Practically Perfect in Every Way (Mary Poppins Returns)

 

I had showed Iver the original 1964 Mary Poppins (one of the favorites of my childhood) a month or so ago, after he seemed interested in some of the songs that I sung for him and subsequently showed him on YouTube. Although we didn't make it through the whole movie, he seemed to really enjoy the characters, plot, and music. I had been hearing about the new Mary Poppins Movie (Mary Poppins Returns) for a couple of weeks, and heard an interview on NPR with the actress Emily Blunt (who plays the eponymous Mary Poppins), which piqued my interest further. The Disney film definitely seemed like one musical I'd want to watch-- sometime.

While Iver amazingly sat through (and still talks about) a local theater production of the Wizard of Oz with me in August when he was three and a half (which is also the only film he's seen from beginning to end in one sitting and one he would watch over and over if we'd let him), we'd never taken him to a movie theater. After hearing that friends had taken their young kids to Mary Poppins Returns and both they and the adults enjoyed it, we decided to make a mama-son date and went to a matinee yesterday. Due to having virtually no uninterrupted free time and a tendency to fall asleep after 8 p.m, I have seen very few movies, either on TV/Netflix or on screen in the last four years, and it was a real treat to go "out" to one!

 

The movie was:

 

While he was a bit impatient during the previews and in the beginning scenes of the movie ("When is Mary Poppins coming?!"), he hopped on my lap, cuddled, and was engrossed the rest of the time. He was a bit frightened in the chase scenes of the cartoon wolf taking away the kids' nursery furniture, but it passed. He asked (mostly whispered) questions throughout to follow the characters, and thankfully, no one in the mostly-empty theater seemed annoyed. The film follows the family of Michael Banks, the child in the original movie, now grown up, widowed and in hard financial times, and in danger of losing his house to the bank. It includes many new characters and a stellar cast, including Michael's three kids (Annabelle, John, and Georgie), as well as bankers (one played by Colin Firth), lawyers, cousin Topsy (played by Meryl Streep), and lamplighter "Jack" played by Lin-Manuel Miranda. Actor Dick van Dyke, the original Bert, makes an appearance at the end, which was amazing as well. It was witty and beautiful. The songs, acting, and choreography were all super(CALIFRAGILISTICEXPIALIDOCIOUS)!

When the credits were rolling (up), Iver said while watching the screen, "Hey! We're falling!"

 

As Bert sang in the original,

 "You've got to grind, grind, grind at that grindstone, 
Thought childhood slips like sand through a sieve,
All too soon they've up and grown,
And then they've flown,
And it's too late for you to give."

Seeing this sequel was such a special way to spend a couple of hours with my oldest child, now four and growing up fast!

JoyFULL house: Christmas 2018

We had a wonderful Christmas at home. Despite being on call and working a half-day on Monday, I had a 38-hour period between Christmas eve at 2 a.m. and Christmas day at 3 p.m. where L& D was quiet and I was home with family (Kelvin's parents are in town to help us with childcare over the school-closure week-and-a-half, and Theresa joined them here for the pre-holiday weekend and holiday). The kids really enjoyed having their grandparents and aunt around for extra attention and playtime, and it was awesome to not have to pack/travel over the holidays.

Fun with "Zaza"

 

Iver and Theresa made mini donuts from a Japanese donut-making kit that Zaza brought

 

I was pretty nervous about prepping everything for the kids and for Santa, in case I was not around much due to OB responsibilities...but everything turned out so well.

We went to St. Mary's for the children's Christmas Eve mass.  Theresa cooked a delicious dinner of lobster and noodles.

Theresa and Iver baked, and we set out cookies for Santa and carrots for the reindeer.

We let the boys open one gift prior to bedtime on Christmas Eve-- these matching pillowcases from Kenn & Lisa were adorable.

The adults finished all the Christmas Eve preparations.

(Tuckered out)

We had moved Niall's crib into Iver's room over the weekend, and BOTH  kids slept through the night in the same room on Christmas Eve, waking after 6 a.m. on Christmas Day (and I, too, slept, without any overnight calls). This was the true Christmas miracle!!

Iver was surprisingly mellow about starting gift-opening (to be fair, they weren't in plain sight to create anticipation or expectations because we didn't put up a tree).  While we didn't go overboard, we had to actually prompt him to finish opening those sent by friends and family (or open them ourselves!)!

He seemed surprised and pleased that Santa had read his "letter" and that he and the reindeer had eaten their snacks.

He loved the Wizard of Oz Nesting dolls from Vanessa

 

(So did Niall)

Kelvin got a lump of coal...

Baby's first Christmas

Wrapping paper is always a hit (although we used mostly reusable fabric bags this year-- for the environment, and for time/convenience!)

Blocks for Niall

Photo display for ba noi

UCLA license plate holder

Picture Charades (which Iver, reading a few letters, calls the "Cha-Cha" game)!

A watch from Santa! Silly putty was also a hit.

A letter from the North Pole

Once he was done with PJs (this kid changes about four times per day!), he got hard to work on this decorate-your-own butterfly wings from Kat.  He also got some cool stencils from Grandma and Grandpa Arness. We loved playing with the arts & crafts!

Marble Run from the Lees!

It was so lovely seeing Christmas through a 4-year-old's eyes. Iver really wasn't that into the gifts so much as being and spending time with us for the whole day, which is so encouraging and made my heart happy. We had a relaxing day of breakfast, cuddle time, a walk outside (as the rain had finally stopped!), and lots of play time, although I spent the latter afternoon and evening at the hospital managing a labor.  Delivering a Christmas Eve and a Christmas baby was special, too!

There was a lot of preparation and stress on my part with having Christmas here this year (even though, thankfully for all parties, I didn't have the cooking responsibility) but the day itself was so lovely and I really needn't have worried so much.   We had a full house, and our hearts are full. 

And for some holiday cheer, here is a photo of our now-all-grown-up child -- Iver likes drinking sparkling water out of a stainless steel wine glass, his "adult cup."

Merry Christmas from this crew!

 

That's a wrap!