It's A Wrap

The nerve of those people who never update their blogs... rude. Anyhoo, here we are on the cusp of another new year and things are looking and feeling pretty rosy and cozy in spite of the post-holiday letdown. Honestly, I don't actually feel too let down this year; we had a great vacation and now Molly and Jack have been happy to get home, sleep in their own beds, and play with all the fun stuff that Santa left in his wake (apparently, according to Molly, ol' mom and dad and everyone else didn't bring her anything -- Santa brought it all. Well Santa, I'm happy for you to come and take over the meal planning and diaper changing if you're going to get all the glory).

I'm stealing most of these holiday pics from Eric and Mary since dumb bunnies mom and dad forgot a real camera and we are, once again, at the mercy of other people and our cell phones. 

We did start off our holiday festivities immediately upon our return from our east coast Thanksgiving trip. We giddyupped and got our tree up and house decorated right away so were able to enjoy the lights and smells until we left for the winter wonderland of Whistler. And what a winter wonderland it was... piles and piles of the white fluffy stuff and more if it coming down every day (and a heated driveway and not a shovel in sight... there are some childhood memories that I'm not all that interested in reliving on a regular basis. I don't mind shoveling but I do dislike dirty piles of snow and the crusty mess that the snow plow deposits at the ends of driveways). It was a great way to really get into the holiday spirit. We departed south to the States on Thursday and enjoyed the remainder of our long weekend at Eric and Mary's (once again, thanks so much for hosting us). We came back north early this week and are settling into life for whatever time we have left north of the border. We miss all the hustle and bustle of the family; it was really nice to spend some relaxed time with most of the Doyle side of the family. We came home feeling loved as usual. 

Whistler was great and a playground of winter fun and Christmas itself was super fun. Molly got about 85% of the whole deal and I think she'll really get it next year. It was nice to still be in the pre-frenzied pace of gift opening (and a sane hour of awakening), although I still missed close to half of what was sent by whom. I like the madness and the frenzy too, though, so I'm ready to bring it on even more in the years to come. Jack hunkered down with his toys, especially those with wheels, immediately and was his usual roly polly jolly little self (most of the time. His final molar popped through while we were gone so we had a night or two of bleary clock watching). He really is a happy little elf who now knows how to roar on command (thank you to everyone who contributed to that). He gave me one of my best presents -- an unassisted walk across the family room... and then he pretty much refused to do much walking the rest of the trip. It KILLS me because I know he can walk, he just doesn't choose to. He has been doing more the last couple of days, though, so maybe we're on the road to bipedalism. Before anyone tells me to slow down and not wish away his littleness, I'd like to point out that the chunker is HEAVY. Carrying around 26+ lbs all the time is giving me arms of steel. In any event, he's 26 lbs of delightfulness at least. 

We happy, we're healthy (and sending all our good vibes out to Auntie Karin who isn't doing so hot), we're together, Molly's been alternating between bathing suits and pajamas all day so really, life is good for us right now. We hope you final day of 2010 is cheerful and wonderful and that you're ready to for whatever adventures 2011 brings. 

Getting ready for Christmas at home:

Cutting down the tree is hard work... luckily, hot chocolate has restorative properties. 

Thanks Dad!

What? I'm totally helpful with the decorating.

Okay, maybe she's actually more helpful.

The boys have an eye for putting the ornaments just so...

with Jack working hard to decorate the top of the tree... this is where 99% of the ornaments ended up by the time we left. 

From home, we hopped over to Whistler for the week before the big day:

Mmmmhhhh... good skiing. 

We lucked out and were the last ones up on the Blackcomb glacier for the day.

Jack is getting ready to be a bobsledder in 2040. He may have slept through his first glimpse of the track, but he's ready. 

The ladies at the piano.

Cousin Christmas Finery

Wildcat hair aside, Molly loves her cute cousins.

And no, Jack Jack, we didn't forget about you.

Refueling with an unbeatable vista behind the little Buddha.

And they're back at it...

Gang's all here.

And finally, the big day itself:

John told her Molly that there would be presents under the tree in the morning and she felt the need to check and make sure there weren't any hiding.

The chaos... not sure Santa meant for Jack to be in the wagon.

Hmmm... what are these interesting lovelies?

Auntie Holly: the closet Christmas baker

the ladies in their Christmas fancy pants showing off for Grandpa

The sweet sounds of quiet concentration

Thanks to Santa

Merry merry Christams to everyone out there... We have been in Whistler and now Seattle for the week so a catch up post will be forthcoming. Safe to say that everyone successfully stayed on Santa's nice list and we have been lucky to be afforded generosity in the food, health, presents, and family department. Both our Christmas elves had loads of fun with the holiday (Jack-zilla sure does love his cars and trains) and Molly has gone from a princess to a doctor to a fairy to a hair dresser about thirty eleven times today. Not shockingly, both small ones are passed out downstairs sleeping off their versions if Christmas hangovers.

We do feel blessed every day but like most people, the holidays amp up that feeling even more. We are thankful for so, so many things but right now, I'm mostly thankful for the love that you all show us. You all put up with our crazy schedules and whirlwind trips home, a precocious three year old with a serious case if Icandoitmyself-itis and a screeching, flirty, chunky monkey one year old (John and I are a piece of cake, though right?!), and my ability to only return one in three phone calls successfully within 24 hours.

We've had a good year so I'm not especially looking forward to ditching 2010 but the possibilities of what may come in 2011 are exciting. It promises to be full of new adventures (more on that soon and no, I'm not pregnant) and fun times.

Pictures will come soon but in the meantime, we wish you and your loved ones a very happy, healthy, and snowy Christmas.

Footloose and Fancy Three

In the tradition of the great America humorist, Jeff Foxworthy, you know it's your third birthday when...

- you decide to hug a pile of presents

- you have a terrible stomach bug all day but rally to open presents so that you don't disappoint your audience

- you announce that you think it's time for your brother to go to bed (but I'm pretty sure it's only because you don't want him playing with your loot)

- you ask for cake the morning after your third birthday

Nobody should be sick on his or her birthday but that's what happened yesterday. Molly was so un-Molly-like yesterday (including taking a four hour nap that I had to wake her up from to go get the babysitter) it made me very sad for her. In the morning, she had even asked to wait for a day for her cake and presents (although that was clearly a short-lived sentiment). Nonetheless, today, she appears back to her spunky, lively, birthday-singing self. 

Just who is Molly right now? She's your typical three year old who wants to do EVERYTHING by herself... don't suggest helping her get dressed, go anywhere near the potty with her, put her shoes on, etc. All this to say that we don't hustle out the door very often. She likes parties, taking care of her babies, riding bikes (and her new scooter), playing pretend games, arts and crafts (hallelujah!!), wearing pajamas at all hours of the day, the moon and stars, anything she can dress up (luckily, she hasn't discovered Jack yet), building tall towers, climbing as high as she possibly can and then hanging/jumping/sliding down (again, no assistance needed). She's funny, likes to tell jokes, pretends that her nose can talk, often will politely interrupt with "mom, mom, mom, I have a question, please" or "hey, will you look at me?". She likes to make Jack laugh (well, anyone really but especially Jack) and likes to point out when someone else is doing something wrong. She's easily frustrated when she reaches a sticking point and can throw down one big, loud, noisy fuss card but she's getting better and better at managing her emotions and limits. She's helpful in the kitchen and interested in what I'm doing but her attention span for cooking or baking real food is still short (except when things need to be tested). She has wild and crazy hair that I'm only marginally successful at taming, she still (usually) happily naps, and needs awhile to wind herself down in the evenings before she's ready for bed. She likes swimming, soccer, running, some weird badminton/balloon game, t-ball, running, skating, running... She still eats mostly everything although is becoming somewhat more choosy in her old age. She's curious, oh lord is she curious. Nothing escapes her sticky fingers so it's always interesting to take her into stores, the dentist, or the doctor. No, honestly, it's very stressful. She'd love, for instance to come to the hair salon with me but there's not a snowball's chance in hell that I'm going to let her loose in a place with water, chemicals, sharp objects, unpaid for merchandise and other people while I'm somewhat trapped in a chair and can't turn my head quickly. Her curiosity is both my favorite thing about her and what may send me to an early grave. She's really so many, many things but most of all, she's still a peanut who, when sick, likes to be picked up and held and snuggled and let's us know that, after all, she doesn't want to do everything by herself. 

Ski Bunny

There are lots and lots of things that make being a parent worthwhile, heartwarming, enriching, inspiring, etc. There are also things that are just plain fun when you're a parent. I've found that it's often things that were pretty fun before you had kids but then once you have them, and you see and experience it through their eyes, the super fun-o-meter just blows up (I also felt this way when I became an aunt, too. I love kids' perspectives...). We had one of those times today -- we took Molly skiing to celebrate her birthday and because we're going to Whistler next week and, let's face it, I wasn't going to lug gear if she wasn't going to be into the whole shebang. Truthfully, I really, really wanted her to have fun and enjoy skiing. I won't lie. I would have been sad had she run screaming from the hill (like she literally ran screaming from the lady in the ski store when she tried to have Molly try on ski boots) or pooped out after two runs. I would have understood, of course; you can't force enjoyment of new activities and you simply have to try again next month, next season, next lifetime. It's one of the cardinal rules of parenthood, I think, to follow your mini person's lead and not impose your standards or ideas of what she should be or what he should like. The parenting handbook also explicitly forbids throwing hissy fits no matter how much you want them to do or like something or other... that's hard for me sometimes. At the same time, we all have images in our heads, I think, of what constitutes family fun and skiing together, for me, is one of them. Thankfully, she loved it. She was hilarious out there and honestly, it made the run I took with her down the bunny slope one of the best  runs of my life (John did the majority of the skiing 101 introduction today). I loved experiencing some of her excitement and it was neat to see her pride at mastering some aspects of skiing a bit and by the end, she was able to do some of the run by herself. I skied with a friend after that and it was good but really, nothing like the fun I had in the two minutes it took to get down the beginner trail. Sometimes we get lucky, as parents, that it all works out the way we hope it might. I don't know if those opportunities are the minority or majority but whenever they happen, I'm happy to sit up, take notice, and relish them. 

I'm ready. Who's coming with me?

This guy? Okay! Still ready!

No, we didn't ski with Jack, although...

There's always the post-skiing relax in the lodge that makes the day worth it, too. 

Stand and Not Deliver

While we were back east, Jack took some steps all on his own. It was so cute! It was so fun! I was so excited! And now... well, now he is no longer interested in any of that malarky. Like an overly enthusiastic pageant mom, I think I got a little too excited for the glory and how it would change my life... so now he reminds again and again that he's in charge and will walk when he pleases, thank you very much. His modus operandi has always been to wait and watch (and probably practice when I'm not looking) and then grace us with his new skill once he's nearly mastered it. Why stray from a winning formula? For now, it's probably more fun to look like he's going to take steps somewhere and then watch me freak out like a crazy chicken because I'm so excited, only to drop down and beeline it on all fours to wherever he wants to go.

Tardy Turkey

Holy smokes, it's been awhile... traveling, blogging, holidays, and various illnesses didn't all mix together very well this time and while I would have happily let the barfing fall to the wayside, the blog was the big sufferer over the past three weeks while we we pretended that we were east coasters again. Team Double Trouble also refused to slow down (even at night... so much fun) so really, I consider myself lucky that I found time to shower every third day. We did have a great trip (with the exception of having to cancel one ridiculously complicated-to-plan play date due to aforementioned barfing and what I believed to be a nail gun being driven into my head but was actually just a really bad sinus infection) and I'm pretty sure that the airline had to throw off a few bags in order to accommodate my ridiculously full belly and expanded waist line on our way home. We also were able to enjoy visits with the Seattle crew on both ends of our trip and their hospitality was, once again, very, very, very much appreciated (I see sainthood in Mary's future). I can't believe no one tossed us out after being subjected to Jack's early morning sing-a-longs and Molly's wandering feet so a HUGE thank you to everyone who gave us food, beds, birthday presents, company, moral support, baby sitting, and rides to urgent care. We, once again, can't thank you all enough from the very depths of our hearts. If the good cheer and open arms that we enjoy on all coasts don't embody the spirit of Thanksgiving, I don't know what does.

Thanksgiving is a lovely holiday, one of my favorites, and it should always look a little something like this:

Who doesn't love a gaggle of cousins?

I thought maybe I had been blessed with only one enthusiastic hugger but no... I've got two.  Hug me, damn it, HUG ME.

Speaking of two sweet boys... not that my sumo wrestler needs any more calories but the two little boys of the cousin bouncy bunch also really, really enjoyed the birthday celebration that we had the day before the turkey.

What do you mean there are no more cupcakes?

Like ice cream? Who me?

Of the more general type of mischief that we got ourselves into outside of the holiday, it was basically just lots of stuff like this:

Puzzlemania

Next stop: Architectural Digest

You spin me right round, baby, right round

Random scarf wearing while making up a game


And now, this is a face that is excited for what comes next...