Merry Christmas!

We enjoyed a relaxed morning at home -- the kids loved opening their stockings (stuffed with play doh, cars and stickers -- some of their favorite things!) and a nice breakfast with the four of us.  This evening we enjoyed a lovely dinner with family and family friends.  The week has felt like a good combination of activities -- Scott's work party, church service, dinners, Peacock Lane (for the second time because it was such a hit!) balanced with good down time for the four of us.  Frank and Martha brought the kids over flashlights:  best gift idea ever for two year olds!  They've been making "moons!" on the walls and ceilings for the last three days.  Great-Grandma Edna make the kids dolls clothes for their cabbage patch dolls -- including diapers and onesies!  I'm always impressed by people who are so creative (and thoughtful).  Amelia loved getting to diaper her baby :)  I think potty training is quickly approaching this house!  Amelia informed me a few weeks ago that "Daddy poo-poos outside!"  Since Molly does, apparently in her mind, daddy should too!  Anyway, here are a few pictures from the last week or so.  Merry Christmas to you all!

Saying "Hi!" to their future friend :)  Danielle is due in April!

Dancing with the snowman at Scott's work party.

A great gift from Michelle!!

The easel has been a HUGE hit!

Luke will ask for "Art?  Colors?  More?"  Love it!

Snuggle time!

"Shhh!  Brother -- I'm trying to read!"

Let's play!

I always heard parents say that it just keeps getting better and I don't think I really believed them ... but it does.  I thought I was a baby person.  I still do love babies (what's not to love about snuggle time?) but I was so darn tired that I don't honestly remember a whole lot of the first year (sad but true).  But I've realized that I LOVE the toddler years.  I have so much fun with my kids!  (In between the tantrums that is ... On a side note, Amelia just loves going to Trader Joe's because she gets to push her own little cart.  I took her there today as our "date" while my mom had Luke and she had a great time until it was time to check out and she threw an all out FIT when she had to give back her cart ... Like down on the floor in the middle of the store. Yep, our kids keep us real, huh?). But usually I love watching them discover the world and taking trips to the library, OMSI, play dates ... Here are a couple quick videos from yesterday of two favorite things at our house:  dance parties and fort (which the kids call "fork!"  Makes me laugh every time to hear them yelling, "More!  More fork!  Fork!")

Lights!!

Christmas lights have been, by far, the best part of the season for these two little ones.  Every night when it starts to get dark Luke starts asking, "Lights?  Mama, lights?"  He wants me to turn on the lights on our outdoor tree.  They wait for Frank and Martha to turn on their Christmas tree lights across the street and then joyfully yell, "On!  On Mama!  Tree on!"  (Yes, they're getting very verbal!)  If only we were all so easily pleased :)
Happy 60th birthday to Grammy today!!!

No words ...

I'm not sure what to say about the fact that there were two terrible shootings this week.  One of them at a mall that I'd been Christmas shopping at two days before the shooting.  Sometimes in life there just aren't words that are right or adequate or could ever do justice to the amount of pain and grief that exist in this world.  Like most parents my gut reaction is to protect my kids.  I told Scott last night that I'd like to homeschool our kids and never let them go to shopping malls or movies or public gatherings.  Not realistic but true in that moment.  But I spent the last two days at work taking care of three amazing kids from three very beautiful families all of whom are dealing with devastating health issues.  These kids weren't victims of tragedy.  They just happened to get sick or be born with diseases that most of us have never even heard of.  I guess my point is that no matter what lengths we go to in protecting our children, it's not in our power to keep them totally safe.  We'd love to think it is.  We'd love to think that by buying the best car seats and picking the right schools we can have control.  To some degree that's true -- I'm certainly not saying that we have no influence over our children because we have a tremendous impact on who they become and it's a huge part of our role to keep them as safe as we can.  But it's a hard truth to swallow: we could outlive our children.  I've sat with enough parents who are watching their children die to realize that we shouldn't assume otherwise.  So today I will kiss my children more times than I can count and I will choose to believe that the One who made them is always present with them, no matter what comes.  I will hope and pray that my life and my parenting are marked by love and faith, not by fear.  My heart aches for the families who won't get to celebrate the holidays with their loved ones this year because of these senseless acts of violence.  I'll end with this picture ... My prayer ...

23 months

So I'm not sure exactly when people stop counting months and just start counting years but I think we're getting close to that point.  Hard to believe that these loves are almost TWO.  Here are their holiday pictures ...

Wow, they look so old to me!  The other day Luke woke up almost an hour earlier than Amelia from their naps.  I was excited to have some one-on-one time with him since that happens so rarely.  He did enjoy the extra snuggle time but at least once every five minutes he'd say, "Sissy?  Mama?  Sissy?"  These two are so connected it's amazing and it makes my heart happy to watch them play together.  The flip side to that is that they know how to push each other's buttons -- Amelia ended up in time out three times in five minutes today for hitting Luke.  Sigh.  It was a long afternoon!
This is what I want to remember about each of them at this phase ...
Amelia:  Amelia's mind works in ways that amaze me often.  She is very interested in patterns and puzzles and anything she can open/close, build, put together.  She is detail oriented and can play very independently.  Actually a lot of times she prefers to play independently.  She can entertain herself for hours with a box of legos!  But my sister pointed out something interesting after this last weekend together.  Just when you think Amelia isn't paying attention to the other things going on around her, one of the kids would drop their favorite toy and she would race over to grab it and bring it back to them.  She has such a sweet heart in that way and is always bringing Luke his snacks, trucks and favorite stuffed animals.  Nothing gets past that girl.  She loves to give kisses to anything and everything.  Every picture of a dog in a book gets a kiss ... or ten kisses.  Many times in a day she will walk over to one of us, kiss us on the head and walk off.  She doesn't usually want to snuggle because she's too busy doing something else but she loves the drive-by-kisses :)  Amelia doesn't go anywhere without her posse of animals/dolls.  We limit it to just "Baby" (the precious bear from Martha) for outings but at home the whole gang goes from room to room.  I feel like Amelia is coming out of her shell -- a few months ago I would have described her as a bit shy but I'm not sure that's true anymore.  It depends on the situation of course.   This girl has a serious sweet tooth (no idea where she got that from :)) and if she thinks she's missing out on a treat, she let's us know!!
Luke:  Luke is one of the snuggliest (pretty sure that's not a word) kids I've ever known.  That boy LOVES to be close.  I kind of have a theory that it's because he was shoved way down in the womb and had literally NO space in there.   His favorite place to be is on someone's lap, reading a book and covered up by his favorite blanket.  So sweet!   While Amelia will play more independently at this phase, Luke can be found wherever I am.  But he's not picky and will sit on any open lap!  A few weeks ago I wanted to see how many books in a row he'd let me read him ... I gave up after 23!  Seriously?!  He would have kept going all day long.  Luke is quicker to snuggle, but he's also quicker to throw a tantrum, and that boy can scream.  The time-out chair gets a lot of use in a house with two toddlers!  Luke's other love in life is trucks.  I'm planning a tour of the fire station for them and I can't wait to see his face light up when he sees all the trucks ... The joys of parenting!
Grammy and Gramps have been busy planning a second birthday party for these two ... It'll be fun to celebrate in Arizona with family and friends down there!

Balloons!

One of my favorite things about kids is how much JOY they can find in simple pleasures and how much FUN can be had with just about anything.  These balloons that Martha brought over for them this morning have already provided hours of entertainment!

I also had to add this video of Caroline kissing both Luke and Amelia.  They kids love playing in the basement :)