New Year's Eve 2008

Lily is wiped out from today. I'm sitting here on the couch and she's in her jim-jams next to me, a tired mess. We had so much fun today I don't know where to begin. I suppose we'll start with that photo up there. The art caddy, stamps, stamp pad and stencils turned out to be wonderful birthday presents. Lily LOVES to play with them as evidenced by the mess surrounding them.


See? Oh, and that harmonica? She's actually not too bad. She moves it around in her mouth, sliding up and down and sometimes even seems to play a tune. She is also pretty good about playing both piano and fortissimo. Pretty impressive for a kiddo who just turned three, who by the way no longer wishes to be three. She has informed us, more than once even, that she wants to be two. Sheesh.

So, anyway, we drove to Richmond this morning to have our Davis Christmas. We visited with Jen, Derek, Kelsey (12), Miles (7), Lydia (5 next month), Jocelyn (3), Grandma, Bill, Nana, Pop, Aunt Terri and cousin Jeremy. With so many, there was quite the houseful. :o)

What follows are some photo highlights from today.
Lil received these fabulous boots as a hand-me-down. (Oh, and that would be her Minnie Mouse dress-up skirt under her dress.)

This one is, unfortunately and per the norm it seems these days, fuzzy. I had asked Lil to pick up her wrapping paper and she picked up everyone's. Hee hee! :oP

Jeremy is so wonderful! The kids all love him and he loves them. Lydie and Joss are all snuggly as he reads to them. I was thrilled to be reminded (I swear I didn't remember hearing the news but Nana assures me I knew) Jeremy will be getting married next August. He will be such a wonderful father. :o)

Kelsey pondering something.


Lil in action.

The only shot I got of Miles-man. Oops.


The remains of Christmas number two.


Bill has an uncanny ability to sleep just like this. It's amazing, really. He never seems to get a crick. He'll be sitting up talking one moment and like this not ten seconds later. ;o)


Lydie and Joss received these bee-you-tee-full horses and princesses and Lil was quite enamored. Both Joss and Lydia were very sweet and shared with Lil.



Silly Jocelyn. She climbed up on this stool/chair and was so cute. :o) Look at those eyes--you can get lost in them they are so deep and chocolatey.


All the kiddos and a couple of big kids (Brien, Jeremy and Derek) went out to play. We were under a wind advisory today so it was fairly chilly outside. This is how B carried Lil in. Please note the placement of her hands. ;o)

We left around 4:30 and are just settling in for a quiet evening at home. I think B and I may pop in LOTR and begin a movie marathon. With the big ole tv and the surround speakers maybe we can "betend" we're in a movie theater. :oP

I just hope we can actually make it to midnight, LOL!

*************************************

Sparklies:

1. Check out Lil's first present from Jen and her family:
SQUISHY!! Don't you just love it??

Melissa & Doug make the best products and this one is too too funny! Here are some details:
Velcro on the chopsticks, wasabi, soy sauce and squishy on a bed of rice.

Please note the seaweed wrapped food. Hee hee!

2. Lil's second gift from Jen et. al.:


Yes, folks, Melissa & Doug slice and bake cookies. LOVE it! :o)

3. Jen made this sign for me:
Perfect, no?

4. Family time. It's always so wonderful to get together. :o)
5. Brien is home with me until Monday. Hooray!
6. We'll see GG, Bill, Nan and Pop tomorrow. Yay! :o)


No Milestones.

************************************

Well, I'm off to enjoy New Year's Eve with my girlie and my Honey. Happy New Year to one and all! :o) May 2009 be everything you need. :o)

Not Much Goin' On

I'm still home, enjoying my time off, playing with Lily. Brien will be off with us from tomorrow until we all go back to work/school Monday. I do so love it when we are all home together. :o)

These photos are also from yesterday, but I wanted to wait and post them on their own. Brien and I found the most delightful Velcro fruit at World Market when Hannah was about two. We purchased for her as a Christmas gift and she LOVED to "cut" it and play with it. Seems Lil feels the same. I found her "cutting" it yesterday and putting it in her Bilibo. When I asked what she was doing she said, "I'm making fruit salad, see?"

And indeed she was. :o) Love a clever kiddo. :o)


I'm not sure why, but I liked this photo and forgot to post it yesterday. Oh, well. It's my blog so I'll just share it today. ;oP

****************************
Heard upstairs today:
"I going to brush my teef now, Mommy. I don't want the creepies to get on them."

Alrighty, then.

*****************************

These next photos are for you, Paul. Enjoy. ;oP




This is my sweet Holly dog, otherwise known as the "Hell dog" as christened by Paul. It seems she will never be forgiven for having excellent taste in tea. :oP You see, Paul had wrapped some Assam tea and put it under our Christmas tree for Jessie. Holly, scenting such delicious fare, tore into it and thoroughly enjoyed it. ;o) Unfortunately, Paul didn't much appreciate her enthusiasm of said tea and the accompanying destruction. :sigh: Poor little maligned dog. ;o)

Both Holly and Waylen are inherently lazy dogs. They give the impression of boundless energy and enthusiasm when someone arrives at the house. However, it's all an ACT. They mostly spend their time sleeping and finding sunny patches in which to lie, earning them the moniker "sun dogs". Sure, Holly is a bit insistent when evening rolls around and she wishes to be a "toy dog", but she really is a sweetie at heart. Right, Paul? >;o)

**************************************

Today's Sparklies:

1. B snuck home a bit early today. Woo hoo!
2. Lazy days at home. Hooray.
3. Lily is such a doll, even when she is trying my patience.
4. A full tummy. Life is good. Seriously.
5. We'll be traveling to Richmond for a Davis family Christmas tomorrow. I only wish Josh and Dana could be there with us. Arizona is just too far away...:sigh:


No milestones.

*************************************

Grandma (otherwise known as "GG" for "great grandma" and Bill (great grandpa)) will be visiting tomorrow and my house looks rather, er, lived in. Yeah, that's it. So, off to straighten (really, that is all it truly needs) and put the Bit to bed.

Squishy??

Lil and I have had quite the morning. I'm so happy to be on break I could weep with the joy of it. :o) Lil and I each made grocery lists this morning and headed out to Ukrop's around 11:00. My plan was to pick up lunch while we were there. We entered the side of the store that has all the produce and the deli so I figured we could find something "wishous" on our way in.

As we walked in, I asked Lil what she wanted for lunch. She looked around and replied, "Squishy!" Um, squishy? Ah, right. Then, as only a three year old can, she repeated it over and over again until I acknowledged what she had said.

Squishy, right. We'll find squishy. Sure...

As we turned the corner by the tomatoes and began to pass the Japanese chefs, it came to me. Sushi, of course! The child wanted sushi for lunch. Duh! How could I have been so foolish??

I picked up a pack of California rolls for us to split and a quart of strawberries and she and I dined like queens. :o) She thoroughly enjoys "squishy" and loves to "dip" it in soy sauce. I figure it's pretty good for her to boot, so why not?

The day is quite beautiful so when we got home, I let her run around outside and play while I unpacked groceries. I apologize for the photo dump below, but I had a hard time deciding which ones I liked the best.




















I'll be back later tonight with sparklies, etc. :o)

Enjoy your day!

Christmas 2008

Lily had a terrible time going to sleep Christmas Eve. She was SO excited (who's not??) and was certain she kept hearing "funder" which really worried her. How were Santa and the reindeer going to be able to fly in a "funder" storm? We finally convinced her Santa would be fine even if there was thunder (there wasn't) and she fell asleep sometime before 10:30. Yeesh. So, of course, she was up by 7:30 Christmas morning.


Santa had indeed made it to our house in one piece, partook of the lemon sugar cookies and egg nog, and left his treasures behind. He brought this workbench, a couple of sketch pads, a tin of markers, a pair of "clickety-clack" shoes (tap shoes) and some Colorforms.

The workbench was, of course, out in plain view which meant Lil had absolutely NO interest in the yummy monkey bread breakfast. "I don't like it," she declared as she begged to be excused to go play with the workbench. Ha!

Lil also received a cleaning kit and caddy from Lissie. *ASIDE: Lissie is "Lissie" because we always referred to her as "Grandma Melissa" to Han and all she got out was "Lissie" so it stuck.*


This cute little caddy was a gift from Aunt Jessie and her family. It's too cute! It's a perfect size for taking to a restaurant or church. :o)


Don't you just love cute piggies?


Piggy fairies! I LOVE it!

Brien and I gave her a tool box to go with the workbench--we like to work with Santa on these things--a tin of watercolor pencils, and some "Fancy Fancy" (Fancy Nancy for those who don't remember Lil's name for her) Colorforms.


Nana and Pop gave her some very cute "Gymber" clothes from the Cupcake Cutie line (for those interested) and Connectagons and Geometric Connectagons. Those have been much fun for us. :o)

We still have Christmas to do with Jen and her family and will be heading to Richmond Wednesday morning. :o)

I know I've said it before, but I'll say it again, I LOVE to give gifts. I get such a charge from sitting and watching people open the items I selected for them. It brings me such a sense of happiness and satisfaction. :o)



We gave Mom and Nana matted and framed 11" x 14"photos Brien took at CW. That was such a labor of love. Brien took some amazing photos, selected the ones he liked the best, manipulated them, uploaded them, and matted and framed them by himself. I loved them so much I demanded a couple of my own, lol! :oP


We agreed the black matte and frame really set off the images. Of course, I don't have a photo of my favorite picture and I'm hoping I'll get one--hint hint, Honey. ;o) The photo is of a small white cottage with a white picket fence and it is just lovely. :o)

Lily insisted we give her Daddy a "shooting gun" for Christmas, meaning a Nerf gun. I'm not kidding. I asked her what she wanted to give her Daddy and that was her immediate response, no hesitation at all. I like a girl who knows her mind. ;o)

I gave Daddy a dartboard and cabinet. I wrapped the board but the cabinet box was so big I was lazy and didn't want to wrap it. I instead sent him on a treasure hunt. Hee hee. Sure, he grumbled his way through it, but I think he really did enjoy the wild goose chase. :o)

Paul was given a couple of Riley Moose stamps and he seem quite chuffed--at least I hope he was. You were, weren't you, Paul? *ASIDE--Paul is NOT Lissie's boyfriend, in case you were wondering. He's a dear dear friend who has become a member of the family. He's a brother, uncle, friend, you name it and we just ADORE the man!*

I received a gorgeous new lens for my camera, three pieces of "Mr. Ron" jewelry and this part of the Willow Tree nativity I've been lusting after. I also received many many wonderful gifts from my students.

It was a simple and beautiful day. Thank you, family, for making it special! :o)


Anyhow, we finished opening gifts around 10 and Lily decided that now the monkey bread looked "wishous" and was ready to dive in--which she did with gusto. ;o)

We had an evening dinner of ham, deviled eggs, potato salad, green bean casserole and Brussels sprouts with Watergate salad for dessert. Yummo! This meant Lily got to keep her regular schedule and I had extra time to prep for the meal. Hooray!

What follows are some select images from the day. I confess I wasn't as good about taking photos as I usually am. These are the best of the bunch.








Holly got a wonderful Christmas present in the form of Paul playing with her. See:

He would toss the toy and she would retrieve it. Lissie got tired of the growling that accompanied the tugging and tossed the toy as well. See how well she did:

Yes, that is a toy lodged in the railing of the "bridge". Hee hee!



Brien playing with is new iPod Nano.


Lissie laughing as she Skypes with Ella and Jessie. Lily and Ella LOVE to Skype with one another and they spent much of the time showing each other their presents. Don't you just love kids? Isn't modern technology amazing?


Lil chillin' after a hard morning's work. Ha!


Paul in the coveted black chair, taking a "23 minute nap". Again, HA! That chair is the most comfortable chair. It's almost as if it's hugging you as you sit in it.


The dinner table. We had to mix and match china as I don't have enough serving pieces in the Brookhollow pattern so we had to use my other china to fill in. That china was hand painted especially for Jessie and me by a family friend. The pattern is violets and is quite beautiful. :o)


How could this big girl be my sweet tiny baby? Wow! Time sure does fly!!


Mom and Paul


I was playing with my lens. This is obviously a close-up of my sterling pattern and my china. I just LOVE my sterling (Buttercup by Gorham) and wonder why we don't use it more. Hm...

I'm also needing more serving pieces in it as well. Lissie, hint hint. ;o)

The funny thing is, I'm really NOT a frou frou kinda girl, I never have been. I usally prefer clean lines and simplicity, but when it came to choosing my china and silver I went a little nutso. I guess I see where Han and Lil get it, huh? ;o) Meanwhile, Jessie, who was always the more diva-tastic of the two of us chose very simple and elegant china and silver patterns. Go figure.

Overall, the day was beautiful and full of simple pleasures. I didn't miss Hannah nearly as much as I had worried I would. She was with us throughout the day, nestled in our hearts and memories.

I hope you all had as wonderful a day as well did. :o)

*************************************

Sparklies:

1. Not too many gifts given this year. Things were kept fairly simple and Lil loved everything. :o)
2. I had lunch with my friend Patty today. We have been trying to get together for over a year now and finally made it happen. It was just lovely to get out and chat, you know?
3. When I came home, Brien had not only cleaned the kitchen, he had cleaned out the fridge and disposed of dead food as well and washed all the containers that go with that job. What a guy!
4. Lil has slept soundly for over a week. HOOOOOORRRRAAAAAAYYYYYYY!!!!
5. I can actually hit the dartboard when I toss a them, lol!
6. I'm not having post holiday let-down. Whew!
7. Thank goodness for quiet times at home with family. :o)

Milestones:

Christmas number two sans Han's physical presence. Things were much easier this year. Last year, Jessie and a few others were so desperate to help us they thought it would be best for us if we spent our first Christmas without Hannah somewhere else, namely in Kansas with them. Yes, it would have been wonderful for us all to be together, but I knew we would be better off at home where our Monkey was, and that it would make things better for us this year. You see, had we gone away last year, this would be the first year in our home without Han for Christmas. Because we crossed that bridge last year, things were SOOO much better this year. And you all thought I wasn't a planner...;o)

Patty and I were talking about how much we take comfort in being in our homes, where we are surrounded by our loved ones even though they are no longer with us. This was so true for me this year. What may be hard for some (being around Han's things and such) brought me a measure of peace.

********************************************
And so, after this unprecedented Saturday post (Jessie, you guilted me into it), I'm off to play with Miss Bit and her new fun "fings". I know we're in for LOADS of fun. ;oP

Oh, one more thing, Daisy, thank you so much for the blog link. I visited that family right after they lost their sweet baby and have been periodically checking in on them. It's nice to know others out there have been keeping up with them as well. Thank you for resending the link.