welcome, 2013!

we had such a fun holiday season this year, with lots of wonderful family time and making great memories. the kids REALLY seemed to enjoy christmas, which was so much fun.

as the year came to a close, i found myself itching for the fresh start of a new year. 2012 was a hard year, and i will admit that i am not sad to see it in the rear-view. that said, we have two small children and aren’t really in CRAZY NEW YEAR’S EVE celebration mode – so, we celebrated with pancakes for dinner and Kung Fu Panda 2 – party party! after the kids were asleep, Aaron and I managed to stay awake until midnight (but just barely!)

this morning, we woke to a gorgeous, cloudless, frosty morning and opted to go for a family walk in our neighborhood. we stopped down by the lake to enjoy the view and plunk a few stones.

all in all, it was a good start – three cheers for an amazing year ahead. happy new year!

time marches on

We’ve all been feeling sad for the past two weeks. Maddie has left a huge hole in our home, our hearts and our family. We miss her so much.

e: Mama, I miss Maddie. Let’s go get her from Kevin.

E: I miss her too, sweetie, but we can’t go get her. Who is Kevin?

e: You know, KEVIN – where all the good doggies are.

While I know that Cale and Elliot’s memories of Maddie will fade with time, I will always treasure my memories of us all together.

September brings the start of the school year, and Elliot’s first day of preschool for this year. This is her second year of preschool, and even though she was a little bit nervous at first, she was excited to see her teachers and friends.

Cale and I dropped her off – and while she was a little bit clingy, there were no tears. We didn’t linger long enough to tempt fate. We ran several errands and headed back to pick her up, only to find her singing, smiling, dancing and having the BEST DAY EVER! And she was delighted with the new Hello Kitty snack jar for her lunch sack – it was a great first day for our big preschool girl!

My sweet Maddie girl

This blog is mostly dedicated to our sweet kiddos and the kooky joy they bring to our lives. But before Elliot and Cale, before Lucy and the cat, and even before Aaron, I had Maddie.

Maddie was my first baby, best friend and right-hand gal: a true and loving companion for over 13 years. I got her right before I graduated from college, just as I was moving in to our house in Montlake.

She was my constant during the years that I was growing from a kid into an adult. She was one of the great loves of my life, and she loved me unconditionally.

Yesterday I had to say goodbye to my sweet girl and it has been beyond painful. But despite this horrible ache, i feel so blessed to have had her in my life for all of these years. And I am so glad that I was able to be there to kiss her face and scratch her ears as she passed peacefully from this world.

I love and miss you, sweet Maddie girl, and I always will. Puppy kisses, moo pie, puppy kisses.

Elliot in August

She had her first sno cone at our neighborhood carnival – big hit!

Her daddy got her a pair of sipper-goggles – big hit!

When she realized that “camp” is really just preschool in the summer, and not sleeping in a tent with campfires and s’mores? Not such a big hit.

Our girl is peppy and spunky and scary smart these days. Three years old is keeping us on our toes, but it’s also lots of fun.

Cale at 13 1/2 months

“Cale is like a rattlesnake. You gotta know where he is at all times. And if you lose track of him, he’ll make you sorry!”
-Granddad

With a capital “T”

A: Eat your dinner if you want to earn dessert.
E: What’s for dessert? Do we still have P-I-E?
e: I want that! Can I have P-I-E??

Yep, she’s mine

e: mama, my favorite color is polka dots!

the art of toddler translation

e: I hafta go potty – i need my privacy.

E: OK.

**5 minutes pass**

E: Are you done yet?

e: No, there is still a poo poo comin’.

E: OK.

**5 minutes pass**

E: Are you done yet?

e: No, not yet.

**10 minutes pass**

E: Are you done yet?

e: No, there is still a poo poo comin’.

E: OK, kiddo, I’m afraid we are going to have to call it – it’s bathtime. If the poo poo comes later, that is ok.

e: HERE, POO POO! HERE, POO POO! COME HERE, POO POO!

Road trip: scenes from the back seat

e: Hey! That’s mine! You can’t take it on your spaceship!

c: zzzzzzz

e: Shhhh! I’m talking in my microphone!

c: zzzzzzz

This moment

This holiday season was filled with wonderful memories: great time spent with our beloved families, Cale’s first Christmas and the first year that Elliot seemed to truly grasp the magic of the Christmas season. These are memories that we share with collective stories and photos. But there are other, smaller moments, like spending the morning putting our decorations away while Elliot rediscovered them all and helped box them up. And sitting here now, just after lunch and before nap time, enjoying some giggles with my two favorite little people: they likely won’t remember this moment and even I will forget the details, but I want to hold onto this happiness and contentment, this perfect little moment in time that will pass all too quickly.