December 2007

Sinterklaas

On Saturday, December 1st, snow was on the ground when I woke up!  I went out and played in it before Papa and I drove to Oranjeschool. I dressed up like Zwarte Piet and wore my turquoise and orange knickers, a white blouse, and a feathered cap [right]. There was a big party in the gymnasium. All the children sat on the floor, and Sinterklaas came and sat in his big red chair and talked to us. We sang songs, and then the Zwarte Piets handed out little gifts. 

Later that day, Mommy and Papa took me to the Sinterklaas party sponsored by the Holland-America Club in Lake Forest Park. I was so tired from the morning that I fell asleep in the car on the way there, so I missed the games before Sinterklaas arrived. I did have enough time to make a tissue paper Zwarte Piet hat, but I liked my own cap better. I also liked the speculaas cookies and apple juice. 

When Sinterklaas' boat arrived at the dock, it was still snowing. I watched through the window because it was very cold outside. He came through the door covered in white and surrounded by a noisy, pushy throng of kids. I didn't like the crowds, so I stuck close to Mommy rather than sit on the floor and sing songs with the other children. Before Sinterklaas left, I went up to say hello, and Mommy took a picture. He was very stern.

Then on December 5th, we had our special Sinterklaas dinner: berries and whipped cream on waffles. When dinner had finished, Sinterklaas knocked on the front door. (Just like last year, Papa was in the bathroom.) Cameron and I ran to the door, and as Cameron lifted a big burlap bag full of gifts, I leaped up and down with excitement! 

Everyone gathered by the fire in the family room, which was festooned with a "Welkom Sinterklaas" banner and other December 5th decorations. I had to get my arms and head way into the bag to reach the gifts [left]. Everyone received at least one poem (I got one in English and one in Dutch), but they weren't as interesting to me as the candy and gifts. Cameron and I got candy and a chocolate letter. Mommy, Papa, and Cameron each received one gift; I helped open them all. I also got two games: Cooties and Hullabaloo. 

Visiting Santa

Mommy, Papa, and I went to visit Santa at Nordstrom's in Bellevue Square. I was really excited to see him, and it was hard to be patient in line when there was a boy ahead of me who was afraid of Santa and wouldn't sit on his lap.  

Finally it was my turn, and I skipped right up to Santa and got onto his knee. I smiled for the photo, and then Santa asked me what I would like for Christmas.  Very softly I whispered, “Logs.” I hoped he knew that I meant the Lincoln Log set we'd seen just an hour before in a nearby toy store. 

We did lots of fun things in December to celebrate Christmas.

One of my favorites was making a “gingerbread house,” which was actually graham crackers glued with frosting to a 1-pint milk container. Mommy spread most of the frosting, and I stuck on as many candies as I could possibly fit on all four sides and the roof [top left]. 

Mommy also made Christmas cookies that Cameron and I decorated with frosting and sprinkles. Cameron decorated his like works of art; I liked sampling the frosting off each cookie as I spread it on. The finished cookies [bottom left] tasted delicious! 

Of course, we put up a Christmas tree. After Mommy and Cameron strung the lights, I helped decorate by putting lots of unbreakable ornaments along the bottom. Mommy and Cameron did the rest, and it looked beautiful. We all had hot chocolate with marshmallows when it was done.

Christmas Eve

For Christmas Eve, we went to Grandpa's house in the late afternoon. My cousins Jenny and Erika played with me, and I had lots of fun running around with them and the three dogs in the house. For dinner I sat at the kids' table with Cameron, Erika, Jenny, Jeff, and Kyle (those last two looked way too big to be kids!), but I didn't eat much. I was too excited.

Next was the kids' musical “entertainment.” Cameron played "Hallelujah" on his trumpet, Erika and Jenny played the keyboard, Jeff played his oboe, and Kyle the guitar. Uncle Buzz brought a big drum to accompany the boys, and I tried it out [right]. But all the commotion got to me, and when I had a tantrum, Papa put me in the upstairs bedroom until I calmed down. 

Then it was time for presents! I liked helping Jenny pass them out from under the tree, except that I didn't know who everybody was and kept giving gifts to the wrong person. Everyone opened gifts all at once, and it was noisy and messy! My gift from Bonnie and Grandpa was a hand-sewn, yellow princess dress with a swirly skirt and even a crown and scepter. Erika gave me a My Little Pony play boutique. I didn't get to open the package until Christmas Day, but it turned out to be one of my favorite gifts. 

I woke up at 8:45 on Christmas Day; I think Mommy and Papa were glad to be able to sleep in!  Right away, I wanted to go downstairs and check my stocking. I was excited to find that Santa had drunk some milk and eaten some bites out of one of my decorated cookies! 

It took a long time to unpack my stocking—I wanted to play with (or eat) each surprise as it appeared. Then I opened my gifts from Santa [left].  He really did bring me Lincoln Logs! He also left a drum set, a puppet theater, and a Curious George doll. Even after I opened those presents, there were still a huge pile of them left under the tree.

We took turns opening gifts, and I played Santa's reindeer elf [right] and handed them out (with Cameron’s help). Everyone else let me help them open their presents if I wasn't opening my own. My favorite gifts were a My Little Pony balloon house, a bathtub “chemistry set” (a floating pallet with test tubes and tablets to make colored water), the Lincoln Logs, a Gearation magnetic gears board, a Magtastik magnetic building set from Cameron, and homemade play dough from Stephanie Priest.

On December 30th, Mommy took Cameron and me to see the lights at Bellevue Botanical Gardens. We'd been waiting for just the right night, when it wasn't pouring rain. Last year I saw the lights from a stroller, but this year I walked all the paths (except when Cameron carried me on his shoulders).