What's In The Dress Up Box?

Fuzzy

Things were a little fuzzy at 6:30 this morning...the kids were in their fuzzy pjs, and the parents were fuzzy with sleep, and everyone was fuzzy with head colds. But snot or not, Santa delivers! Vincent didn't know what was in store, and Zoe only had a vague idea about a sweet treat in a stocking. Of all things, that's what she remembered from last year. Indeed, everyone's stocking included a fruit twist.

Santa left the stockings in the living room, but also stopped by Daddy's office. Zoe and Vincent headed in there to get some paper for painting, but got distracted by...scooters! For them!

I can't tell you how much fun it was to watch them discover their scooters. Zoe didn't say anything, just laughed and laughed. Vincent was exclaiming something about a "dooduh." They both hopped aboard and expertly wheeled off with no instruction.

Zoe Captures The Scene

Sparkle Jars

Water, karo syrup, dish soap, glitter glue, clear glue, fine glitter, coarse glitter, sequin snowflakes...put it all in a jar and glue the lid on tight, then shake it up and see what happens. There are many, many recipes for this activity on the internet, and I don't know that we used the best one, but it works. Really, the finished sparkle jars are very pretty. I made one, too :). 

We're calling ours sparkle jars, but I see lots of references to them as calming jars. The shaken jar, with glitter all aswirl, represents a storm of emotions. As you watch the glitter slowly settle, so do your feelings settle and calm. 

Ironically, Vincent had a tantrum over the calming jar minutes after it was completed. He wanted me to keep shaking his. Again and again, no pause to watch the glitter - just keep shaking it. And yes, he can shake it himself. So, not so calming for some of us, but definitely sparkly.

Zoe had a haircut, the first since last summer. The ends of her hair were getting pretty frayed and tangle-prone, and it was just too long to deal with easily. About three inches came off. It's still long enough for fancy hair dos (above, courtesy of the stylist), but much more manageable.  

Medley

New (Old) Friend

 

This new arrival is a 30(ish) year old hand-made Strawberry Shortcake doll. Remember Strawberry Shortcake? I was way into her, at least for awhile. My little plastic doll had an enormous head, impossibly tiny clothes, and a scent of artificial strawberry. This bigger, more huggable doll smells faintly of caramel corn. She loves to go for rides on the Radio Flyer, enjoys good books, and doesn't mind if you pick her up by the hair. 

Two!

Mama: Vincent, how did you get so messy?

Vincent: Two!

Portrait of Zoe by Vincent (after clean up):

Icing

Thanksgiving day...

...we went for a walk after our meal. It was a warm and golden afternoon and we shed our coats as we walked. But this week...

...it's cold! It rained all day yesterday, and we woke today to a dusting of snow. Zoe had to go outside right away. With her first step out the door, she slipped. Ice! Mid-moring, we watched snow fall from the sky. For, like, all of two minutes. The icy little pellets melted on contact. This snow thing, along with the several nights of hard frost, is unusual for our typically moderate coastal climate. I hope my Meyer lemon tree survives (I'm covering it at night).

*****

Zoe saw some fancy frosted sugar cookies in a magazine, and wanted to try her hand with royal icing. We decided to make cookies to give to our neighbors for holiday gifts. The kids helped measure ingredients and roll dough and cut out cookies. Waiting for the cookies to bake and cool wasn't easy. Making icing was noisy (the Kitchenaid got a work out). Mixing colors into the icing was fun. Decorating was messy.

We did good work, but I was exhausted and out of patience by the time everything was cleaned up. Zoe is old enough, and has the personality for, this kind of project. Vincent liked it, but I will enjoy doing this kind of thing with him much more in a few years. But I'll probably try again before that, because soon I will only remember the best part of the project: how happy the children were to give the cookies they made to our neighbors. 

Happy Thanksgiving

I am so thankful for these little turkeys and their unique personalities. 

For this craft, Vincent enjoyed fluffing the feathers and sweeping them from the table to watch them drift to the floor. He LOVED stabbing the styrofoam ball with a toothpick, and never progressed to putting feathers in his turkey. 

Zoe sorted through the feathers, finding the longest ones in the most beautiful colors, then artfully arranged them all over the turkey. I had to remind her to leave a feather-free spot for the turkey to sit on. 

Can you spot the red heads of our turkeys? Vince soon picked the googly eyes off mine. 

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving, everyone!

Water Monkey

Clock Work

She is interested in telling time, but it still seems very mysterious to her.

Nutella

Mama: Can I wipe your face for you?
Vincent: No, me yick it.

Time Got Away

So I went up to Seattle, and Kyle went down to Seattle, and we had a great time hanging out with Megan and Jason in and around Seattle. All grown ups! Without the cares of small children! It was wonderful for me to get a break from the incessant needs of my little darlings. It was wonderful to spend time with my siblings (and Jason!). It was super fun to dine out and see the sights. Olympic Sculpture Park, Mukilteo historic lighthouse, Springbrook Creek restoration area, Ballard locks, and much more. We crammed a lot into one weekend, and took a zillion photos. My favorite parts were the sitting around chatting, which often happened over food. 

Here were are goofing over a fruit plate, which we ordered to balance out the beignets and eggs benedict: 

How lucky am I?? Very. I got to go on a fun trip, then come home to my loving family. David and the children met me at the airport with all kinds of cute (fleece pajamas, slippers, animal backpacks, oh my), and I found this at home:

My trip was quite a break in our routine, but we're already getting back into the groove. Or maybe one groove over, as these kids are still growing and changing every day (go figure). Vincent asked me to take his picture:

That big sea monster is wearing underpants. He is, of his own volition, suddenly a super star at using the little potty ("lil pobby" in Vincent-speak). At home during waking hours, he is in underwear or a pull up and staying dry and clean with little to no coaching from me. He is alert to his body signals and is racing to the bathroom on his own. It's awesome. It's also early days, and we do have a few hurdles to overcome. Coping with pants...using foreign potties...washing hands without taking the top off the liquid soap and emptying it down the drain...

Zoe, meanwhile, wants to do crossword puzzles and make lists and send mail. Even though I smooshed out some of the details, I hope you can get a feel for the flowing style in which she addressed this envelope:

A Hoot

For non-Facebookers, here are photos of Vincent's complete costume. He made a good little hoot owl.

Princess

Costume Components

Overheard

"Pill bugs are kinda hard to keep as pets."

Zoe corralled two of the little guys, and was coaching her brother on how to gently pet them with one finger. "They're fragile."

Thankfully, she seemed prepared for the possibility they might choose to leave the lovely accommodations she prepared for them. "We'll set it down and see if they're still here tomorrow."

Moonstone Beach

Jack'o'lantern

Pumpkin Patch Reprise, With Pat!

Cowboy