More Presents..

More presents, but now they look fully AWESOME.

Wonder Daddy and I have been saving up for a larger, DSLR camera. He knew that even if we had every penny in the bank, I'd never pull the trigger...so he did it for me.

It's fully awesome. It would be even better if I knew how to process the photos, but compared to our trusty point and shoot (which is, obviously, still our main camera for outings) the quality is just too fun! (And I know I look like a liar when I say all this, because I load such low quality photos onto the blogs, but really! It's true!)

Oh look- the movie she doesn't like! heh.

Ernie opens her doll.

The two sister dolls together.

Presents!

This ride didn't go well.

Mimi loved her doll I made.

Christmas Morning

Continued....

We gave Ernie our digital alarm clock, so she could 1) see the time without turning the light on and 2) have an alarm to tell her when it was OK to come get us.

We hung a tension rod and a curtain at the front of the hall so she couldn't easily see into the living room (we've heard of families taping wrapping paper up, but with Ernie that really isn't necessary :) The alarm went off at 7:00 and at 7:01 she was in our room. At 7:02 Mimi woke up due to the excitement in the air/radio alarm going off in the room next to her, and at 7:03 Uncle K called to wish us a Merry Christmas and to let his darling bug of a daughter blow kisses at us over the phone (she's 12 months old.)

Captions, from top left and clockwise:
1) Why am I up?
2) Why am I up?
3) Is something good going to happen?
4) Did Santa come? (Daddy left to go check)
5) Waiting for Daddy to return
6) No, I'm not excited. Why do you ask?

SANTA CAME!!!

Wonder Family tradition dictates that the children gather in Mom and Dad's room, and Dad goes to check to see if Santa came. Then the entire family holds hands as they walk to the living room, then still holding hands make a circle and singing Jingle Bells while walking around in a circle. Got all that? (And for the record, my family was never that...organized. The boys got up at dark in the morning, rifled through all our stuff, and then were bouncing on our* beds by 6 "Guess what you got in your stocking!!!")

****I discovered in college that I speak in plural, and it really started to freak my classmates out. You know, the ones who didn't know I had a twin.***

Santa did good this year for both of the girls- Ernie received an art easel, and Mimi a push cart. Ernie's present will relieve the constant need for new paper to be brought out of the art cupboard, and Mimi's present will relieve the need to constantly put the wheels *back* on the doll stroller after they've popped off again (a common occurence when the big girl pushes the little girl around the house :)

Comments, clockwise from top left
1) Seeing her message from Santa on the art easel
2) Pushing her new cart
3) Pretty pleased
4) These are for me too??
5) It's a toothbrush.
6) Cookies. This is better.
7) An orange! How great!
8) A toothbrush! WOW!! It's the best present EVER!!

It was a wonderful morning. Ernie was so keyed up by the end of present opening that each present brought on a "awww...how great! Who's it from?" followed by a big hug and kiss. I think my favorite was the opening of a movie I'd had in her "prize" bag for a while, but she never picked. She opened it and said excitedly "How great! A movie I don't like!" Heh.

Oh, and yes- that IS breakfast cereal you see on the couch next to Mommy and Daddy's stockings. Santa brought everyone a box of their favorite, that clever man. Easiest Christmas breakfast ever, and everyone was happy! I think I'll ask him to make a tradition of it.

Christmas Eve

We had a great Christmas Eve. This was my first year hosting dinner, and our first real Christmas as a family. The last time we were home for the holidays, Ernie was 18 months old- the magic wasn't there yet. We've loved spending Christmas with WD's family, and missed them a lot this year, but there's also a certain magic to creating Christmas for your children.

Ernie and I made reindeer food a little while back- Christmas Eve was the night to bust it out!

Here's daddy putting a little on the roof.

Here's Ernie putting a LOT on the lawn.

Every year the kids get to open one present on Christmas Eve- it's always (starting last year, ahem) a Christmas book for us to read as a family.

The big kid was pretty excited- she wondered if she could wave to Santa when he arrived? (You have to know, she's big on waving. She waves goodbye to everyone who leaves our home- with 14 piano students and various other guests, it's a lot of waving!)

The Girls Eat Lunch

Meal time is some kind of weird personality test, I swear.

Ernie: Careful, focused, hard working.

Mimi: None of the above. Except hard working. She works hard to get that much food in there.

She also works hard at squishing the bejeebers out of clemetine slices.

Camera of Awesomeness

The Camera of Awesomeness has arrived. I now shoot a Canon T1i. mwahaha.

I'm so spoiled, and we're such geeks about this stuff!

Silent Night

(Star, and photo of star, courtesy of Ernie. Oh, and she decorated the tree, too.)

Ernie and Santa

She told me later she asked Santa for "reindeer toys." I'll have to ask Santa what that means next time I see him.

To Grandpa's and Back

It's been a busy week for the girls, and it's showing. Joy School, a trip to (Great) Grandpa's, their weekly play time with Grandma and Grandpa (my parents), performing the nativity at a nursing home, performing the nativity at a school party here at the house, a ward party or two...let's just say it's good that we'll have a few days of normal early in this coming week. They are such amazing and wonderful girls, and this momma is praying hard every day for peace in our home.

Parenting is such an amazing journey, looking at these two wonderful little souls every day and trying to learn "how am I going to help you learn and grow today?" Sometimes it's stepping back to see what they'll do, sometimes it's putting them in a situation where I KNOW they can succeed, and watching them (and me) learn from that. Sometimes it's pushing back a little and saying "You can do this. I know you can do this, and we're not going to accept anything less than what we both know you can do." And sometimes it's just saying yes.

I am so grateful for the opportunity to be a mom.

A Study

So dainty.

So resourceful.

So...wow. I got nothin'.

Baby's First Candy Cane

Is it time yet, Mom?

Piggy Tails

Mimi is an anomoly- if Ernie leaves her bathroom door open, Mimi is there light butter on pancakes, rooting through the drawers for more things to put on her head. Ribbons, clips, pony-tail holders, headbands...she grabs handfuls then lumbers over to me, fists extended "eh-eh-eh!"

It's the universal baby-language (banguage?) for "Look I have something, take it now and do something good with it please. I'm asking you nicely, please do it now, please please please. You know I'm going to scream like a pterodactyl with wings afire if you don't in 5...4...3...2..."

(You like that blue smear? We've given up painting until the spring, when we can open the windows. Unfortunately, we made this decision AFTER cutting in most of the room. I think it will lend an air of disctinction to our Christmas Eve family gathering.)

Now vote: Pig Tails are appropriate for church? Or are they head spikes? Hello stiff Wonder-Family hair!

(When these pony tails fall out, as they inevitably do, their new "do" is amazing. Ernie saw her last night and shrieked "Look! The baby is a flower!" Kind of swirly, kind of twirly. Very nice.)

By the way, am I the only person who thinks baby tantrums are funny? She shrieks. She arches her back and bends her knees, to get better sound amplification. She toddles a few feet, and theeennn THROWS herself facefirst at the ground to show her dejection. Touching.

Ernie's Prayer

"And please help Christmas to come."

Yes please!