What A Difference A Week Makes!

This time last week we were going bonkers indoors while the rain pounded away on our roof. Now the sun is out, and are we ever grateful for it!



We are soaking it up. Yesterday we spent the whole day at the park with Paprika and Ginger's friends. Okay, so technically Ginger's friend is the little brother of Paprika's friend, but whatever works!



In the evenings, we've been doing lots of crafts. These are the Paper Plate Bugs we did the other night. I think they turned out pretty great. They're from a kit my mom got for the girls for Christmas - the link is here if you're interested. We still have one more bug to do. Maybe tonight! Ha! :-)



Yesterday we brought a bead stringing kit to the park with us. The big girls made lonnnnnng necklaces and had so much fun doing it. I am loving this 4 year old stage so much. It's so fun to do crafts and projects together. Paprika made five necklaces yesterday and has been giving them to people as presents. So cute!



Ginger was running all around the park yeseterday. At 18 months old, she now thinks she is a big girl. I know I still need to write a post for her 18 month milestones. She is changing so much, and becoming such a big girl. She really is a true playmate now with Paprika, and that is pretty awesome.



But she is still little enough to be my baby. Like when she lets me push her in the bucket swings.



Or carry her upside down baby style.



And this was the scene at our house today. We are definitely getting our mileage out of this present already. Life is good.

Christmas Day In Pictures!

Christmas morning. Tired parents. Excited kiddos bouncing off the walls!

We did about the same number of presents for Paprika and Ginger, but Ginger was not at all interested in opening presents. She got chocolate in her stocking, and after she got ahold of that, chocolate was all she wanted.

Then I got chocolate in my stocking, and then that was all she wanted. She was saying "chocolate, chocolate, chocolate"...and running around the house with it in both hands. I said to her, "you have to say Please." And she said please in the most clear voice I have ever heard her say anything. It was a hoot.



We let Paprika open her Anastasia doll from Santa first thing, since that was the only toy she had asked for this year. I think she was really surprised that there was more than one present under the tree...but seemed to adjust pretty well. ;-)



Unwrapping presents is pretty much an all-day affair in our house. The girls like to play with each gift for a long time before opening the next present.

Paprika would open a present, play with it in the living room or her bedroom. Meanwhile, we would have another cup of tea, call relatives far away, and play with Ginger and try to get her interested in opening her presents (most of which Paprika ended up opening!)

Ginger's favorite toy was her present Paprika gave her (when we took them shopping at Target the day before Christmas!) Paprika gave her a little animatronic cat that meows and purrs and walks..it's called a FurReal. Of course, I rolled my eyes a little when I saw it (we don't usually have any battery operated toys), but Paprika was so sure that she had to get it for her...and she was right! Ginger went crazy for it and hasn't stopped holding it since she opened it. It's her new pet (and thankfully one I don't have to take care of! ha!)

It took us about 5 hours to unwrap all the presents this year. That is a record for us. When Paprika was 2 years old, I think she took 12 hours to open her presents (we had lunch, dinner, and she had a nap in between! ha!)



We played outside quite a bit (no rain on Christmas- yay!) I set up the toddler swing for Ginger and she took to it like a duck to water. No more baby swing for her (sniff, sniff)!



Paprika had to wear her new purple sweater and ruby slippers on her trip to the swingset. ;-)



The girls were most excited by the gift we saved til the very end.



Needless to say, I think it was a hit!



We went over to our neighbor's house afterwards for wine and appetizers, and then came home and I made lamb, cous cous with raisins, and sweet mashed potatoes for dinner. I didn't take any pics, but it was good! After the girls went to bed, we watched Tropic Thunder (love that movie) and fell into bed soooo tired.

It was our first Christmas it's been just us, and I have to say that I loved every minute of it. I was sad we didn't make it to Indiana this year, but really happy just to have it so low-key and cozy.

Christmas Eve!

We made cookies for Santa. Left them out with a glass of milk and carrots for the reindeer. I guess he ate them all up, they were actually (surprisingly) really good!



A rare photo of me cooking...because, well, it's a rare event! But I liked it so much I plan on doing it more (later tonight, in fact). Not so tough, afterall.



Someone had a really hard time falling asleep last night and was up until after 1:30am, reading books and you know...checking to see if Santa had come already. ;-) I don't think I've ever seen her quite so excited.



We remembered Vivian and Annemarie, and all the babies gone too soon. We thought a lot about my Grandpa, and Steven, and how we wish they were here to celebrate Christmas this year. Even though I know they have an amazing seat in Heaven, it still would have been better (for us) if they had been here to celebrate the holiday. I thought a lot about how much they are missed and how that means they were (and are) loved.
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I thought a lot about Ginger, and how two Christmasses ago, she was just a dream to me. And now here she is, and I could not be more thankful for the gift of her life. As I was putting her to sleep last night, I sang her Silent Night, and it seemed so fitting, and magical all at the same time.



Because Paprika didn't go to bed until the very wee hours, we didn't start wrapping presents until the even wee-er hours. Which meant we got to bed very late (around 4am), just as Ginger was waking up and asking to be brought to our big bed. Two hours later, Paprika was in our bedroom asking to open presents. And...well...that is a story for another post!

Merry Christmas! I hope your Christmas was magical, and if it couldn't be magical this year because you are hurting or missing someone you love very much, I hope that it was at least as good as it could be under the circumstances. Sometimes that's all we can hope for...this year was the first year I felt like celebrating even a little bit again, and to me, that was hopeful.

Peace, love and light to you and yours!

The Big Day Is Here!

Merry, Merry Christmas!

We have had a wonderful Christmas Eve, full of memories and fun, some that we will laugh about more in a few years (like that last minute trip to Target today).



I got a tremendous kick out of watching Mr. Mustard decorate Christmas cookies with a very active 18 month old and a very excited 4 year old! It was a comedy of errors. I took pictures, of course!



I am making a big dinner tonight, and one tomorrow...and just enjoying.

Enjoying.

Loving.

Missing two little girls who became my angels two years ago.



I am hoping to extract every bit of joy out of this holiday that I can, and remember the true reason for the season. We are off to a great start. The big day is tomorrow!

Rain Rain Go Away!

I just checked the weather report, and my suspicions were true. We are getting a lot of rain. Weather report says we've gotten 26 inches of rain in the past week. We average about 12 inches of rain here per year usually.

Needless to say, it has been wet.

All the potted plants I forgot to take inside have taken a beating. I really do have a black thumb, don't I?! Ha!



So, this morning when the clouds parted for a few moments, I had to take advantage of it pronto.



Paprika was still sleeping. We've been putting her to bed at a normal hour (around 9pm), but she lays in bed until at least 1am before she falls asleep. She says she's afraid of the dark, so she always turns her light on, and then I find her reading books, making telescopes out of paper, making up stories, just stuff like that. Then she wants to sleep until noon. She's been this way since the day she was born, so I don't think there's any changing her (despite my many attempts at waking her up earlier, etc.) It's just how she was made, and it's something I understand quite well, actually. ;-)

But Ginger, of course, gets up at a reasonable hour...so she got to take advantage of the brief window of sunshine today.



Ginger was soooo excited to go outside and play. She was running full-tilt, climbing, laughing, and having so much fun on the swings.

I felt bad that Paprika was sleeping...it felt a little like that short story, All Sunshine In A Day, by Ray Bradbury. You know, the one where the little girl lives on Venus and the sun only comes out once every seven years...and her classmates lock her in the closet the day the sun comes out?

It's a good thing Paprika will have more chances to see the sun. ;-) And so far she doesn't seem to perturbed by not seeing the sunshine. I guess she has had enough of it in her life not to miss it too much yet.



Ginger really loves getting her one on one time with me. She was having a ball playing in the soggy grass.



And then, just like that, it started raining again and we made a mad dash indoors! Here's hoping it dries out by Christmas...but I'm not holding my breath!