A Princess Party

As far as I can tell, there are a few things that consistently capture the imagination of four year old girls (or at least, my four year old girl): princesses, fairies, sparkles, and sugar.

Consequently, we had a little of each at Kathleen's fourth birthday party. (Okay, maybe a lot of that last one. The sugar was pretty much free-flowing.)

We don't have particularly elaborate birthday parties for little people, but we think a birthday theme is a lot of fun. So, after a bit of back-and-forthing, Kathleen eventually settled on a princess party. (It was very nearly a fairy party. Princesses and Tinkerbell run pretty much even in terms of devotion around here.) And since she was turning four, Kathleen got to invite four guests. She chose her sister (good thing!), her younger cousin, and her "best friends" Audrey and Mei Mei.

Two days before her birthday party, Kathleen asked for a new princess dress. The one she had been wearing is the one made for her for Halloween more than two years ago. While it was once lovely and flowing, it had become faded, even hole-y (not holy, mind you). And yet Kathleen would not retire it. It seemed a new dress was very much in order.

So, because a mom of three littles has nothing else to do, I ran to the fabric store Saturday night after putting little people to bed. And I sewed the dress the next day (pausing, of course, for church and supper with friends), finishing it up sometime after one in the morning. (Almost finished, anyway. I hemmed it in the morning, after trying it on our princess.)

And the sleep deprivation? Totally worth it for this delight:

A prancing pink princess.

Because Madeline had had a banner for her birthday, I wanted one for Kathleen's birthday, too. But as of 8pm the night before the party, all I'd done was bought paper and printed letter templates. But while I sewed, my knight in shining armor came to my rescue. He paintakingly cut and pasted and hole-punched and strung the banner, entirely to my specifications. And he didn't complain once. Not even once. True story. True love.

Nan and Grandpa joined us for the party. We loved having them with us! And it was great having extra hands to hold Indy. (He was a bit cranky. A few days later we learned he had ear infections. Poor little man.)

The princess and her friends, some of whom chose to wear princess and fairy attire, began the party by making princess crowns. (Sadly, our cousin was sick and could not come.) The girls carefully stuck "jeweled" stickers to foam crown forms.

Cinderella, Tinkerbell, and the birthday princess perfect their crown creations.

Then they did a bit of dancing with ribbons on rings. I'm sad not to have photographs of that -- it was darling. And then there was some just general playing.

After what seemed an eternity to Kathleen, we opened presents. Her little friends had spent lots of time and energy picking just the right things for her -- and she loved them.

Presents! For me!

We fed everyone some pizza and then moved onto the cake. Now, the cake was the very first thing that Kathleen knew she wanted at her party. She'd seen the cake kit at Michael's back when we were planning Madeline's party in September, and it was love at first sight. She declared then and there that she wanted a princess cake. And (despite Mama's secret hopes) she did not forget.

So, a princess cake it was.

Having no cake decorating experience whatsoever, I was terrified. But with quite a bit of frosting, we were able to make the cake look rather princess-y after all. Kathleen was more than satisfied. (In fact, I imagine there will be more princess cakes in the future, so pleased were our girls.) And we sang, and she wished, and we ate.

Our birthday girl in miniature. In cake.

And then, before we knew it, we were thanking our guests, sending them off with their crowns and ribbons and balloons and goodies, until it was just us.

Daddy snapped a photo of (a very tired) Mama and her three as the festivities wound down. We had such fun!

The party was a perfect way to celebrate our sparkly, spirited little girl.

We'll make you princess cakes for as long as you want them, Kathleen!

Happy Birthday, Princess!

Advent 4: Our angel turns four

We lit the last candle of the advent wreath on Sunday, the candle named for the angels who announced the Savior's birth. Christmas is coming -- and soon!

But Sunday's excitement was not only for the fourth Sunday in Advent. Four was on our minds for another reason, too:

Kathleen is four!

The day's festivities were relatively low key... we'd celebrate like royalty the next day. Still, what's a birthday without a candle? (Even when that candle's on an ice cream sandwich!)

Happy birthday, sweet girl! We love you so.

Christmastime in the City

We ventured into the big city a few weeks ago to see the "city sidewalks, busy sidewalks, dressed in holiday style" for ourselves.

We took in the grand tree in Union Square and we watched the ice skaters. We met up with a friend and ate dinner and some Ghiradelli chocolate (free samples!). We oohed-and-ahhed over the adorable puppies and kittens in Macy's Christmas windows. (We, ahem, didn't mention that the puppies and kittens were there to adopt. Consequently, no one asked to take one -- or seven -- home.) Other visitors to the city were apparently feeling charitable and gave balloons to our girls (someone had given them the balloon, they explained -- they were just "paying it forward"). The girls were thrilled. Not just with the balloons, but with the whole evening.

The grown-ups were happy, too!

And just before heading home, we proved -- once again -- that we are incapable of a photograph in which more than one child is looking anywhere near the camera.

Still, Christmas cheer abounds! We love this season!

Advent 3: Joy

Sunday evening (these posts get later and later, don't they?) we lit the third candle on our advent wreath -- the funny pink one. It's called the shepherd candle, and as we light it we recall the great joy shared with the shepherds that first Christmas night.

No photographs this week... but we thought we'd share a favorite hymn (Infant Holy, Infant Lowly).

Flocks were sleeping, shepherds keeping
vigil till the morning new
saw the glory, heard the story,
tidings of a gospel true.
Thus rejoicing, free from sorrow,
praises voicing, greet the morrow:
Christ the babe was born for you

We're praying to remember the joy in the chaos of the season, to keep our hearts fixed on "tidings of a gospel true."

A morning at the CDM

Last week Daddy skipped a morning of "work" (work, study, whatever it is he does in his office at school) and we all headed to the Children's Discovery Museum in San Jose. Kathleen had been asking to go ("to the museum with the bubbles") and we were happy to be able to accommodate her -- and to make the most of our membership!

We didn't take a lot of photographs -- we mostly just played. We blew loads of bubbles, we unearthed "fossils", we climbed and explored and learned.

We did snap just a couple of pictures, though, and we thought we'd share.

John David explored the "crawlers" room in the toddlers' section of the museum. He did love that book, which we promptly dropped in the "sanitize this" box. (I'm not sure how you sanitize a board book, and I'm not going to think about it too hard, because then I'd be thinking about what my child put in his mouth before I could stop him...)

We pass this fire engine exhibit every time we enter or leave the museum, and it has never really sparked our girls' imagination. Until this visit, that is! Madeline discovered the fire hose and decided she wanted to be a "firegirl"... She eventually donned a coat and a hat, and her Daddy and I couldn't get enough of it!

(By way of explanation, I didn't know that Daddy was trying to video our little firefighter here. I thought he was trying to get a photograph, which is why I keep trying to get her to turn around to look at us, rather than just letting the poor kid play. I sound annoying! Sorry. To you and to Madeline.)

And this? This, the girls told us -- this is "a firefighter and her dog."

Of course. What else could it be?

advent adventures

We've not been posting much lately, but that's not because we've not been doing much. We've been busy!

We purchased a Christmas tree, which we loaded in the "shiny van." That delighted our littles.

One of my favorite photos!

It was all we could do to keep Indy from eating the tree!

And then we decorated our Christmas tree. Kathleen, the older, more experienced sister, showed Madeline the ropes.

Kathleen placed the angel on the top.

Madeline had to "fly", too.

We discovered that the tree is merely a large Indy-magnet.

(Poor Indy has had to spend a lot more of his playtime in the pack 'n play, because we just can't keep him away from the tree!)

We've been visiting some of the local Christmas sights, too. We walked around Christmas in the Park one evening last weekend, taking in the lights and displays and hundreds (no, really, hundreds!) of decorated trees. After some time in the (it's-all-relative-California) cold, we split two hot chocolates to warm up. It was perfectly portioned -- the girls ate the whipped cream tops (with sprinkles, no less!) and Mama and Daddy actually drank the hot chocolate.

Later in the week we checked out the Fantasy of Lights in Los Gatos, which gave the girls occasion to wear their first 3D glasses.

They weren't particularly impressed by the glasses, but they loved the lights. The drive through the display took a fair amount of time, but Madeline still cried as we left, wanting more.

We made (and finished! and mailed!) our ornaments for the Crafty Crow ornament swap.

The girls (Kathleen, particularly) had a lot of fun finding the pinecones and then gluing on the parts of our "gnomes." They're now watching the mailbox, hoping for their swap ornaments to arrive...

And amidst all the busyness, we've been readying ourselves for the season -- cleaning, decorating, anticipating. The girls are extraordinarily faithful about remembering our advent calendars and Jesse Tree. They love placing the ornaments and counting down the days until baby Jesus arrives.

When they're not playing with their Playmobil nativity, they're playing "Mary and Joseph" with scarves and a babydoll. (Kathleen to Madeline: I'm Mary. You're Joseph. Let's go get our donkey.) The other day Kathleen came to me in the kitchen and said, "I'm Mary. I just had a baby Jesus and he is in the manger. He is the King of the world! Would you like to come and praise Him with me?" And she took me by my hand and led me to her doll and then prayed for us, "Dear God, thank you for giving us Baby Jesus to bring us life. We love Jesus. Amen."

My eyes brimmed -- my heart, too -- with love for my girl and for the One who made her. And, oh, how I praised Him. How could I not?

advent: week 2

This week we lit the second candle on our advent wreath, the Bethlehem candle.

If Jesus Christ was born in a manger in a rock, why should he not come and live in our rocky hearts? If he was born in a stable, why should not the stable of our souls be made into a habitation for him? If he was born in poverty, may not the poor in spirit expect that he will be their friend?

--- Charles Haddon Spurgeon

A quote offered by our pastor for reflection before last week's message at Sunday worship.

No need to ask what's playing at our house...

Remember last year?

Looks like this Christmas season will be more of the same -- just double. At least this year we've had the good sense to enlist a recording of James Taylor (frequently on repeat) on the iPod, rather than singing Deck the Halls until we grow hoarse. (We occasionally switch out for Bing Crosby.)

When the song began, Madeline yelled, "My favorite!" and Kathleen cheered, "It's my song!" And then it looked like this:

(Feel free to stop watching before the end... the dancing sort of peters out and I couldn't be bothered to edit the clip.)

Thanks to months of dance classes, Kathleen's dancing has a bit more variety this year. Madeline seems to have adopted the spinning that her sister favored last year. What's the same, though, is their love for dancing to that specific song. Once the girls hear Deck the Halls come up on the (lengthy!) playlist of Christmas carols, they ask for it again and again and again and again. We can't resist their dancing (or their glee), so we generally indulge them.

But you can be certain that no grown up who lives here will be asking to listen to "Deck the Halls" anytime soon.

High Fashion

Kathleen's been wearing her old princess dress for days now. Complete with headband crown, she's worn the ensemble everywhere: the library, the commissary, the park. But it would appear that she doesn't want her sister to be left out and has undertaken her costuming, as well.

"Mama?" she asks me as I'm trying to prepare dinner, "Where's Madeline's princess shirt?"

I begin to ask why when she continues, "I think it would be just perfect with her fairy skirt."

I can't help smiling and track down the shirt, which I hand off to Kathleen. She puts it on her sister, and then sets about accessorizing.

One pair of rain boots and one faux pearl necklace later, Madeline is set. She pauses for the paparazzi.

We have our own sense of style at the circus. It works, I think. Not for all, but for us.

advent

For to us a child is born, to us a son is given;

and the government shall be upon his shoulder,

and his name shall be called

Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,

Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

Of the increase of his government and of peace

there will be no end,

on the throne of David and over his kingdom,

to establish it and to uphold it

with justice and with righteousness

from this time forth and forevermore.

The zeal of the LORD of hosts will do this.

Isaiah 9:6-7 (ESV)

The advent wreath is one of our favorite advent traditions, one we love sharing with our littles. This evening we darkened the lamps and then lit the first candle on our family's advent wreath. Our devotions went the way of most things at the circus -- a little good listening, a little running around, a little bit of something in between. But the girls loved the candle flickering in the darkness; even the littlest hearts know that there's something about the light coming into the world -- something amazing, something beautiful, something we need.

The first candle on the advent wreath is traditionally known as the prophecy candle. And so we talked of the prophets. And we talked about waiting. And we talked about Jesus.

This advent I hope to see the miracle of Christmas with fresh, four-year-old eyes, to know the excitement my two-year-old feels at the twinkling lights and decorated tree, to think less of the hustle and bustle, lists and projects. I want to feel my heart full at the very thought of God become man, of eternity's most precious child laid in the straw of a manger, of a God who pursues us across time and through culture to make us his very own.

Thanksgiving Review, in brief.

The chef, who delivered an amazing feast.

The table, complete with Kathleen-made placecards.

The food, which was devoured!

The hungry cousins, waiting for their parents to "make their plates."

Many, many thanks to Auntie Caroline, Uncle Craig, and Baby Emily for hosting us for Thanksgiving. We had lots of fun playing in the backyard, visiting with everyone, and (of course!) eating. Yum!

Gratitude

I would maintain that thanks are the highest form of thought; and that gratitude is happiness doubled by wonder.

~G.K. Chesterton

With great wonder and happiness, we thank the Lord -- this day, especially.

:: For our warm home and warm friends -- for the coziness we sometimes don't even see.

:: For the loved ones with whom we'll celebrate (and likely overeat) today.

:: For the men and women that serve our country and spend today far from their families and loved ones.

:: For our soldier, who is home with us today to pour coffee and orange juice and hold children and remind us how truly blessed we are.

:: For laughing children and their goofy antics.

:: For princesses and superheroes and imaginations that run wild.

:: For creativity. (Even when that makes a mess.)

:: For delicious, chubby babies and healthy children.

:: For hugs and kisses and snuggles shared between siblings. (And for the occasionally ferocious defense, "Don't do that to my sister!" or "That's my brother!" lobbed at a careless playmate.)

:: For the opportunity to share our bounty with others. For the joy that comes with giving.

Delivering our boxes for Operation Christmas Child. We learned that our boxes are bound for children in Peru, the Philippines, Mongolia, Indonesia, or China. (Incidentally, if you meant to pack a box for Operation Christmas Child, but missed national drop off week, it might not be too late! Certain cities across the country will have drop-off locations through December 10th -- some even through December 31st. Check here for details.)

:: For grace. For truth. For the One who came, full of both. (John 1:14)

:: For our friends and family, near and far. We wish you the happiest of days, the awareness of how blessed we truly are, and the knowledge of the One who gives all things.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Daddy-Daughter Day

Last week we planned a trip to the Monterey Bay Aquarium. They girls had been asking to go for some time, and we were hoping to catch up with the Starlings, who now live in Monterey.

However, the days leading up to our great aquarium adventure were particularly sleepless for Indy. For whatever reason, he had not been sleeping well at night. Consequently, neither had Mama. Bleary-eyed, we were second-guessing the wisdom of a (relatively) big adventure.

Enter Daddy the hero. He offered to take the girls for a special Daddy-Daughter Day while Mama and Indy stuck to Indy's "normal" napping schedule. Genius! Everyone was happy about that plan!

The girls couldn't wait to get to the aquarium.

Apparently, Kathleen was confident in her map-reading abilities -- and led her sister to the fun!

Monterey is gorgeous. The girls spent some time outside, admiring the bay.

They were able to connect with the Starlings, and Sammy and our girls explored together.

The girls posed for the obligatory seashell photo. Aren't they cute?

After a full morning of fun at the aquarium, and a tasty lunch at the aquarium cafe, Daddy and his daughters headed home.

Well, not quite.

What's an adventure with Daddy without a stop for ice cream? The world may never know...

Yum! Sweet memories!

A donut debacle and donut deliciousness

It happened several weeks ago now. We were pressed and dressed for Sunday worship, loaded in the van. Diaper bags and backpacks were loaded with all the necessities. And, speaking of necessitites, I'd managed not only to pour myself coffee, but also to bring it. Even more astonishingly, we were early. I felt rather proud of us.

It lasted for about two minutes.

Because as we were cruising out the front gate, we realized we had a flat tire. I had hopped out to confirm our technical difficulty, and when I climbed back Jim said, "Yup, I see now. The tire pressure light is on." I leaned across to look at the dash and gulped. That light had been on the day before -- as I drove down to San Jose to buy new diaper covers and back up to Palo Alto to take Maddie to the doctor. I had thought it was because our van was due for service. And I'd completely ignored it. If I'd given it a second thought, if I'd mentioned it to Jim, we might have been able to avoid our little Sunday morning debacle. I felt a bit sick about my stupidity, but I fessed up and Jim -- graciously -- chuckled.
We parked our hobbled auto in a parking lot just off post and got to work. Not having ever had a flat tire on the minivan, we weren't exactly sure where to find everything. I tried to redeem myself by checking the owner's manual (and sipping my coffee) while Jim poked around the trunk. He found the jack and that other good stuff, but not the tire. He set to work on the flat, while I hunted down the spare. A quick glance at the owner's manual revealed that the tire was under one of the passenger seats. So, once I had unloaded the littles onto a picnic blanket on the asphalt, I started pulling out Indy's carseat. From the diagram, it appeared that the tire was under the seat, so I assumed we'd have to remove the carseat and the seat itself. Once I got the carseat out, I consulted the manual again, only to realize that the tire is on the other side of the car. Whoops. I left Indy's seat (with Indy in it, incidentally, well, until it nearly tipped over backwards; then we moved him to the stroller) on the ground, and took out Madeline's seat, instead. Now certain that I was working on the right side of the car, I worked on moving the seat itself. When it didn't seem intuitive, I checked the manual again. It was at this point that I realized that the tire drops out the bottom of the van; I didn't need to remove any seats at all. Whoops.

Our circus, semi-contained.

At that point, I bowed out. Laughing, I took my seat next to the kids on the blanket, alternately explaining what had happened and what Daddy was doing, and singing songs to try to keep them on the blanket and out of traffic.

Almost on the road again...

Fortunately, Jim had much more success than I had, and in relatively short order (you know, within about 45 minutes, give or take) we were on the road again. As we drove, we talked about the best course of action. We had a church meeting later that night, and we were pretty sure that we couldn't make it that far on the donut. We stopped by the dealership, but they were closed for service. By the time we got to our morning service we'd missed most of the sermon, but we were there. Not wanting to test the speed or distance limits on the spare, we benched the van for the rest of the day, driving around with the five of us in a Nissan Versa, which was its own hilarity. (New discovery: you can fit two carseats and a booster in the back of a hatchback, but you do have to close the door very deliberately.)

Anyway, I offer that (ahem, lengthy) story as background. Last week, Kathleen was sitting at the table after her nap, snacking on some apples, when she asked, "Mama, why do people sometimes call tires, donuts?"

I started talking about how it's a silly name, but that we could probably think of some reasons. I offered that spare tires are a bit smaller than regular tires, and then decided to go for the most obvious explanation, "Well, they're the same shape as donuts, aren't they?"

Kathleen looked at me blankly.

And I started to describe the shape of a tire when I realized the disconnect. "Hey, sweetie, do you know what a donut is?" I asked.

For some reason, she did not. I know. I don't know what we're teaching our kids, but they're missing the good stuff.

I explained that donuts are tasty treat -- a bit like bagels, but more like cake. And Kathleen's eyes twinkled and she said, "You know, Mama, I think we should go try some donuts."

I agreed.

So this Saturday morning we all headed on a little trip to Stan's, the local glazed donut mecca. We'd heard rave reviews and we didn't mind the opportunity to test it out. It did not disappoint.

We got there around eight thirty in the morning and there was a line out the door. We didn't mind waiting. We took photos.

See, we really look like a circus when we travel. Kathleen's wearing her brother's glasses, and Madeline's wearing her cape.

More proof that we cannot take a photograph with everyone looking at the camera.

And when we were inside, we discovered that there was a 20 minute wait for the glazed donuts. Novices that we were, we opted for cake donuts (Kathleen was very specific about wanting sprinkles) and ordered a dozen glazed to take to our friends, at their request. We sat at the old school counter and enjoyed the tasty treats.

Completely delighted. And how perfect is that shirt? Nan got it for her when she heard the donut story...

But when twenty minutes were up, our donuts were delivered, and we were in awe. Next time we're not messing with cake donuts, sprinkles or no.

We'd already laid claim to our one.

Our friends only got eleven of their dozen donuts. And they were lucky to get that...

We're already trying to come up with an excuse to visit Stan's again. We're open to just about any reason -- but we'd rather not have to use a donut on the van again. But hey, at least we know where it is now. The tire, that is. And Stan's, too.