Santa Claus Is Comin'

Finn has adopted this as one of the songs we need to sing with him before bed every night. 

SoCal Christmas

The boys had a great Christmas! Caden made sure that his little brother understood exactly what was coming: Santa would visit in the middle of the night on Christmas Eve, filling stockings and bringing one REALLY BIG present and lots of little ones. Santa lived up to expectations this year, as gauged by the exclamations of delight on Christmas morning.

The lead-up to Christmas was also great fun, with lots of baking. Finn has been enjoying a story called The Gingerbread Kid, and he was super excited to help make gingerbread cookies to share with neighbors. 

We continued our Christmas Eve tradition of a picnic lunch (In N Out) and hike, and Finn hiked the entire Bommer Canyon loop without being carried. Then, it was time for coziness and halibut chowder at home before settling ourselves in for a long winter's nap. 

Building a mission

Dada went to Turtle Rock Elementary on Friday to help Caden and his classmates build a model of one of California's Spanish missions. Caden's group was assigned to learn about and build Mission San Carlos Borromeo del rio Carmelo. That's quite a mouthful, so it's often shortened to Mission Carmel. Caden was stoked to have his dad at school, and Dada had fun working with Caden and his friends. 

Friday was Caden's last day of school before the holiday break. The last couple of weeks have been a whirlwind of projects (book reports, pinewood derby car) and performances (Caden's holiday piano recital).

Caden has been telling Finn all about the pending visit from Santa on Christmas Eve, getting him more and more excited for Christmas as the day approaches and presents accumulate under the tree. Finn can't understand why he can't wear the stockings. They're just socks, right?

And today, we headed over to University Park to check out the new adventure playground. 

Nutcracker

This morning, Mama, Dada, and Caden headed over to the Segerstrom Concert Hall in Costa Mesa to see the Pacific Symphony and Festival Ballet Theatre perform selections from the Nutcracker. It was a beautiful hour-long show that helped all of us realize that the holidays are rapidly approaching, despite the fact that it was 75 degrees outside today. A tuba ensemble from a local high school was playing holiday tunes in the plaza outside the concert hall, and Caden joined in on the jingle bells:

Inside, many of the ballet performers were waiting, in costume, to welcome kids to the theater. Caden especially liked the soldiers and the rats.

Haircut and holidays

The boys go back to school today after 4-5 days off for Thanksgiving Break. It's been a busy time, with multiple meals of mashed potatoes, gravy, and cranberry sauce.

Caden didn't have school on Wednesday, and we started the festivities by taking Caden to the University Club for the Thanksgiving buffet lunch. Thursday, Dada baked a pie, muffins, and two batches of sourdough dinner rolls. We had a light lunch of hors d'oeuvres to save room for dinner, then headed over to eat with Verne - Dada's 2nd cousin - and his family in Huntington Beach. The food was yummy, but the boys were squirrelly. Thus, just as Mama and Dada were finally settling in to eat, Caden and Finn announced that they were finished. There wasn't much for them to do there - Verne and Betty Ann's kids are grown - so Dada and the boys headed around the corner to the living room to figure something out. Caden realized that one of the comfy chairs spun around, and promptly spun it into a table, sending a glass lantern tumbling and exploding into a thousand pieces. Wow! Our hosts raced from the dinner table, leaving their other guests in order to help clean up. Caden was mortified, but recovered during a game of Pictionary, where he helped the boys' team by drawing a great gondola.

On Friday, we drove down to La Jolla for a night. Finn was *so* excited to go to the beach! We headed south about noon on Friday, but signs in San Juan Capistrano warned of a big accident ahead, and it started pouring down rain, so we retreated to a cafe. We eventually made it to our hotel late in the afternoon. Undaunted, Finn put on his swimsuit and swim shirt and headed out to splash in the waves as the sun was setting.

Ready to go.

Boys at the beach.

Dada started baking again on Sunday morning: bread for the week and another batch of rolls for a family "Thanksgiving" dinner on Sunday evening. We had picked up a trunkful of native plants at a nursery on our way back from La Jolla, so Mama and Dada did some planting.

Then, we headed out for a momentous afternoon: Finn's first haircut, Santa Claus, and a Christmas tree. We held off cutting Finn's hair as long as possible, but it was starting to impede his vision. Luckily, a friend recommended a place in Corona del Mar that features rocket ship barber chairs. 

Before.

After.

During.

After Finn's haircut, we headed up to Rogers Gardens to see Santa and pick out a tree. Finn was especially excited about Santa, and Caden picked out a great little tree. 

A Day at Turtle Rock Zoo

Caden performing at the Dramarama musical A Day at Turtle Rock Zoo.

Dramarama and an Astounding Invention

It's been an eventful few weeks! Mama and Dada went to a conference in Sacramento the first full weekend in November. Both Mama and Dada had to be away simultaneously for only one night, but it was the first night Finn had spent without a parent. Auntie Sally came to the rescue and had a great time with the boys. 

Sally's visit was followed closely by a visit from Nana and Boopa, who drove down from Oregon for a few nights. The boys loved the attention, Caden and Nana made their traditional salmon quiche, and Mama and Dada really appreciated the help with planting. We all had a great time at Little Corona Beach on Veterans' Day. 

This past week, Caden presented his invention - an emergency water bottle and survival kit - at the Turtle Rock Astounding Inventions fair. He worked very hard and put together an impressive prototype, display, and inventor's notebook. 

Yesterday, Mama and Dada had a great time going to watch Caden and his friends perform A Day at Turtle Rock Zoo, a musical culmination of the Dramarama class he has taken on Fridays for the past 10 weeks. The kids were cute, well-rehearsed, and easily understood, and they put together a fun, self-written play. Caden was a snake who wanted to become a human so he could become a musician. 

We bought a new shelf to organize Finn's books and toys. 

And this morning, we went for a hike with Caden's Cub Scout den over at Bommer Canyon and learned about the ranch there. 

Max and the Phantom

Finley loves Halloween! From Jack 'o Lanterns to candy to costumes to trick-or-treating, he is ready to do it all over again right now. This year, Finn dressed as Max from Where the Wild Things Are, and he proudly growled "I'm Max!" and "Wild Things Are!" and "Wild Rumpus Start!" as we wandered through the neighborhood on Halloween night.

Ever since going to see Phantom of the Opera in August, Caden has been looking forward to dressing the part for Halloween. Mama made him an awesome silk cape, and he strode through the streets to the sound of the London Cast Recording playing on Dada's iPhone.

The Phantom set a great example for Max, waiting so that they could go up to each house together and always saying "Thank you!" Finn did well, saying "Trick or Treat!" and "Thank you!" His inner monologue caught up to him once, though. He headed up to a door and said, very clearly, "I want candy!" This year, we made it all the way over to the chancellor's house. 

We have been spending a lot of time at nurseries, getting plants for our backyard. Even in its semi-finished state, the boys are loving it!

And Finn is ready to play baseball, too.