Back to earth

So...I'm really still here.  I have approximately 8 half-written posts, none of which I expect to finish before spring...I just can't seem to to get up off my duff and move forward with them.

So, I'm moving on with light and fresh stuff!

This is our newest addition to our Christmas Cookie repertoire.   Pretzels, mini-chocolate chips and a cinnamon red hot.  Easy and fun!

(I'm adding instructions for all of Natalie's readers:   Roll out sugar cookie dough.  Cut free-hand or use a 3" biscuit cutter.  Squeeze the sides together a little bit to shape the head.   Add pretzel antlers.  Bake for regular amount of time.  While still hot on the cookie sheet, add the chocolate chips and red-hot (or M&M).  Ta-dahh!)

Hannah and James went to see Yo Gabba Gabba Live a few weeks ago. They had a great time, and last week she was reminiscing about it, so she drew this picture.

Friday was Chris's last day of classes for the semester (2 weeks of exams coming up!).  We helped him celebrate by going to Busch Gardens Christmas Town.  It was FREEZING (at least, by Virginia standards), but we had a good time.

Yesterday Hannah performed in a concert, singing  "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" with a choir.   She has been taking music classes privately this fall, and she can *mostly* match pitch to familiar songs (this is a big deal to us, a family of musicians, and also an unusual skill in the Down syndrome population).   Since she worked so hard, she was invited to join the choir for one song.

This video is of a rehearsal--the cameraman at the actual concert sort of forgot that there is a zoom feature on the camera, so Hannah is only about 3mm high in that video.

Make video montages at www.OneTrueMedia.com

After a celebratory ice cream sundae, we went tree hunting!  We found a nice tall skinny one, and will put it up in a couple weeks when Chris comes home.

Hope you're enjoying the start to the holiday season!