Wednesday, January 30, 2013

Fun, Party of Two

Having 2 girls is wonderful.  I love tea parties, I'm charmed by the sea of pink in their closets, and I find the Girl Power vibe of the recent crop of Disney princesses totally squeal-worthy. (Sorry, Cinderella, I'm not talking about you.)  But, being nearly 3 years apart, finding activities that they'll both enjoy is likely to be a bit of a challenge.  The Children's Museum is a great answer to this little dilemma. 






My favorite part (which is further proof that I'm a mom) is that they have no idea that they're learning.  All they know is that they're having tons of fun.  Awesome.

Sunday, January 27, 2013

Chef In Training

Nothing makes me happier than having my girls in the kitchen with me.  Lila, you're one of us now and we love you.  Welcome to our grand tradition.

Wednesday, January 23, 2013

Christmas (last one, I promise!)

Santa is a pretty great guy.  Every year we send him a letter asking him to swing by our house a few days early, and every year he kindly obliges.  It was a bit of work to get ready for his arrival, but Ava was up to the task.  We started with the cookies.  The decision-making process went something like this:

Me: Ava, what kind of cookies do you think Santa will like?

Ava: I want cookies for me.

Me: Yes, ok.  But what about Santa?  What kind of cookies should we make for him?

Ava: Pink!

So, pink it was. 

 
 
Next, it was time to make sure Santa's reindeer could find our house.  A little reindeer food sprinkled in the yard took care of that.
 
 



Santa showed, and he did not disappoint.  Thanks, Big Guy.



Friday, January 11, 2013

Christmas

As always I'm a bit late in posting this, but I wanted to make sure I didn't leave it out because it really is one of my favorite times of year.

My girls have a fantastic family.  On both sides they're blessed with wonderful people that love them, and the fact they are - despite the physical distance between them - so often surrounded by these people makes me happy.  Really happy.  Which is why I love our yearly trips to Iowa for Christmas.

Grandma patiently helps the kids bake cookies, and never fusses when Ava eats all the dough.


Plus she gives really good snuggles....

 

Rivaled only by Uncle Joel.  Who, much to the heartbreak of certain Aunts who shall remain nameless, is a major favorite with both my girls.

 
And of course, time with their cousins is priceless.
 
Aunt Lisa was pulling this.  You go, She-ra!
 
Baby's first wet willy.
I'm already looking forward to next year.  

Snow chic.
Sweet Kellan.  I love this picture.
Merry Christmas, all.

Saturday, January 5, 2013

A Christmas Miracle

A visit to Santa is a rite of passage, and not just for the kids.  All parents have an image in their heads (before the kids actually arrive, of course) of taking their children to see Kris Kringle that goes a little something like this: You wake up on a beautiful, snowy Saturday, and dress your sweet babies in their picture-ready best, hair combed, shoes shined, and bows perched neatly on heads.  You trek to the mall and sit them on the lap on the world's most authentic-looking Santa, where they smile angelically while the "elf" takes the perfect picture that will sit, proudly displayed, on the mantle until the end of time.  Or until one of them draws a mustache on it. 

Now let me tell you how it actually goes down in my house every year: we get the outfit and the bows in place, then, because Ava senses that we're running late, she has a complete meltdown, spills juice on her dress, and rubs her head on the couch until her hair looks like I styled it with a immersion blender.  We arrive at our intended venue - still foolishly optimistic - and stand in line behind 20 sets of similarly delusional parents, while our kids scream and we think about how much money an elf selling cocktails could make in a place like this.  Finally, our turn arrives and.....nothing.  Yup, you'd never know we were there, because Ava won't get within 10 feet of Santa Claus.  Another year, and no pictures.

This is the scene I was expecting when I was told that Santa would be visiting Ava's school for the annual Christmas party.  After all, this scene had already played out just one week before, so I didn't flinch when she dropped chocolate ice cream all over her dress.  Who cares?  I didn't even bring a camera. 

And then, Ava's friend sat on Santa's lap and something amazing happened: she asked if she could too.  His mother (I love her for this) ignored the stink eyes she was getting from the mom's of the 15 other kids waiting in line, and told Ava it was her turn.  And she had a camera.


 Luckily, my little Lila is still too small to argue with me.  We'll see what next year holds.