Christmas 2013 Scenes

It was a very merry time!

Baking cookies for Santa

The committed crew of decorators

Danny's turn to put Baby Jesus in the manger

A grand group

The Christmas morning scene

Dapper dudes in vests

Laura admiring her new stocking from Grammy while allowing Danny to read to her.

Danny's 1st Grade Nativity Play

Right before Thanksgiving, Danny got the exciting news that he would get to play a soldier in the annual nativity play performed by the CKS 1st Grade. His Halloween costume would be so perfect! He was psyched. Then, at the first practice, he fainted. Fell off the riser and cut his head. Since this was not his first fainting experience, I figured he'd shake it off. Instead, the incident haunted him throughout the next several practices. As they moved through the play more quickly and the days were cooler, he relaxed. Until performance night. Getting ready for the play, Danny was more nervous than I have ever seen him! Several trips to the bathroom, a few rounds of tears, and lots of assurances later, we got him to the show dressed and ready. Where he recited his line beautifully and did not faint! (Though he fidgeted constantly and took deep breathes visibly over and over again.)

He was darling, and just about the sweetest soldier I've seen. But, perhaps not quite ready for a drama club.

The Clare 'Do Returns

 
Last weekend, Clare decided rather abruptly that she was ready to cut her hair - rather significantly. She stuck to her decision, so one week later we went for the chop!

We had hoped to have enough to donate, and sure enough, the stylist managed to salvage 8 inches which we will send off to Beautiful Lengths.

Of course we always think she's gorgeous, but Tim and I are both particularly delighted with the return of her bob - it just feels like her signature style!

Fa La La

With Thanksgiving being so late this year, and being out of town, it feels as though it took us quite a while to put up our tree. But the long-awaited day finally arrived, and as usual it was worth the wait. After a somewhat gross warm, humid week, today the seasonally chilly weather returned just in time for our festivities - and holiday attire:

A tree was quickly selected in order to beat the cold and get to bagels sooner. The remainder of the day was spent putting up outdoor decor and tracking down supplies for our tree-trimming feast (and Clare's science fair project...). At last the appointed hour arrived, which we kicked off with a bubbly toast:

I love that they are all still so enthusiastic about coordinating pajamas.

Then the decorating began in earnest. Tim and I both observed that Laura is really at a fun age for Christmas, delighting in everything - she excitedly called me over to the front door to look at how our light-up reindeer's head moves. Every ornament elicited an "ooh," from her, while Clare and Danny relished in reuniting with old favorites.

As much as they love the tree, the chocolate fondue for dessert may still be the kids' highlight...and may explain why I had a tough time getting a picture with our finished product. But hey, a little fun along the way is really the whole point, right?

Thanksgiving 2013

We loaded up in the van and headed for the sunny shores of Sarasota for Thanksgiving, taking a full week to spend with the Seymour side of the family. While the weather wasn't always perfect, we did manage to sneak in some fun in the sand and sun:

We did a lot of other things besides the beach, yet that is all I managed to photograph! Suffice to say we had a lot of quality time with Donna, Larry, Karen & Brian; the boys golfed, we all played Bingo (with two family members winning!), took a family photo on the beach, visited the terrific Tampa zoo, and most importantly ate and laughed. Lots of thanks to give!

So Big

We're plowing through major toddler milestones these days. Laura continues to be a potty-training rock star, even conquering #2 (more or less, anyway). And now she's in a big girl bed. She has slept in it for about five days now, and so far remains as firmly entrenched in it as Clare and Danny were - no aimless wanderings or midnight escapes. Yesssss.

Meanwhile, today I had my first parent-teacher conference for Laura, which I approached both with our "Meh, third child" attitude paired with a bit of "Oh dear, I wonder what they're going to tell me?" Last week the teachers had us fill out a prep sheet for the conference, asking us to detail Laura's strengths, weaknesses, and any concerns we have. After staring at it blankly for quite some time (I mean, she's two), I finally scribbled down something and moved on to the next task. I happened to mention her temper as a concern of mine, which evidently was laughable to her teachers who describe her as "quiet, timid, and sweet." HA! But hey, if she has learned early on how to work her teachers, kudos to her, am I right?

In all seriousness, though, her teachers report that while she is somewhat shy, she is also social and interacts well, is good at sharing (can't wait to tell THAT to Clare and Danny), uses her manners, and has strong verbal skills. She is still "emerging" in the "separates well from mommy" category, which doesn't surprise me - we spend a lot of time together. Evidently she has also told her teachers that her brother and sister are very nice to her (see above photo for evidence of how often Clare plays with her). Since she is not great about expressing her appreciation directly to them, this was nice to hear!

She has her moments, both good and bad. She's growing like a weed, but she's still my baby.

Control Herself

"May I have this dance?" she sweetly asked...but wouldn't have taken "No" for an answer.

Laura is officially a panties-wearing gal. We haven't quite jumped the #2 hurdle yet, but this not being my first rodeo, I know that will probably take a while but ultimately will happen. And since she attended school today wearing panties and returned home wearing the same clothes, I am ready to declare success.

From her conception, I have dreaded potty training. It ranks up there with getting an infant to sleep as my least favorite elements of parenthood thus far. Upon some reflection, I have recognized that it really is a battle for control. Sure, I knew Laura was trying to assert her desire to be in control. But it's possible that perhaps I, too, am a bit of a control freak. And maybe I don't quite give my baby girl enough credit. Turns out she's fairly capable of telling us when she needs to go to the bathroom. So the 50-minute stand-off we had in the bathroom this morning, which caused her to be late to school and me to miss my window to run before my haircut, was not necessary. Live and learn, right?

Toddlerhood is summed up with the phrase "power struggle." Laura aims to be quite powerful, too, dictating music choices in the car, the up or down status of the window, which sibling will play with her and what game they will play, and most especially her footwear (to name a scant few).  She is atrocious at taking "No" for an answer, although her fits are becoming increasingly shorter in duration. She is, I suppose, on the cusp of turning three, with all the triumphs and terrors that accompany the age.

Yesterday, as we spent more quality time together while mastering the potty routine, I was struck by the song "When Will My Life Begin?" from Tangled (she LOVES to listen to princess music). I spend a lot of time wishing Laura would get older, get past certain irritating behaviors.  But I also find myself really enjoying her company, the many times when she makes me laugh, or comments "that was a great story!" after a book. And I really love listening to her sing. Life doesn't begin when you hit a certain age or milestone, it's happening every day. Time: a reminder that none of us, really, is in control.