Christmas Program and Party

Last Friday, I bolted for the door as soon as school was out. Not only was I excited about being off work for 2 weeks (!), but I had plans to see the cutest little shepherd ever in his Christmas program at daycare. Caleb wasn't really excited about being a shepherd. He really wanted to be a sheep. I tried to tell him that the shepherds are the bosses of the sheep, but he didn't buy it. I got the best seat I could when I got to the church, but my seat was still not good for taking pictures. Rudy's spot was even worse for shooting video. (I was astonished by how rude some of the parents were - standing up in front of people and sitting in the aisle. I would have loved to have had a better view too, but I wouldn't dream of getting in someone else's way to do it!)

I could tell when Caleb came down the aisle that he wasn't happy about what was happening. I thought getting his attention would make him feel better. No such luck. He went on down the aisle with the rest of his class, but he certainly wasn't performing. His teacher, Ms. Elizabeth, was so sweet to hold his hand through the whole thing. He kept looking at me and I would just smile really big at him to try to get him to relax. Nope - not having it. Here are some pictures of the sad little shepherd: After the program, we went back to Caleb's classroom for his party. He did manage a smile for me since the spotlight was off. Like I said earlier, cutest little shepherd ever!

The party was almost as chaotic as last year's. Caleb's classroom is pretty small and when you put all of those kids AND their parents in there, it is quite overwhelming. The kids had some snacks and then they opened the presents that everyone brought to give to the classroom. Ms. Elizabeth gave each of the kids a coloring book and sticker set. We gave her a scarf and glove set for those cold days on the playground.
And of course, there's a Calebism to wrap up this post. After the program (which is a very abbreviated version of the Christmas story), the announcer says, "In keeping with American tradition, here comes Santa Claus!" (I know. I thought it was a little odd too.) So this skinny guy in a Santa suit comes down the church aisle and greets all of the kids. Afterwards, Caleb looks at me and says, "See, Mama! I TOLD you Santa was real." I just said "okay" and we went to the classroom. He can believe what he wants and I'm not going to force the issue otherwise, but he'll never be able to say that I didn't tell him the truth about it.

Here's the video from the program. It's choppy and you can't see or hear much, but I'm putting it on here for posterity: