The Holy Family, Simon's Version

Introducing: Baby Jeejus, Jofus, and Murray.  I've been egging him on to say this about once an hour for weeks now.  I think it's so funny and I don't ever want to forget it.

Choo Choo? Shoe Shoe.

I was here in the family room, on-line Christmas shopping my little heart out while Simon was downstairs in the foyer happily playing by himself.  I kept hearing him say "choo choo", so I assumed he had made up some kind of train game.  Awesome.  As long as I could hear him playing, I felt less guilt about being on the computer while we were home alone together.

"Hey Mom!  Come look what I made!"  Uh oh.

He was so proud of his OCD organizational skills.  Please tell me this behavior is a normal developmental stage for 2 year olds...

Christmas Kick-Off

Now is it just me, or does it feel like we hit the Christmas season REALLY early this year?  Like straight from rationing Halloween candy to monitoring candy-cane intake.  From fear of candle-lit pumpkins to the terror of being too close to a real live "Ho Ho".  From countdown to costumes to the magic of advent.  Anyway, here we found ourselves (ON NOVEMBER 19!!) kicking off Christmas with the rest of Charlottesville at the tree lighting on the Downtown Mall (hub of all activity here in C'ville).

It is the height of irony that Simon chose a flaming candle for his face decoration.  The kid is terrified of fire.

A captivating store window for kids...check out those knitted hats!

"...and a purple fan for my baby because sometimes she gets hot..."

"Are you kidding me?  NO WAY.  NEGATIVE.  Staying right here, far away from that Ho Ho man."

All topped off by a fun horse-drawn carriage ride down the middle of the pedestrian mall.  Horses' names? Sonny and Cher.

Being on the east coast has its benefits (the sub-freezing temperatures at noon are NOT among them).  We are close enough to drive to our parents' houses for important events.  All the grandkids gathered at the Greers for a girls-only event at their church.

Hooray for hot chocolate...in our bellies, down the fronts of our shirts, smeared across our cheeks!  The evening of tree-decorating coincided with a 'get yourself dressed in whatever you want to wear' day for Millie. Whoa nelly.

A Message for The Ho-Ho

Just in case Santa (aka The Ho-Ho) reads the blog:

(Translation: He'd like Santa to bring " legos and blocks and legos for me")

(Translation: She'd like a scooter and a fan for her baby.  This fan looks like a ceiling fan but sits on the floor.  And it's purple.  And it's two inches tall.  Good luck, Santa.)

Ten Short Years

Ten years ago this week, Christopher and I sat at breakfast on our Caribbean island honeymoon and imagined where life would take us (we really hoped that somehow it would lead us back to that paradise vacation).  All these years later I am so happy and surprised that our journey together has been so easy, so eventful, and so much more satisfying than I could have dreamed.  I married the most amazing man.  We celebrated our anniversary on Thanksgiving and it was fun to remember the crazy perfection of our wedding.  

Christopher reading his vows.  Nat (best man, best friend) guarding my ring and my husband.

The moment at the back of the church, just after we were pronounced husband and wife.  Elation, shock, relief.  One of my favorite photos of the day because of the memories it evokes.

"Fall"ing in love with Charlottesville

It's true...we are really loving it here.  I realize I need to say this now, before the temperature dips below freezing and I start freaking out about the weather.  But really, this place is wonderful.  Gorgeous scenery: we're just at the edge of the mountains, surrounded by rolling hills and TONS of trees.  Right outside our door we've got a great path that runs along the river all around the city.  It's so family-friendly...the kids and I took a great yoga class together last week at a studio that ONLY has classes for kids; Christopher's school hosts a fall and spring soccer league, a huge halloween party for the kids, football game tailgates, playdates, and much more.  The kids and I love our CBS class on Thursday mornings and gymnastics on Mondays.  And we have lists of road trips, restaurants, and fun activities we want to try before we leave.  Here are lots of random photos from some of our autumn adventures:

My mom dug up some overalls from when I was a kid.  Classics.

Hiking up to pick apples at the orchard.

Mils got tinker toys from Uncle Tim for her birthday.  FIRST things built were two 'microwaves' (microphones).  There is cute video to go along with this photo...I'll try to post it next.

Si and I found a great playground right at the edge of a beautiful lake.  It was in the shape of a boat, so Si dubbed it "Noah's Ark"

Millie's lit up by the flashing lights of the Presidential motorcade.  We bundled up and walked downtown to catch a glimpse of President Obama when he came to town to stump for the local congressional candidate.

We were only able to hear the rally -- couldn't get close enough to see much of anything -- but we were on the curb when the motorcade fired up and headed out.  

Si and Dad heading to the other side of the fields for soccer practice.

Mils doing what 4 year olds do at soccer practice.

Meanwhile, back at the 2 yr olds' practice, it's a total family effort.  Christopher's the coach, getting them all stretched out and warmed up.

Goal!  Notice the bag of goldfish crackers in Christopher's hand?  This was the KEY to getting the kids to do any kind of soccer-related activity at practice.  Score a goal...get a snack.  Genius.

Now she's getting into it.

Just a regular Saturday morning with the clowns.

Farewell, Gankie

And just like that, it's gone.

One day Mils and I are having a casual conversation with her pediatrician about how she should start thinking about trying to stop sucking her thumb. Later that night, all on her own, she decides to stash her BELOVED blanket away in a drawer in the closet so that she would not be tempted by it.  In her astoundingly mature line of reasoning, she determined that when she had her blanket she always wanted to suck her thumb, so she would eliminate the temptation altogether.  WHAT????  How in the world did you develop this kind of willpower, sweet girl?

Of course, I had to turn away when I saw what was happening.  My eyes filled with tears.  This just seems like such a milestone in the journey from little girl to big girl.  It's been about two weeks now and we haven't seen the blanket at all, and the callouses on her thumb are starting to soften.  My heart still hurts a bit, though. That blanket saw us all through some big adventures and some tough goodbyes.

I am so very, very proud of this girl.  Really, she amazes me every day.  And as I sit here crying at the computer I am reminded just how fast time marches on.  These are such precious days.

Do What You Love

This is my little brother.  The Denver Post published this photo of him heading into the mountains to fight the latest forest fire in Boulder.  Yes, he's carrying a chainsaw.  He told me that while he was fighting this fire he got so close to the flames that the oil on the chain of his chainsaw would ignite every so often, turning it into a kind of flame-thrower.  And by the time he was done he was covered in the pink slurry that the low-flying planes were dropping to try to control the fire.  Wow.

Another photo of Mike, from the Boulder Daily Camera.  He's the one in the middle, holding the chainsaw, staring right at you.

Not only do I love my brother, I respect him immensely.  He is one of the most principled people I've ever met, and he makes very deliberate choices about how he wants to live his life.  Right now that means heading up a team in the Forestry Department to manage and preserve Boulder's open spaces.  He works so that he can travel the world and collects only as much 'stuff' as he needs so that he can follow his passion wherever it takes him.  Oh, and best of all, he is HILARIOUS.  Mike's just the best.

The Cupcake and The Shark

The kids had some very strong ideas about what they wanted to be for Halloween this year (one glimpse at the Pottery Barn Kids Halloween catalog and the deal was sealed).  I was all set to hit "buy" on the website until my sister Julie bullied/coerced/convinced me to buck up and make them something.  We both have really great memories of some very special homemade costumes from our childhood.  I'm not certain I can ever live up to my mom's magic, but we sure had a great time this Halloween.  We jumped at a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity: we trick-or-treated on the famous and historical lawn on the grounds (campus) of UVA...right in front of the rotunda.  All of the fourth-year students who live in the little rooms around the lawn come out to hand out candy to the kids.  What a cool experience. 

Christopher took it up a notch and created his own "Shark-bitten Surfer"costume to go with Si's shark.

I was the cupcake's baker.

 

 

A decorated room with some festive students.

Fun.  Beautiful.  Unforgettable.

Skyline Drive

Scenes from another great family hiking trip.  We headed out to Skyline Drive (a scenic drive through the Blue Ridge / Shenandoah Mountains which happens to be less than 30 miles from us) in search of a picnic and a walk thru the woods.  The picnic was a bit of a bust due to my thin San Diego blood...the temperatures dropped into the high 50's and there was just no way I was going to sit outside and eat in that weather.  Instead we all crammed into the back of our SUV and made the best of it.

The 'little walk', on the other hand, was a roaring success.  It was MUCH more strenuous than was advertised on the maps, but with a whole lot of cheering and encouraging, we all made it through the two mile loop.  Two keys to Millie's perseverance:  1) She got to read the "map" (trail guide) and tell us where to go; and 2) Her walking stick...made her very official and outdoorsy.  The view from the top of the climb was breathtaking, and this was even before the leaves started changing colors.   We saw lots of deer and even came right up on a bear crossing the road in front of us (we were in the car).  All in all, a really great family adventure.

A post-picnic run-around.

We saw a deer right away on the trail.  Sadly, they were very tame...see how close we are?

Walking sticks in hand, ready for the hike. 

This is how Si spent 90% of the day: on Christopher's shoulders.

View from the top...awesome.

Our Birthday Girl

Our four year old had quite a birthday celebration.  It literally went on for weeks.

First, Gamma, Gampa and Uncle Joshua visited us two weekends ago so we turned one evening into a little party for Mils.  It was a beautiful weekend and a really fun visit.

And this weekend my sister, Aunt JuJu flew into town from LA to help us celebrate the big event.  Mils decided on spaghetti for dinner and insisted on a palm tree cake.  She originally told me she wanted a rainbow cake (I think this inspiration came to her while she was studying Noah and the Ark at CBS).  She abruptly changed her mind (I'd like to know who planted the seed in her head) to the much-more-difficult-to-execute palm tree.  Oh well, it all worked out fine and she didn't hate it.  That's a total win in our family.  And yesterday, on her actual birthday, she took treats to share with her classmates at preschool and we had a small family celebration after dinner.  Whew.  We're all partied out over here.

Casey crashed out on Millie's new rain boots.

Sporting her birthday crown, the top half of her halloween costume (will eventually be a cupcake) and her new tap shoes.  Every time I look at this picture I just can't believe how tall she is.

While Jules was here we took a trip up to an apple & peach orchard at the top of the mountain.

Mils was once again showered with really wonderful gifts.  She is so excited to wake up and play with her new goodies and games and books and outfits.  Our family is so blessed to be surrounded by family and friends who love us and our kids.  We are far away from almost everyone we love, but none of us feels lonely or alone.  That's something special.  

So here's to my independent, sensitive, curious, emotional, empathetic big girl...the one who made us parents and brought a whole new purpose to our lives.  I could celebrate her life every single day.