Let it Snow

This is one reason I love living in Reno...

Notice the turkey fryer is still there. At least it blends in with the snow.

Gangsta

This is Doug's attempt at making his son gangsta. Nice try.

Mele Kalikimaka!

Olivia loves to dance. She will dance to just about anything with a beat - commercials, the doorbell, and even Daddy's snoring. (Well, maybe not that. She shudders in fear when that happens.) Doug thinks she got her dancing skills from him. He is only partially right. Back in the day I used to be quite an accomplished ballerina. I even danced with Ballet West in the Nutcracker. But then again, so did Doug. (Surprised? So was I.) But I will be the first to admit that Doug has skills. He is a great dancer, and not just ballet. He pops, locks, rolls, grooves, and gets his thang on! I look like a wounded bird trying to dance. It is kind of sad. Fortunately, Olivia got the best of both worlds.

She danced in her first recital a week ago. She was fabulous. It was a Hawaiian Christmas, complete with little hula skirts and flowers in her hair. For months she has been practicing with her class. When the mothers were first invited to watch their rehearsal I was so proud of her. She was chosen to act like a "bridge." She and the teacher were the first ones on stage, and formed a bridge, like the one for 'London Bridge is Falling Down.' I tried to give Olivia a life lesson. Olivia was much more pragmatic...

Me: Olivia, when you listen to your teachers and do what you are asked, you get to participate in fun ways, like doing the bridge. That is why it is always good to listen to what you are told. That way, you get more opportunities to do fun and important things.

Olivia: Mom, actually my teacher chose me because I am the tallest in class.

Me: Tall and cheeky.

She performed wonderfully, and didn't exhibit any fear whatsoever. Here she is after the performance...

I have officially become that mother. You know, the one that cries when she sees her children succeed and shouts and claps frantically. Yep, that's me. I swore I would never do that. My mom always bragged about me. And at the time I would get so embarrassed. But now as a mother I can understand why. In some small way it reflects on me, and shows maybe I can do something right. Olivia proves that all the time spent driving to and from class and wrestling with Ethan and Ben during class is worth it. And even more important than that, it shows that she is becoming her own person. I'm just along for the ride.

First Snow

It snowed in Reno a couple days ago. It is the first legitimate snow we have gotten since we moved here over a year ago (i.e. more than 3 inches at one falling). It snowed for nearly 24 hours straight. We got over 12 inches at our house. It even covers the burned patch of grass from frying the Thanksgiving turkey!

Conversation With a Toddler

Olivia loves to call Grandma Oh-Dear, the name she gave my mom because my mom frequently says, "Oh dear." Olivia talks a mile a minute, leaving no time for response from my mom. She walks around the house talking about what she sees that minute, or something she randomly remembers. It is the most disjointed monologue I have ever heard. Sometimes she doesn't even know what she's talking about. Case in point:

Olivia: Hi Grandma. How are you? (She doesn't wait for a reply). I am so bored. All I have done all day is watch Ethan. Mom is busy watching Ben. So I have to play with Ethan. He likes to play with my favorite toy, you know, that one, with the blue on it. It is so boring. Mommy feeds Ben all the time. She doesn't read to me anymore. My favorite book is Pinkalicious. It has that one girl and the cupcakes. Just like the cupcakes we got from my friend Anna. Do you remember her? (Again, no response time left for my mom). Anyways, I have been so bored. All we do is stay home. It is so boring. (She pauses to catch her breath and her thoughts, then continues.) Grandma, what does 'boring' mean?

Grandma: Oh dear!

Tides of Change

It used to be that every morning I would hear Ethan on the monitor sweetly calling, "Mommy, Mommy." I would go to his room and fall in love with him all over again. Those big brown eyes and big smile. What's not to love? This morning I heard him sweetly calling, "YaYa, YaYa." (YaYa is what he calls Olivia most of the time. It depends on his mood. Sometimes he calls her Livvie. Sometimes it's Olivia. And sometimes it's mean, naughty sister.) But this morning it's YaYa. Yesterday I heard him rustling about. I thought he would rush downstairs, desperate to find me. I waited. He never came. So I went upstairs desperate to find him. There he was, lying on Olivia's floor, waiting for her to wake up. I've been replaced.

They have always been close. They celebrate together...

They get sick together (see Ethan's boogie nose and Olivia's glassy eyes)...

They four-wheel together...

They kung fu together (and each other)...

And they meditate together...

And now little Ben is working hard, getting strong so he can join the fun. At seven weeks old he is pretty good at holding his head up. He likes to sit up and see the world. He is a talker, just like Dad. Seven weeks, wearing six-month-old clothes. He's my favorite big little man...

Soon he will find a replacement too. But that's ok. I have a good stand-by...