It's Her Birthday

Four years ago, we welcomed this joyful, exuberant, empathic, wacky, cuddly, opinionated gift. We felt all that we had expected to feel and then a hundred times more than that. This little blond tornado, born between two huge snowstorms, blesses and enhances our lives each and every day. She has so much to say, so many thoughts, so many worlds that she invents, so many schemes, so many jokes, so many jumps, so many dances, so many outfits, so many opinions, so many fears, so many questions... but most of all, she has so much love. She is cautious yet fearless, obstinate yet intuitive, impatient yet particular, happy yet dramatic. She runs at 100% or at 0% and there aren't a lot of shades of gray to this gal. She makes us think harder, ask more questions of ourselves, and she will never, ever, ever takes no for an answer the first time you say it. She is my spark plug and keeps me going long after I'm ready to call it quits for the day; there is no mailing it in when she's on duty.  But the love, oh the love, that you get makes every moment worth it. She is four years of love and energy wrapped up in there and she is, quite simply, an incredibly magical little person. Happy birthday to our well-loved, and loving, monkey. 

Monkey House

Anyone with small children will tell you that staying home for too long on any given day can be a recipe for utter mania. I'm trying to slow down, though -- or maybe it's not so much about slowing down and more about cramming less in because let's face it, things aren't moving at the speed of light these days (unless it's Jack finding some chance to run into the street. That happens fast). Before we depart for our holiday excursion to the exotic east (coast), however, I'm trying to be at peace with staying put and having friends come over and play so that we can enjoy our tree and our decorations and just each other. Admittedly, my local coffee place is also closed for renovations, which may have something to do with this as well. Nonetheless, we are soaking up our little bungalow, and I do rather like it. I have no pictures of this enjoyment, of course, because any time I pick up my camera lately (or the phone), the howler monkeys come out and it's at that moment that Jack bonks Molly over the head (yep, still happening because someone is still screeching, which just delights the offender to no end) or she decides he is doing something dangerous (there's a legit 50/50 chance on that one) and must tell me about it pronto and at the top of her lungs. Those do not make for attractive pictures. Instead, you all must suffer through more outside photos. Some of these are a month old from my mom's visit out here and some are to prove to my kids that I marched them outside for fresh air no matter how chilly Jack said he was when I gently nudged them out on the porch. Inside, outside -- it's all monkey business.

I lied, I do have a picture of what happens when we stay indoors...

Tree Huggers

Some people were a little bit more into chopping down our Christmas tree than others... and then there was me who was over the top excited. I want it to be known, however, that just like I got overruled countless times by my picky brother growing up, we ended up with a tree that Molly and John liked more than I did. Of course, when we got it home and I loved it more than any other tree we've ever had. Still, for being the deliriously giddy one at the start of the trip, I think I showed amazing restraint in deferring to my child's (and, ahem, husband's) needs and wants. Jack could not have cared less so trying to get him on my side accomplished nothing. It turned out that being overruled worked out wonderfully and maybe I should think about letting that happen more often... nah.

Jack looks on and wonders why people are getting all worked up about this whole process.

Molly+sharp objects=good times

Letting John get some saw time in

Showing me what needs to happen with the tree trunk to make it perfect for the stand (note: that did not really happen so well)

Please, why can't we leave? I'm a delicate flower with a big ol' head and it's cold out here!

Finishing touches

The victorious and their plus one

The Dance Off

I have more holiday post fodder than I can shake a stick at... tree-getting (and then falling over and nearly hitting Jack), Christmas-ship watching, Santa letter-writing (daily)... but right now, my favorite part of the holiday season is how much Molly wants to have a dance party to Christmas songs all the time. So, speaking of shaking things, if you have a few minutes of your life that you can give up, I've got one little tiny dancer who is VERY infected with the holiday fever.

The first minute is a little slow... err, the build up... to the twirling sounds of Christmas.



And this one is so long it will likely only be interesting to Molly and grandparents (and of course, mom and dad), but starting at about 1:30, the moves are much better. Clearly, her parents passed along stellar dance genes.