A Final Merry Merry

Okay, okay. I promise to wrap up Christmas with this post. Yeesh! For such a peaceful and mellow holiday, the blogged version has dragged on.

We finished up our celebrations with a visit to Grandma Carol and Poppy's in Seattle. Aunt Ann and Uncle Pat were in town, so it was a real treat to see family and enjoy some quiet moments in front of the fire. Stella loved playing her new Candyland with Grandma and Poppy, and she didn't take off her new nurse outfit for the whole visit.

A pre-Christmas snow walk - 2009

On a side note, I've been doing a lot of looking back lately. With the new year and Phoebe's first birthday just around the corner, I realize that just one year ago our lives were so radically different. Stella hadn't hit the three year old feisties, I was waddling around mumbling about how uncomfortable I was and little Junebug was a dreamy little dancer in my belly. The last year has brought about such intense and massive change. Some of it has been incredibly hard - see Brian's accident, three year old fits, adjusting to even less free time as adults and a couple. But it's also been incredibly beautiful - see the absurd amount of joy Phoebe brings to our lives, Brian is alive (Can I get an Amen?), three year old wisdom and humor, sharing dinner every night with my three favorite people. So while I must admit I literally find myself daydreaming of a full night of sleep and wonder when Brian and I will ever finish a conversation with one another, I wouldn't trade this humble life for anything. What a year indeed.

Christmas 2010

Hey Y'all,

So, we've been slammed by several consecutive bugs around here, and any free time to update the blog has been limited. So rather than fighting with a downloading process I have yet to understand, I'm simply going to link to my fabulously talented brother-in-law's flickr site where he's documented our Christmas with the Bresslers. Click here and enjoy! (This year's Christmas is on page two. Thanks, Jeff!) In the meantime, there are some painfully tiny shots below.

We had a very lovely day with Grandma Jannie, Grandpa Harte, Aunt Many, Uncle Jeff, good friend Maureen and, of course, Lucy and Porthos (our girls' favorite pupsters). Thanks to the whole Bressler family for making the day so beautiful.

Christmas Morning

You know you've hit the mark with your kids when they both dive into their modest but lovingly made or picked gifts quickly and quietly. (Books are always a smash with our girls - yeee haaa! - and my first venture into sewing - little skirts for both of them - were immediately donned with much twirling.) Our morning was quiet and lovely - perfection.

And here both girls are laying dibs on where our first big adventure will be on family gift. (Stella has been adamant for months that we're going to Africa. She still insists that we take a boat, so we'll have to negotiate that part of the deal at some point, but we're in. Check back with us in about ten or fifteen years and we'll be there.... I can't wait to see where Phoebe wants to go.)

And Santa? Santa is pretty low key around here. He enjoyed the cookies while the reindeer left their carrot nibs in the yard, and they left the girls some sweet little gifts. And again, I love the balance of three year old girls: Stella requested ballet slippers and a parasaurolophus. Stella did the talking for Phoebe this year. Appropriately, she thought Phoebe might enjoy a shaker instrument ("because she likes music so much") and a pachycephalosaurus ("because she likes to slam her head against the back of her high chair after eating, silly Phoebe"). Well, Santa delivered on such thoughtfully requested gifts, and the girls were equally thrilled.

O Tannenbaum

Earlier this month, we helped the Bressler clan pick out Christmas trees at a lovely tree farm up near Deming. The girls braved the chill as they inspected which tree was shorter or taller than Stella and and watched Grandpa Harte and Aunt Mandy cut down a beautiful tree for Grandma and Grandpa's house.

Oh, how they grow.

The Deep End

Introducing Princess Pruney Toes on the left and Water Pixie on the right.

A Solstice Ride

We returned from Berkeley on Winter Solstice. Since the dark is no deterrent for our very determined little biker, we celebrated the mark of a new season and the coming of light with a bike ride and flashlights. And yes, we were indeed the only people out in our neighborhood, tooling around with one happy kid on training wheels and...

... and one thrilled babe "walking" next to her big sister.

To Ava & Hazel's House

We pre-funked our holiday celebrations this year with a long overdue trip to Berkeley to visit our dear friends, Alex and Erik and their fabulous girls, Ava and Hazel. And this picture above captures the bulk of my visual memories of the trip. While Stella and Ava have met and played in the past, this trip marked their first big kid visit, and they were fast friends the minute we walked in the door.

The big kids and their papas braved the unusual Berkeley rains for some outdoor fun.

Phoebe and Hazel swapped accessories and smiles. (What smiley, happy loves, huh?)

Baking and love...

...taken to a whole new level.

And us Burnslers were in geeked out heaven when Alex, Erik and the girls took us to the Berkeley campus to see the full scale dinosaur bones. I swear the three of us - Phoebe is still a bit oblivious to the coolness of the dino world - were running around with huge grins on our faces. (This Mama fully admits to feeling almost high from seeing a parasaurolophus skull in person. I'm really not kidding.)

And this is what I love about three year old girls. They demand to wear tutus and leotards and dance until they're sweaty, but they're also totally enthralled by a Tyrannosaurus skeleton. Balance, indeed.

So thank you, Alex, Erik, Ava and Hazel. You made all of us feel right at home by sharing your home and a whole lotta love. We miss you already and can't wait for our next adventure. We love you!