Christmas has come!

God is with us! Time to celebrate Christmas! And this year, we've had lots of helpers. Grandpa Les, Grandma, Aunt Laura, Uncle Chris and Uncle Brian arrived a few days before the holiday to begin the festivities.

We all approached the gathering apprehensively after last year's fiasco. What's more, snow was expected on arrival day! Would everyone make it in? Would we all acquire a nasty stomach virus? Yes, and no! What a perfect combination for Christmas joy! Now we could really have a good time.




We did a lot and a little: there was plenty of time for low-key crafts with Aunt Laura and Grandma, stories, feasting and general playtime. The girls all made it to a magical kids' museum, where the little ones played vet clinic for 30-45 minutes at a time, crafted to their hearts' content, pretend grocery shopped, and much more.

The near-constant attention, plentiful treats and little presents spoiled the girls quite handily, but they loved every minute. Rumor has it, they even managed to get Uncle Brian and Uncle Chris to play princesses with them. Elise amazed everyone with her newfound abilities to carry on extensive conversations, and Kalina wowed Grandma, Grandpa Les and Uncle Brian with a mini ballet recital when they first arrived (she'll be beginning lessons in January!), in addition to other skills they'd improved upon since last year.


We also decorated a gingerbread house, which will probably become a yearly tradition as the kit made it incredibly simple. Despite Mommy's stinginess on how much candy could be consumed versus added to the house (after all, she had noticed, behavior does not improve with the addition of sugar!), the kids had a great time, and the structure is relatively covered with carefully placed candy and frosting.

As our guests were leaving Christmas Eve, our "Christmas" was the Saturday prior. Although the girls were a bit confused as to why Santa Claus hadn't arrived yet, they consented to go ahead and open some presents. They loved the craft supplies, soft penguin ornaments and everything else, but the Play-Doh princess castles produced the most obvious amount of sheer joy. We got started on them right away, the perfect distraction away from the giant Christmas dinner in the works. Uncle Chris and Uncle Brian get gold stars for hanging in there with all the pink and purple.


That evening, we all went to see the lights at the zoo "Bootiful! Let's run!" was Elise's constant exclamation through the magical displays. We saw penguins and bugs in addition to the lights, and by then most of us were cold enough (or winded enough) to call it a night.








Our guests returned to their homes on Christmas Eve, a sad change of tidings especially for the two little girls. But as we could affirm that another important "guest," by the name of Santa Claus, would be visiting that night, they cheered up well enough.

We donned the Christmas dresses (which got a surprising amount of use this season!) for Christmas Eve church, where the kids surprised us by preferring to stay in childcare rather than come with us to church (which they'd done for Sunday church, too!). I was a bit disappointed, actually, but the service was lovely, and even more lovely was picking up two smiling girls afterward.

We couldn't resist looking at more Christmas lights on the way home, nor could we resist letting the kids each open one present, the one from each other. It was Kalina's suggestion, a couple weeks ago. "Elise can open her present from me when she gets up from her nap!" I managed to hold her off until Christmas Eve, but soon Elise was the proud owner of the purple bear she'd been eyeing in the grocery store (and making up stories about!) and Kalina was hugging a giant Hello Kitty, a re-gift, actually, from my childhood.

After a quick supper, we read Christmas stories by the fireplace, left a cookie and carrots out for Santa, scattered "reindeer food" on the lawn and tucked into bed.

Santa must have made his appearance, because the next morning, the cookie was reduced to crumbs and the stockings were bulging. The kids dug in, and the intensive sharing negotiations began.


Too much activity, too much sugar and too little sleep made for two, um, somewhat Scroogey girls, but we still had a wondrous Christmas day. We took our time with gifts, opening and playing with them before moving onto the next. Elise insisted on donning anything wearable (see picture).





Highlights included Daddy's Junior Explorer kit (complete with hats, magnifying glasses, and bug-finding paraphernalia), fairy costumes and princess castle playsets. A little from each world, I suppose.






Due to the current moods, we decided that naptime/downtime was non-negotiable and waited until afterward to go to Grandpa's house. Uncle Tom was waiting for us there, and Aunt Nancy and her dogs appeared via computer, so we managed to assemble the whole family. Kalina and Elise were tickled at seeing the presents we'd mailed to the dogs being torn open, and I believe the feeling was mutual as the girls dug into their gifts.


The onset of evening was met with tears, as first Kalina, and then Elise, and nearly Mommy, bemoaned the fact that Christmas was on its way out. Although I insisted that with more family on the way and lots more treats and celebrating, it's really only just begun, I knew how they felt. We love Christmas. Make it stay! Or at least come again next year.







Fortunately, more fun was planned! We enjoyed low-key playtime with Uncle Tom and Grandpa, and a trip to the Botanical Garden. Then, Uncle David and Aunt Debbie arrived, and soon we were in full-out celebrating mode again. We enjoyed a cocoa and animal cookie party with Aunt Debbie, and, what's more, it snowed: the girls frolicked in the backyard for at least an hour Saturday morning.



The highlight of their visit had to be the fireworks. Since I'm not crazy, I haven't allowed the girls stay up until 10:00 to see fireworks on the 4th of July (because it would, actually, mean staying up until 11:00 or 11:30). But I would happily ferry them to see a display at 6:30, despite the chilly temperatures! We even had pizza beforehand.

Elise was a bit nervous about fireworks, but after seeing a few purple ones, felt more comfortable. And  then ecstatic. "Boom!" she yelled whenever a firework exploded above our heads. Kalina was excited the whole time. At first she could only stare, with a huge grin on her face. Soon, however, she got the idea that she could make requests. "A pink one, please!" she'd call out. Sure enough, we'd eventually see a pink one. "A purple one for Elise!" she'd call out again. It was magical on so many levels.

And now, the celebrating is over and we're trying our hardest to find things to look forward to in the new year. Fortunately, among our resolutions are: ice skating, ballet lessons (and possibly some more Gymboree for Elise), at least one trip to return our guests' visits, a Valentine's Day party of sorts and much more. In addition, Elise has resolved to no longer hit her sister.

Merry Christmas, happy New Year!

Christmas is coming!

Only took 6 tries!

When you're 2 and 4, there's certainly nothing much more fun than Christmas in your near future. Elise has equated the season with "TREATS!" and Kalina has equated it with Rudolph. And they both frequently ascertain that guests, are, indeed coming to help celebrate.

While we wait both for the birth of Jesus and the arrival of such heroes as Grandma and Uncle Tom, we've been passing the time with plenty of seasonal delights.

The perfect tree! After we
cut about a foot off the
bottom. But now it's
perfect!

We kicked off our advent with the purchase of a Christmas tree. The girls patiently helped us pick out the most perfect white pine at the farmer's market (out of about eight, total, but it took a lot of deliberating!). We then decorated our house inside and out. Elise was more excited about Christmas lights than anything else, but Kalina was a real helper this year ornamenting the Christmas tree. While it's still a good thing that most of our ornaments are unbreakable, she very delicately found nice spots for quite a few ornaments while her sister enthusiastically "helped," too.

So excited were we about our, and the neighbors', Christmas lights that we headed out to search for more. I'm not sure I've seen Elise more ecstatic. "I SEE CHRISTMAS LIGHTS! LOOK, KALINA! LOOK DADDY! DID YOU SEE THE LIGHTS, DADDY?" Behold the wonder of Christmas. In fact, we had so much fun we went out a couple times.

The magic of Christmas.

We've been equally enthusiastic about all the Christmas baking and making. Christmas cookies, with its trifecta of challenges--the mixing, the cutting and the decorating--were a huge success, both in the amount of fun they were to make and in the enjoyment afterward. I will say that they nearly baked Mommy's nerves, though. A grabby 2-year-old wielding a rolling pin is not, in fact, conducive to producing recognizable cookies, let along pieces larger than 1 inch. Is it possibly for a mommy to be cranky and jolly at the same time? I did my best. The cookies survived the ordeal, however, and were decorated rather charmingly. We also made fudge and, after a weeklong hiatus due to illness, white-chocolate-covered pretzels. We've ramped up the crafts in a big way, too, as a way to keep little hands busy while stuck at home with colds (and in lieu of baking, so as not to get anyone else sick).

I like the juxtaposition of Elise's
intensity with Kalina's goofiness!

Like last year, Kalina attended the Nutcracker! Unlike last year, Mommy got to come too! We dressed alike to celebrate the occasion. Kalina was quiet, but entranced, and seemed to appreciate my whispered explanations of, "That's the nutcracker!" and, "Those are the candy cane dancers!" She returned home with an even bigger desire to take ballet lessons.

The biggest surprise of the holiday was the enthusiasm that the idea of visiting Santa was met with. For the first time in our history, we actually approached jolly old St. Nick instead of waving (or hiding) in the background. Fortunately, based on the general optimism, I was prepared. The girls were (very happily, I might add) decked out in Christmas dresses, and on the way we discussed such questions as, "Where will Santa's sleigh be?", "What do you want for Christmas?" and, from Elise, "What do Christmas lights like to do?"

As yummy as they were
pretty!

Santa has been quite the celebrity this year at our house, and he certainly lived up to his reputation. I expected a rushed, "What do you want for Christmas? Have you been good? Now smile for the picture!" but instead, we discussed the particular snacks Santa would like as he makes his run (Oatmeal raisin cookies, plus three carrots for the reindeer! And a glass of milk since he'll be at our house early on, whereas in the later hours he takes coffee!), and Mitch, his head elf, who will check inventory for the girls' wishes of two pink kittens and a purple Christmas tree (guess which is which!). He truly is a jolly old elf.

We did buy the pictures. Every kid needs a picture of themselves with Santa, preferably not in tears. Elise, unfortunately, forgot to ask her question (and Mommy had no idea it would be important!), so we may have to write an addendum to her letter to Santa.

Sprinkles are the best
things ever.

Which she received a reply from yesterday in the mail, as did Kalina! Much to the girls' delight, "Santa" wrote about his pets, and the myriad stocking stuffers he has ready for them.

Ready for the Nutcracker!

The girls have also been taking much delight in playing Santa (or elves) themselves, although both have started to realize that if you give something away, you don't have it any more. Nevertheless, the Christmas spirit has prevailed, and, as Kalina herself put it, we're excited to let other people "open some joy" this Christmas.

Kalina can tell you the Christmas story, 4-year-old style, and even Elise knows that the baby in question is Jesus. The nativity scene is often a matter of great debate--not so much about whether or not the wise men would've actually visited Jesus in the stable (not likely!), but about who gets which cat, and whether the dog can come into the crib or not.

Smiling with Santa

And finally, here's our Top Ten list of Christmas songs:
1. Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer
2. Jingle Bells
3. Frosty the Snowman
4. Up on the Housetop
5. The "Missing Toe" song. Post a comment if you think you can guess what we mean!

If you look carefully, you can see
where Kalina wrote HOHOHO! All
her own idea and talent!

As we were preparing the room
 for guests, the girls
decided to have a sleepover on
the guest bed. Two steps forward,
one step back.

Thanksgiving and the rest of November

My Thanksgiving tribe!

I realize it's December and I hardly posted about November, which included Thanksgiving. In November, we learned a lot about pilgrims and Native Americans, stayed well for at least a week or so, chatted a lot with Elise, slept in (I'm not kidding!!), made about a million turkey crafts, saw some friends and family and held quite a few birthday parties for stuffed animals.

I'm not sure why I didn't find much to say in November, except for the fact that we were doing a lot (see above). Matt was also out of town quite a bit, so it was a strange month and one that didn't involve a lot of extra brain power for me (or downtime) for blogging. I'm sure I'll make up for it in December.

Otters at the zoo.

On Thanksgiving itself, we joyously greeted Uncle Tom, who pushed aside Grandpa temporarily as the Most Popular Person Who's Not Mommy. We all ate some turkey, even Elise, but the favorites of the girls were mashed potatoes (Kalina) and cranberries (Elise), not to mention the orange-frosted, sprinkled sugar cookies Elise had picked out at the grocery store. In the days following, we did so much playing, site-seeing and visiting that the week after (this week) we only left home when absolutely necessary, and played rather nicely and creatively together, the only downside being that all of the play scenarios seemed to involve massive amounts of Stuff being dragged from one room to the other, and only being dragged back under duress.

Previously, we'd welcomed Grandma, who kept us company (and Mommy sane) while Matt was gone, for the world's most perfect grandparent visit. Lovely weather shuttled us outside for an amazingly dynamic day at the zoo (how often do you get to see a grizzly bear enjoy breakfast, or a trained baby tree kangaroo have a snack?), and a wonderful picnic at a park (Elise's top request nowadays!), plus frozen yogurt for lunch one day (possibly the highlight of the trip?) and much more.

Ready for a sleepover!

And last night, after a lovely day of playing nicely together (lovely for all of us!), the two came up with an acceptable, and very enthusiastically delivered plan for a sleepover in Kalina's room. How could we say no? We did tweak the plan, shifting Elise's intended sleep location from Kalina's big-girl bed on her bean bag chair, to her pack-and-play (Kalina insisted on her sleeping bag on the floor). Kalina, the ever-helpful big sister, managed to drag all of Elise's favorite blankets and animals into her room in as much time as we could say, "Um, I guess you can have a sleepover tonight," and focused every bit of her intensity on getting Elise settled (and not nearly as much on brushing her teeth). As I was reminding them of the rules (if you wake up, go back to sleep if you possibly can; don't get up to play until the clock is green), responsible Kalina wondered, "What if Elise wakes up and I can't get her back to sleep?" I assured her I'd be in to help. Then, Elise willed herself into the pack-and-play (I don't remember actually lifting her in, perhaps she jumped in her excitement?), we read a story and turned out the light, hoping for more slumber and less party (but a little party would be okay).

We like to pretend Elise is a baby in
the cradle my grandpa made for me.

It took a long, long time for Elise, at least to fall asleep, and we're not actually sure how much of Elise's chattering, singing, flopping and random, "Ready, set GO!!!" noises Kalina was able to sleep through. Apparently, not very many. After a surprisingly restful night for Matt and I, we were informed emphatically (but not entirely unhappily) by Kalina that, "Elise kept waking me up all night with her kicking and her talking!" She nicely played with Elise in the morning before Matt and I wandered into their room, and so seemed not to hold a grudge, but she did seem relieved to hear that Elise would be sleeping in her own room tonight. "I will go to bed at suppertime," she mentioned. We probably won't hold her to it.

And that was November. Next time you hear from me, it'll undoubtedly be about Christmas trees and other festivities.

Brave enough for a ride on a
giraffe!

At the park with "Poky" and "Casey."

Happy Halloween?

The two pumpkins in the
back were harvested weeks
ago from Grandpa's garden!

Nothing's scarier than a nasty head cold, unless it's three nasty head colds and two cases of pinkeye. Or a hurricane that might prevent Daddy from returning home from his work trip in time to catch the adorable Halloween costumes that the girls donned anyway, despite the nasty head colds. Add a houseguest who was recovering from surgery to the mix, and we had the potential for a pretty frightening holiday!

Fortunately, our Halloween was more treat than trick, despite all our obstacles! It started with carving pumpkins the night before the work trip--which meant that the jack-o-lanterns were well shriveled for the big day (fortunately, no one noticed much as we forgot to light them).

Both girls wanted cat pumpkins; Elise wanted hers to be purple, specifically. If we'd been better parents, we would've gotten out some paint, but as it was, we just agreed, "Sure, a purple cat!" and hoped the girl could use her imagination, which she did.

Elise takes pumpkin carving
very seriously.

We armed each girl with a spoon, and after cutting off the tops, Matt snipped some of the goopy strings with scissors so that the they could really dig in. Which they did, and it wasn't long before the pumpkins were relatively clean.

Daddy's become quite an expert at cat pumpkins by now, and carved them both with relative ease. This year, however, Elise all but demanded to help (Kalina was happy to sit by and watch). The special pumpkin-carving knives being quite blunt, however, she wasn't able to make any progress on either the pumpkin or her fingers.

They turned out cute, as usual, and we lit them quick before bedtime for pictures. A couple of sweet kitties glowed on our front steps, while my two sweet kiddies did the same as they headed inside for a rest.

Kalina had just as much fun making
her toy mice run up and down the
pumpkin as she did helping carve it.

Fast-forward to Halloween, five days later, and it's a different scene. Through crafts, treats and continual reminders, we have managed to "celebrate" the day as much as possible. We tracked the hurricane and Daddy's flight. The only thing that really makes the day festive, though, is the arrival of our (rather distracted, to say the least!) houseguests, Grandpa, and, finally, in the nick of time, Daddy! Poor Matt got put on pancake duty (in my attempt to fill the girls up with something healthy before being bombarded by sugar), while Grandpa distributed candy to neighborhood kids, and I dressed the girls in their costumes and paraded them up to the guest room.

The idea for crayon costumes, by the way, belongs more to Elise than anyone else. When I asked Kalina what she wanted to be for Halloween, I got everything from "A raindrop!" to "A ladder!" Not receiving the, "A mouse," or "A butterfly" answer that would've been a little more doable, I asked the same question of Elise. And what do you think she said? "Purple." Shortly afterward, she had enthusiastically agreed to be a purple crayon, and Kalina had decided to be an orange one.

Once I'd bought the felt fabric for the costumes, Elise changed her mind to "Purple cat!" and Kalina wanted to be a pumpkin. *sigh* Somehow we managed to stick with the original plan.

And then we were off to trick-or-treat! It took a while to get kids out of the "grab candy and run" frame of mind, and we worked on the "Trick or treat!" "Thank you!" "Happy Halloween!" routine. Around here, kids are also expected to tell a Halloween joke--something we were barely prepared for:

Kalina: What's a ghost's favorite color?
Neighbor: Hmmm, I don't know! (Knowing full well, I'm sure, the answer is "Boo," or blue)
Kalina: White!

I think we may have laughed a little too hard the first couple times this happened, because the next few times Kalina looked at me uncertainly and I had to whisper the answer in her ear.

Actually, the girls made good use of the joke gig--while Kalina wowed everyone with her stand-up comedy, Elise shoveled as much candy as she could into her pumpkin bucket. Nobody seemed to mind, as they could see she's too young to really know how to count. And actually, most of the time she stuck to the "take two" guidelines most people put forth.

For her part, Elise learned how to say "trick or treat," and "Happy Halloween." Or, the most important parts of those phrases, anyway. Neighbors were usually greeted with an ecstatic "Treat!!" and left with a sweet, "Hah-ween!!"

As the night was chilly and the colds probably wouldn't get any better the longer we were out (or farther past bedtime), we headed back home a bit sooner than any of us were ready. Fortunately, the last home was the best, as Grandpa was waiting at the door to greet our little trick-or-treaters.

Kalina and Elise were each allowed one piece of candy, and then sent up for bed.

The candy--and thrill of choosing it out of a purple pumpkin--must have stayed with Elise, as she's been asking for a "treat" a dozen times a day. She gets one per day, and not when she's whining for it, and so is told "no" a dozen times a day. This routine gets old fast.

Our Halloween was good. That being said, it would be fine if Halloween were a bit less scary next year. 

Doggie Tourism

Sometimes you take a trip. And sometimes the trip comes to you. In our case, the latter was definitely true when Aunt Nancy visited a couple weeks ago with her two dogs: good ol' Poky, and shiny new Casey. A city is a whole new place when you explore it with canine companions! Here's what we did (in pictures). 

First, we all played. The dogs had to stay on their leashes (especially Casey), but the kids were allowed to roam free. Kalina was in her element, giving the curious dogs a tour of the house and fully anthropomorphizing them, and Elise was mostly in my arms, or other places out of reach of wet noses and eager tongues. Eventually, both parties warmed up to the other, and agreed to let me take this picture. (Although Elise never did fully trust Casey!)

Then it was time for Aunt Nancy to actually bring her stuff in! Three of the girls watched from the window, while the other "helped."

After doing a little baking, we decided to head out on a little shopping trip. Which wouldn't have been any fun without the "puppies," so we went to Petco, where they could join us. We looked at all the animals, and then Elise played with all the doggy toys. 

Then we played in the backyard, Elise trying to herd Poky out of the "spiders" portion of our yard (it's kind of a wild area) and Casey soaking up attention from Kalina. 

Later, we ventured downtown, for a little frozen yogurt (enjoyed outside with the dogs), another dog store, and a park. It was a lot of walking, but also a lot of fun. Half of them settled in for naps immediately upon returning home, while the other half tried to keep playing. (Mine were not the ones sleeping, as you could have guessed.)

We watched Elise follow Poky from room to room in an endless loop of Poky finding a cozy place to sleep, Elise trying to cuddle her, and Poky mildly deciding to switch locations, in hopes that the problem would correct itself.

Meanwhile, Casey stayed put in the coziest place she could think of--Aunt Nancy's lap--and happily let Kalina pet her while she slept. Because nothing could've kept her awake, anyway, at that point. 

Casey joined Aunt Nancy and I for dinner outside at a downtown restaurant, while Kalina and Elise ensured Poky could get a good nap at home, most likely by tucking her in with a warm blankie and talking in whispers whenever they remembered (and shrieks the rest of the time). 

The dogs slept in the next morning (nothing wears out my girls!), and then we all headed to the sculpture park to enjoy some over-sized art out of doors. The kids climbed on anything they were allowed to, and the dogs happily trotted along and met another dog. It was, I admit, strange to have more people commenting on the cute dogs rather than the cute kids. I would be a bit offended if the dogs weren't so adorable!

That afternoon, we visited Grandpa's house, where the dogs got to run off-leash in the yard. As did the kids. Elise faced her fears and let Casey chase her around, and vice versa. Which always ended with me getting nearly flattened by a gleeful girl as a doggie zoomed past. Cute!

Although Elise is still a tiny bit scared of Casey, we loved our doggie visit. After 2+ days, the new "toys" never quite got old. Will we be getting a dog? It depends: only if we get one of Aunt Nancy's. Or, maybe they'll visit again sometime!

Elise's 2-year pediatrician visit!
I forgot to report on this on October 10, when the exam happened. But there's not much to report. Elise sailed through the appointment with barely a tear--so surprised was she by her single shot. She navigated the Flumist vaccine with few troubles, and was proud of her performance afterward. She weighed 26 pounds and was 34.5 inches tall. This puts her in the 40th percentile for weight, and the 65th for height.

We did have one point of discussion: Elise seems to have developed a topical cinnamon allergy. So, please don't put cinnamon on her. We think there's a good chance she'll grow out of it, but meanwhile we're simply avoiding it (internally, too).

We continue to like the doctor, who shoes undue (but much appreciated) interest in finding the girls the exact stickers they want after their appointment.