Merry, Merry Hangovers

I had so much fun getting ready for Christmas this year because Amber and Karli were actually excited about Santa Claus, and they seem to understand the purpose for the holiday, which makes it even better. I got to shop for our kids this year (after three very lean years of law-student budgets, it was grand) and I made them some cute little pajama pants to accompany the darling turquoise robes and t-shirts my mom found for the girls. Rex discovered candy canes in his stocking and decided to help himself--they are his new favorite--and the girls have spent the day playing with their Snap n' Style dolls, Princess Polly Pockets, and doodle boards while gorging on oodles of yummy junk food.
My role as Mrs. Claus kept me up way past my bedtime many a night over the past month, which explains my zombie-like state of semi-lucidity today. That said, I'm off to bed early tonight to enjoy the feeling of having nothing else to do for a few moments. Whew. Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night!

Christmas 2008

We definitely had a very, merry Christmas this year. It was busy, but very fun to be with family. Leslie bought some cute costumes for the kids to wear as they acted out the Nativity story on Christmas Eve. Amber and Karli were angels, Gracie was Mary, and Kinzie (bless her heart) was Joseph, complete with robe, head dress, and beard. She was amazing! It was darling to see the kids act out their respective parts.

Doesn't Kinzie look thrilled? She was such a good sport.

Cooper and Rex were way too cool to be a part of any organized activity, so the girls made the show go on without the two boys. Gracie obviously wanted no part of the post-performance photo shoot.

On Christmas morning, Rex loved feasting on the contents of everyone's stocking, including lip gloss, oranges with peels, baby food, candy canes, crayons, and coloring books.

Here is Karli's nighttime ensemble. Isn't it darling? I was really happy with the way the pajama pants turned out. I didn't have a pattern, so I had to wing it. The purchased robes and cute shirts made the effort of sewing for a few hours worth it.

The girls spent hours playing with their princess Polly Pockets. I joined them for a bit and it was grand to play with dolls again. I guess I loved it more than playing dress up with my real little girls because the dolls don't protest. He he he.

I'm International, Baby

I'm thrilled and flattered: I now have an international blog reader (that I know of, I mean...he he he). My sister Allison is in Copenhagen on a mission, and she met a cool gal named Mette. I found Mette on Facebook and now we are virtual friends, for which I am grateful and very happy. Welcome to my madness, Mette!

Olfaction and Sophistication

Karli has recently discovered that she can smell things and it's very entertaining to wath her squint her eyes, wrinkle up her nose, take a big whiff of the odor du jour and implore, "What is that smell like?" She's learning that her ability to use the potty and leave the terrible odor in the bathroom where it belongs is actually a good thing (ahh...brilliant!), and that cookies baking in the oven is one of the most joyful fragrances on earth.

Today, she came downstairs dressed all by herself in her favorite pajamas, holding the magnificent night light pilfered from Crown Plaza hotel by a dear friend, and said, "Mom, I've changed the green light in my room several times." I said, "Oh, really? How many times did you change it?" "Several times." she said matter-of-factly. It was so cute.

Potty training seems to have been the magic event in Karli's life; she suddenly grew up when she told me she wasn't going to wear diapers any more. It's so nice to have one baby and two "big girls" who can play together, clean up after themselves (once in a while), and with whom I can have rather interesting conversations.

It's Definitely Innuendo

If you read my post a few weeks ago about the crazy word verifications I keep finding when I leave comments on my friends' blogs, here's the mother of them all (now I know the geeks are plotting and laughing their heads off). I just had to type this word when I commented on Tiffany's blog: rearbear. Nice.