on turning four

Apparently Four is a big deal.

Three, two, one are fun, too, but four is ... big fun. Not just fun. Not just big. But big fun.



Saturday, the day before Lovie's actual birthday, we partied it up at a jumpy house like last year. (Taye took photos, I'm hoping, during the jumpy part. It pretty much looks like last year's party except not quite as many kids and they're bigger.)

The party was 2:30-4:30 and at 5:30 we had dinner reservations with a bunch of family. Not really in honor of Lovie's birthday, but just to gather in a calmer setting.

Then the morning of her actual birthday, Lovie woke to a (messy) room full of balloons for the fourth year in a row. It's a fun tradition I stole from the interwebs that I plan to do for as long as she lives in our home.

Besides her party, her gift from us was a pink electric guitar. Like a real one. Lovie was quite smitten and that made us quite happy. After a late breakfast and a late nap, we headed out to a kiddie place that has games that spits out tickets that you can collect to win prizes. Lovie, being the big 0-4, insisted she now can have gum, so she had her eyes set on winning a little gumball machine.

We finished off her birth day night with some ice cream at 9:30 at night... well past her bedtime, but hey, you only turn four once!

Yesterday, much like the day following Christmas, I stayed home with Lovie to relax and play with new toys. We didn't play much with anything other than the balloons though-- having balloon fights and ballet balloon (twirl balloon instead of smacking it toward your opponent). All per Lovie's request.

This morning, two days after her birthday, Lovie asked when she'd be five.

She loves being four so far and she does not want to get old like me and daddy, but I guess she wouldn't mind being five already. Me, on the other hand, I still need to catch up to this business of my baby doll being four years old already. 

Christmas recap

We cleaned. We cooked. We watched beautiful snowflakes fall Christmas Eve morning.

 

Grandpa and Cousin Joey visited in the afternoon. We ate. We opened presents. We laughed and played. We ate some more before saying good-bye to our guests. Lovie finally fell asleep around 10PM Christmas Eve and then we helped set the magical scene for Christmas morning.

 

 

Santa came and ate some cookies and drank some milk and left a big present (Barbie RV) for Lovie. Mom and dad did good with other gifts including the Nabi Jr.

The three of us spent Christmas morning together alone. Wrapping paper, boxes, plastic bands covered the floor. Piles of toys here and there. Daddy won $500 from a scratch-off lottery ticket tucked in his stocking. Mommy made easy and yummy sticky buns so that we all could just be together all morning. Just the three of us.

It really is the most magical time of the year.

to You

 

 

 

 

(words could not express how sad I am that the photographer who took these photos & created this card has closed shop)

Light

This little light of mine.

 

She's been taking ballet for nearly a full year now. Saturday was the first time we were able to sit in the studio to see all that our little ballerinas have learned. This isn't the first time I've seen her perform. No, that was last May-- on Mother's Day, actually. That's when she was in her first live dance recital after five months of lessons (different class and instructor). She was adorable, of course. She even lead the way most of the time.

This past Saturday was a bit different though. We didn't have to sit through hours of performances with only a few minutes from our little stars. This time, we got a front row seat to 45 minutes of nonstop ballet and creative movement (I didn't name the class) starring our kids only. It was freaking adorable and fun and cute and funny... and enlightening. Seems my little Lovie who shines so brightly like a star does so everywhere.

I'm gonna let it shine. 

Not just in my eyes, either. Apparently, she's the class clown, too. So everyone can see her. She makes sure of it.

I'm not really sure what, if anything, I'm suppose to do about this. She's a very attentive listener and follows instructions very well the first time given. She remembers everything. But, she, like most littles her age (no??), likes attention and she's not shy about getting it.

This little light of mine. I'm gonna let it shine...

She had the small studio laughing more than once with questions she asked the teacher or random comments she made in reference to a song or dance. Was I suppose to shush her? Should I have told her to just listen? Thing is, she does everything that's asked of her. It's not like she's not paying attention. And it's not like she's super rude about interrupting; she does say "Excuse me."

The couple of times she ran to me to give me a hug (*melt*), I did tell her how great a job she was doing and that she should keep her listening ears open, but yeah, she still made some random comments that had everyone laughing (while I glanced back at her Daddy who she's sooo much like).

Meh, I think I have my answer: I'm not dimming the shine. I won't do it. Not yet, at least.

Let it shine, let it shine, let it shine, let it shine.

Santa and the movie star

Santa visited Lovie's school yesterday for pictures.

I guess they didn't have much time with Santa-- just kind of sat each kid on his lap, snapped a photo, and on to the next. Lovie said she wasn't able to tell him what she wanted but the teacher assured her Santa would know. (We're taking her this weekend for another visit so she can be sure to have more time and tell the big guy what she wants [PINK BARBIE SHIT OF COURSE].)

This morning, on our way to school and work, she tells me, "I was kinda afraid to sit with Santa."

I asked why (she's never been too afraid before) and she said, "Because the man said I was like a movie star."

She mumbled this and looked mad. I tried not to giggle and asked what man she was talking about.

"The man."

"Do you mean Santa or the man that took the pictures?"

"No, Santa didn't say anything. He just said Good bye." Poor thing was really bothered by how quickly the "event" lasted apparently.

I figured she meant the photographer told her she looked like a Movie Star so I asked if she knew what a movie star was and again she started to sulk, so I told her he wasn't being or saying something mean or to hurt her, he just meant that she was pretty and could be in the movies.

She still sat there sulking, staring out the window of the back seat.

It kind of makes sense, though. To her, Movies = Monsters Inc and Despicable Me and Tangled and Brave. I'm guessing while she loves her pink princesses, she has no desire to be a cartoon??

These kids today. Man, they make my entire being smile.

 

 

(That's Lovie sandwiched between my great-niece (7) in the back and my great-nephew (4) leaning forward-- all on top of my nephew (21) who is Uncle to the kids except for Lovie who is his cousin.)

never enough time: welcome to December

Ah December.

We're three days in already. Pretty soon we'll be wishing everyone a Happy New Year. How does it happen like this? How does time go so fast?

I totally remember being a little kid and wishing the days away. Especially in December. I mean, man did that month take forever before you got to Christmas and got to open some presents! Now it's a whole different scenario. Now there's just never enough time in the day. Never. I hated when adults use to moan about this--that time goes by so fast. I hated it. But I get it now. I really get it.

Dammit.

So Thanksgiving this year was good. You?

We had ten adults and one little--Lovie. My in-laws, my mom, my sister all came over. I took Wednesday off from work to try to clean and prep a bit. Yeah, there's just never enough time in the day.

The food was good as was the company. It was the first Thanksgiving without Oma so there was that. But it was, overall, a really nice day.

And now the real fun begins: Christmas and Lovie's birthday and New Year's.

We got the tree up and most decorations on Friday, and Christopher Pop-in-kins came to visit on Saturday.

I love it. We all do.

Gifts have all been pretty much ordered, just need to wrap. And bake. And bake some more. And package baked goods. Ack, there's just never enough time in the day.

I'm a little stressed about Christmas Eve. It's always been ... ALWAYS ... about my mom's side of the family. Particularly Oma (and Ota). ALWAYS. Then the past two years, we've visited much earlier in the day on Christmas Eve or the weekend before, and have had my dad over Christmas Eve night. And last year my nephew and niece came, too.

Christmas Day then is spent alone at home in the morning and then we make our way to Taye's parents house.

But this year... this year, again, there's a big change. There's no Oma. I can't have my mom spend Christmas Eve alone. I could invite her over but then my dad won't come. So then he spends Christmas Eve alone?

I just don't know what to do to appease these people sometimes.

And.

There's just never enough time in the day to figure it all out.