Christmas Finale

In a repeat performance of last Christmas, Kitty slept in and didn't wake up early to open gifts. She's an enigma, that one.

No matter...Baby did the awakening for her.

This Christmas day was different for us - a new baby sister and a new Type 2 Diabetes diagnosis for Mykey.  Yes, that's right.  Michael decided to ruin our lives with diabetes.  And he received the diagnosis just 2 weeks before Christmas! Talk about being a Grinch. Only instead of housing a heart that is 2 sizes too small, he's housing a lazy and inconsiderate pancreas.  No Christmas morning French Toast for us.

Well...I mean...I don't have Type 2 Diabetes so...

Cinnamon rolls for me and Kitty it is!

Don't worry, I made Mykey eggs and bacon.  AND, I promised to cut out sugar with him. After the New Year, of course.

But I digress.

Christmas morning was a roaring success! Presents for everyone! Kitty painted pictures for us - a starry night for me and Yoda Lisa for Mykey.

Baby received a few new toys and plenty of wrapping paper to eat.

And Kitty hit the jackpot.  (Mostly because I started shopping early on Amazon and lost track of what I purchased. When I pulled out her gifts to start wrapping, I was impressed with her haul.)

Zelda books, a slingshot, a Space Cats monthly calendar and a Far Side daily calendar, MadLibs, Uno Show 'em No Mercy, Plus Plus blocks, magnetic putty, an enormous Indiana Jones Lego set, the list goes on and on!

It was a good Christmas.

It was even better after we finished our requisite puzzle.  Make that 2 this year.  Mykey and I were really feeling the puzzles.  

We enjoyed the day relaxing and playing games and Kitty instantly starting thinking about how to spend the money my parents gave her - she chose Mario Wonder.

I didn't even shower or change out of my pajamas.

Merry Christmas, indeed.

Christmas Eve

I have a foolproof recipe for a smashing Christmas Eve celebration. The ingredients are:

• 1  Invitation to your cousin's house
• 1 Bowl of your very own Chex Mix
• 1 Wreath that you make out of veggies (warn your cousin about the toothpick in the bow...he'll almost eat it)
• 1 Bamboo-framed pinata 
• 8  Excited children
• 40 Quarters
• 10 Containers of slime, 10 maracas, and various 3D printed toys - some will break from the beatings but that's okay
• 6 Rotations of beating the pinata
• 12 Days of Christmas sung in a round
• 578 Bouts of laughter

Mix all together and enjoy.

It will be a wonderful night.

Well...unless you're the Grinch.

Then it just hurts.

Merry Christmas Eve!

Christmas Break

For the past six months when I would ask Mykey to take time off from work so we could go play, his response was, "I ain't got no vacation days left.  I done used 'em all when we had the baby." This answer disturbed me...mostly because his grammar is terrible.

Suddenly, Mykey approaches me one day and says, "Guess what!  I realized that I actually do have some vacation days left.  I gotta hurry up and use 'em or I lose 'em." 

That guy.  

It all worked out though because he was able to take off the majority of Kitty's Christmas break from school. It was good to have both of them around.

So...what to do with all this new-found time off?   

Well, we decided to go on a weekend adventure to Knoxville.  And what a marvelous adventure we had! 

We saw the Sunsphere that was built for the 1982 World's Fair.  We looked out over a beautiful panoramic view of the entire city, which Kitty deemed boring.

We went to the zoo, where the animals were quite active and Mykey nibbled on a chocolate-dipped banana and reminisced about his childhood memories of eating them. He and Kitty also rode in a flying machine and Kitty immortalized Squiggly on the big screen.

We visited the science museum and had a hair-raising experience with a Van De Graaff generator.  The museum was actually very cool.  My 2 nerds were in heaven.

Kitty zipped down a slide at rocket speed.

We took an evening stroll through a light display.  It was freezing cold outside but the lights were incredibly beautiful.

We explored some caverns and took a boat ride on The Lost Sea, America's largest underground lake.

And we made time for the all-important hotel lounging.  Baby is a natural at it.

Wow! What a weekend. It sure was nice to get out of town for a bit.  

Good thing Mykey saved all those vacation days for us. 

Gingerbread

Our annual gingerbread house tradition was a flop this year.

It wasn't because I spent $50 on gingerbread kits.

It wasn't because I wasn't excited and cheered my family on.

It wasn't because we hate Christmas.

It's because my family were grumps that day.

Complaining about the frosting.

Complaining about their design ideas not coming together.

Crying baby in the background.

We didn't even finish those dadgum houses.  

I chastised my family and cleaned up the mess in irritation.

They apologized and we all loved each other again.

But...the next day I felt sad looking at our unfinished houses.  

So I threw them in the trash. Next year my family better be more enthusiastic about making gingerbread houses.

It was not a Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night.

6 Months

Baby had her 6th month check-up.  It's strange because she can't possibly be a minute older than 4 weeks.

Time is a sprinter!

At the appointment I was given a questionnaire to fill out with questions like, "Does your baby sit up on her own, roll over, pick up small objects from a surface, etc."

I felt like a schmuck as I kept marking, "Not yet."

Oh, boy.  Maybe I should put my baby down sometimes.  More tummy time and less Chokey time.  Wait.  That came out wrong.  I don't choke my baby.  I call the baby carrier the Chokey. 

The Dr. assured me it was fine and she'd be able to do these things soon.  Easy for him to say - he can sit up on his own.

I went home with a determination to help Baby be successful.

One day later, she was sitting up.  Rolling over was soon after. The cat was even doing her part to help out. 

Success!

Here are her stats at 6 months old:

Weight: 18 lbs - 81st percentile

Height: 28 inches - 99th percentile

Head: 16 inches - 12th percentile

Baby is happy and smiley.  She lights up when her big sister talks to her and she loves to be tickled and tossed in the air. The only thing she doesn't like is pooping. She clearly doesn't take after her father.

She is mostly sleeping through the night with one exception of eating around 2. We're going to work on eliminating that feeding.  I'm ready to sleep straight until morning.  

I'm sure grateful for this baby!

S-P-E-L-L-I-N-G B-E-E

Kitty came home from school one afternoon with this rolled up in her hands like a scroll:

I was as excited as a puppy with a new toy!  I even nearly pee-peed on the rug like a puppy.

Kitty was pretty nonchalant about it but I could tell she was excited also.  Each 5th grade class held their own spelling bees and the top 3 spellers from each class went on to compete in front of the entire 5th grade. 

Kitty diligently practiced spelling words all week and felt ready to attack on the morning of the competition.

I was as nervous as a puppy who just pee-peed on the rug.

The festivities began and the audience had to remain silent so the spellers could concentrate.  I had Baby with me but thankfully she adhered to the silence requirement.  Everytime one of those kids stood up to the microphone, I had sympathy butterflies.  It was nerve-racking!

Kitty did great and earned 3rd place!  I was incredibly proud.  I was also incredibly proud that she didn't break down in tears when she was eliminated.  There were quite a few kids who had a difficult time with the defeat.  I felt for them.

It was such a fun morning and I was sad poor Mykey missed it.  He was off gallivanting in Texas for work - or to meet up with his other wife - it could go either way.

Once again my daughter brought a smile to my face.

Congratulations to Kitty!