Niagara

The realization that the new year is upon us didn't really hit me until I was downloading pictures and after placing them in my over-crowded 2012 folder I realized that I needed to create a new folder. 2013 baby!

Joe and I planned to go to bed around 10:30 on New Year's Eve and really start the New Year off right with a decent night's sleep (boring, I know!) but Jack had other ideas. He made sure that we all stayed awake so that I could at least get a New Year's kiss from one cute husband. My, how my children have changed me. There was a time, not long ago, when I would have mercilessly ridiculed anyone who didn't think it was worth staying up to welcome the New Year. Secretly I was happy that Jack sabotaged our non-plans. I didn't really want to go to sleep before the new year began.

We decided to make up for our less than stellar New Year's Eve and start the year right with a family vacay to Niagara Falls followed by a little visit to the National Museum of Play.

Sometime ago I saw a picture of Niagara Falls shrouded in snow and ice and I have wanted to see if for myself ever since. IT WAS AMAZINGly cold. Seriously, the coldest place I have ever been in my life. The whole time I was gazing at the falls for the 30 seconds that I could stand it I was wondering where my flock of emperor penguins was (do penguins flock?).

The night of our arrival, I walked out to see if we should take the kids out to see the falls illuminated (definitely no!). EVERYTHING was covered with ice. The sidewalks, the railings, the trees, even the snow on the ground, had a serious layer of ice. The mist from the falls was like freezing rain and the roar of the falls was so deafening that without a person to be seen in any direction, I felt like I was on another planet. Maybe Superman's planet.

The next day we did bring the kids out and they hated it! The mist from the falls was turning into snow. The wind was biting. BITING! My hands were stinging in literally seconds. Jack screamed and Maggie cried. We didn't last long. But, it was B-E-A-UTIFUL! I have never seen anything like it, that is for sure. We are definitely going to make a trip back when it is a bit warmer and we can appreciate the falls in a different way.

Jack is in there somewhere. He is facing me in his carrier. I didn't actually hang a jacket over his face, although he probably would have preferred it.

Did you notice the stairs on the lower left corner? Not very open to tourists this time of year.

Also, I love staying at hotels! Such a rare treat. I don't think there is anything quite as restful (at least when two kids are involved) as staying at a hotel. Jack sort of enjoyed his first ever dip in a swimming pool. I loved it.

 

Snow Day

I wish I could say that I was loving the snow. I haven't really played in the snow in years.

There was a day when I did love the snow. Today is not that day. Beautiful? Yes. But not nearly as much fun when you are stuck in a little apartment all day with two little kids. Maggie was really excited durning the first few snowfalls, the ones that didn't leave but a skiff on the ground. She wanted to eat the snow so badly that she would pick the tiniest of crystals (mostly mud with a little snow stuck on) and eat it. She is not quite as tough when the snow starts getting in her face or up her sleeves.

As for me, Santa Monica spoiled me BIG TIME. I always thought that I would miss the changing seasons, but it turns out that I am perfectly okay with 60-80 degree sunny weather all year long. We are trying to make the most of the snow around here, but I am worried because I am already ready to play in the sun and yet the winter JUST STARTED. How do you moms get through these long, dark, cold days? I am not sure who is more stir crazy . . . me or Maggie.

Anyway, if it is going to be cold, there might as well be snow, and we will keep trying to play in it.

Oh, it is kinda adorable though. When Maggie makes tracks through the snow, she says she is "making paw prints." Kinda appropriate my little animal.

Maggie's paw prints

Christmas

Okay, I deleted my last post because it was dumb and bugging me and totally did not do justice to Christmas which is only one of the greatest days of the year, so here goes try #2.

This was my first Christmas without having any family around. I felt so overwhelmed by my great luck to have my own little family that I was blessed not to miss those who were far away too much. Today, though, I find myself wishing they all were a little closer!

Maggie was TERRIFIED of Santa all season. I didn't push the issue much. I figured it was a good opportunity to focus on the more meaningful parts of Christmas. Still, even on Christmas Eve, Maggie remained in denial that Santa was coming. She kept emphatically saying, "Santa is NOT coming." I explained that he would be really sneaky while she was sleeping and that she would not even have to see him. On Christmas morning she woke us up by walking into our bedroom carrying her stocking--half as big as she is-- and said with wide eyes, "Santa put presents in my stocking!" I think her feelings toward the jolly old man have been a little warmer ever since. 

Christmas Day was so fun. Maggie opened nearly every present given to any of the four of us. Because she thoroughly enjoyed each gift before moving on, the whole process took about 10 hours. We enjoyed ooey-gooey pull-aparts for breakfast as I have for every Christmas I can remember.  I love my little family. I feel so blessed to have such a loving, kind husband and two beautiful children. During a season which reminds me about how blessed I am, I hope that I will help my children learn that giving is greater than receiving.

Ho Ho Ho

The many faces

Joe has been out of town for 8 days and it is getting lonely around here. I would just go sleep in Maggie's bed, but I am afraid that Jack would wake her up in the middle of the night too. The last thing I want is all three of us awake at 4 a.m. I think two of us is plenty. So, here I sit uploading pictures to my blog instead of crawling into an empty bed. Man, I am lucky to have these two around to keep me company. I think I might go crazy if I had to actually be all by myself.

I feel like a mean mom for taking a picture instead of picking him up. But how cute is he? I just want to hug and squeeze and gobble him up. Those cheeks are seriously crying out for some kisses.

That's better

Stink Eye. This is the look I got from Maggie when I asked for a smile. 

One Hershey candy bar (still lingering in her Halloween pumpkin) later . . . 

Just call me sticker face and other stuff

Maggie LOVES Jack. Tonight she demonstrated her love by putting stickers all over his face. Later when I was putting Maggie to bed, Jack was snuggled next to her (a nightly tradition) when he demonstrated his love for her by grabbing a handful of hair yanking. As he started pulling he started laughing, and the longer it took me to get the hair from his hand and as Maggie's panic grew, he started laughing harder. You would have thought that he knew exactly what he was doing, and I had a vision of him as a 2 year old, then as a 5 year old, then as a 16 year old still yanking on Maggie's hair and laughing. And he looks so innocent.

It's okay though--I kinda laughed too.

It wasn't more than a couple days ago when I snapped these pictures (below) and all of a sudden Maggie was biting Jack's finger. In her defense (not that I am defending her but . . .), she is usually NOT a biter and she felt really bad when she realized what she had done. She has totally been teething (who knew 2.5 year old's did that?). She has been biting EVERYTHING, (including her own fingers). She has also been cranky and waking up at night. Drooling a little. Yep, snotty nose too. Slobbery fingers in her mouth ALL THE TIME. This teething phase can end anytime. The rest of it? Please slow down!

Little stinker. This was the last picture that I got.

Maggie is always telling me that she needs to do her "work" or that she is going to school. Wonder where she gets that from? I don't do any work :)

The toe grabbing phase is one of my favorites. I find those chubby little legs irresistible.

Ceiling fan. 

In case you were wondering, we still like each other. I needed to find a picture of Joe and I together from the last year and I couldn't find one. NOT ONE. This is seriously the best I could do, and I am blurry. He is kinda cute though, right? Anyway, our love doesn't need to be rekindled but our my taking photos of anything but the kids does need some work. So does my writing about anything else. I'll work on that next year :)

Here are a couple more things to remember (about the kids, of course).

Maggie has a few dyslexic phrases that she uses:

• "all for my blessings" when praying instead of "for all my blessings"
• she recently called a cowboy a "boy-cow" I thought she had actually figured out gender and was talking about a cow. Oh no, she was talking about the boy-cow.
• Finally, (this one I hear a lot). "I can do it all my byself!

Jack has a couple funny little quirks that I love.

• When he is excited, he smiles with his whole body. His face lights up, his mouth smiles, and his arms and legs spasm. This especially happens when I walk back into a room and say hi to him. Talk about a heart warmer! 
• He spits up a lot (don't love that) but it often comes in three's. Weird. This is how it goes. He spits up and you start wiping. Just then he spits up again, all over your hand and the cloth you were using to wipe. You scramble to stop the flow from his mouth when number 3 hits you. I wash lots of laundry. 
• Finally, he has lately been fighting sleep big time. When he is finally to the point that the battle is lost, he starts making this noise. It is kind of talking, whining, moaning, sighing all while sucking on his binky. It can go on for 10 minutes at a time before he really gives up and goes to sleep. Funny. But when I hear the noise, I know that I, and sleep, have won.

As a team they're unbeatable

Just watch.

Okay an explanation. This is a video application that Joe's team created for a marketing competition at Wake Forest. The grand prize (for winning the entire competition, not just getting accepted) is $75,000, so I guess I kinda hope they win. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YjijriEw1tU&t=120s