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Fa La La La La, La La La La

Last Tuesday was the kind of day that makes the holidays great.

Both of my kids were scheduled to have their holiday programs at 6:00 that night. Fortunately, Connor had a daytime performance as well. I called in reinforcements and set up the following schedule:
8:30 am- Mom and Grammy watch Connor perform
6:00 pm- Mom, Grammy and Tiffany watch Chloe perform, while Chip, Bwana and Mimi watch Connor
This schedule worked out perfectly. And because Chloe's performance was much shorter than Connor's, we all ended up at Snowden at the end of the night which made the ensuing trip to Huey's that much easier to coordinate.

As the parent attending both performances, I had the daunting responsibility of photographing both events. I totally failed at Connor's performance, unsure of what settings the camera should be on and just turning knobs and pressing buttons with reckless abandon. I still managed to get a few shots of his elementary stage debut. The program consisted of performances by the kindergarten and first grade classes. Connor's class (along with two others) performed third, and did three songs. The first was a Hanukkah number about lights, and Connor was one of eight dancing candles! I was proud of him for having a special "part," and he did a great job. The other two songs were fun too, with a Santa rap involving hip hop bleacher dancing, and some hand motions to accompany music from The Nutcracker. For the grand finale, all the kids came back out for a big sing-along. I think this was a highlight for Connor, because he managed to stand next to Miss M during this portion of the show. That night, Chloe donned her finest Christmas pjs and took the stage with the other Toucans to perform Rudolph. Chloe knew all the words and all the hand motions- she was a total pro. The best part of her show was the fact that one of the kids accidentally turned off the CD they were singing along to, so they got to start over from the beginning- two performances for the price of one! Times like these make me realize how grown up my babies are. Chloe looked huge next to her classmates, and so grown up with her hair pulled back into barrettes. (A look that only her teachers can convince her to wear.) Connor, instead of being nervous, actually looked forward to performing in front of a crowd. When did he gain all that confidence? Sure, he actually lost his pants at some point during the day, but for the most part he seemed really mature up there.

It was a fun, exhausting day. Thanks to the family and friends who made it special, and to the teachers who worked hard with the kids to put together such great programs. And thank you, Mother Nature, for diverting the great ice storm of '08 and allowing us to spend the day making holiday memories.
Posted by Stephanie at 11:06 AM 
good juggling mommy! what a day. I have to say there appears to be much less nose picking at your pre-school celebration than at my daughter's production.
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