12.31.19 - joy statuses

12.29.19 - Kid snippets: big FAT girl

Me: Do you guys want to use your big girl cups [not sippy cups]?
Clara: No, I'm a big girl and Jane's a small girl.
Me: Jane's a medium girl and you're a big girl.
Clara: No. Mommy's a BIG fat girl, and I'm a big girl, and Jane's a small girl.
Me: Great.

12.28.19 - Kid snippets: goo goo ga ga

Jane and Clara are taking turns saying "goo goo ga ga" and "You're not a baby, you're a girl!" to each other and then laughing.

12.25.19 - Kid snippets: Juggling sister

Me: Clara, you're a really good sister, you know that?
Clara: I'm not a *good* sister, I'm a *juggling* sister!

12.25.19 - Highlights of the Missouri Christmas Trip

Sadly as life gets increasingly busy I have less and less time to update my blog and remember all the good memories, but I suppose having too many good memories to track is a good problem to have. In any case I didn't take any notes of this Christmas trip in real time, so I'm now retrospectively (and hopefully quickly) going to mark the best memories.

In contrast with years prior, this time our trip all preceded and ended with Christmas. I really enjoyed that because (1) it gave us more time to enjoy the Christmas season while on vacation in Missouri and (2) it meant the trip ended on a high note, rather than the ho-hum feeling of the week after Christmas and before New Year's.

Also in contrast with previous trips, none of the kids got sick at all during the entire trip. That alone made it much more enjoyable. As a corollary all three of them slept pretty well almost every night, meaning Jack and I also got decent sleep, which of course makes everything better.

As another bonus, the girls are now at an age (especially Clara) where they can really get excited about holidays. This was true for 2019 with the 4th of July (fireworks, popcorn), Halloween (pumpkin patch, Trunk or Treat) and now the Christmas season. Here's a short list of all the Christmas-themed events they got to participate in:

• 12/13 - Arrive in STL, help decorate Mimi's Christmas tree.
• 12/14 - Santa Pancake breakfast at Connection Church (including gluten free pancakes, Charlie Brown's Christmas on the big screen, story time and pictures with Santa, and Christmas karaoke)
• 12/15 - Snowed in at Mimi and Gpa's, got to try on winter gear, explore the snow, ride around in a toboggan in the front yard, watch Jack make a Blues fan snow man, and then come inside for hot chocolate!
• 12/18 - Polar Express! Cookies, cocoa, dancing, silver bells, and all while decked out in Blues pajamas.
• 12/19 - Sledding in the morning in Mimi's backyard. Christmas light shows that night. I didn't get to do this one because I was having sushi dinner with Neil and Everett, however the kids went with Jack, Mimi, and Gpa to see two shows: one at the Church on Mexico and another at a private house all decked out.
• 12/20 - St. Charles Christmas Traditions - collecting the cards of Christmas characters such as Sugar Plum Fairy and Jack Frost, all while enjoying essentially Christmas town, with the jingle bell horse-drawn carriages, carolers along the streets, tons of decor, and at one point watching a violinist play beautiful carolers and giving her a dollar.
• 12/22 - Christmas Cookie Party at Aunt Linda's and Christmas at the Jackson's. Dinner, Christmas story, gifts and stockings, letters to Santa.
• 12/24 - Christmas at Jama's. Homemade gluten free cinnamon roll toast, more gifts, and cousins to play with.

There were many wonderful moments and I wish I could detail them all, but possibly my favorite was during the snow day on Sunday, 12/15. In general I dislike snow, and this snow was falling heavy and meant we weren't going to the much anticipated Christmas Cookie Party at Aunt Linda's, so I was pretty annoyed when I heard about it. I'd also expected to have an hour to two to myself while Jack took the kids to church, and at first he was considering skipping it because of the winter storm warnings. However all worked out. The snow wasn't going to hit until a little later so he took them after all and I still got time for a shower and a nap (the luxuries!) Then Linda let us know she was going to have a Cookie Day Part Deux the next week, so we weren't missing out on that after all. But easily the best part was watching the kids, especially Clara, experience the snow.

Merlene had run out and gotten both girls snow boots, mittens, and hats. Clara was excited to put on her winter wear. Jane wanted to follow Clara's lead, but was also really irritated about all the stuff we kept adding to her outfit, resulting in perhaps the best picture I took all year:

The snow was still falling heavily when they got outside, and I captured some very sweet videos of the quiet interest they had. 

Calvin was sleeping peacefully in the cozy house, and I stayed with him, but Jack got busy building a (Blues fan) snowman and Don and Merlene got busy finding something suitable for a sled. At first Jane tried the makeshift bucket sled and fell face first into the snow pretty quickly. She was so upset, and I thought for sure she'd retreat to the house with me, but to my surprise she chose to stick it out (as long as someone was holding her). So Don carried Jane in one arm and pulled Mimi and Clara in another in the toboggan. I really enjoyed watching their wonder and joy...from the warmth of the house with Piano Guy Christmas music on in the background. Then there was a moment--blissfully captured on video--when Clara looked to me in the window and waved and said "hi Mom!" I don't know how to explain why but that just elated me. It felt like I was watching across time, from years in the future, a treasured memory of my sweet little girl enjoying a new experience. I've said before that sometimes parenting feels like heartbreak but out of happiness instead of sorrow, and this was one of those moments. I felt elated, and that may have best moment of an already pretty great trip. I would not have expected that from snow.

Absent more time to record all the other great moments, here are some favorite pics (of the MANY great pics I got thanks to Henry giving me his Pixel 3, which has a great camera):

At SMF waiting for our plane.

On the way to Santa Pancake breakfast.

Clara spontaneously ran up to hug Santa, and the photographer captured it. <3

Calvin meets Myrna.

Snowfall over a couple hours.

Hiding out behind the Christmas tree.

On our way to the Polar Express.

About to meet Christmas characters in Old Town St. Charles.

Mike treated us to dinner at Bellweather, and it was lovely.

Gpa and Mimi made gluten free tortellini.

12.24.19 - Kid snippets: Good job Mama!

Jane dragged Calvin in his baby rocker across the kitchen to me. She said "Mama right here!"
I knelt down and said to Calvin "Hi l'il Bub!"
Jane pointed to his forehead and said "Kiss!"
Me: "You want me to kiss his forehead?"
Jane: "Yeah!"
I give him a kiss.
Jane: "Good job Mama!"

12.22.19 - Kid snippets: Mom why are you saying shhh?

Tonight Clara wouldn't stop talking during the prayer before (early) Christmas dinner. I shhed her and she said, in a completely normal, non-whispering volume, "Mom, why are you saying 'shhhh'?" After that not only was Clara talking during prayer but her Aunt Katie and I were also giggling.

The kids table is rarely quiet.

12.17.19 - Mine and Jack's top 5 things about 2019

As our Christmas gift to each other, Jack and I went on a leisurely dinner date and told each other our top 5 favorite things about 2019. Hoping to make this a tradition.

Also Jack's voice is shot because Blues games, lol.

12.16.19 - Grandma Snyder's Christmas fruitcake recipe

As written by Mom...

12.12.19 - Kid snippets: seeing Turkey for Christmas

Every night during our countdown to Thanksgiving I'd ask the girls what we're going to eat for our Thanksgiving dinner. Since then we've been counting down until we go to Missouri for Christmas, and every night I ask them who we will see when we get there. Tonight I asked Jane "We're going to see Mimi and Gpa and Jama and who else?" and she replied "Turkey and mash tatoes and con on cob and chips!"

12.10.19 - Kid snippets: Clara pokes me with a knife

I was again wearing my long skirt tonight, so I sat on the living room floor and spread the skirt around me in as close to a circle shape as possible. I told the girls if they stepped on the skirt I would get them, and they giggled gleefully and "hid" around the wall in the hallway, even though I wasn't moving or chasing them at all. Clara would tell Jane to go get me, and Jane would tentatively walk toward me while Clara watched from a safe distance in delight. Slowly this process escalated to them running in a circle around me just at the outskirts of...well, of the skirt. Sometimes Jane would step on the skirt and I'd grab her and tickle her and then release her again. Clara never once made that mistake. Eventually they were both running around me laughing in delight, and I was doing nothing but sitting there watching them, amused. Easiest game ever. At one point Clara tried to jump on my back and "get" me.

Clara: I've got a knife to poke Mom!
Me: What? Are you stabbing me?
Clara: No! I'm just poking you with a knife!

Clara playing in my skirt.

12.9.19 - Kid snippets: twirling together

I was showing the girls videos of professional dancers dancing to Christmas music. They got really excited and asked to wear their Christmas dresses to dance along. I also changed into a flowy red ankle length skirt I have, and we all danced (twirled mostly) in the living room to Christmas music. Clara kept counting to three for us to all twirl at the same time, and each time I would spin Jane she would laugh and laugh. It was pretty awesome.

12.8.19 - Kid snippets: Mama eee pay me?

Jane's "Mama eee pay me?" means "Mama, will you play with me?"

(And "My meee mama" means "Follow meeee, Mama!")

12.6.19 - Kid snippets: Jane's phone convo

Jane borrowed my phone.

Jane: Mama I wah talking.
Me: You want to talk on the phone?
Jane: yeah
Me: okay
*Jane lifts my phone near her face.*
Jane: Hewwo? Hi. I good. Dis is Mama ah dis is Cahbih (Calvin). Cahbih ee happy. A-kay bye.

12.6.19 - Kid snippets: early morning cuddles

This morning both Calvin and Jane woke up pretty early. Jack had already gone into work so I brought the kids into my room to hang out. I sat up with Calvin in my lap and Jane lying next to me, and I read them a truncated version of Polar Express and a highly truncated version of Fair's Fair (a Christmas book from when I was a kid). Then Jane asked me to lay Calvin down on the bed, so I did and she and I lay on either side of him. She just kept giving him kisses on his cheek and head and he just hung out, waving his arms and legs around and cooing at us.

Jane also wanted to use my phone to try to take pictures--something she's been way into lately and is actually getting slightly better at (at least some of her pictures are of people and not just of her forehead or feet. At one point this convo happened:

Jane: Mama I wah talking.
Me: You want to talk on the phone?
Jane: yeah
Me: okay
*Jane lifts my phone near her face.*
Jane: Hewwo? Hi. I good. Dis is Mama ah dis is Cahbih (Calvin). Cahbih ee happy. A-kay bye.

I love how cute Jane looks in her footie single piece pajamas with her curly bedhead. I feel like the era of them as little kids is just flying by and I'm trying to soak in as much of it as possible while I can.