Zufan loved the piano. She loved everything, in fact. I had her hair done before we left (the lady only charged $16 and I just took the braids out today, 12 days later. I probably should have undone them before, but it was so cute and easy.)
The girls had matching dresses. Cute, in spite of the big girl’s lovely polka dotted tights.
They made, and ate, lots of sugar cookies with Grammie.
The pictures are all from my parents’ house, of course. My parents got a Santa suit this year (It arrived in the mail early one morning several days before Christmas, and my dad tried it on then woke my mom up dressed as Santa – I laughed so hard I couldn’t breathe hearing this story, the way my mom told it. Hilarious.), and the neighbor came over dressed as Santa, which the kids loved. I’m for full disclosure regarding Santa and have even been labeled a bit Scrooge-like regarding this topic. From Day 1 I’ve insisted to them that “Santa is FAKE. NOT REAL. Imaginary!” The kids continue to pretend to believe he is real. When I sited as evidence of his fake-ness that there are many Santas in many shopping malls at the same time, the 5 year old explained to me that those are just helper Santas who bring messages back to the REAL Santa. Oh well. I give up.
We all had a great Christmas, and I got my running in despite the horrid weather because I found a make-shift gym with one treadmill in the tiny town of 700 people near where my parents live. It was in the basement of a rebuilt gas station and open on the “honor system,” 24 hours a day. Yep, I ran on Christmas Eve, on Christmas, and every other day that we were there. Of course I was the only crazy there running, so I turned up the stereo system and blared the county music; it was that or old 80’s rock. I’ve never been so up-to-date on country music in my life! I almost feel like I belong in the small town midwest again. Anyway, we’re all back home, back to pop and latino radio, and to another snowstorm. Hasta pronto!
The link does work, and it is worth watching. I need to do something, something related to Haiti. I don’t know what it is, yet. Maybe just go, take some pictures, tell the people around me what I’ve seen. Haiti needs me, somehow, Haiti needs all of us. Watch the video.
The kids had their Sunday school Christmas show the night before we left, and were so cute singing “El burrito sabanero” in Spanish. We go to Spanish speaking church services, which gives the kids a connection to the Hispanic culture in town. Here the kids are sitting with the teacher:
Zufan and I spent lots of time in the foyer with the other lively toddlers, and the little guy joined us for some of that time, as we waited for their part of the show.
Finally, here’s the crowd on stage. Zufan is with the teacher by the tree on the right, the 5 five year old is holding the microphone, and the 9 year old is in the blue shiny dress two kids over. More later!
We’ve had one blizzard after the next around here. In just a couple of days we’ll make the drive to see the grandparents; until then, lots of hurrying around to do. Speaking of storms, Zufan is talking one up lately. Her favorite story is about the vaccuum cleaner that broke. I’ll try to get that on video sometime. She is just too cute. Here are a couple of pictures — it’s all I can manage right now!
A student brought this little stocking hat (pantyhose on the head, anyone?) to me to help reduce the snarl load in my baby’s hair. Doesn’t seem to help a whole lot, but it does look pretty cute. What a face. And what a mouth full of teeth! I have posting to catch up on, but more importantly, grading and other life duties to catch up on.
Just a real quick update: Zufan had her 2 year appointment, and weighed in at 29 lbs and 12 oz. Exactly one year ago baby was 17 lbs even. Wow. THAT is a ton of weight to gain in a year. An adult would have to work at it. Doc reminded me: skim milk only for that baby! Yeah, I know, but she loves her formula. We’re doing 1/2 skim, 1/2 formula now. Good thing is that even though she’s 90 percentile for weight, she’s also 90th in head circumfrance (no surprise there!) and 60th for height. I bet she’ll slim out by next year at this time. She was so cute about the shot. We had just been in a month ago for the flu shot, so when we got to the clinic she asked, “mas ow-ow?” and patted her leg. I said, yes, “mas ow-ow.” She said OK. When the nurse came in with the two needles, I held her but she didn’t even flinch, just watched the shots go in and the bandaids go on, one at a time, and not a single tear or complaint. That’s my baby. I have three amazing no-cry kids when it comes to vaccines. (But no screaming in the car when your brother wants to share your cheerios? Now that’s another story…) I need to get to work!! Now! I’m so swamped with work right now. I need to correct finals, give one more exam, pack for our trip to the grandparents, get the oil changed and the headlight repaired, pay some bills, and on and on and on… I’m off the net. Adios!
No time to write all I want to write, so here are a few pictures of the kids in their daily spot — my grandma’s old rocking chair. Every time I see it I think of how it looked in her living room, and how many times my dad watched the football games on Sunday afternoon, drinking coffee in that chair. Then when I was older I was the one who sat there, while Gram sat across from me in her green glider rocker, rocking and talking. I miss my Grandma. It was 2 years ago now that she died, and seems like so long ago; yet at the same time, there are moments I can’t believe she isn’t here. The kids now often move directly from the bed to the chair in the mornings (remember the ABC video?). They all three fit just fine.
And on a different day:
We had another busy day today. It was a good day, but I’m so, so tired, and since Zufan took an accidental 5:30 nap in the car seat, it’s going to be a late night. We had two birthday parties (Zufan LOVED her first “friend” party, and was as active as all 4 of the other guests put together), then we went to exercise but I totally spaced out the fact that the childcare at the health club closes early on Saturdays. Yeah, I’m bright. So tomorrow, I have to run double to get in my miles for the week. Tired. I’m so tired. But those miles in the log are my lifeline. Hope you are all doing well!
Schools are all closed today and the kids have been out sledding. Even the college was closed so I didn’t have to work this morning, either. We’ve had a pretty lazy day around here, but the kids did get their snow time in and loved it. I just finished digging out the car (Nice aerobic exercise. I always think about how the heart attack rates go up right after a big storm.) so hopefully we are heading out for a little Starbucks soon, thanks to a nice big birthday gift certificate from my little brother, for just such an occassion. Life is pretty good when you can drive through and get treats like that handed through the window. I know I could never live in a town that was too small for a coffee shop and stay sane! Sledding pictures when I come up with a way to download them… Hope you’re all doing well.
"If you don't know what your passion is, realize that one reason for your existence on earth is to find it"; "If you make a choice that doesn't please your mate, friends, or whoever, the world will not fall apart."
Paulo Coelho Quotes, from By the River Piedra I Sat Down and Cried
"If I'm going to fall, may it be from a high place."
“The universe always conspires to help the dreamer.”
