{Concerts}

This week was a busy, BUSY week. Both of the girls had a school Christmas concert, Sasha went caroling with her Daisy troop, the girls had dance where they had a gift exchange, Dixon had two doctors appointments, and Cory was on call (and still is :( ). And to top it off, all of us girls were horribly sick last weekend with a nasty stomach bug which left us feeling drained for several days.

Despite all that, it was a fun week! Let's start with Sasha's school concert. On Monday seven of the twenty kids in her kindergarten class were out sick. I'm guessing they had the stomach bug, too. Poor kids. When you miss school you can't participate in after school activities, so that meant the turnout for the concert was slim. In fact, only eight kindergarteners showed up to sing!

Here is Sasha with one of her sweet friends, Adam, before the concert started. She was really anxious for a couple of days leading up to the concert. She was afraid she would get sick and throw up on the stage. But once she got there and saw her friends she was fine! In fact, she could hardly contain her excitement! Before they started signing, Sasha tried to find us in the audience. She spotted us!

Of course there was a microphone stand right in front of Sasha from my vantage point. :( And the dad in front of me kept bouncing his head around during the songs, so I had to do some quick leans in order to get a half-decent shot of my girl. The pics are grainy, but that's to be expected when you have an amateur camera and are shooting in the dark up onto a stage.

Aren't the kids sweet? Sigh.

Here they are shakin' their groove thang. Work it, Sasha!

I love it when they do the sleepy pose. They are so innocent looking. But we know the truth. Heh, heh.

The kindergarteners and first graders were on stage together. The kindergarteners sang a few songs alone, then the first graders sang, and then they did a couple of songs together. For only having a handful of kids there, they did a great job! There were a few times I could hear Sasha's voice loud and clear. Maybe she'll be like her Daddy some day and sing solos. That would be cool.

Once all the grades had a turn singing, all the classes made their way back on stage. While she was waiting to get into place, Sasha looked out at us and made the "I Love You" sign with her hand. I melted. Then she pointed to herself, made a big heart with her fingers in the air, and pointed at us. I became a puddle on the floor. I love that sweet girl.

When the concert was over, Sasha ran over to us and was all smiles. She had a great time and did a fabulous job. We're so proud of her!

Thursday evening was the preschool Christmas concert and party. This year the teachers decided to have the concert during the evening so more parents could come and they also combined the three and four year old classes. I'm so glad they did this because it meant Cory and the grandparents could come.

Clara is in the four year old class so they did a play before they sang. They enacted the Christmas story, complete with a Mary who gave birth to a baby boy right there on stage! Adorable! There are fifteen girls and five boys in the class, so Clara was one of many angels. I think she was perfect for the part. ;)

Here she is with Mary, some shepherds, and some other angels.

I managed to get a picture of most of the kids at the end of the play. They did a wonderful job and looked so darn adorable in their costumes!

After disrobing, the class sang some songs. I don't know where the teachers find these songs, but they are the cutest things ever. They are perfect for little voices and the words crack me up every time I hear them.

It looks like the girl in red is a bit confused. "Whatcha doin', Clara? You singin'?"

Most of the songs have movements to them. I can't remember what this one was for, but it's cute.

Then the class sang "The Twelve Days of Christmas" only they replaced the gifts with things in their classroom. Clara represented 8 colorful crayons.

Sweetly singing.

When the concert was over, the Big Man himself showed up! The kids had time to sit with Santa, talk to him a bit, and then get a card with a candy cane.

It's hard for me to wrap my brain around the fact that Clara is four and could possibly go to kindergarten next year. How did this happen? I went ahead and got a registration packet for preschool for next year because I just don't know if she's ready for kindergarten. It's such a hard decision! Registration for preschool starts now, though, so I have to save her spot just in case.

Look at my girl. Ugh. I can't let her grow up too fast!

Now it's time for cookies, parties, presents, family time, and general holiday happiness. Way to start off the season with a gleeful sound, girls! We love you!