7.9.21 - Kid snippets: Spiderman > Jesus

Julie sent me this conversation she overheard yesterday between my nephew and Clara.

Malcolm pretends to electrocute random objects with a creation he built.
Me: I guess you're Zeus. Or maybe Thor. Thor is my favorite.
Malcolm: Hulk favorite!
Clara: Jesus is my favorite because he loves me!
Malcolm: Yeah, Jesus cares about us.
Clara: actually... Jesus is not my favorite. Spiderman is.
Me: You can like both.
Clara: No, I don't like Jesus now, I like Spiderman.

10.31.20 - Joy status: delightful Halloween newsfeed

I love seeing all of your pictures of how you did Halloween for 2020. Love the adorable little kids costumes, the family themed costumes, the candy shoots and other clever ways to leave candy for people with minimal interaction, and just the creativity and cheerfulness in general. My newsfeed was a delight tonight. So thanks!

11.21.18 - Thanksgiving (for us)

Because Neil, Emily, and the Wolks had to leave Thursday, we celebrated Thanksgiving on Wednesday.

First of all, it was great for my family to stay at the Air Bnb. It's like a two minute drive from Dad's house, as opposed to a 40 minute drive between the ranch and Dad's house. We got to sleep in until the kids woke up naturally, and when they did wake up we didn't have to worry about waking anyone else up. I gave them a bowl of Cheerios which they happily ate together and we turned on the big screen TV for them to watch Super Simple Songs. They both seemed pretty impressed with that huge TV, which is on a table only a couple feet off the ground. For them it's probably like a mini movie screen. We got ready to go in our own time and then drove the very short drive back to Tejon.

When we arrived Dad was making pies. Zoey, Rocket, and Sola were cutting hearts, stars, and flowers out of extra pie dough to make pretty pie toppings. There was a lot of flour around, and I let the kids know that because Clara has celiac she can't touch the flour and if she does she has to wash her hands. They seemed to understand and take it seriously. I like when kids get to the age where they feel sort of honored at being given real responsibility.

I was also gratified to see how seriously Dad was taking it. A year ago when we arrived for Thanksgiving he went to hug Clara while he was covered in flour (he just didn't remember), but in contrast this year when the older kids were done with pie decorations he instructed Rocket to go to the master bathroom, change all his clothes, and wash off his hands and arms. He also had Rocket get Zoey a chance of clothes, all so that they wouldn't likely get flour on Clara. Dad still had several hours to go in the kitchen, and so he kept reminding people to please keep Clara out of the kitchen because of the flour. It is a relief to see the people around us take her Celiac seriously and make sure she's protected. Of course when she's a bit older it will be much easier because she will understand and keep an eye out for herself, but right now when she doesn't get it the extra eyes help.

Not long after we got there, Jack took the kids and Julie and I walked to Safeway to get contact solution for her and gluten free pizza for Clara. After we walked past her old house and then back to Tejon, visiting the whole way, mostly talking about marriage and kids. It's good to have a sibling that can relate on that level.

The next few hours were actually pretty relaxed. I visited with Dad and Jill and whoever was in the kitchen/dining area while helping Dad prep different dishes. Jane napped for a long time on Dad's bed. Clara played very happily either directly with the other kids or near them with the fake food, especially the ice cream scoops and cones, which she loved. Jack even found time to do a couple quizzes.

Clara and Malcolm dump clementines out of their truck.

Eventually everyone arrived from the ranch (Neil, Emily, Ellen, Everett, Henry) to help out. There was a bit of chaos as Dad tried to make sure there were enough ovens to keep everything warm, and Jack and Everett ran some dishes to our Air Bnb to use the oven there. I mostly watched the kids and stayed out of it. When Jane first got up from her nap she was a bit stoic but she warmed up eventually.

I was also kind of excited that this year we officially had a kids table. We pulled the coffee table from the front living room into the dining room and Zoey, Malcolm, and Clara sat at it. For a second Clara was upset because she wanted a chair, but we found a step stool for her and she was fine with it. She ate her gluten free pizza and didn't care in the slightest that everyone else was eating other stuff. I guess she's used to it. Even better, Jennifer brought individual gluten free pies, so after dinner Clara got her own apple pie. I thought that was really sweet, since she'd been pointing out the pies all day.

At the grown up table I got to eat in relative peace thanks to Julie taking Jane for a while and then Jane eating happily from Jack's lap. There were waaaaay more cheesy potatoes than we could possibly go through, but that's a good problem to have. There was also rare steak, which was awesome, and Jennifer's cranberry sauce was excellent! It's some kind of finely diced fruit salad type recipe including celery for crunch and nuts. Really the best cranberry dish I've had for Thanksgiving. Neil and Emily made a lot of vegan food and their vegan "cheesy" potatoes were pretty good. Their vegan spaghetti (zoodles = zucchini noodles) and sausage was delicious too. I wouldn't have even known it was vegan if Julie hadn't told me.

After dinner there were plenty of hands to help clean up and Dad was playing a lot of very cheerful dance songs he likes. Jane had really started to warm up and would kind of sway to some of the music. She also does this little move where she puts one arm behind her back and the other across her stomach and kind of bounces her knees a bit. It was a big hit, especially with Paul and his parents. Paul seems to really love little kids.

Also now that Dad was finally not covered in flour he was able to play with Clara. She had been calling for him ("Papi! Papi look!") all day to show him what she was doing but he had to watch from a distance because of the baking. But now he could play. He went down to the family room and danced with Clara, Malcolm, Zoey, and sometimes Rocket. Malcolm in particular was getting waaaay into the music and just going nuts. Apparently he especially likes 'No excuses' by Meghan Trainor, because when Julie put that song on he sort of froze for a second in a look of delight and astonishment, and then started dancing crazy fast. It was great. Clara had a similar reaction to the recent favorite: 'I've been everywhere man' by the Road Hammers. They sing the verses very quickly and she marches her feet up and down as fast as she can while yelling 'Faster!' It's awesome.

The day before Sola had asked me if we could play The Paper Game or Quiplash and I told her not that day but probably on our Thanksgiving day. She had mentioned it once or twice during today also, and Harrison also asked about it, so clearly they were excited. Neil kindly set up Quiplash on his laptop (hooked up to the big screen) and a lot of people got to play. It was a big hit. It's great to have a game that allows you to sit still on the couch and laugh, and in our big and chaotic family it's also great to have a game that can keep moving along even when various people get interrupted and have to leave and come back to it. It also worked out well that my siblings were playing but so were Harrison, Sola, and even Rocket (Emily lent him her phone) because there were sort of two groups of humor and it caused a lot of split votes, instead of one side dominating with only one person the odd man out. It was also a good way to wind down as the music is a lot more low key compared to the dance music Dad had been playing.

After a few rounds of that it was time for those of us with small children to go back to our Air Bnb's and put them to bed. I helped Jack get our kids to bed, and then I went back to Tejon and Dad and I drove up to the ranch to join Neil, Ellen, and Everett for DOOM! (Neil had been trying to get the DOOM network working with a lot of frustration, and he had previously mentioned he didn't know what the point was since we'd never get a chance to play anyway without me staying at the ranch. I told him I would absolutely make a trip to the ranch to play DOOM, which I think is extremely fun, so he felt more motivated and figured it all out). Dad watched us for a good hour, and we of course were laughing our heads off. At first there were some settings issues with this version of DOOM and none of the guns were reappearing, so we were having a lot of pistol fights which we still found hilarious. Neil fixed it eventually though. Also this version allowed us to change the colors of our players to anything, so I was black and Ellen was purple. This version also showed your rank (X out of 4) and the spread between first and last place, which was kind of cool. We played for a little over two hours. There were at least two points where I was laughing so hard I had to stop playing and just get it together. I love it.

I was pretty exhausted when I got back home so it was good to get into our already warm apartment and pass out. Overall an excellent Thanksgiving.

6.17.18 - My birthday & Father's Day

A few days before Father's Day I was working at Picasso's and decided to walk down Main Street and see if I could find any good gift ideas for Jack. I went to this really charming bookstore called Main Street Books and they had all kinds of unique, thoughtful, and funny greeting cards. I picked out a sweet one for Jack and then also found a pair of Hungry Caterpillar socks, which I figure is kind of Father's Day-themed since our kids love that book. I imagined him wearing the socks and pretending his feet were caterpillars. Who knows if that will ever happen but it was the best idea I had so I got them.

Anyway so this morning I gave him those gifts before he took the girls to church, and he seemed to like them.

While everyone was at church I relaxed and enjoyed the quiet and time to myself. I made a plate of nachos (with the mango peach salsa I have been really loving this trip) and watched 2-3 episodes of The Office uninterrupted. Frankly it was awesome. I also tried to remember Pachelbel's Canon on the piano but I couldn't quite get the whole thing. Still enjoyed playing it without little hands pounding the keys on either end.

I went ahead and got dressed and prepped a couple things to take to Mom's house later. Jack came home with the kids and the sermon had been Father's Day related and church had given all the dads bags of M&M's with a little card, so that was sweet.

We all caravaned to Mom's house for my informal birthday potluck. Jack dropped us off and ran to Costco to get rotisserie chicken (from us) and canned chicken for Everett's buffalo chicken dip. (Side note: I like how proud Everett is of that dip. It's freaking delicious and all of it always gets eaten at get together's, which he likes to point out.) Ellen made Sunshine fruit salad and she was so thoughtful as to make one version completely gluten free, which means a lot to me.

Thanks to Ellen and Everett the basement was already totally clean and prepped for company. Good thing, too, because Zoey forbid me from going down there while she worked on my birthday gift, haha. But once she was done we all moved all the food and drink to the downstairs table. The Bairds came over with bacon wrapped smokey mini sausages in a crock pot (which also all got eaten), Don & Merlene brought gluten free chips and cheese, and I think Julie brought a bunch of veggies and hummus. Later Linda got there with apple fritters.

Blurry pic Mom took of everyone visiting. I'm having grapefruit juice with white wine, mmm.

We all hung out and chatted, and we played a few games of Quiplash. One of the questions was what to name a cheese shop and I won with "It's all Gouda." Lol. Everyone loves puns. Zoey and Malcolm stayed upstairs for this part because the game is not always kid-friendly. Clara is too young to understand, though, and she stayed with us and happily danced to the background music and watched the animated characters as we entered our answers. At some point Katie Jackson came over and joined us, which was really great because I hadn't been sure if she'd be able to make it (Aaron is home with poision oak, but the kids were napping so she snuck away for a bit). She played Quiplash too and laughed a lot.

Zoey's sweet card.

We were able to play only a few games because the Bairds had to go tend to other things (alas), but then it was time to open presents. I actually wasn't really expecting presents because I'd told everyone not to worry about it, but I had several anyway. Zoey made me a handmade card all taped shut, and inside it was her gift: a drawing! Very very sweet, and she was so excited for me to open it. Ellen got me a stainless steel baking dish (I am slowly converting all bakeware to stainless steel for ease of cleaning and gluten free cooking), Don & Merlene got me a sweet card with some cash, Jack got me a book on teaching our kids to read, and Mom painted me a fresca based on the lyric book "It's a Wonderful World" that my girls enjoy. That was especially creative and touching and she even copied the exact style of the birds and butterflies in the book's illustrations.

We didn't have any cake, but Mom stuck 7 candles in an apple fritter (3 and 3 for 33 and "one to grow on") and then everyone sang "Happy Birthday" and I blew out the candles with Clara's help. I was pleased to see that Clara has evolved from being shy and intimidated by everyone singing "Happy Birthday" to enjoying it and wanting to aslo blow out the candles.

I think it was after that Linda had to get going and so did the Jacksons and the Wolks. Everett, Jack, and I hung out and chatted in the basement for awhile and then quickly cleaned up. Jack and I took the girls back to Don & Merlene's so we could hang out with Dave while he was there after work. At some point Merlene put a candle in half a gluten free fig bar (lol) so that the Jacksons could sing me their much more professional, harmonized version of "Happy Birthday." Clara loved that too, and again helped me blow out the candle.

3/4 of the Jackson singers that night.

Oh and of course I got a lot of well wishes via text and on Facebook. My favorite this year was from Nick Reynosa:

6.15.18 - More summer joys

6.14.18 - Dinner with the Bairds

Jack and I dropped the girls off at Julie's. Jane fell asleep on the drive there and went to sleep (with some fuss) in the pack'n'play. Zoey and Malcolm were appropriately quiet and stage whispered everything to Clara, who didn't whisper at all. They started playing together immediately, so Jack and I snuck off without Clara even noticing.

Keeping each other busy.

We met Eddie & Elisabeth in the parking lot and went in to Gingham's diner, which was brighter and more cheerful than I'd remembered. We sat at a booth near an elderly man who looked remarkably like Hammond from Jurassic Park, and Eddie texted me to say so and then told me he had just texted me with a big smile on his face. Once Eddie pointed out the similarity, Jack couldn't stop noticing it and joked about wanting an autograph from "the guy who looks like the Jurassic Park guy."

Anyway we ate and talked and laughed a lot, and at one point Eddie asked us what the odds were that we would ever move back to Saint Louis. He said he was unreasonably invested in us moving back, which flattered and surprised me because I didn't get the impression he cared about it specifically. We talked about the trickiness of trying to figure out where to move and the enticement of better nursing wages in Sacramento, but the specifics of the conversation aren't really my point. I was just touched that he wants us to come back so much. The Bairds are definitely on the "pro" list of pros and cons for St. Louis.

Julie sent me this pic of Malcolm & Jane. Apparently Malcolm told Jane "Baby Jane, I wuv you."

The entire time we had dinner there was what seemed like pre-storm weather outside. It was very windy and dark and we kept seeing not flashes but bolts of lightning across the sky. Personally I love that kind of weather. But it never ended up really raining, just sprinkling here and there. When we left the diner we talked a while more in the parking lot but we were laughing the whole time because it was so windy it was almost blowing us backwards. We took a selfie and you can see how much we're all laughing:

Jack and I went back to Julie's to get the girls, who were apparently having a great time. We hung out for a bit and Zoey, Malcolm, and Clara all ran around in big circles chasing each other in the front yard while the weather was so cool and breezy. Jane hung out too, mostly crawling over the front porch chalk drawings and making a mess. At one point Clara stepped in a mud puddle and wasn't willing to keep playing until she got "wash cloth," that is, got her foot cleaned off. But then she was fine.

And then, after we got back to the Jacksons, Mom and Ellen came over and went for a walk with Jack and the girls and I around the block, playing more "I Spy" and enjoying hearing Jane mimic "Gaga!" and "woooow." It was still nice and cool out thanks to the not-quite-storm and Jack and Mom enjoyed beers as we went. Overall a very pleasant evening.

6.11.18 - Pool day & Polite Society

I woke up around 7 a.m. and went to Mom's. We used the Starbucks app to mobile order some iced grande mochas, then I walked in and grabbed them on our drive over to City Hall, and we walked all around the City Center and park talking. It was early enough that it wasn't too warm and we had a really nice time. I haven't been up there in years so it was nice to see again.

On the way back we stopped by Walmart Neighborhood Market and Mom picked up some groceries for herself and some gluten free food to keep around for Clara, which was very sweet. When we got back to her house I took off in a hurry so I could get back to the Jacksons and help get the girls ready for all of us to go to Mark & Linda's pool!

First of all the girls' suits were absolutely adorable and I really enjoyed that. And while I'm feeling a little worn out from all the supplies we have to pack (food, diapers, back up clothes, etc) every time we bring the girls anywhere, this outing was totally worth it. I also haven't been to Linda's in years, and I love spending time with her, and I haven't seen Mark in forever, so all of that I was looking forward to.

Clara's ballerina-like swimsuit

We got there and she waved us to park in her driveway. We went inside and there were not one but three cats (Santino, Mikey Fredo, and Purrrrl), and Clara was psyched  about that. She kept pointing them out and petting them, and Jane started crawling around chasing them, and for the most part the cats took it in stride.

Before we had even got outside the Wolks (minus Denny) and Ellen arrived, so we got everyone sunscreened up and ready to go. Incidentally the sunscreen Merlene bought us is excellent--it's not only gluten free but it's spray on yet still lotion (not aerolized spray) and seems pretty effective. Anyway as we were prepping all the kids Clara noticed the pool outside (which I also have never seen finished and which is gorgeous) and she kept saying "Swim?? Let's GO!" So excited haha.

Yet when we finally got outside she was of course a bit hesitant about getting in, which is fine with me as I want her to be cautious, although I'd also like her to see how fun swimming is. Zoey and Malcolm got in right away, and Jack waded in with Jane (who was perfectly content to be in the water), but Clara mostly stayed at the top step on the shallow end. I tried to entice her with various pool toys or by sitting next to her to get her to go in at least one or two steps more. At one point she stood near the edge of the pool and I got her to jump to me, but when I dipped her in to her waits (where her life jacket reached the water) she got scared and yelled "NOOOOO!" so I put her back on the top step. After that she didn't even want to go on the steps and spent a long time (over an hour at least) walking around the pool perimeter watching everyone, sometimes throwing balls back and forth, sometimes cheering for Linda and Ellen (and Jack) playing pool volleyball, but certainly never actually getting in the water.

Clara is cautious with the pool and perfers to walk around it.

Zoey is happy to get right in.

I was a little disappointed because I think if she tried it she would love it, but I tried to remind myself that she was having a great time anyway and there's no hurry. Zoey and Malcolm were loving it and Mark and Linda are great hosts and seemed happy to share and to tell us about how they put it together (along with other cool aspects of their lovely backyard, such as Mark's very organized garden which Julie really liked).

We had corn on the cob and strawberries and even some delicious vegan bread Ellen brought back from her friend's bridal shower weekend. Mark grilled hot dogs and had his homemade relish and dilled carrots (which Jane liked) and other treats. It was all so pleasant. Of course we had gluten free food for Clara (the muffins she loves, string cheese, oranges, PBJ) and she seemed happy with that.

At one point Clara was sitting on the edge of the pool with her feet on the top step, and I was spinning a yellow beach ball in the pool, which she found very exciting. Most of the rest of our crew were sitting at the patio table eating lunch, and on the radio Elton John's "Tiny Dancer" came on. I've always liked that song largely because of its inclusion in the soundtrack to "Almost Famous," which I enjoyed in high school. Something about being in Missouri in the summer, at a pool, listening to a nostalgic-sounding song that reminds me of high school--man, all of it was nostalgic in a very happy way, and I started singing along while swirling the beach ball and Clara seemed to enjoy it. It was really lovely.

Jane tries to inhale a corn on the cob.

Eventually Jane was rubbing her eyes so I went upstairs and nursed her in the guest bedroom and she completely passed out. Jack joined her and I went back down to the pool. Julie, Ellen, and I were goofing around while Linda took some pictures, and it was then--when no one was paying attention to her that she could tell--that Clara tentatively got back in the water. She layed down in the water on the first step and let her legs dangle over the other steps.

Getting braver.

I brought one of the pool boats over to her and she seemed interested but just before she was about to try to step into it Malcolm jumped in, so I launched him off and grabbed the other boat for Clara. I don't think it hurt that she saw Malcolm do it, and she was ready to get in. "Clara boat??" I picked her up and put her in and she loved it! I pulled her boat all around the pool for at least 45 minutes. She had her sunhat and eventually also Linda's sunglasses, and she was very happy to just keep floating. If I ever dragged her nearer the stairs again she would protest with "Oh! Oh! Clara boat!" meaning she wanted to keep floating. I was thrilled, actually, that she was in the water so much. I eventually dipped my hair in too, which incidentally is definitely in my joy inventory. Such a wonderful feeling.

She wanted to check out the fountains.

Eventually Jack came back down with a refreshed Jane and I had her on my hip in the pool. I took Clara out of the boat and held her on the other hip, and she was scared for a second but then seemed to really enjoy it.

By now we had been at Linda & Mark's for nearly 5 hours, so we decided to pack it in. Clara passed out on the way home but did wake up when we got back, which was fine because I figured it meant she wouldn't stay up too late with Don & Merlene watching her.

Jack and I took turns taking showers and watching the kids. Dave dropped by after work and visited briefly and saw the girls. Then Jack and I left the girls with Don & Merlene and we drove to Saint Louis to have dinner with Mike (his treat). On the drive there we were on the highway and I saw a woman next to us with her windows down singing along to whatever she was listening to. I couldn't hear her at all but it was a pleasant sight. At Jack's insistence (sweet of him) I slept on the way there, and I woke up when we parked in a beautiful area with tall old style houses that reminded me of San Francisco. They were across the street from a large beautiful park with wrought iron fences.

We walked down a super clean sidewalk and found the restaurant, and Mike was in the lobby waiting for us. He introduced us to the owner, Bryan, and we were sat immediately. Turns out Mike knows the owner from years before the restaurant even opened, and he spent weeks helping set up various IT and electrical framework, he continues to help maintain the restaurant, and in exchange he eats there for free probably about once a week. So that was amazing and made me feel more comfortable with him treating us to such a nice meal.

The food was good but the drinks in particular were great, and they all had funny pop culture names like Thai Fighter and I Am Groot. The restaurant has a steampunk theme which I really liked, including gears and pipes holding up lamps and bookshelves, etc. The whole thing is in a brick building which doesn't hurt. We had some fried portobello mushrooms for appetizers and dark chocolate pretzel bread pudding for dessert--those were probably my favorite parts. And we talked and laughed and had easy conversation the whole time. It was very enjoyable.

Then on the way home Jack was talking to me about things he'd been thinking about inspired largely by the sermon he heard at his parents' church on Sunday. And he told me that (paraphrasing) he finds me so attractive not just physically but as his wife and specifically because I've "kicked ass" keeping our family afloat the last couple years while he finished nursing school. It meant a lot to me to hear him say all of that. In fact I think it's one of the more profound and kind things he's said to me, so that was a nice way to top off the night.

6.6.18 - Mom's actual birthday

I worked in the afternoon but left early to pick up supplies for gluten free chocolate cupcakes. God bless Schnuck's and their entire Gluten Free section making my life so much easier. I went by the Jacksons to get Jack and the girls and stuff for nachos. Clara knows when we put on her shoes that we're going somewhere. She said "Go see Zoey and Malcolm?" I didn't know if the Wolks were coming over because Z & M had been feeling sick the day before, so I told Clara "We're going to see Jama, Ellen, Everett, Abigail, and Myrna!" but she just responded "Go see Zoey and Malcolm?" So I texted Julie to ask and yes, they were going to come over! Yay.

So we headed back to Mom's. She was off work early (5pm) and she happily played with the girls in the living room while Ellen helped me make nachos (one gluten free pan, one regular) and then I also made gluten free chocolate cupcakes (thanks largely to Merlene keeping gluten free dishes for us to use).

We enjoyed the food and Mom sat at the front door showing Clara and Jane the birds outside. Mom has a great setup of bird feeder and bird bath and some kind of distraction (corn on the cob?) for squirrels. Her front yard is lively, and the kids liked it. Although once Clara remembered the basement was there she kept wanting to go down there. I went with her once and she remembered Mom's touch lamp and a few other things from Christmas, and I can't remember if all that is in videos she's seen since or if she's getting old enough to have a longer memory, but I suspect the latter and it's pretty cool. Hopefully it means she'll remember more at Christmas. And in general I like the idea of her getting old enough to remember grandparents' houses between visits and start really anticiapting and enjoying visiting.

Clara was way in the back of the basement following one of the cats around when Julie and her kids arrived. I told Clara Zoey and Malcolm were here and I could see her little head bobbing quickly up and down as she ran past the back white wall to hurry and go see her cousins. I love it.

All the kids played in the living room for a while and then we moved the party outside. It was late enough it wasn't too warm anymore. Julie, Ellen, and I mostly sat around the porch table sipping drinks while Mom got out some soccor balls and things and played with the kids in the yard. I showed Zoey how to use my video camera and she practiced a couple times. Mom got Jane used to walking in the grass--a feat in itself--and Clara and Malcolm practiced throwing the balls as far as they possibly could. At one point Clara threw a ball over the fence, so Zoey ran round to the neighbor's yard to throw it back.

Eventually I went back inside to get the cupcakes, and Zoey helped me with the candles. I was going to just do one candle in a cupcake but Zoey said we needed six because Jama is 60. So then I was going to do one candle each in six cupcakes but Zoey objected. We put six candles in one cupcake, and Zoey made a point of making the swirly candle the tallest because "it's the fanciest." Once Everett and Jack came out we all sang "Happy Birthday," (which Clara seems to be getting used to and not intimidated by) and then enjoyed cupcakes. Mom got some great pics of the four grandkids with chocolate all over their faces.

We cleand up, I left Jane with Jack and Everett, and the rest of us went on a walk up to All Saints. On the way there we played "I spy with my little eye," which Clara has gotten the hang of thanks to practicing with Mom the night before. All the little kids were holding our hands and excitedly pointing out different colors. I was especially touched that Clara loved it and started to understand it. When she said "I spy little eye something that's white" I was excited/impressed.

Up at All Saints the rides for the Parish Picnic this coming weekend are already set up but of course no on was there late on a Wednesday. Clara was really taken with the giant bears and monkeys for one of the spinny rides, and she and Zoey and Malcolm wandered around checking out everything. It was great. She was upset to leave until we started playing "I spy" again, and on the way back we heard bats and saw a lot of fireflies. Zoey even caught one. Such an idyllic midwestern summer night.

12.25.17 - Christmas Day

With help from Don and Merlene, we managed to get the girls (beautifully) dressed for Christmas and make it to Mom's by 9am. That's a Christmas miracle all by itself. The Wolks also got there about that time, so we had a solid 1 - 1.5 hours with everyone there at once. (The Wolks had to head to the other side of the family's shortly after so Denny could get to work that afternoon.)

Love dressing up my kids for holidays.

We opened gifts - Zoey very helpfully handed everyone's out. Clara still doesn't really get excited about opening presents, but once one is open she's interested in exploring the new item. Jane of course has no idea what is going on but she was happy to sit in Jama's lap and observe. Zoey and Malcolm are more the age for this, and they both were excited to open their own gifts and help everyone else with theirs. I have to say I was pretty excited about some of my gifts this year, especially some extremely comfy Ravenclaw PJ pants from Jack and a really cute Hogwarts hoodie from Mom, complete with fancy hood.

Behold.

Mom got the grandkids a figure-8 type train set that was very popular. Malcolm and Zoey were really excited about it, and after the Wolks had to leave Clara played with it for a very long time. The other siblings and Jack played Betrayal with a new expansion Mom had gotten Neil for Christmas, and I hung out with Mom and Jane in the kitchen, enjoying the french toast bake Mom had made and gathering screencaps of the Christmas Eve festivities from yesterday and laughing to myself. It was really quite fun. Jane kept herself busy with various kitchen items Mom brought to her in her high chair. It's so nice having grandparents' houses with all the baby stuff already around to use.

Goofing around after opening gifts.

(Unfortunately I am actually writing the rest of this in early February, as I never made it back to this post.)

After visiting at Mom's we went back to the Jackson's for dinner and their Christmas family traditions. Merlene made an extensive and completely gluten free meal, even including GF bread and GF french onion rings for green bean casserole (among much else). She hadn't realized the oven had gone off while the turkey was in it, and so dinner got pushed back a bit and she lamented that a lot, but she didn't need to. She had shrimp and cocktail sauce for appetizers and frankly none of (I think) were really starving to get going anyway. Christmas always involves eating all day long.

While we waited for the turkey to catch up, the family played Buckets of Doom, which involves making up elaborate scenarios for how you are going to use random items to get out of dooming situations. It involves a lot of creativity, which the family has in spades, and they were laughing until tears in some cases.

Eventually we ate, sitting down around the bigger table in the dining room. I think it's the first time I've eaten in there since we had a fancy meal before a high school dance. Strange life.

After dinner (which was great), we tried to do Santa photos with Jack dressed as Santa. We had him get dressed in front of the kids so they could see the transition, but ultimately it didn't do the trick. Even before he put on the fake beard, Clara was nervously standing behind the couch. Josiah and Jane were too young to be concenred, but Naomi kept declaring bravely "You're not scary!" while refusing to go anywhere near Jack. After many different strategies and attempts (and some tears from Clara), we let go of the Santa pic dream and came away with this series of photos, which I actually think is hilarious and probably better than any posed pictures:

We won't sit in his lap but we will happily sit *on* him on the floor.

Jane tips over.

Josiah doesn't appreciate being adjusted.

After giving up on Santa photos, we moved on to exchanging letters and going through all the goodies Merlene always stuffs our stockings with. This is the first gluten free Christmas, so she found GF treats to replace the Christmas tree-shaped cakes she got us in the past. I was really touched by all the effort and details she thought of to make the whole celebration inclusive and safe for Clara.

Don & Merlene also got the grandkids gifts, including some pretty sweet, cozy, warm PJs, a clock puzzle for Clara, and I can't remember what all else right now. We also had some surprise gifts mailed to us from Renata: a magnetic Santa doll set and an animal puzzle that makes the noises of the animals when you put the pieces together correctly. Clara was pretty interested in that.

The letters were sweet too. In particular I like how Don & Merlene write individual letters to each of the grandkids, even though they are not yet old enough to understand. I save all those letters to show them one day.

Oh there was also gluten free cheesecake in multiple flavors for dessert, so that was awesome.

Aaron and Katie had cleverly planned ahead and brought PJs and night time stuff for their kiddos, so they put Naomi and Josiah down in Don & Merlene's room, and the rest of us (minus Dave, who was exhausted) stayed up and played some Quiplash with relatively few interruptions. Clara peacefully stood in front of the screen dancing along to the background music.

Overall it was a really relaxing and enjoyable day.