Holiday Junction at Museum Center

Saturday turned out to be a rainy day. So even though I had wanted to go ice skating with the family, we had to change our plans. Instead we went to Holiday Junction at the Museum Center, which is a train display. But before you got to the trains you had to walk by one of the regular exhibits, which is all about Cincinnati throughout time. I had been to that side of the museum center, but it had been a while. And even though I thought I had been through the entire exhibit, it turns out I had not. So we all enjoyed checking it out.

The Holiday train display had a "Lionel Trains" section, which Lionel particularly enjoyed. And Bella got to ride in a little train, but Sofia was too tall for it anymore.  We then headed to the Children's Museum, where the girls ran around for a little while before the museum closed at 6.

After the museum we had dinner at Palominos. I had made a reservation there thinking we would go ice skating, since the restaurant is right next to Fountain Square. And besides, since we always end up going to the same places, I thought it would be good to go somewhere else for a change. I also thought the girls would enjoy the view, since from the restaurant you could see the giant Christmas tree.

I had started the day in a bad mood, but hanging out with Lionel and the girls really lifted my spirits.

Christmas coloring by the girls

Old drawings

While cleaning one of Sofia's old backpacks, I found some old drawings. They are probably from last year, before she got sick and tired of everything Frozen - except for Olaf, which she still likes.

The definition of a break

Since I am constantly doing something, and every Christmas I find a project to work on, one of my friends joked with me that I need to revisit the definition of a "break". He is partially correct. Rest is an important thing, but I am not very good at sitting around and doing nothing all day. More than giving me energy, doing nothing really sucks it away from me. Besides, I know that one day I will no longer have the same level of energy than I have today. And then, as I grow older, my health may also been taken away. So the way I think about it is that when those days come, I will not look back and kick myself for not taking advantage of my energy, and my health, when I had a chance.

Festival of lights 2014

Today we went to the Zoo's Festival of Lights, which is a family tradition. Lionel wasn't feeling all that great yet so he stayed, but Raj, Gabi, the kids and I went.  It was cold outside, but not too cold. And even though it is always crowded, it never feels like a chore.  Somehow, despite the cold and the crowds, it is kind of a peaceful thing.

We started by going to the carousel, which is always a kids' favorite, and then walk around and took a few pictures by the main Christmas tree. The kids wanted to ride the train, but there was a 45 min to 1 hour wait, which was too much for everybody's taste. So we went back to the Carousel instead.

I like the festival of lights. I am going to miss it when the girls no longer want to go ... or no longer want to go WITH ME.

Separate rooms

Lionel and I had decided that this Holiday break we would give the girls their own room, and today was the day. The playroom once again became Sofia's room, just like it was when Bella was a baby and was still in the crib, and Bella stayed in the same room. They were both excited to get their own room, although I believe that Sofia had even more reasons for being happy: She used to have her own room after all, and Bella is still quite messy.

Bella's room is a bit more crowded, since it is the smaller of the two and Bella has plenty of toys, but pushing the bed against the wall seemed to help.

It makes me sad that the girls will not be sharing a room any more, but there are some pluses. After years of not being able to do so [since Sofia was in the upper bed] I will once again be able to sneak my head into her room right before going to bed, and watch her sleep peacefully. Hopefully Sofia will also keep her room clean, and Bella's will be the only messy one.

I guess the only thing left to do is remove the stickers from both doors, but I am not in a hurry.

Christmas Day 2014

This Christmas Santa Claus was generous once again, and brought the girls the look-alike American Girl Dolls they wanted so much, along with couple doll outfits and some great books. The girls were excited opening their presents, and started playing with the dolls right away. The books were left behind in the living room - shadowed by the excitement of the dolls - but we will get to enjoy them together at night time, before the girls go to bed.

Later in the morning I insisted on going to church. My mass-attendance track record this year was pretty awful, but at least for Christmas I wanted to be there. Lionel stayed home because he still wasn't feeling well, but my mom, Raj, Gabi, the kids and I went.

We had some great and some challenging times throughout the year, especially with work, but we have so much to be thankful for. This year I am particularly aware of friends who are either fighting a disease or taking care of a loved one who is. So more than ever I am deeply and incredibly grateful that overall we are all in great health.

Christmas Eve 2014

Last year my Dad was sick and couldn't come over, which was very sad, but this Christmas Eve the entire family was here. This time around Bella was recovering from a cold, and Lionel was in the middle of one as well, but they both managed to hang in there overall. Adrian, the newest family member at only 5 months old, was too tired to stay awake past 7 pm. But we managed to get him in couple pictures before he went to bed.

After dinner we watched Bella's videos from her Christmas show, let the kids play the piano for couple minutes, and opened gifts. The girls also took a picture with Elfie Chica, since it was her last night with us for the year, and left milk, a cupcake, and a note for Santa Claus. Bella then said that [for once] she was going to stay in her bed all night because she didn't want to risk scaring Santa Claus by walking to our room in the middle of the night.