My Hanukkah Presents:

Today Mommy got me a new leotard for Hanukkah. My other presents were:

* A Build A Bear Gift Certificate
* Borders Gift Certificate
* My very own brush
* Socks
* A check to put in my bank for college
* Mancala
* Etch - A- Sketch
* Some menorahs to paint and use
* Books
* Harry Potter Blanket
* Card from Johneen - She always remembers me!
* A Subscription ot Ranger Rick
* Spongebob Candy Canes
* Bath oil beads/salts and sprinkles

I have one more present on the table. I don't know what it is!

Sabina's Last Post of the Day

Today right after my previous post, I went to see “The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe”. It was all right. The beginning was OK, the middle, not so great, the ending, definitely not great. The very ending, Lucy, Edmund, Peter and Susan were all grown up and they found their way back home. Then when they came back out of the wardrobe, they were small again. I came back home crying because Edmund was almost killed and because Aslan was killed, but he didn’t really die because of the stone table. It was a good movie, but I don’t think kids (babies through nine) can see it because it has a lot of war. (I wanted to see it because Mahima saw it and I wanted to ask her some questions about it. I read the book before but didn’t finish it and I’ve been seeing commercials on T.V. about it, on Disney Channel. It told me where they filmed it, who Peter, Lucy, Susan and Edmund really are and how they made the characters. If you saw it you would know what I’m talking about. The people on the White Witch’s and Edmunds sides have these things (like clubs) that look heavy but are really light.

At home, I’m painting a Hanukkiah and Bubbe says it is beautiful.

Oh, I was in the Modesto Bee today. I went to the Hanukkah Party at the synagogue last night and got my picture taken with the group and one with my hand in it spinning the dreidl. Cool!

Bubbe and Me

On Tuesday, my Bubbe and I went to Berkeley to see two plays at the Berkeley. The first play was Comedy on the Bridge. It was all right but I didn’t like it because it was during a war between two countries and there were bombs and they made a lot of noise and holes. One of the characters was Popelka who was trying to go over the bridge because she wanted to se Sykos, her boy friend. She had to show her visa to a sentry who was guarding the bridge so she could get on, but when she got to the other side, the sentry from the other country wouldn’t let her off. She was stuck on the bridge. Other people got on the bridge and they were stuck too. There was only one funny thing in the play. Two big fat fish came down the aisles and one was in the river (From back stage to front stage).

The next play was Brundibar and it was funny. First, a brother and sister, Pepicek and Aninku, needed money because their mother was sick and she needed milk. They went into town where Brundibar lived. Brundibar was an organ grinder. He was a lot bigger than everbody else because he was on stilts, but you couldn’t see them – only at the end. The adults thought he was cool but the kids didn’t. He was mean to kids. Pepicek and Aninku weren’t able to get milk because they didn’t have money and nobody would help them. During the night, while the other kids were sleeping in their houses, Pepicek and Aninku had to sleep in the street. A funny cat, a funny sparrow and a funny dog said they’d help them. The sparrow was held by a strap and cables and she could fly. The next day all the kids in town got together to sing a lullaby to ask for money for milk for Pepicek’s and Aninku’s mom. The kids got the bully out of town because they all worked together.

Brundibar was written by Hans Krasa, a Jew who was later sent to Theresienstadt, a Nazi concentration camp. Children in the concentration camp performed this opera many times. What the Nazis didn’t know was that the bully the kids kicked out of town was supposed to be Hitler.

After the theater, we drove into San Francisco after my Bubbe got lost in Oakland. The hotel was cool because I could buy postcards there for 49 cents each! After we checked into the hotel, got settled into our room for a while, we went to a Chinese restaurant. I ordered chicken wings, prawns, vegetable chow mein, sweet and sour sauce. My grandma got walnut prawns and fried rice and our drinks were diet cokes. After that, we went to the ice cream shop and I got bubble gum ice cream that had real bubble gum inside. Small ones! While I was eating, we went walking to Fishermen’s Wharf and Pier 39. We saw a big humungous Christmas tree with big humungous ornaments and presents at Pier 39.

After that, we went to the Aquarium of the Bay. We got tickets and we went up and escalator to the entrance. We saw lots and lots of fish behind glass. Then we took an elevator way down below the Pier. We walked through two glass tunnels and we saw different kinds of animals that live under the bay. We saw leopard sharks, bat rays, star fish and other fish. Then we went up the elevator and I got to get so wet. I had a souvenir. We got to go through a petting zoo, but in water. I petted something slimy, like bat rays and sand rays and a leopard shark. The leopard shark felt a little bumpy but it was fine. I petted a lot of star fish. They felt bumpier than the leopard shark.

We then went back to the hotel and I watched Alice in Wonderland on my mini-DVD player. The next day we took a Cable Car to Sears Restaurant for breakfast. We sat on the bench in the front and it was raining and windy – the rain was in my face. Sears was great, I loved it. I drank hot chocolate and ordered sour dough French toast with strawberry syrup with real strawberries and maple syrup. Sears is by Union Square. While we were walking to Nordstrom’s we saw a Menorah and a Christmas tree at Union Square. In Nordstrom’s, my grandma and I went up all the escalators. It was cool because there were a lot of escalators and I kept on beating my grandma up the escalators. After that, we took the cable car back to Fishermen’s Wharf, walked around and I sat in a mud puddle when I was trying to get close to the ocean. The last thing we did in San Francisco was chalk painting.

Today Was a Good Day!

Today was a good day. First I went to the park. Nobody was there! I played on the swings, the slide and the bars.

I rode my scooter to the park and back home. After the park we went to pick up my Grandmother.

We went to see a tree that we planted to remind us of my Grandfather Baker.

We took pictures in front of it. Then I talked to my Papa in Panama on the phone!

After that we went to my Tio's house and we got oranges.

I played with Vegas but I had to be careful not to step in any of his "business!"

Then we went to my house and we ate Enchilada Soup and platanos. I helped my Tio Ruben with the tajadas.

When we were done we played Skip-Bo with my Grandmother.

We ended the day lighting candles, opening presents and watching movies. I know you are only supposed to open 1 present each day but I couldn't help myself!

Hanukkah is almost here!

Tomorrow night is the first night of Hanukkah. It will be cool. My Tio Aaron is coming with Amy and Tio Ruben will be here too. We will open presents, light candles and play the dreidel game. On the second night of Hanukkah we will do the same thing but my cousin Casey and his wife Gretl are coming. I am going to help my mommy make potato latkes. I like to grate the potatoes. We will have homemade applesauce too. (I like it on my latkes - it is good!) I can't wait!

My Play Day

Today I went shopping with my Bubbe in the morning. In the afternoon my friend Mahima came over to play. We didn't make the cookies with the cookie cutters today because we wanted to have more time to play together. My mommy got us the cookie dough that was already made and we just put it on a tray and in the oven. We made sugar and chocolate chip. Then we ate them all afternoon.

Mahima and I watched a little bit of Shrek 3D. It was really not 3D too much so we turned it off. Then we played school. Then we got on the internet and played on www.Disneychannel.com , www.pbskids.org and www.turbonick.com and www.lakewoodlions.com. Then I gave her a Christmas present and she went home.

After she left, my mom left to go to Friday night service. I stayed home with my Bubbe. She made me shrimp tempura and then I practiced the violin with her. I am on a new song: Theme From Witches Dance by N. Paganini. That is my mom's favorite song in the Suzuki Vol. 2 book.

Good night!

Cooking Day and Play Day

Today my friend Mahima is coming over. We are going to bake cookies and play games together. My mommy will take pictures of us baking cookies. We are going to use all of the cookie cutters today. We might watch a movie too. We might watch Harry Potter or Ella Enchanted or the Princess Diaries 1 or 2. Maybe we can watch Arthur's Perfect Christmas. That one has people that celebrate every holiday like Christmas, Santa Lucia Day, Kwanzaa and Hanukkah. Francine celebrates Hanukkah like me. She is my favorite character.

A New Me

I got my ears pierced!

I got my ears pierced!

Yesterday I got my ears pierced. A long time ago Mommy asked me if I wanted to get them done and I said no, no, no. Now since my grandma and my tio are away on vacation I got them pierced. The earrings are pink daisies with white centers. It sometimes looks blue in the center when you look at it. I was nervous to get it done because my friend Katie said it hurt a little bit. It did hurt but I didn't cry!