Christmas

My three girls wearing their new clothes from Santa. Papa was getting into the
Christmas spirit more than ever this year - he was the one who woke us all up with the video camera not long after six, wanting to catch the present-opening before heading off to work. I would have been happy to stay right where I was. Erica also had other ideas, and being a baby, got away with it and slept right through the proceedings.


Christmas sweets including Russian fudge balls, After-dinner mints and the Gingerbread house in the back, chocolates in the front, and on the small plates left to right, chocolate fudge, coconut ice, florentines and chocolate-covered coconut ice.

We got up and had our traditional ham and eggs breakfast, which always reminds me of childhood Christmases in New Zealand. I buy the nicest ham I can find, which is close, but not quite, a ham on the bone. We also had cocoa pops, a holiday/birthday treat in our household.

After breakfast, we tried getting hold of the NZ cousins to open their presents, but they were just about to eat lunch, so we opened them up anyway! Then I set to work, cooking, cooking cooking. It's good to keep busy, literally creating Christmas. Kanji came home and we had another round of present-opening, with our gifts to each other.



Amy with her new Littlest Pet and Lena with her new Mini Little Ponies, both presents from Grandma

Right, how to keep the baby from throwing Christmas dinner all over the room







I miscalculated the turkey, so our midday Christmas dinner, which I planned for 2pm, ended up at 4pm! We were quite hungry by then and sick of sweet treats, so we really enjoyed it.



It was so late it became the evening meal, and the kids all had a bath while I prepared the desserts.


Clockwise from left, trifle, steamed pudding and custard, Bailey's cheesecake, carrot cake Birthday cake, pavlova and Japanese Christmas cake. In the centre, the sweets from above plus a traditional Christmas fruit cake.
After dessert, I was checking the email, Kanji was watching TV, Amy and Lena were playing with their toys....the coast was clear for Erica to help herself to pav. She was stunned with the delights of strawberries and cream!

Christmas Eve party

Okay, so basically the same event as Kanji's birthday party, but there were a few extra Christmassy things that warranted a different post!

Santa came! He actually came to the door, singing 'Jingle Bells' (or rather his assistant played it on a tape) and handed over a gift bag with six little pressies in it - one each for the girls - hairclips and ties; a DVD for the family - Polar Express; and stone chocolates for Amy and Lena. What a nice surprise!















And not our only delivery that day - my boss also turned up, carrying a present for me - a scarf, and a Chrismtas cake - isn't this a darling little cake, with the gingerbread house on top?


After this, we prepared a snack for Santa, then watched the movie and headed off to bed to wait for the most exciting event - the REAL FATHER CHRISTMAS to arrive!

Dad's Birthday

His birthday is on December 25 but we always celebrate it on Xmas eve, with a party with curry and sashimi and beer! Please don't look at the doors behind, which Erica recently discovered. We will re-cover them for New Year.


What to buy for Dad! The girls got him small manga, or possibly game software figurines, I don't know I just know the name, Gundum. I got him guitar picks! Well, that's what he wanted.

His cake was a microphone, to celebrate his radio shows this year. It was a carrot cake and my first attempt at cream cheese icing, which is why is all looks a bit droopy and sad.

Christmas

Here's our Christmas tree, with the table pushed against it to keep the baby away from it, and all the presents piled on the table. For reasons that will remain a mystery for eternity, the baby wasn't that interested in the presents, she preferred grabbing the holiday-packaged towels from the Post Office and absconding with them. I pretended to be cross but I was really more than happy that her Christmas obsession had taken that direction.

Here are the kids decorating the fake tree, which was shifted to the piano table after the real tree arrived, and Lena being a tree.

Christmas

There's a turkey bone soup stock bubbling on the stove, enough turkey for at least ten more turkey sandwiches in the fridge, and even leftover pav and trifle. Christmas is not quite over, the kids didn't get their Mummy a present, but we're going out shopping now so they can buy me one! Amy apparently knows what I want.

Loot list! I have lots of photos to upload of course, but before I forget, I will list the pressies.

Kanji - For his birthday the kids got him a gundum figurine each, I got him guitar picks. For Christmas he got a calendar from me and gloves from the kids, and a beautiful Parker pen from Mum (my Mother)

Me - a portable DVD player from Kanji, though I think it's as much for him as well, so he can watch TV and put the Wiggles on for Erica. A scarf from my boss, luggage tags (nicer than that sounds) from Mum and a new beaded Christmas angel for my tree. Earrings and a Kiwi phone accessory and chocolate from my Bec and Jo, more chocolate from Chris and Deb, and finally, just now, a phone accessory from Amy and Lena and Erica.

We had a Santa visit on Christmas Eve and delivery a Polar Express DVD, and hair accessories for all three girls, and stone chocolate for Amy and Lena. Kanji gave them all clothes - a jacket each and a top.

On Christmas morning Amy and Lena got the same thing in their sacks - a calendar, a book, a dress, an apron, and doll's house furniture. In their stocking were diaries, a pencil set, huge eraser, blow-up snowman ball, bubble-bath body-paint, a snow globe, sticky tape gum, a snowman pencil, new chopsticks, chopsticks case and pencil, tissues and tissue cover for school, and 5 candy canes.

Erica got an elephant bath toy, stacking blocks, screwdriver set, toy car, gasoline stand, 2 books, a skirt and top. In her stocking were picture blocks, baby chopsticks, a white animal castanet, a snow globe and 2 candy canes.

From their siblings Amy got a beads art set, Lena got a robot dog, Erica got a mini magna-doodle and a toy shopping scanner. From Grandma Amy got some Littlest Pets and Lena got mini My Little Ponies. From the Gastauers Amy got Clickits, Lena got a unicorn in a bag, and Erica got a wooden teddy bear. From the Tomooka's they got a maze book.

Poetry Recital

Amy and Lena both recited a poem, written by themselves, today at the Keio Academy Christmas Presentation. Lena's was about Snowmen and Snow Queens.



Amy's was about cookies.

She Speaks!

Here's a list of Erica's growing vocabulary!

BA - bye bye

BA - bath

BA - ball

BA - boobies

and one Japanese word

BA = 'boo'

In the Eyes of a Child

I Love my family and I like my frens and I Love my Doll's. it's samthing il nevr figet. and im Happy and sumtamem's saD. this is wot Lafi is sipos to Be. But pepil sumtumis rooin Lafi for evreoun. this is too saD. i can't bilev wot pepil Do. i wont to seave Lafi for evreoun. but i can't. becose i can't go oli arend the erfiy. But i can heop them bi giving many to them. that idere is ool arend the erfiy good. Amy(8)

Translation:

I love my family and I like friends and I love my dolls. It's something I'll never forget, and I'm happy and sometimes sad. This is what life is supposed to be. But people sometimes ruin life for everyone. This is too sad. I can't believe what people do. I want to save life for everyone, but I can't because I can't go all around the earth. But I can help them by giving money to them. That idea is all around the earth good. Amy (8)