laundry day

This is what I call a "laundry-day outfit." They are not usually fit for public viewing. They consists of the last remaining clean top and bottom combination in the dresser. (In this case there were no remaining bottoms so we settled for some leggings.) She's cute, she can totally pull it off.

little snow bunny

My in-laws have a term they use to describe some members of the family. The term is "irrational self-confidence" and Cameron posesses it. Richard took him skiing for the first time last week and when he came home he said to me "I'm going to be the best skiier in the whole entire town!"

Oh boy.

But since I love skiing and have practically given it up the last few years, I do have high hopes that Cameron will love to ski and do reasonably well at it. It is our only hope for getting Eli to ski, if he sees how much Cameron enjoys it. We have no doubt that Miriam will love flying down the mountain at outrageous speeds, so perhaps that will also motivate Eli.

Since he is only five Cameron was able to get a season pass for free. He shows it to anyone interested with great pride. We'll see how his confidence is when he gets off the bunny hill. But he is pretty cute with his little skis and his big smile.

speaking of growing up...

October 2007

We got this little suit as a hand-me-down from a friend. Cameron, like most little boys, gets a thrill out of looking just like his dad on Sunday.

piggies

I put this to you: Is there anything cuter than pigtails? Nope. I think not.

festive Friday

Friday was a day of Christmas parties. We kicked it off with Eli's preschool party, with special guest SANTA CLAUS. Eli is gradually warming up to him. He's met him twice this year and both times successfully told him what he wants for Christmas. (An improvement over last year.) What did he ask for? A dinosaur. This was news to me, I guess Santa better get on that.

Next up was Cameron's kindergarten Christmas party. I was in charge of games, thus giving Cameron authority to be his usual bossy-center-of-attention self. His classmates quickly reminded him "Just 'cuz your mom is here doesn't make you in charge!" Ha. I was expecting Cameron to be different in his classroom environment. But he was just the same little Cameron.

Lastly was Richard's office party. There were three categories for a dress-up contest. The first was "Old Fasioned Christmas", the second "National Lampoon Goofy Christmas" and then a "Festive Hat." Finding costumes when you are pregnant and your husband is reluctant is less than desirable so I settled for a glitter-disaster of a hat I found at the dollar store. But I did win the contest! (Well, it was a three-way tie with the other two people wearing hats.)

just growin' up

When I bought the shirt that Mira is wearing in the picture above it was so cheap I bought it in the 6-9month size as well. Here she is, almost exactly one year later. (Yes, still wearing 6-9mo. clothes.)

Normally, at this point I would sigh with regret as I mourn the loss of her infancy and reluctantly welcome her to toddlerhood. In the past I have commented to Richard about starting to feel baby hungry again. Hungry for the tiny little newborn. How lucky for me that I only have to wait 16 weeks! (Said with the slightest hint of sarcasm.)

tight jammies

I've probably mentioned Cameron's love for tight-fitting clothing. His single fashion motto is "The tighter the better." Unfortunately he is built like a string bean and tight clothes on skinny people just make them look more skinny. But because I love him I allow him to indulge himself in tight pajamas. He loves "tight jammies."

Because he loves all things sleek, he hates his winter coat. He calls it the "puffy coat" and it is a fight each morning to get him to wear it.

Today is pajama day at school and of course he insisted on wearing his new fire engine "tight jammies." I allowed it because it is what makes him happy but I have had anxiety all day that the other kids at school aren't so impressed and that he might get teased for being so slim.

The combination of the puffy coat and the skin tight pajama bottoms was enought to make ME want to laugh this morning.

I hope he has a good day.

a [nearly] perfect Saturday

Last Saturday life afforded us the rare kind of day that epitomizes middle-class suburban America.

We all slept in. Then we went for a late breakfast at IHOP. Almost everyone in the restaurant was wearing blue and orange. I love that feeling of community unity. The kids were even well-behaved and actually ate their food. We went to pick out a Christmas tree and it had snowed all morning so they were flocked and beautiful. We listened to Christmas songs. When we got home we sat down together and watched the BSU football game. After dinner we cleaned up the house and decorated the Christmas tree. Then Richard read "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" to the kids and I swear my heart grew three sizes as well.

I say nearly perfect because of course I didn't get any laundry done, the kids dragged their feet when it was time to clean, and Eli didn't eat any of his dinner. But it was completely satisfying in spite of it's imperfection.

somehow Mira's birthday post ended up about me...

I was the third child so I can relate to Miriam. But she has one advantage over me, she is the first girl. I was neither the oldest nor the first girl. I was also neither the youngest girl or youngest child. There was no novelty of parenthood with my birth. Nor was I adopted. (All of my siblings fall into one of the above mentioned categories.) I might still harbor some resentment over this, but we won't dwell on my psychological issues.

One might think that having the middle-child perspective would motivate me to be aware of my parenting and be sure to lavish all the love and attention on my third child that my first and second received. Sadly, this is not the case. Take birthday parties for example.

Cameron's first birthday party was an all-out bash. In fact, he was so tired by the time we got to his presents he was practically falling asleep and totally disinterested. So, for Eli we were a little less over-the-top.

A couple days before Mira's birthday I sent out a last-minute email invitation to local family members. But there were no decorations and only two gifts. Let me clarify, there were only two gifts from her parents, but birth-order has no bearing to grandparents, they give all the devotion to each of their grandchildren that the first received.

I did make one effort to make her birthday special. I have some talents, but cake decorating is not one of them. I have tried and been embarrassed so many times that for the last couple years I have allowed a local bakery to provide the birthday cakes at our house. This year I decided I'd give it another go.

Just a plain chocolate cake with pink frosting couldn't possibly go wrong, right? It could. It was just as embarrassing as every other cake before it. And my timing was terrible. No sooner had I finished globbing the frosting on the cake than I saw a picture on FB of my very talented friend's professional looking birthday cake.

We women are great at feeling bad about ourselves. Especially when we are the middle child.

Anyway...

Fortunately I believe, there is still hope for Miriam. I have time to mend my ways before she is old enough to recognize these injustices. And in the mean time, she doesn't seem to hold it against me.

one year

So begins the awkward hair phase. I take that back, the awkward hair phase has been going on for quite some time now.

Miriam is one year old today. Sunrise, sunset... time sure flies. The next think I know she'll be graduating from high school.

She is walking now, she is gaining weight and she is always trying to make brothers laugh. She loves being around people and still snuggles when she is hurt or tired. She can be go-go-go or she can sit contentedly in her high chair or car seat. And of course, she still sucks her thumb as soon as a blankie brushes her cheek.

Oh we love her.

p.s. My new camera arrived yesterday!

home again, home again

We returned from ten days in Las Vegas last night to our wintery wonderland home. This morning the snow accumulation had doubled. It is so beautiful. The boys are all bundled up and playing outside. Poor Eli can hardly walk through the stuff it is so high. My camera is still broken and although I purchased a new one, it is in the mail.

Leaving the palm trees and sunshine made this blizzard all the more exciting, but incidentally I think we visited Las Vegas during the coldest week of the year. But the coldest week in Las Vegas is nothing to the coldest week in Boise, which I believe, we missed while we were away.

We had a great time visiting family, and Richard was able to make a client visit that extended our stay into the week after Thanksgiving. It was wonderful to spend time with my family, but what I really enjoy is watching the developing relationships between my children and their cousins. There is just nothing like it.

We are glad to be home, and I have a mountain of laundry. But first... a snowman.