The Christmas Play



December 17 marked Anna's debut in the Christmas Play, The Littlest Christmas Tree. Anna played the role of a bunny, which accented her hopping ability. We are happy to report that she overcame her stage fright and hopped around the littlest christmas tree with three other bunnies.

The two pre-school classes put on the production for the proud parents and grandparents (kudos to the teachers for orchestrating this with about 28 4-year olds). Anna was instructed to wear white pants and a white shirt for her costume. Theresa had to stop at several stores to find white pants (really - wear can you find white pants in December?). The production was a success. The kids were most excited about the cookies and punch following the show.

The Christmas festivities continued on Saturday morning when the neighborhood hosted its annual "Breakfast with Santa." Santa paid a visit to all the neighborhood kids arriving on a fire truck and delivering presents (Anna got a book). Anna was not to excited about talking to Santa, which is why there are no pictures of her sitting on his lap. The party also include assorted crafts for the kids to make for gifts (Anna made two Christmas ornaments and a jingle bell necklace). As for Santa, he must have hung around the neighborhood all weekend because we saw him drive by on the fire truck on Sunday night. You just never know where he is going to appear.

Sunday we headed into DC to visit the National Christmas tree. It was a bit brisk outside (thus A LOT of whining from Anna), but everyone forgot about the cold to enjoy the train display around the christmas tree. While leaving, we spotted Santa walking towards his office near the Christmas tree (clearly Santa is non-union and working overtime on Sundays). Anna exclaimed, "that's not the real Santa...it is just someone dressed up like him." Smart kid....apparently Santa's beard wasn't long enough to be the real Santa.


We originally planned on going ice skating at the National Gallery of Art; however, decided it was too cold. Instead, we opted for the warmth of the renovated American History Museum. This turned out to be a great visit. While we barely had time to cover everything, they had a fantastic science exhibit that was very interactive for kids (it was hard to determine who enjoyed it more - Anna or Joe). They had a great time building with blocks and making obstacle courses. Joe and Theresa also enjoyed visiting Julia Child's kitchen. We will definitely be going back again.




Anna now seems to have a stomach bug. Hopefully this is brief and limited to Anna. although We seem to have a pattern of Thanksgiving-Christmas illness.

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