Christmas photos!

Our fancy camera was in the repair shop during the holidays, but we still had our phones!

Our girl goes BIG!

 Decorating the tree.

The night before Christmas...

All through the house...

....not a creature stirring.

At least not until Christmas morning!

More spoils...

Matt gave me this beautiful Konstglas bear!

Mama cat and baby kitten.

 Story time.

Random shot Matt took of me in front of our Christmas tree.

G got some glue in her hair and needed an emergency haircut. Good thing she looked as beautifully adorable as ever.

G got a Spirograph for Christmas from Gram and Pop.

Gram got a giant tea kettle, and was nearly drowned in wrapping paper.

...

For Christmas, my dad asked for a CD of music from the various projects MC and I have worked on together. I made some impromptu cover art for it with some notebook paper.

I'm going to miss our mantle looking so festive!

Gbear said that in this picture, Bill Murray is saying "Aaaaaaactivities!" I guess all those puzzles and model sets and (ahem) activity books she got for Xmas really made an impression.

 I have a suspicion that someone in the house doctored this Christmas ornament. ;) 

Chi made himself a new friend. 

Donning new bandanas at Gram and Pop's.

Collar/White/Albertson holiday shenanigans.

Crazy girls.

Mirren's special message from Superman.

 Cuddle buddies.

Making cookies and singing carols!

Merry Christmas!!

Family Instagram Update!

Serious about her style !(Even in daddy's shoes.)

 The trip to school is a great time for the family to talk about the day ahead and feel calm and centered. 

 The trip to go pick Gbear up from school feels like a mini-romantic road trip.

 The trip home from school feels like a mini family road trip!

Cute and he knows it.

 Daddy carrying Gbear up to bed after a long, fun evening.

 "Furry monster!"

On the way to visit Nana and Papa!

Epic game of 13 against those Texas card sharks.

Maggie cuddles up to a pretty doll.

I was happy to kid-wrangle for most of our AMAZING dinner at the Pioneer Mill!

And the kids were happy to get creative during the meal!

Tiffin is perfect for a night time walk!

Gbear demonstrates the "right" way to go down a slide.

Wonder Girl!

At kindergarten line-up.

Michael Jackson dance party! Went on for a solid hour. So much fun.

A tradition: every night when we make smoothies, my helper climbs into my arms like a monkey when it's time to run the blender. We hug tight and yell as loud as we can. :D

Collar/White fun night!

Questions.

Yesterday, Gretje asked, "What is light?" Even after getting the most scientifically accurate answer from my father-in-law, she still seemed to be pondering things. Later that day she asked, "What does 'You' mean?" After getting her answer, she put her hand on her chest and said, "No, what is inside 'You'? What IS 'You'?" She didn't mean the body, she meant the self.

Sometimes being a parent, the questions are deeper than the answers.

THROUGH!!!! THROUGH!!!

Now that Gretje is learning to read, she's becoming aware that she pronounces the "th" sound as an "f" sound, like many little kids do. So last night, while we were reading "The Bear Went Over the Mountain" together, she started trying really, really hard to make that "th" sound properly. She could do it, but she had to think consciously about it and try really, really hard, otherwise she'd pronounce "The bear went through the cave" as "The bear went froo the cave," -- adorable, yes, but she was aiming higher.

So she dug her heels in and tried hard, pushing her little tongue up to her teeth and forcing the unfamiliar feeling, saying "Ffffthhroo! Fffthhhroo!" again and again, her smile growing bigger and her voice growing louder each time the noise she made sounded closer and closer to what she was trying for. Until finally, she hit her stride; she figured out how to make the right sound come out consistently! And as we both sang "THROUGH!! THROUGH!!" at the top of our lungs, her great, big, delighted grin stretched from one ear to the other, even as big, sweet tears of joy formed in her beautiful five-year-old eyes and began to leak down her face. She yelled "I can do it!! THROUGH!!" a few more times, before burying her face in my chest, giggling while wiping her tears on my shirt, and cooing "That was hard. This is fun"

Her dad, MC, is one of those guys who'll shed a tear at an emotional moment but not get choked up or anything. Maybe she gets it from him. I blubber and sob and can't speak if I think I'm going to cry, so I was even more blown away than usual. 

Gretje shed a happy tear one other time in my presence: at the wedding. After the ceremony, she just came up to me for a hug, and when I pulled away from her after the embrace she had a big grin and little glossy tears forming in her eyes as she took me by the face the way I always do her and said "I love you, Cammila mommy. I love you, I love you, I love you."

Five years old. What a treasure of a person she is. I'll be shouting it from the rooftops for the rest of my days, and still never do justice to the privilege it is to love her.

Happy Halloween!

Nancy Drew, Tinkerbell, and Batgirl, about to storm the neighborhood.