Lunar New Year at School

This past week I had the opportunity to visit Viola's school to celebrate the lunar new year!  Her teachers and I had planned a fun day of wrapping dumplings, making a Chinese rattle/drum, and dancing to some Chinese New Years music.  To be honest I was a little nervous at first--all those repressed memories of in-class presentations from my childhood came flooding back.  But once the day started, all the nerves melted away and we had a great time celebrating the new year.  And while I always had respect for Viola's teachers and what they did, after spending a few hours with the class, I cannot stress enough how fantastic they are!  Thank you for letting me spend the morning with you all!

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After a fun time wrapping dumplings (which unfortunately I could not photograph since my hands were full of raw meat), the kids start crafting while the dumplings cooked.  Decorating Chinese drums in celebration of the year of the goat!

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Dumplings are ready! The kids are finally able to taste the fruits of their labor.  And surprisingly most of them ate them!

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...And then there's my daughter who ate at least 4

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Welcome to Parenthood: Stephanie and Eduardo

Earlier this December, Elsie and I had the opportunity to fly down to São Paulo to visit my good friends Stephanie, Eduardo, and their new baby boy Daniel.  Back when Stephanie decided to make the leap and move down to Brazil 4 years ago, I had promised then that when she gave birth to her first child, I would fly down to be with her and welcome her into motherhood.  I am so grateful to have been able to keep that promise.  It was so lovely spending time with this new family of three, capturing moments in the sleep deprived whirlwind of new parenthood.  Congratulations and welcome to parenthood Stephanie and Eduardo!

Tree Trimming 2014

This past weekend, like many families across the country, we Lomonicos pulled out all our Christmas stuff and brought home a beautiful tree to decorate.  People always complain about Christmas showing up too early but I think they secretly actually can't wait for Thanksgiving to be over so they can openly relish in the holly and jolly.  With this being Elsie's first Christmas and Viola finally recovering from her stomach bug, both girls were excited to ring in the holidays.