A Beautiful Day

Look at these sisters.  It's just the beginning for them...

And a little bit of Si right in the middle of things, as usual. 

A Few Christmas Highlights

We wanted to scale it all back a bit this year.  Take it down a notch, keep it local, intimate, quiet.

Well...we tried.

Christmas at our house was low-key and really wonderful.  Pajamas most of the day.  Santa seemed to hit it out of the park for the kids.  Church was on our couch via a DVD message from our pastor and some worship 'led' by Mils and Si.  We were invited to spend Christmas eve with our new & dear friends across the street.  This was the coolest...watching kids disappear into playtime while we had a great, relaxing evening.  I'd put this family on my list of things to be very, very thankful for this past year.

Milk, cookies & carrots for Santa & the reindeer

The kids chose special gifts for each other and Hannah and Mom & Dad at an ingenious fundraiser called "The Santa Shop".  This was definitely a highlight of the morning for me...watching the pride and excitement on their faces as they gave their gifts to their family.  Millie got Simon a mug filled with hersey kisses and hot chocolate ("because he loves dessert") and Si got Mils a pack of fancy band aids ("because she loves stickers").  

Happy Birthday Jesus!  There is a slight chance that the message intended by this symbolic celebration was lost in the "HOLY COW LOOK AT ALL THAT CANDY!" exclamation by Simon.

Another tear-jerker from Millie.  She was excited to give me this picture that she made...check out baby Hannah: in my arms!  I think she nailed the hair on all of us, too!

We packed up and headed to our families after Christmas.  All was going well until Hannah caught the kids' colds and ended up spending the night in the hospital with a nasty case of RSV.  Scary for sure, but God's hand was in all this as well.  We were with my mom, a nurse, who was able to assess the seriousness of things and lead us to good decisions for Hannah.  And the whole rest of my family was around to help entertain and distract Mils and Si.  Hannah bounced back after a few days of lots of rest.

Sick baby in the hospital.

Snuggles and books with Uncle Monkey (who is off in India right now visiting lions and tigers and monkeys in the wild).

It snowed at Yammy & Poppa's!

My parents sold their house and are moving out of it this week.  They are building their dream house and are off to begin their next big adventure in Colorado.  The snow was a perfect way to say goodbye to a very special place.

Unfortunately, Hannah's illness meant that Christopher and the kids made the trip to Delaware without me and Hannah.  From the reports, photos, texts, and videos I received, they all had a blast.  There was some great cousin-time and lots of memories made.

Gingerbread men with Gamma & the cousins!

The whole gang took in the Christmas beauty of Longwood Gardens.  Lights, trains, gingerbread houses...sounds awesome!

A three-year old's dream come-true: Remote Controlled Lightening McQueen!

So, as usual, there is never a dull moment with our gang.  Memories made, crises conquered.  Pretty much sums up this whole parenting thing, I think.  Happy New Year!

Five Months

Merry Christmas

Missing Daddy

It's enough to break my heart.  Last night Simon slept with a photo of Christopher (large, pointy, glass-enclosed picture that's usually on my nightstand).  We had a rough night together which ended in a bit of discipline followed by a lot of prayer and hugs.  Usually it's my sensitive girl who gets weepy at night and asks to sleep with the photo.  So when Si asked for it, I had to reassess how I interact with this guy.  At the top of my "take a deep breath and remember" list?: He's only three years old.  I often treat him and Millie just the same when it comes to both physical capabilities (putting shoes on, getting snacks, etc) and emotional capacity (buck up, power through, keep on going).  I need to cut him a break.  Also at the top of that list?: Simon's energy and humor mask a very sensitive core.  My boy likes the snuggles and probably internalizes the stress of the household.  I need to slow down and sit and just be with him much more often.

So here we go...the learning, struggling and overcoming.  Can't wait to see what our family looks like on the other side of this challenge.  But really, just can't wait to BE on the other side of this challenge!

Four Months

 

Four Month Stats:

26 inches long (93%)

14.6 pounds (67%)

Family, Holidays

Thanksgiving was a cozy affair for five here at home in Norfolk.  We went for our semi-traditional family run along the Virginia Beach boardwalk in the morning:

And then gathered for a feast in the afternoon:

This happened a little too soon after Millie's nap...she's clearly in no mood to be messed with.

Millie made the costumes.

The next day we were so excited that Jennie and Skip and Kaitlin and Sydney made a special trip from their own family Thanksgiving in Richmond to spend some time with us.  The cousins could not be cuter together:

We managed to get a tree and put some good thought and half-hearted effort into getting it decorated (for some reason it took days to complete the task this year):

And then we just celebrated us, and her, and the sweetness of being together during these holidays.

The Big "E"

That's what they call the Enterprise, Christopher's aircraft carrier.  The kids call it "Daddy's Big Ship".  Pretty soon it will be his home for seven months.  A few weeks ago we finally made it on board to take a look around.  Fascinating.  Harrowing.  Grey.  Impressive.  Claustrophobic.  Mils and Si climbed the ladders like pros.  Hannah and I brought up the rear but managed to get all the way up the 9th deck...what a view.  I am so proud of Christopher.  He's doing a difficult job that will get exponentially more intense when they go to sea.

On the flight deck.

Check out my death grip on ALL the kids.  I didn't even realize I was doing this!

A beautiful little chapel on board that is nearly impossible to get to...the way in there involves climbing through a 3x3 hole!

On the top bunk in Christopher's state room.  This is his crazy face.

Christopher's office.  Millie is at Christopher's desk and Simon has one hand on the legal assistant's desk.  This room is TINY.  I cannot fathom spending seven months in these quarters.

The Admiral's chair on the flag bridge.

Snuggly

It's slipper time!

Birthday Girl

Our sweet girl is 5.  Gulp.  In typical Greer family style, we celebrated for days and days.  Yammy and Papa came down and Aunt JuJu flew in from LA (incredible side note...Julie has been with Millie for every single birthday, which is not an easy feat with our constant moving around) so we spent all weekend doing fun stuff together:  gifts, cake, fancy lunch, favorite dinner, even a group outing to get pedicures together.

On her actual birthday (Tuesday the 25th), she was giddy about wearing her special crown to school and having a little celebration with her classmates.  Unfortunately, Daddy was gone for all of this fun, so we celebrated again as a family when he got home.  And just last night we finished it off with a Mommy-Millie date to see the touring production of Beauty and the Beast.

Millie gives us much to celebrate.  She is a daughter beyond my biggest dreams...compassionate, kind, sensitive, curious, funny.  We are right on the edge of "big-kid"-ness and I find myself staring at her and wondering how many more days we'll have to hold hands for no reason, how much longer she'll carry around her favorite bitty baby or dress up in tutus and wings.   Although I'd often like to, I know I can't keep her little.  But I can't wait to see what she's going to be like as she gets bigger.

Birthday morning, birthday crown.

Heading to school on the big day.

Our very first 'school cupcakes'.  And to add to the craziness of the week: we got home on Monday night to find that Casey had once again jumped on the counter and eaten almost ALL of the cupcakes I had made earlier in the day.  Being burned by Casey's sweet tooth before, I just had to laugh and be thankful that I had the good sense to make cupcakes from a box instead of some kind of fancy concoction.  Ooohhh Casey!

  

Painted toes!  JuJu even let Millie choose the color(s) -- eight red ones, two neon yellows.  Wow.  That's love.  Julie took this look straight to Honduras where she was headed for a TOMS shoe drop for a week.

On our way to Beauty and the Beast. 

She thought the whole thing was magical.  So did I.