Back in January we hosted a birthday party for madame.

This year’s theme was Beatrix Potter. Everyone wore masks of different Potter characters, and we had tea, sandwiches, scones and cakes for the party.

We played with some of her new presents…

and had a rousing game of impromptu ‘balloon ball’ too!

Here is it, and above it, her actual silhouette.
The lady who cut the silhouette did it freehand with a pair of surgical scissors. Pretty amazing!

Next time we’re at Disneyland we will be sure to get another.

This year’s Christmas spectacular at Filoli was themed around owls and woodland creatures. Our favorites! Here are some pics from the magical event.

We went to the San Francisco Nutcracker this year, and had a wonderful time!

This was our little one’s first time at the SF Ballet, she saw the San Jose version of the Nutcracker last year, after her first ballet last summer.

Here are some pics from our adventure.

After the performance, madame felt like dancing…as did other kids we saw twirling out of the Opera House.

We weren’t allowed to take pics during the performance of course, but you can watch it online or on dvd.

Back in October madame wrote a letter to Father Christmas.  She drew her wishes in her letter, and asked me to add subtitles just to make it crystal clear.

She very carefully wrote the name on the envelope, but got a bit tired after writing so small and running out of space, so I helped a bit and added the north pole.

Here is the response she got…

Lovely drawing of Father Christmas and the reindeer…

Here is the postmark from Santa’s post office, and the stamp…

The letter was sealed with sealing wax…we have been thinking about getting our own sealing wax ever since we saw it.

She paid careful attention to his recommendation about an early bedtime on Xmas eve, she was in bed and asleep by 6:30 p.m.!

Did she get what she wanted? She did get a toy cat in her stocking, and was very pleased. Thank you Father Christmas!

There is the friendly neighbor cat, who feels right at home…even waits by the door to come in (though she is never invited.)

There is a mushroom house occupied by two cheerful gnomes.

Nearby you will find a rabbit, a deer, a few ducks, and other statuary.

The most recent addition we noticed on our last visit was a little door in a previously unoccupied hole in the walnut tree.  This attracted a great deal of attention and speculation about the occupants, although they did not appear at home when we knocked (many times).

The wildlife varies but is always entertaining. This large green beetle appeared out of the blue a few weeks back, the only one we have ever seen. It must have been lost or taking a rest stop on the way to somewhere else.

…and baked gingerbread.

At the Dickens Fair she tried every craft they had, including candle-dipping and fairy house making. She also enjoyed the games like ‘boot the cat.’

This year at Filoli’s Holiday open house the decorating theme was owls…one of her favorite animals. (She calls all owls “Bill” after the one in “Owl Babies.”)

And December has just begun!

She mentions Wubie’s Ed Emberley book in this drawing (she has several of my old E.E. books)…the books have exponentially expanded her drawing abilities, and given her a lot of confidence to try drawing new things.

There were a few thousand people on hand, though on such a big beach, we had lots of room. Madame sported in the waves as the competition was underway…did I hear the loudspeaker say, “little girl, get out of the competition area?”