Kathleen's "Big Show"

During the summer, Kathleen started to take dance lessons. For an hour each week, Kathleen practices a bit of ballet, a little tap, some "creative movement", and even some gymnastics. It's been a journey for her -- learning to stand on her mark, learning to watch and mimic the teachers, learning to follow even when it's not what she'd like to do. Some of those lessons have been easier than others. And some are still very much underway.

Last week was "Show Week" at the dance studio/gym where Kathleen takes her lessons. Everyone could some and see! For us, "everyone" meant our sort-of-little family and Nan and Grandpa.

Madeline watched and waited (not quite patiently) while the girls practiced, and until we could take our (teeny-tiny) seats in the classroom.

waiting ("that's my kafeen!" she'd call out)

and more waiting (for the grown-ups to be ready)...

Kathleen and the girls in her class performed two dances -- one tap and one ballet. They'd been practicing them since before Christmas. Still, they were less "memorized" and more following their teacher, who danced in the back of the room on an enormous pile of mats, where the girls could see and follow her.

Kathleen, I'm sorry to report, has the coordination of her mother. She spent nearly all of the tap performance watching. Not dancing, really, just watching. She'd join in occasionally, but then stop again, seemingly waiting for the right spot to begin again. (That's exactly the way her mother responds to an aerobics class.) When she did begin to dance, she was easily distracted by the other girls or the wiggly audience, full of younger siblings and camera-toting parents. Kathleen did a bit better by the time the ballet portion began, but her participation was still rather spotty.

preparing for ballet..

actually dancing...

When it came to "creative movement", though, Kathleen shone! And gymnastics are much more her speed, too. (She's less interested in the scripted dancing and more interested in swinging wildly about!) Here are a few moments of Kathleen's favorite activities:

a moment of glee on the parallel bars...

And at the end, each girl got a medal. Kathleen was proud. And so were we!

Well done, little girl!

(Sorry for the oddly blurred out photographs. We didn't want to disrespect any parents whom we don't know and who might not want their daughters on the internet.)

Random Scenes from the Circus

Now that he can stand, John David loves to play at the little kitchen. You can find him there almost anytime he's let loose to play. (Once I even watched him try to climb up the kitchen. He doesn't even know how to climb! Still, he grabbed the edge, threw his little leg partway up the front, and pulled. He didn't get up, exactly, but he did get both feet off the floor. We're going to be busy, folks.)

The girls love playing with him, too.

They can often be found making pizza. (The wooden pizza set is easily one of their favorite toys.)

Maybe one day they'll open a pizza parlor together. Pizzas of every variety! Just name your topping! No charge for the drool...

(I feel obliged to point out that while John David is a large little guy, his rear is not as large as it looks in those photos. That's the cloth diaper there...)

:: :: :: :: ::

Jack Sprat could eat no fat,
His wife could eat no lean.
And so betwixt them both,
they licked the platter clean.

Notice: Madeline has eaten all of her sherbet, but no cake. Kathleen has eaten all of her cake, but no sherbet. It's always like that. With everything. Kathleen won't eat pizza crust; Madeline starts with the crust. Kathleen likes the cereal; Madeline likes the milk. It amazes me.

:: :: :: :: ::

John David recently developed a bit of an infection in his toe, which required a trip to the after-hours clinic on Monday, some poking and prodding, and a course of horrible-tasting antibiotics. (To his credit, the child takes the truly offensive medicine without complaint.) Kathleen has taken to calling the sickly toe, "John David's expensive toe," rather than "infected toe." I chuckle whenever she says this because, were it not for our health insurance, it would be true! (According to the pharmacy, John David's noxious antibiotic should have cost $165... but we pay only $9. Whew!)

:: :: :: :: ::

I am loving the extended attention span of a four year-old. A few mornings ago, Kathleen played with playdough for over an hour and a half!

Crafting is certainly more appealing now that Kathleen's projects won't necessarily be abandoned more quickly than they were prepared!

:: :: :: :: ::

An actual suppertime conversation:

Madeline: Mama, more please!
Me: Um, Jim? Should I give her more? This will be her fifth helping! I mean, how much can we let her eat?
Jim: Are you kidding me? Kristen, they're peas. She can have as many as she wants.
Me: Oh, right.

:: :: :: :: ::

It's been pouring here this week. (We know, a week of rain is nothing. It's not like we're in Alaska without heat or something, but still, it's unusual for us.) Being trapped inside has called for some creative entertainment. Like a mini-photoshoot.

I'm not sure who was more entertained by it, though...

Nah, definitely me. Nothing brightens dreary days like goofy little girls!

trust

Since Christmas, we've set out on these ventures, which we've hopefully called bike rides.


For Madeline, it's largely more of a bike push. She could pedal if she wanted, we think -- we've seen her do it-- but she'd rather not. After all,why pedal if someone will push you? And if you're as cute as Madeline, someone will likely push you.


Kathleen, on the other hand, could (and did!) pedal from the very beginning. She just did so very, very slowly. So slowly, in fact, that she'd surely have fallen over, were it not for the training wheels keeping her upright. She moved so slowly that bike riding didn't seem like much fun. (Not for her, and certainly not for the parent walking beside her.) She'd "ride" her bike down the block to the park, more excited about the park than than the bike.


We'd encourage. We'd cajole. We'd plead. We'd hop on her tiny bike and show her ourselves, whooping like mad men and women as we circled in an abandoned parking lot. But no matter what, she'd pedal a bit and then stop. And then start again, never doing more than creeping along. She was afraid. Afraid of falling, afraid of getting hurt.

And it shouldn't have been, but it was frustrating. We knew -- we just knew -- that if she'd trust us enough to pedal, to really bike, she'd love it. We wanted to make her pedal, to make her trust. But that's not how it works.

Jim was remarkably patient with our reluctant biker. And, by the grace of God, last week she finally "got it." One afternoon while out with her dad she suddenly picked up speed, beaming as she declared, "I went fast!" Now she races coasts along our little streets, eagerly exploring our post, while her Dad (because it's usually her Dad) jogs along next to her. Her face is lit with pride and joy.

It made me think about how I do the same thing. How I don't trust, how I rail against what God is doing in my life, what He's teaching me. How I drag my feet, trying vainly to protect myself, stealing the joy that He would give me if I'd only trust in Him.

Fortunately for me, my Father is even more patient than Kathleen's. He waits as I trust Him incrementally more each day. And one day, when I finally let go, when I finally, truly trust His plan more than my own, I, too, will coast in joy.

An apology of sorts

I apologize for assaulting your eyeballs...

But,

I cannot

get enough

of

this

sweet

boy!

(Snapshots of John David during a recent suppertime.)

Hoppy New Year!

We've welcomed 2010 with a temporary addition to our family. Much to our girls' delight, we're pet-sitting for friends. While our friends have been skiing and snowboarding and enjoying the snowy splendor of Tahoe, we've welcomed Aloha the bunny into our family. She's been a perfect fit. And Aloha's actually the rabbit's name! That's practically proof that she's perfect for our family! (We have to call her Aloha-bunny to differentiate her from Kathleen's beloved stuffed dog.) The girls are remarkably faithful about remembering to feed Aloha her food and to give her fresh water and Timothy hay. And, needless to say, bringing Aloha-bunny out to play is the highlight of each day.

Teaching the girls to give Aloha some space has been hard work. They want to pet her and hold her all. the. time. And, to be fair, who wouldn't? She's soft and sweet and fluffy.

With some firm limit-setting, though, we've gotten Aloha some good playtime. She has explored almost every corner of the first floor of our home.

She has found some friends, though they aren't much for conversation.

And she has discovered a fondness for tea. Or at least for tea sets. (She loves this particular cubby!)

The girls aren't the only ones who love Aloha-bunny. John David loves to watch her. She's often hopping about while I feed John David supper. As much as he loves food, he quickly loses interest in his squash and cottage cheese when he sees Aloha run past him. And he loves to use Aloha's cage to stand up. (Don't worry, though -- he's never done that while she's actually been in the cage!)

Thanks for trusting us with your sweet bunny, friends! Aloha has given us a great start to 2010.

Christmas Day

It is good to be children sometimes, and never better than at Christmas, when its mighty founder was a child Himself.

-- Charles Dicken's A Christmas Carol

We found such joy in our little ones this year. Watching them dance to Deck the Halls and (this year's favorite) Go, Tell it on the Mountain, listening to them sing Away in the Manger, pretending with them about that first Christmas (even when asked to be the donkey), filled our hearts with love and gratitude. Being with children at Christmas might be even better than being a child!

Some of the memories we'll hold close in years to come:

:: The girls' complete belief in the magic of Santa Claus. We don't spend much time talking about him, but somehow they're caught up in the wonder of his story nonetheless. Because our home has no chimney, Nan and Grandpa had given the children a magic key to leave outside our front door on Christmas Eve, so Santa could get inside. Kathleen and Madeline found the key on the floor outside their bedroom door on Christmas morning. We asked the girls if they had any idea how it could've gotten upstairs, since we'd all seen them leave it on the front porch. Kathleen gasped, eyes full of wonder, "Santa!"

:: The girls awkwardly walking down the stairs together, both clutching that magic key with their right hands.

:: We made a conscious effort to keep Christmas reasonably small. Still, our living room boasted a bicycle, a tricycle (gifts from us), a princess tent, and plenty of other wrapped gifts. Despite this bounty, the very first thing the girls noticed was the unwrapped case of baby wipes from Costco. They jumped up and down and cheered, "Presents for my baby!"

:: A few minutes later Madeline realized that there were presents for her, too, and she took a few laps around the dining room table, as if attempting to burn off the excitement.

A few (blurry) snapshots from our morning: (1) Stockings! The ball Madeline is inspecting lights up when bounced and has been a favorite. (2) An art easel, which has also gotten lots of use! (3) Proof that we did give John David actual presents. (4) Trying on the helmets.

:: John David using his Army style low-crawl to find any and all wrappping paper to eat! (Predictably, he was much more interested in wrapping paper than gifts.)

:: The girls on their new bicycle and tricycle in the foyer, helmets on, cheering, "We're ready to roll!"

:: Spending Christmas morning testing out the new wheels on a trip to the park!

:: Watching the girls' new Tinkerbell and the Lost Treasure movie with Madeline on my lap, her arms behind her head, the picture of contentment.

:: Having all the California cousins together (with Nan, Grandpa, Mama's brother and sister and their families) for Christmas evening.

John David plays with cousin Emily.

Cousins clowning on the couch.

(Photos shameless stolen from my sister. Thanks, Caroline!)

Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!

(If you're a glutton for punishment, all the Christmas Eve and Christmas Day photos are here.)

Christmas Eve

There's nothing quite like Christmas Eve. The whole day brims with anticipation, with joy, with the wonder of a far-off miracle come to rest in our hearts. Some memories from this year:

Even our early-morning errands seemed magical -- a stop for a sweet and German coffee at the bakery (when we were picking up our brez'n and brotchen), the cheerful folks waiting in line at the butcher shop, our girls racing -- skipping and hopping and running -- to pass the time while their Daddy fetched fresh sausage.

Daddy and his girls made their now-annual gingerbread house. We never thought that the house would stay up. But it did. Royal icing is truly amazing. And as you can see, the terms "gilding the lily" and "less is more" mean absolutely nothing to our girls -- at least not when it comes to frosting and candy.

Nan and Grandpa joined us for the evening, helping Daddy with the three littles in the pew so that Mama could sing. (And sing with dear friends. Oh, and sing a new song. Lovely. Just lovely.)

Along with Nan and Grandpa, two other couples joined us for Christmas Eve. We so enjoyed sharing a meal and conversation with them. (And having someone else witness the unbelievable excitement our children exhibited over new pajamas.)

And when we paused to take a few photographs before bundling our littles off to bed, John David flashed us his best Christmas smile...

and our girls had something they wanted to say. And sing.

What a blessed Christmas Eve!

a birthday surprise

Four years ago I got the most amazing birthday gift I could have imagined: I brought my first, sweet baby girl home from the hospital. And since then I've been happy to mostly forget about my birthday. It seems wiser, somehow, to focus first on Kathleen and then on baby Jesus, and simply take some time to catch a breath in between.

And that was the approach I'd thought we'd take to my birthday this year. We'd talked vaguely of trying to go out to dinner, just Jim and I. But we don't have a regular sitter (okay, we don't have a sitter at all, save grandparents, who were already committed to come visit us twice that week for the princess party and Christmas Eve) and the idea of leaving all three children at bedtime with someone they didn't know made my head spin. So we'd abandoned that plan and I'd moved on to treating it like any other day. In fact, I'd made appointments for the girls to get their H1N1 shots that morning. Happy birthday to me!

But Jim wasn't having it. And, unbeknownst to me, he contacted my friends and concocted a plan. He called and rearranged the girls' inoculations. And he kept it a secret! Well, it was a secret until just before the princess party, when he filled me in on his grand plans... so I wouldn't be taken aback by the goings on the next day. And when he told me, I cried.

For my birthday, Jim sent my friends and I out to lunch at lovely restaurant in Los Gatos while he watched our children. As of the morning of my birthday, Jim was planning to watch nine children at our home. As it turned out, one friend had a sick little one, so the grand total was instead six. But Jim would've watched them all. And he'd have done it with the same nonchalant, amazing attitude that he watched the six. "Oh," he said, "It was no big deal. It was fun, really."

So for several hours on my birthday, my girlfriends and I were real grown-ups. We conversed in complete sentences. (Well, to the extent that we're able to anymore, at least.) We lingered over our food. We laughed and we talked and we laughed some more. It was refreshing. And relaxing. And fun. And friends, I don't think I have to tell you what a rare thing that is.

It was one of the most thoughtful gifts I've ever received. Thanks, Jim. You amaze me.

And if that wasn't enough, the circus celebrated, too! With my favorite take-out Thai food, milk for the girls, and red wine for grown ups, we had a birthday feast. We finished it off with gifts and some ice cream cupcakes. I didn't cook a thing or clean a plate, and I enjoyed every last bit of the food and my laziness. My family totally outdid themselves!

So much for ignoring my birthday!