A day without Baby Einstein,

is a good day indeed. Not that I have anything against pulling out the screen-time card when the going gets tough, but when you're going on day nine of at least one person in the house being ill and in no shape to do anything but stare at a screen, you're pretty elated when you can make it through a day without Caillou humming in the background.

I'll spare you the juicy details, but we've been through and the stomach bug, RSV and of course what would all of this be without a token ear infection ... thankfully I've managed to bleach my way out of catching any of the germs and I do not take this for granted.

Emery at a low point ...

We had a high point when Emery was recovering from RSV and Anna Kimball hadn't quite gotten the worst of it yet ... we celebrated by escaping to a coffee shop where none of our friends go so that we wouldn't be caught breaking quarantine. Considerate, I know. But we were going BANANAS cooped up at home. (and truthfully, the doctor only told us to stay away from young children and the elderly, and nary a carseat or cane did I spy at the coffee shop)

A daffodil emerging in our front yard ... maybe a symbol of health and renewal just around the corner?

Anna Kimball at a low point ...

And the requisite cake pop while we wait for our prescription to be filled ...

Here's to many more Baby Einstein-free days to come, right? We can only hope!

Anna Kimball is one!

Yesterday was Anna Kimball's first birthday. I had to laugh, because I woke up yesterday morning after barely having slept at all, thanks to Emery getting sick in the middle of the night, and thought, well, this is exactly how I felt a year ago today! Exhausted from barely sleeping, thanks to labor pains, but also so very thankful.

We are SO very thankful for Anna Kimball and the brightness she brings to our family. Her glee is contagious, the way she lays her head on your chest is divine, her love for Emery makes my days even easier, and more fun, and wow, I really love the fact that she's given up her 5am wakeup calls!

Enthused by some birthday eve cake ...

One member of our family was more interested in cake than making a memory ...

And gladly took care of Anna Kimball's leftovers ... (strangely, neither of my girls were into their first birthday cakes very much. Oh well, more for us!)

So proud to be sitting on her riding toy (and I'm so proud to have thrifted it for $12) ...

Getting to know one of her new dollies ...

Here's to another bright and beautiful year!

She's getting a drawl

It's happening. Our Michigan-born girl is getting a Southern drawl. I started noticing a few weeks ago that Emery would draw one-syllable words like "hand" or "there" into two syllables. At first I thought she was just being funny, but now I'm starting to think this drawl is for real.

All I have to say is this - I promise she's spending more time with me, who doesn't have an accent, than with our angel neighbor and her family, who sure do know how to draw out some vowels. Maybe there's just a little My Fair Lady action going on over there that I don't know about!

A Christmas to remember

We spent Christmas in Charlottesville and oh, so many wonderful memories were made ... here goes!

Emery idolizes Tucker and ran after him like a little puppy dog the whole week. Fortunately, he couldn't be kinder to her and even teared up when he realized he would be in Disney World the last day of our stay and would miss seeing Emery! Melt. my. heart.

Anna Kimball was happy just to be held by anyone with a lap and a smile, so she spent much of her Christmast week snuggling. And smiling bright.

Tearing into the stocking ...

Anna Kimball got the hang of it, too.

This was Emery's "big" gift from us - a broom set! Doesn't take much to make a 2-year-old happy.

Henny and Papa gave Anna Kimball Raggedy Ann and Andy and it was love at first sight.

Anna Kimball also found some time to break some of her picky eating habits and devoured anything that was in sight all week long. I think it all started with the beef bourguignon ... thank you, Henny!

Lots of time for snuggles with Henny ...

and with Daddy ...

And even some time to do a little light reading in Emery's bed ...

It snowed enough to make a slushy, small snowman.

And of course there were tea parties with Emery's new tea set ...

More snuggles, now with Uncle Austin ...

The trip wouldn't be complete without some frozen yogurt, even if temps were in the 30's.

Bananas in the morning on Henny's bedroom floor - a sweet start to the day.

Though the girls were ALL STARS in the car there and back, this still became necessary.

Upon our return, Emery went directly to our neighbor's house and promptly fell asleep in her arms ...

... while Anna Kimball decided to get some exercise and find her way into my belt bag!

Let it snow!

Our neighborhood has a tradition during the holiday season in which every house lights luminaries for two nights in a row. The streets are then lined with candlelight and it's a pretty magical sight. It would also be pretty magical if it happened to snow here this winter and Emery's shirt has us hoping for just that ... though if you're wearing Crocs without socks in the middle of December, we'll definitely need a Christmas miracle to get some snow in these parts.

On why Thankful Tuesday won't work ... and catching up

Thankful Tuesdays won't work, not because I can't get my act together to write a Thankful Tuesday blog post each week, but because it dawned on me that that's about all I can post each week. And I don't want to look back at this blog in a few years and only see Thankful Tuesday titles on all of my posts ...

So, I will still aim for posting what I'm grateful for, but probably not in that format all of the time.

In other news, we've been busy with the usual things, plus Thanksgiving, Thanksgiving recovery, and gearing up for Christmas. Here's what all of that has looked like:

Anna Kimball donned Emery's "pilgrim" dress that she wore on her first Thanksgiving. In this picture she is holding the thyme that I forgot to add to the turkey, an omission I still count as a small victory because it's just about the only thing I think I forgot to take care of for the meal!

Anna Kimball has turned very picky when it comes to food, but since nearly everything on the Thanksgiving table was laden with butter, she had no difficulty cleaning her tray.

Love this shot of the girls watching something on the computer as the adults finished up dinner. They really seem like peers and sisters here!

A rare family shot that would be "perfect" if Emery hadn't plastered her face with stickers. But then it wouldn't be real, would it? 

Somebody wanted more dessert of course ...

As promised, as soon as Thanksgiving day had passed, Emery was granted allowance to wear her Christmas clothes, accessorized by her fairy costume and shades of course.

Anna Kimball was baptized last Sunday and Grammie and Grandpa were here to watch, which made us all very happy! Anna Kimball tends to be pretty frightened by men she doesn't know, so she didn't warm up to the pastor who baptized her, but again, a small victory that she didn't wail or really even shed a tear. And Emery played the part of the precocious 2-year-old sister who stated twice during the baptism "Anna Kimball wants to be baptized."

This was another first for Anna Kimball - riding in the "driver" with Emery. Love how this shot totally personifies their temperaments. Anna Kimball = ecstatic and showing it. Emery = ecstatic but you would never know by looking at her.

Decking the house for Christmas!

This is why you should always check on your child before turning in for the night - not really to see if they're doing ok, but because you never know what hilarious sight you might encounter. (yes, there is a head under that book)

Thankful Tuesday

Silliness, silliness, silliness ... that's on the top of my mind today as I think about what I'm thankful for. So thankful that the girls' antics (and especially Emery's) can bring levity to days that feel long and tiresome at times. Here's what else is making me smile this week:

• Warm, sunny afternoons even as Christmas decorations begin to surface everywhere 
• Not having to travel anywhere but to the grocery store (a couple dozen times, but only because I cannot make a good list or keep track of said list to save my life) for Thanksgiving.
• Elevator rides in the curtains ... Emery wrapped herself in the drapes the other day and said she was going on the "edebator" to Henny's craft room.
• Another kind neighbor who brought the girls back goodies, including some darling purses that will be much loved, from his recent trip to Vietman and Cambodia. Seriously, do we live in the best neighborhood ever? YES!
• A recipe for cabbage that's worth repeating. I'm not a big cabbage fan, but when the occasional recipe does call for it, I'm all kinds of frustrated at what to do with the remaining half a head of cabbage sitting in my fridge. Coleslaw is not always the right answer. This though, is.