BeDazzled

"Mommy, how old were you the first time you ________?"

This question, no matter what fills the blank, always results in the same answer from me:
Twenty-Eight.

However, once she saw a frightening senior picture of me in my Valley View cheerleading uniform, all decked out with mall bangs and giant sparkly earrings, she began to put the pieces together: clearly I had gotten my ears pierced as a kid.

She begged. She reasoned. She put sparkly stickers on her ears for months, pretending that they were the real thing.

So off to the mall we went—bound for the Piercing Pagoda—prepared to hear her pain-stricken wails and dramatic floor-flops.


But nothing. She was so brave, she never even flinched. And I must say that a sigh of relief crossed my lips when she picked out the pearls.



Hopefully she'll wait until she's 28 for everything else.

Christmas 2011

Having so many extensions of family is a blessing and a challenge, but every year we seem to figure out how to all pull together for a week of gatherings, celebration and fun.

It all started at Dad and Patti's with a family Christmas there...and it was no surprise that Carson was mesmerized by his Uncle Tim's antics.


Next, Christmas Eve with Derek's family, including Andrea and Chris, who were home from Nashville. Marvin did his sweet and VERY important reading of the Story of Christmas, helping the kids to remember that the meaning of Christmas is not just about Santa Claus!


That night we went home and Ella made two notes: one to Santa, asking all about his pets, and another for Carson, which she taped to his chest. My guess is that this was less of a bullying tactic and more of a ploy to persuade Santa into bringing twice the baby dolls that night.


On Christmas morning, our parents all came over to see Carson's big surprise...a new train table!


We all had a nice lunch and said our goodbyes until the next day, when we'd gather in Lexington for the big family Christmas on the 26th.

While it took us 5 hours to get to Lex that day, it was all worth it - great to see everyone, celebrate the holiday, honor Papa's 70th birthday, and pose for a shot in all our lovely Christmas sweaters, thanks Mimi :)





Hey, you can't say we didn't have the Christmas Spirit, right?
Cheers!

Little Mister

Something happend a couple of weeks ago.
Carson started sitting in a chair for longer than 30 seconds. Eating entire meals at one sitting without launching food at us. Going entire days without crying or throwing himself on the floor. Getting in his carseat without arching his back. Oh, the list goes on.



His personality is still hilarious, but the bad behaviors? Well, he's more...chill.

This makes me a little nervous. It happened overnight!
It's like some guardian angel looked down and said "yep, this one has driven his parents certifiably crazy. The trial is over...let's go ahead and show some mercy. Flip the switch."



I got these great shots of him, just hanging out. There's no theme or a big story. It's just Carson, becoming less of a tantrum-throwing toddler and more of a silly, sweet little boy...right before our eyes.



At least for now.

A Holiday Tea with Mimi

Mimi invited Ella and me to attend a Holiday Tea at the beautiful, historic Dayton Womens' Club. The theme was all about little ladies and their baby dolls, which meant Ella would get to take McKenna out for tea and scones, tiny tarts and other dainty affairs.



And as always, my favorite shots are the ones that aren't posed. Ella waited patiently for a very slow photographer to finish so she could climb into the antique sleigh with her babydoll, faux fur and all. So very fancy!

The 1st Grade Choir Concert

I would be proud at any event where Ella performed. And her singing voice is remarkably pretty. However, the thing that made me the most proud of her was this:
Each of the 1st grade teachers chose the two children in their class whom they believed could stand up in front of an audience of a hundred or so camera-weilding parents and read aloud, clearly and quickly.

Ella was chosen. She read a paragraph aloud from a small piece of paper with exactly the words that the teacher had typed out for her, while projecting into the microphone so the whole gymnasium could hear. We looked more closely to find that her paper wasn't shaking.

She's been reading to us at progressively better levels for the past year or so, but this seemed different. Ella can read, and read well...with confidence, and clarity, and inflection. I am so happy that she now has this skill—one that's so tricky to learn—which will inform her for life, unlocking truth and knowledge, adventure and discovery.

Go Ellabug!

Choo Choooo!

Oh, Christmas Tree

We ventured out to find a tree, and scored a huge Douglas Fir for the family room. We strung the lights and put hooks on the ornaments, talking about the memories attached to each one.

At some point, I bumped the coffee table where we had at least a dozen ornaments hooked and dangling from the edge, staged to be hung on the tree. They all fell down from the vibration. (Bear with me here.)

Ella stayed involved through the whole process; Carson's gaze remained where those ornaments fell. His gaze broke, and he darted to the kitchen to climb the cabinets.

He came back with a box of golden raisins and a whisk.
Huh?
I was riveted. As we all pretended to be hanging the ornaments, we were watching to see what would come next.

Step one: use tiny fingers to dig raisins out of box.
Step two: use tiny fingers to insert raisins into the middle of the whisk.



Step three: hover whisk over mouth.
Step four: tap whisk until the whole thing vibrates, thereby dumping raisins into mouth.



There really were no words. We all just sat there glancing at each other like, "did that really just happen?"

He just gobbled the raisins with a satisfied grin...then did a happy little march around the room, the whisk as his new baton.



PS: The tree looks great!

Thankful

This year, I am thankful for...

1. FIRST and MOST IMPORTANTLY: The health and well-being of my sweet family. I am truly blessed, and I recognize those blessings every single day.



2. That we are nurturing tiny creative people who care as much about others as they do about themselves.



3. That these babes are surrounded by family who wholly love and support them



4. That my hilarious 71-year-old mother greeted all of us on Thanksgiving Day in a turkey costume, complete with a colorful tail and giant yellow feet.



5. That the stunning dinner table at the Sands house put me in direct line of sight to a special wall in their Great Room. On this wall hangs a nearly life-sized portrait of my gorgeous hubby as a HS Senior, rocking the gold chain and an "I'm too hot for this" smirk. I spent the entire meal quietly making up new "ladies man" lines and wishing I could have known him back in the 90's, although I'm sure we would have fought about things like hairspray.



Yes indeed, life is good.
And God, you have given me everything I have ever hoped for; sometimes that meant the things I didn't even know I needed.

Thank you for that...and for everything else you've got planned for me, and mine.

Trilobites over Gigabytes

It was one of those weekends full of torrential downpours and gray skies, so we spent Saturday doing laundry in our sweatpants and hoodies. Then Sunday came...and everyone was a little stir crazy.


Carson nested himself inside a plastic laundry tub, staring blankly at the TV. He spent his time during commercial breaks crouching down and attempting to flip himself over like a turtle. I was humored by this until it had been going on for about 20 minutes. Derek and I exchanged glances and decided it was time to fold the last of the laundry, turn off the TV and kick Ella off of the computer. We needed a little fresh air.


Derek decided on a fossil hunt - so we headed to Germantown Dam.




Their smiles were instantaneous.
Carson splashed in puddles! He threw rocks!
Ella climbed fallen limbs and searched for fossils!

I have acquired a knack for skipping rocks as a result of a childhood spent almost entirely outdoors, so I was excited to share this with the kiddos.

I released the smooth stone toward the water and watched...as it bounced across the cold surface ELEVEN TIMES!

By the time my gaze shifted to the kids, they were both jumping up and down and clapping. It was a proud Mom moment.



O-H-I-O!

(me, patting this rock)
So guys, can you show me where Dayton is? Point to where we are!

(Carson, pointing to himself with both thumbs)
"Carson...right here, mommy!"




and alas, I am a mean mom. Ella was completely embarrassed that...
a. she had to pee outside
b. she became familiar with the term "drip dry"
c. I took a picture of her in the pose.

I warned her that in this family, it's but one of many times she will squat in the woods...so this moment needs to be marked in history. The look on her face was priceless.

California Girls

Just when I feel like I'm in a rut at work, I am whisked away on a plane to do some work in a lovely location like Los Angeles.



Add to that two of my very favorite colleagues (= consequently, good friends) and there you have a nice break for three gals with very tiny children and insane schedules.



I got to my hotel and opened my bag to find 6 things: the first was my usual slip from TSA stating that they searched my luggage. This happens every time I fly. Perhaps it's they assume that most drug smugglers carry a feminine, bright purple suitcase like mine. (?!)

The remaining objects in the stack were little handmade notes and drawings, labeled by the day of the week. Ella made them...with the philosophy that if my love notes in her lunchbox cheer her up every day, then she should do the same for me.

Of course I missed my routine and my family—but I can safely say that the culture, the sun, and the art of the West Coast offered just the break that I needed.

Three highlights:
the most amazing sunset I have ever witnessed
a yin yoga class that was so good it brought tears to my eyes
and the Santa Monica Farmers market, held on a sunny 72-degree day in November.









Hear that?

It's me, exhaling.

Ghosts & Goblins

First, it should be noted that Ella is not a fan of Halloween.
She is disgusted and horrified by all the creepy people wearing bloody masks and carrying plastic weapons. I have to say that I don't blame her a bit. So, each year we go on the quest to find her something sweet but not childish...cute but not racy. (Oh, don't get me started. The Halloween Stores should be shut down for the sale of "Naughty ________(insert kitten, maid, nun, waitress here)" costumes they sell to ages that span the female demographic range.

So a baby leopard it was, complete with knee-length skirt and a little bow. Meow-rific, she said. So Derek's mom gave her (sorry) the purr-fect face:



and Carson was thrilled to be Elmo even though he's never seen Sesame Street.
TV bores him when there are so many things in the house to climb and destroy.

Regardless, he said "HA! Funny eye-balls!" and off we went.

to Anne and Max's house...



to Mimi and Papa's block party...



to Granny and Poppa's house...



then to a carnival at church, where Carson reigned at plastic-pin bowling.



20 minutes after I shot this photo...he stood up, broke a sweat, and barfed all over the front of his Elmo costume.

So we got the trick; they got the treats.
Yes indeed, it's Halloween!

The Annual Week of Whatever

Last year, I discovered something strange upon reading Ella's school calendar: their entire Elementary School has a week off every fall. I took the week off at the last minute out of necessity, because we had no coverage for the kids while Derek was in class all day. I had no expectations - and I hate to say it, but I was a little concerned about us just "hanging out" for a whole week with nothing to do.

Little did I know what fun we would have. Life brings us so many surprises, and let's be honest - most of them aren't delightful:
"Carson, is your mouth bleeding? It's what? You ate my lipstick?"
"Replacing one part in our fridge is HOW MUCH?"
"What is that smell coming from the back seat?"

But the surprises that week brought were remarkable. We spent the entire time without an agenda, doing what we chose to do each day, fully present to each other and the fact that we had 7 days together with one goal: to have fun. From that point forward, I vowed to take that week off every year.

This year, here's how it went down:

We moved all the furniture and filled our family room with every plastic ball we own. We rolled, threw, played tag and keep-away. Ella flexed her soccer skills as our goalie for almost an hour!



Hidden Valley Farm's Fall Festival. Family favorite: baby piglets.





Pumpkin carving and several karaoke performances on the back deck with Heidi.

'


Serious sliding, bouncing, climbing, shooting, and jumping at Bounce U.



An array of incredible outfits donned by Carson, but this one is my favorite. He's wearing Ella's boots, a diaper, and showing Mimi his "big eagle birdie" tattoo.



Disney on Ice: I was impressed by Ella's interest in dressing the part, despite the fact that she's "just not that into princesses anymore."





The final weekend: off to Lexington to see the Isenhours, including:

time with baby Owen. Hands down winner for best baby in the family. When he's not sleeping, he looks just like this:



then some outdoor time at the Arboretum...I snapped this sun-kissed shot of Cindy and Ella lounging on the grass:





Our week was only missing one thing: time with Chris and Andrea. We caught up with them for a few minutes in a complete twist of fate. I thought Ella and Carson would never let go.



My sweet kiddos, I suppose you will read this and look back on all the "events" of the week. But here's the thing: our best times during Fall Break were the moments when the camera was not in my hand. It was about the two of you standing on our mattress, falling backward into our down comforter with belly laughs. It was the look of shock—then elation!—on your face, Ella, when you beat me at our first thumb war. It was the care that you took with your "job," Carson, the first time I let you move the clean clothes from the washer to the dryer. Those tiny moments are the ones that are fleeting, which is why they're so easy to forget. How do you capture that?

Or maybe you don't. Maybe the trick is to slow down enough to be present to those little things. To notice them and send up love and gratitude...

in that moment

for that moment.

Love begins at home, and it is not how much we do... but how much love we put in that action.
Mother Teresa