Oh the weather outside is mild...

and our girls are getting wild.
and since we've got no !#%!%^ snow,
put on a show, put on a show, put on a shoooow!

In all honesty, I have no idea what they are doing in this picture... but someone is wearing my clothes acting goofy (and this time, it ain't me). Ok, so here we are at the end of January and I can see the grass in my backyard. By this time last year our mountain luge was in full swing. This global warming is bonkers. We have been trying to make the most of it up North and and we have managed to get the girls on skis and skates and I even procured the appropriate outdoor equipment. Mama Mer took Luce snowshoeing which was lots of fun but Carmen, still prefers to eat the stuff.

In other January news, per the girls request we had a birthday party for "Dr. Luther King" as Lucia calls him complete with costumes and cake. When asked what she learned about Dr. King Lucia responds, "Well, I know he had a dream..." When played them the speech on YouTube, Carmen covered her ears and declared it "too loud" while Luce thought that the black and white video "looked boring." Nevertheless, they started a nice tradition and perhaps in a few Januarys they'll be able to appreciate more than just the cake...

Christmas 2011 Part II and 2012 Part I....

Since opening a living room full of Christmas presents was not clearly not enough fun... what better way to close out our tremendous holiday season than to pack up our bags and head out West. Naturally, we did what we do best on our visits... hit the requisite carousel, ate ourselves silly, goofed around with friends and enjoyed the beautiful Seattle weather. Oh, and of course we got to open more presents. The girls loved spending time with the cousins on the slides and on the slopes and Vv was a most gracious host sharing both her space and parents... even though her dad is kind of a turkey. All in all, a most excellent visit with a most excellent family and if you asked Carmen her assessment of the trip she would tell you, "But Vv's brother didn't come out!"... which is true, as if this writing Auntie is still very much pregnant. Come on lil guy, we're waiiiittttting!

Christmas 2011 Part I....

The Mothers Goose have been so full of the Christmas spirit it seems like the 12 days of Christmas were more like 21. Speaking of the 12 Days of Christmas, my girls love singing along to Christmas carols (Little Drummer Boy and Santa Claus is Coming to Town are big hits) but the best is hearing Luce sing the third verse of 12 Days... "On the 3rd day of Christmas, my true love gave to me: 3 henchmen..." I cannot convince her otherwise. I blame Disney. Of course who better to sing Christmas carols with than our own house pianist Nonne. She and the extended clan came down for a holiday hoedown that set the bar for all future family holiday parties. It included festive folks both little, slightly not little and some donning very gay apparel. We ate and sang the night away and it set the perfect tone for the ensuing Christmas mayhem. 

The kids are at a great age for experiencing the wonder of Christmas morning and the looks on their faces when they came down the stairs was just priceless. One of the top gifts on Luce's wish list was a "sleigh and reindeer" and I must say, Santa really came through. I'm fairly certain we didn't get dressed all day, and only paused our playing to eat the 20 pound turkey Mimi prepared for the 5 of us. All that, and this post is only Part I...

Happy Everything...

Thanks to a great photographer, we got another winning shot for our holiday card which is a darn good thing otherwise we'd have to choose from pictures like this or this or this. I just don't know where the girls got their goofy gene... I'm innocent. So we've had an eventful few weeks full of thanks, sweet treats and holiday cheer. Of course nothing gets us more in the Christmas spirit than our annual trip to the Pops with our Troutfriends. We have a very busy schedule ahead of us, but I'll be sure to document all of the frivolity on film, especially since I'm operating a few paces behind everyone due the fractured fibula and all (what, I didn't mention that?). That's ok, I get to take nice shots from back here.

Don't Worry Mama, You're Going to Love Five!

Those were the exact words of comfort she told Mama Mer when Mer said, "I'm feeling a little sad that you're turning 5." One day we're fighting with her swaddle and the next we're organizing a snake party. Yes, you read that correctly. My princess and Dorothy loving daughter requested a snake party... a python party to be exact. Alas, we could only come up with a 5 foot long rat snake which suited the kids just fine. Lucia loved being "queen cobra" for the day and even shared candle blowing duties with her little sister. Thanks again to Auntie Cathy for providing the trick candles... who doesn't want to eat a cake covered in kid spit??

To the Victor(s) Go the Spoils...

...and the lollipops, and Snickers and Twizzlers, etc. etc. The girls thoroughly enjoyed their first trick or treating tromp through the 'hood, but they especially enjoyed the aftermath. Tigger made it about a block before I had to carry her home and Ida (have I explained that one yet? No? Her costume was based on the main character of this book) would have danced all night if we had let her. Speaking of tromping, on our latest adventure Luce took her camera along and produced some interesting results... I think we may have a future Annie Leibovitz on our hands.

A Luce Tooth...

On October 16th, we went to bed with a wiggly tooth and didn't think much of it. These things usually take a few days right? We should have known better...the very next day we received this picture from our awesome sitter, which sent the Tooth Fairy scrambling. Luce was very excited of course and Mamas were in no way emotionally prepared for this momentous occasion. Where's that pause button when you need it?
In addition to painted ponies going up and down, this month was also filled with fantastic fits of fall fun with friends, phew. From corn mazes to Blue Hills we tackled the great outdoors with gusto... and what's more fun than climbing a mountain? Running down the back of it of course. Finally, it's hard to believe that in two short weeks we went from swimming in the ocean, to snowpants. While I froze my tootsies off on the field, the girls enjoyed all the typical pre-Halloween activities. Let's hope it melts in time for our trick or treating adventure... these costumes won't quite look the same under winter coats.