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.
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.
Tonight Merlene made pasta with strips of steak (well done) in it. I guess Clara is not used to steak, because she casually asked if the brown chunks were poop. Mimi (Merlene) assured Clara she would never try to feed her poop.
Jane is at the age where if she stubs her toes and I kiss them she says they feel better. Only now she's just started asking me to kiss them over the slightest thing. Tonight she was sitting in my lap while eating her dinner and literally nothing happened, and suddenly she fussed and held her foot up to me and said "Mommy! Toeeesssss!" She just wants me to kiss her toes from time to time to be safe, I guess.
Yesterday we had a consultation with Clara's behavioral therapist supervisor. Don and Merlene had taken the girls out, and when they all returned, Clara saw the supervisor and said "Oh! Hi! This is Mimi and this is Gpa!" I don't know where she learned introductions but it was awesome.
Calvin is due tomorrow. The last few days I have been so physically uncomfortable and exhausted. I need a nap every day to get through it. Most positions are uncomfortable to stay in for long because of my huge belly. So I was looking forward to Don & Merlene coming out on Monday to help out.
We typically try to have them out close to the due date in the hopes of maximizing their help once the newborn is here, but having them a few days early is tremendously helpful too. Since they've been here they've done a bunch of grocery shopping, cooking, cleaning, getting the girls out of the house to the park, and other errands.
Last night Don went with Jack to our offsite storage to pull a bunch of totes with baby supplies and bring them all back to the apartment, and then this morning Merlene helped me go through alllll the baby clothes we have from newborn to 12 month and sort girl, boy, and neutral clothes to decide what to keep on hand. There are countless little moments when they help the girls with something (getting a tissue, finding a cup, changing a diaper, etc.) that mean I don't have to get up and down over and over all day, and while that might not seem like a lot to someone able-bodied, right now it sure seems like a lot to me.
If history tells me anything I won't have the time/energy to fully document their trip once Calvin gets here, but I wanted to at least write this quick note of appreciation for how much easier they are making everything for me right now.
8.8.19 - No sign of Calvin yet, headed to the Folsom Zoo to walk around.
Watching Clara sing "Jingle Bells" for Christmas karaoke at the pancake breakfast. Also seeing her interact so much with other kiddos.
Having dinner with the Bairds at Cappuccinos. Enjoying some great pancakes (recommended by Eddie) and generally good and funny conversation with them, as always.
Getting some work done at Picasso's, sitting at the table in the corner where Grandpa and I once sat together, listening to old time Big Band music and thinking of happy memories with him.
My 4-5 hour ongoing conversation with Aaron about religion and faith and science and atheism. It was such an amicable, genuine, respectful conversation, and it endeared me to him very much. And now we can joke about these things more easily because we've already discussed it.
Playing Code Names at the Jackson New Year's Party with Julie, Katie, and others. Oddly satisfying game. Also playing Gang Beatz and crying laughing as I held on to a wall and Denny tried to remove me.
Getting sushi with Jack, Don, Merlene, and Ricki. Ricki is very easy to talk to and full of interesting stories. Also the sushi was absolutely delicious.
Scanning thousands of old photos and starting to organize some of them, plus having some help from Julie, Mom, and Linda to date some of the pictures and just generally put a family tree together.
