Faviana's Piano Recital

March 22, 2009

What a gorgeous day! The sun is shining brightly and encouragingly. The light breeze carries hints of the cold. Faviana is excited about her second piano recital. She chooses her dress and decides to keep her hair down. The piano recital begins at 1:00 pm at the Cumberland County Community Church.

We arrive a few minutes to one and see that Pappou and Yiayia are already in the audience. Faviana runs to them and sits down next to Pappou. Baby Ava and I follow her in, video camera and photo camera at the ready. The program has Faviana playing seventh.

Faviana follows the program and with each person finishing she counts how many songs are left to her. She is excited for everyone that plays or sings. As the person before her finishes, Faviana stands up ready to march down the aisle.

Her name is called. Faviana's teacher, Miss Judy, introduces Faviana and talks a little about her activities and what she likes. Faviana steps up on to the stage and sits at the piano. The piano is on a raised dias so she is visible to everyone. I go around to the left and sit in the front row to videotape for missing Dad who has to be at work and to take pictures. Faviana begins and she performs it from memory. She did not even want to bring the sheet music with her just in case! Faviana is playing "You can Fly" from the Disney movie, Peter Pan.


Faviana plays the whole piece and I can see her singing the song to herself as she plays. "Think of the happiest things...Now you own a candy store. Look! You're rising off the floor. Don't wonder how or why. You can fly! You can fly! You can fly!"

She finishes her piece and comes off the stage into the open arms of her teacher who gives her a big hug and compliments how well she did.

Baby Ava is happy for Faviana too! Well done Faviana. Bravo!

Oh what a difference five days make

March 3, 2009:

The public schools declared it a snow day as the first swirls floated down the night before. This morning was a snowy paradise for children. Faviana was raring to go outside when she jumped out of bed and looked out her window. She wanted to make snowmen, snowangels and most importantly drink hot chocolate with marshmallows after all that hard work. The temperature outside was frigid. Hats and gloves were needed as little fingers turned blue within minutes. Faviana got to use her snow pants for the first time this winter and there happened to be a snowsuit for Baby Ava in the closet just her size too. The schools were closed both Monday and Tuesday due to the snow and ice.


Faviana got to make her snow angels and a very small snowman. Baby Ava was not too impressed with this new white substance that littered the ground she walked on. She was confused when her foot sank down and the snow coated up to her knee. She left Faviana to play alone outside while she came in out of the cold.


March 8, 2009:

Are we on vacation in some exotic destination? Did we depart snowy New Jersey for somewhere warm? No, within a couple of days the snow has melted and the temperatures soared to the mid 70s fahrenheit. The weather was so nice we decided to hit the Jersey shore! Faviana really wanted to go swimming but contented herself to picking up sea shells on the beach of Atlantic Ciy. Baby Ava followed Faviana around enjoying looking at the swells, the shells and sails.

Ava really enjoyed running on the packed sand. She ran to the ocean and then ran back to Pappou. Mostly, she followed her sister examining the sand castle Faviana was building and the shells she collected.

A short walk on the Boardwalk and an ice cream later we returned home rejuvinated and refreshed from the seashore adventure.

Box Top Christmas

I had asked Faviana at Christmas to write to Santa to tell him her Christmas list. Faviana wrote the usual Hannah Montana/HSM (that's High School Musical to the uninitiated) products but at the top of her list was Box Tops for Education! What a philanthropic spirit!

But wait...what exactly are Box Tops for Education? Well, it's not exactly a 'what' but more of a 'do'. You clip 10¢ Box Tops coupons from hundreds of products such as Cheerios®, Ziploc®, and Kleenex®.

Christmas Day came and Santa brought Faviana a HSM3 dance mat, Hannah Montana shirts but under all the piles of presents nowhere to be found were those Box Tops. But apparently, Santa's letter got lost on the way to the North Pole and found it's way to Anchorage, Alaska and into Grandma Mary's hands. Grandma Mary told Santa, 'She had it covered'. And suddenly a big box arrived at Faviana's doorstep....

Faviana thought to herself, 'What could it be?' and underneath some very cute bears, were ziplocs full of Box Tops! Faviana could not have been more tinkled pink....

Even the Baby was thrilled.

Thanks Grandma Mary!