet, and head table greenery. It was all so pretty - Melanie has a gift!
The whole day was beautiful, and we're so happy for Will and Anna, starting their new life together.

December Happenings

We made a quick stop in at Placerita Nature Center's annual Holiday Craft Fair on Saturday morning, where the girls made one craft each.

I also selected a yule log, which I'll decorate with fake greenery so it can last year after year. We'll put candles in it, and light one each week as we celebrate Advent.

We then met up at The Habit with Michelle, Rob and Brooke, who were nice enough to come out to visit with us. Granary Square had a Christmas event with free cotton candy, which was quite a thrill for some of us.

We then went to the park to play - it's always fun with these guys!

In the evening, the girls went to a Parents Night Out event at Valencia Methodist, and Stace and I enjoyed a date.

We had dinner at the Newhall Refinery with Kelly and Brad, and then went up to the Hart Mansion. The home was decorated for Christmas, treats were served, and the Valencia High Choir was singing Christmas carols. It was a lovely evening.

On Monday, I was one of the lucky two moms to get to accompany Cora's class on a field trip to the Castaic Lake Water Agency. We learned about the process of cleaning and filtering the water that comes to us in SClarita from the state aqueduct.

The children also did an experiment with pond organisms under a microscope.

The kids didn't find it to be the most exciting field trip, but anytime you can leave school in a bus, it's all good.