December Vacation

Assigned vacations in December are the best.  I initially wished Matt had more say, perhaps to align a vacation with a holiday, but the random week in early December turned out to be wonderful.  We partook in tons of holiday cheer, visited family, got all holiday decorating and gift-giving taken care of, and enjoyed a full week together in between the big holidays.

We started out the weekend with a stop in Manhattan.  I went to Alice's Tea Shop for a fun baby shower for Genevieve.  It was so great to catch up with high school friends and celebrate Gen's little one. Matt and John toured the nearby Museum of Natural History, delighting in dinosaurs, lions, and bears, and everything else little (and big) boys love to see.

My Whitman girls

We then drove onwards to D.C., where we visited my family and enjoyed multiple Christmas displays in the capital.

• Zoolights

The whole group (minus the photographer, me)

We pointed out a "Cookie Monster Blue" christmas tree, and here was John's reaction. Why? Are toddler meltdowns supposed to be rational?

• Washingtonian lake and park

Favorite candid: Practical Dad freeing up his hands

Who is this huge child? What happened to my baby boy?

• Temple lights

John was rather energetic when we first entered the Visitor's Center.  He was more interested in running and playing tag than looking at trees or nativities.  Then a recording of Christ's voice came on and John quieted down and looked up at the Christus statue with a beautiful reverence.  It was such a powerful moment, seeing this busy two year old respond with such calm wonder, without prompting from any adults. What a heartwarming glimpse into the ability of a young child to recognize goodness and light.  Despite the atrocities occurring all around us, I know there is this same yearning for goodness and light within all of us.

Sure love this temple.  Matt and I were able to go together on Tuesday; such a great recharging of gratitude and peace.

• Meeting Santa at the DAR Holiday Open House

Love these babies!

Luckily there was no line and Santa was free, 

because it took a few attempts to warm John up to the idea.

Eliza was quite the charmer, laughing and smiling at my Vegas TFA friends, Cat and Shay.  We had a great time catching up with these now-DC-residents.

• Enjoying delightfully warm weather- walking outside without big coats and gloves!

The woods behind my parents' house

• And indulging in holiday merriment while relaxing with my family 

We also went to the movies (such a rarity with kids! My parents watched John, Pierce, and Eliza). We saw Lincoln and loved it. Brilliant acting, and I just love the vocabulary from that era.  Insults (Thaddeus Stevens) were far more clever and interesting than they are now.

Overall, great R&R, fun Christmas events in the Capital, and a wonderful week with Matt!

Eliza's Shower

Also during our quick post-Thanksgiving visit, my wonderful friends the Joyces threw a shower for Eliza and me. Elise was like a second mother to me growing up, and Genevieve is one of my greatest friends in life.  It was so kind of Elise, Genevieve, and her sister Caroline to arrange this lovely tea.

                   

(Genevieve is almost full-term in that picture, impressive!)

The spread was fun and delicious

The room was full of women I love who Eliza is blessed to have in her life

And Eliza was quite the gracious newborn guest-of-honor.  Alert and happy throughout the gift opening.

Never one to sleep through a party.

It was so fun to introduce my little miss to my best friends!

And enjoy time with these wonderful women.

It was such a lovely shower, and I'm so excited for the Joyces to enjoy their own little one any day now!

Happy Grandmas :)

Pierce's Blessing

I'm so glad I was able to go to Pierce's baby blessing and spend time with my family post-Thanksgiving. I think it's wonderful to have cousins the same age, and it was so moving to be able to hear my younger brother articulate a beautiful blessing for his little boy.  As a proud older sister, it doesn't get much better than that.  

The new babes (I especially love this shot of Eliza!)

Friday, after the feast at home, I braved the train with two kids and emerged with the remnants of two diaper blow-outs (impressive, Eliza) but all intact for our family Christmas card photo shoot.

John was a great traveller

And the pictures were pretty great! Just clearly missing our main man. Dang residency.

Pierce and Eliza took notice of each other several times.  Pierce was most intrigued by Eliza's squeals and Eliza was eager for eye contact attention.

The weekend was also full of many wonderful first interactions with important people in Eliza's life.

My dad

Great-Grandma Blam

Ggma and Ggpa

Beautiful Aunt Carolyn

Aunt Brittany

*Thomas and Scott, sorry I wasn't on top of it, I need to get pictures next time we're together!

One loved little lady

John fully enjoyed our visit as well.

"They're boring, look at me!"

Tarp rides 

Gigantic leaf piles

Great weather

And huge bubble baths.

Surrounded by great family.  

We had a great time visiting and again, I'm just glad I was able to be there!

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving was so much fun this year.  Hosting my first Thanksgiving meal, in addition to teaching the "Thanksgiving" lesson for preschool, resulted in me putting the Christmas music on hold and actually indulging in the November holiday.

The two highlights from the preschool lesson were a turkey dance that John performed daily (will post later) and these styrofoam/feather turkeys.  Sticking feathers into a ball was a doable fine motor task that definitely held their interest. And what a cute craft to hold on to!

The feast was initially intimidating until I broke down my plan in a word document (brain isn't so reliable these days), narrowed down the menu, found great recipes on Our Best Bites, and did most of the cooking on Wednesday.  It was so enjoyable to join forces with cousins Dave and Lizzy, who live in Darien, and Sarah and Ryan, who were visiting from Utah. I think what makes Thanksgiving special is gathering round a table with people you love and enjoy, so I was grateful to have wonderful cousins nearby to gather with.

The bird. 

 I think it's rather strange, but I was sure proud of how it turned out.

The spread.

With Lizzy and Sarah (and Ryan inspecting the Martinellis)

The walk after the gluttony.

We walked around Yale's campus and admired the stonework.  My favorite features may be the incredible arch doorways.

Dave, Lizzy, and Tillie Rose

The greatest miracle of all was Matt wasn't called in to the hospital and all children napped well, so we were able to enjoy an adults-only meal.  Once everyone was awake, John had fun with his cousin Finn.

Filling their "cornucopias" with candy corn

Overall, it was a wonderful holiday and opportunity to ponder all I have to be grateful for.