We were sitting in the car a few weeks ago & I heard an echo. Gretchen. Was singing along to the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. And while the Yeah Yeah Yeah's totally rock, it made me think, "Huh. Maybe I should be using this time in the car to broaden our cultural horizons." So I went to the library and got a copy of Yo Yo Ma's Appassionato. (I heard Mr. Ma in an interview on the Diane Rehm show. He was so interesting! Listening to him talk about music made me want to be a better person. Here's a link to the interview if you want to hear it.) Anyway, we've been listening to it all week in the car. Yesterday...
ME: Ella, isn't this song so beautiful? What do you think it's about? ELLA: Mom, what are you talking about? ME: When you close your eyes, do pictures about the music come into your head? ELLA: Yeah, I guess. ME: What does this song make you think about? ELLA: Food. ME: Are you hungry? ELLA: No. Well, yeah, kinda.
Besides broadening our cultural horizons through music, we've also tried a few new recipes. There's just no way our family will eat fish unless it's in "stick" form. But the homemade tootsie rolls were a semi hit. See the "special" one we made for Daddy? Awww, Daddy is so loved.
Smile for the camera sweetie!
No, that wasn't a smile! Try again!
So much better.
Gretchen has decided to start dressing herself. It's going moderately well...at least she has clothes on....
It's all about layering.
Though I blew off Ella's requests as long as possible, we FINALLY put her "Grow Your Own Pony" in water. (Nanna Joy gave it to us in the Super Awesome Pack Of Car Fun she put together for the girls. Thanks Nanna Joy!!!) It grew slowly over a week. And we watched it get creepier and creepier. At it's height of creepiniess, Auntie Amber suggested we put it in a specimen jar and save it for Halloween. It would have been awesome. But we decided to take it out because it was king of stinkey. (Creepy and stinkey. A magical combination.) Then we got to watch is shrink down, and the legs curl up, and the strange sponge-like-texture DOESN'T GO AWAY. Poor pet pony.
Grow Your Own Pony just wants to be loved. Anyone? Anyone?
That's what we've been up to! What about you?
Oh yeah, HAPPY BIRTHDAY AUNTIE ADRIANNE AND GRANDMA!!!!! WE LOVE YOU!
Hey guys! So when I first sat down to think about this week, I couldn't remember what we did. Our life seems to be Stuck-At-Home-Boring or Non-Stop-Party. We can't find a happy medium. When we're stuck at home (above), the girls think of crazy things to do, like the "Marble Game" (below). The "Marble Game" is pretty new (thank goodness). The Rules: -Dump out Uncle Tyler's stash of marbles that were found in the closet over Thanksgiving. -Pick up handfuls and try to roll (but inevitable THROW) marbles around the room. -Physically roll YOURSELF in the marbles. (How can that be comfortable?!?!?) Laugh hysterically. -Complain as mom makes you pick them all up. Be sure to say, "But this will take for-EEEEEEBVER!!!" at least 30x. -As soon as they're all picked up, forget about how horribly draining it was to put them away and immediately dump them out again. -Repeat.
Ella has started spelling tests in Kindergarten. I had to document. Awwwww, learning is FUN!
After school on Friday, a few of Ella's classmates met at the alluring Chuck E. Cheeses. So lucky, I know. Ah, the frantic faces of small children trying to garner as many "tickets" as possible to cash in for...a jelly bracelet. They don't see the irony. Luckily Gretchen is still small enough that climbing on the jet-ski-game is almost as much fun as actually PLAYING the jet ski game. Fun was had by all. Even the parents.
And by far the cutest thing we've done for a long time? Ella's school had a Winter Formal last week. A WINTER FORMAL. For Kindergartners. Oh my gosh. It was amazing.
At first Ella was intimidated by the flashing lights and loud music (luckily M.J. was on heavy rotation). But pretty soon she was leading the conga line. Except she thought it was a "train line", so she kept pumping her arm & saying, "Choo CHOO!!!!!"
Yesterday Auntie Amber stopped by and said... Amber: Hey, I'm going to go try on wedding dresses, want to come? Me: Uh, you mean with the girls? Amber: Sure, why not? (Now imagine every crazy thing they could do at a formal wear shop. Yes, they did that.)
I gave Ella the camera so she'd stop crawling through racks of $2000 dresses. Amber decided NOT to get this one. So pretty though.
A MESSAGE TO WEDDING DRESS DESIGNERS: Hey, we know you're really busy debating pearls vs. rhinestones, but could you PLEASE make some dresses that aren't strapless? Believe it or not, SOME PEOPLE WANT STRAPS. I know, weird. That'd be super great though. Thanks.
That about sums up our week. Gretchen didn't sneak out of her crib too much. Ella is smart. It's supposed to snow tomorrow. Don't worry, you'll hear all about it next week.
So, we're kind of having a problem. Gretchen can crawl out of her crib. And I'll be sitting, enjoying "Kid Free Time", thinking everything is wonderful and my baby is sleeping soundly. But actually Gretchen will be covering herself with diaper cream. Or talking to the birds out the window. Or screaming, "AIRPLANE! Mom. AIRPLANE!" Which is when I will discover this:
We're going to have to think of a solution. Barbed wire is out. Other suggestions?
Don't ask Ella for help, she's really busy.
We do have some good news. We went to a party last night with LOTS of kids, LOTS of noise and LOTS of toys to fight over. And Gretchen didn't injure ANYONE! She played happily and was kind to all. Dare we even hope that her reign of terror is coming to an end? I'm afraid to even dream it, lest my hopes be dashed. Again. Maybe it was just the Terrible Ones? Maybe? Oh please let all the time-outs and, "We're gentle with our hands..." talks and be working.
Favorite Non-Family Related Activity Whilst In California: Ella had recently voiced her desire to visit a "real museum". (Possibly because she loves the book "Olivia", and on rainy days, Olivia goes to the museum to look at Jackson Pollock and Degas paintings. Then she gets in trouble for recreating a Jackson Pollock at home. Time out.) And really, is there a cooler museum than the Getty? We went. It was wonderful. We stayed for about 4 hours, saw MAYBE 1/3 of their collection, and loved it. They had these cool "Art Detective" cards at the front desk for kids. They had a portion of a painting, a room number, and the kids had to find which piece of art it came from. Ella was definitely into it.
Me: (after looking at the Irises painting by Van Gogh) Ella, do you realize you're seeing some of the most famous artwork in the whole world? We are so lucky! Ella: Yes mom. Because you've already told me that three times. Me: What's been your favorite part so far? Ella: The tram ride. It was like the tram at Disneyland. It was fun.
But really, she liked the museum too. Granted, the tram is pretty impressive.
Gretchen liked the naked statues. She kept pointing at them and saying, "Nurse?" Then laughing because she knew she was hi-larious.
After that outing, the rest of the trip was All Family All The Time. Good thing we all like each other. Christmas morning we went to Poppa Randy's house to open stockings. We coordinated with Santa to leave our stuff there. He's so nice, that Santa...
This picture of the girls with Grandpa Conrad just cracks me up. Ella is such a good poser.
Helicopter toy!
When we grow up, we want a hot tub and a pool. Dear Uncle Aaron & Aunt B, we may just move in... Hope that's cool with you.
Gretchen was so mad when we made her get out of the hot tub. (I was worried about leaving her in for too long, the water was so hot. She was literally steaming when I sat her on the edge of the hot tub. Steam rolling off her. She was not happy to be out of the water. She wanted to cook.)
Mom thought this was a goofy picture, but I think she looks cute. Plus, I love that gray wall in Aaron & B's kitchen.
New basketball hoop! Merry freakin' Christmas!
Gretchen & her adorable 2nd cousin. Awwww.
Then we got back to Reno. And for New Years we partied at TWO PEOPLE'S houses. I actually didn't go to bed until 2. I know, it was like I was back in college. Crazy. Then the next day we drove to Truckee to go sledding. Here's Ella & her BFF all decked out:
Then my camera died. But pretend I got a picture of Gretchen so excited about sledding that she couldn't wait for a sled. She just threw herself down the hill and slid on her belly. Multiple times.
We dog-sat Cooper, Auntie Amber's dog. And now we were grateful for our cat. Our cat doesn't tear up the garbage and eat things (things that I will not mention, that's how gross it they were. Ugh. Baby, stop kissing the dog!!)
Yesterday we went on a Family Adventure. We got Vietnamese for lunch downtown. Ella really wanted a coconut. Till she tried it. I got to finish it. Yay me!
Gretchen really wanted rice.
And to throw herself off the bridge over the Truckee River downtown. See my hand holding her back?
Now Christmas is all packed up for another year. Tomorrow Ella starts kindergarten again. We had a great time being with both our extended family and just the four of us this holiday.
Guess I'll got to bed so I can wake up at the crack of dawn & be a responsible adult. Or at least pretend.
Hey look, we took the girls to Olvera street and met up with family for lunch. We pretended we were in Mexico & looked at all the lovely stalls and told the girls they couldn't buy anything because we couldn't fit ONE MORE THING in the car.
Hey look! We walked through Union Station. Ella got all artistic on us and shot lots of cool pictures. Again. And now I'm making you look at them. Again.
She posed her puppy for this shot.
Bet you didn't think it could get any cuter. IT JUST DID.
I'm pretty sure this is my favorite shot she's ever taken. HOW CUTE IS THIS? Seriously.
Nice color & texture.
Remember how Autumn was getting married? Yeah, we've been excited about that. NOW SHE'S MARRIED! Yay! We met her Friday afternoon to set up for the reception. The light was pretty, so I made Colby take a picture.
Here's what Ella thinks of the Family Statue. (Also, I'm pretty sure that statue-baby was originally nursing & then got censored...)
Sure, we'll help you set up for your reception. Oh wait. We need to tie sashes around 180 chairs and hang lights? Uh, sorry, we're busy... (Thank heavens for portable DVD players.) Do Autumn's eyes look slightly glazed over? Yup. 100 more paper lanterns to assemble, 153 more sashes to tie....
Quit with the picture taking and start with the sash tying!!!
Another of Ella's photography studies, which may or may not have been digitally enhanced in photoshop because I am a nerd.
The morning of the wedding we met Autumn at her friend's apartment (where we might have accidentally stolen a curling iron), and we got The Bride ready. Adrianne made Autumn's hair real hair pretty. Then she asked, "Do you think it's ok if I wear fishnet stockings inside the temple?" Mom said it was ok. MOM SAID IT WAS OK!!! hee hee!
Then they got married and had a lovely reception. Awwwww. In the temple, the helper-ladies were overheard saying, "Wow, she's so low key!" Yup. Once we finally got everything set up, it was a low key and super awesome wedding. (I didn't take ANY PICTURES because Christiana, the Wedding Photographer Extraordinaire is so awesome, I knew I wouldn't need to. I actually stole this picture from Christy. Thanks Christy!)
Ok, I took ONE picture. Of Gretchen loving her cousin. Smooshie!
WEDDING HIGHLIGHTS -In honor of their marriage, Autumn presented Drew with a replica of the medal that Princess Leia gave her boyz after they defeated the Death Star. She even had a case for it engraved. True love. -Our super amazing music teacher came & played her Hammered Dulcimer. She is amazing. Did I mention how amazing Patty is? Amazing. -Autumn's folk band played rousing hits such as the tune from "Legend of Zelda", the theme song from the ORIGINAL Super Mario Brother's game (which is now stuck in my head. Lovely.), the Ewok song (Zub Zub!!!), and more. -Autumn was gifted with a replica Ton Ton head. It will soon be made into a bear-skin-esque throw rug. You know, to keep her warm on cold winter nights on the planet Hoth. -I didn't mention the Video Game Themed cookies yet, did I? Tetris shapes have never tasted so good. -I'm sure there's more awesomeness I'm forgetting. This list is not all inclusive. There was too much to remember. Every turn held new surprises.
Then Gretchen turned two. And Nanna Joy made her a cake. And hung a banner. And was generally "on the ball". Guess who forgot to even GIVE Gretchen her birthday present. (Present, as in ONE. And I still forgot to give it to her. Oh well, one more for Christmas. Get used to getting screwed over on your birthday, poor Christmas Baby...) "Please don't screw me over! Give me presents! I'm cute!"
We're very grateful for Gretchen. She is silly and sweet. You always know where you stand with her (because if she's mad at you, YOU KNOW.) She's learning that "we are gentle with our hands" and makes better choices every day. She gives nice big hugs and pats your back. She is good at dancing, making silly faces, and singing. She tells funny jokes that we can't understand because she only knows a handful of words. She likes to go "Bye Bye" (even if Mom doesn't always like taking her bye bye...) She loves monkeys and Yo Gabba Gabba and candy. And candy. And candy. We love Gretchen!
(There's a book called "Hands Are Not For Hitting". She got it from Grandma for Christmas. Thanks Grandma!)
Hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and Hanukkah!!!
Autumn's friend, Amy, planned a fabulous bachelorette soiree at the Queen Mary. We had dinner at the Chelsea Restaurant, got to check out the sweet suite Amy booked for the night for Autumn and her friends, and laso walk around a bit on the ship. It was a lot of fun. Autumn has a tremendous gift for making good friends - and lots of them.
The girls stayed in the Windsor Suite. If you see Amy at the party, ask her to tell you about the Windsors - she has all the story for you (B knows it, too). I am not a good story teller, but I can tell you that the couple loved the Queen Mary (and each other) and were on the boat for many passages across the Atlantic. Therefore they got a suite named after them.
This is the foyer when you walk in: This is the first room on the left when you walk in - it was the maid's quarters. This is where Autumn slept that night because she had been sick and she kept herself isolated in an effort to not get her friends sick in their sleep.
There are two bathrooms in the suite. Please note the four faucet handles:
Hot Fresh
Hot Salt (and of course, Cold Fresh, and Cold Salt). I was fascinated by the concept. When I came home all excited about it, Mike pretty much said, "That's gross." And his first question was, "Does it pump in the harbor water? Because if so, eww."
The living room area (the Windsors are pictured above the couch). B, talking on the phone.
Desk, tables, chairs, portholes... All part of the living room area.
An original (and now not working) fan:
And the bedroom - complete with bookshelves, bed, desk, table, chairs... There was a surprising amount of room in this place. And a lot of the drawers on the desks and things have the original plastic handles, before plastic was what it is today - don't ask me, ask Amy!
After we checked out the suite we went down to a bar off the lobby to meet the rest of the party. Us, waiting, patiently and cutely...
Bread! (And it was delicious because we were all starving.)
Cheers!
Blurry. Camera = having issues in low light.
Alisa ordered steak
I ordered the chicken (go figure). It was a seafood restaurant and I am not a big seafood person... ...but the chicken wasn't that great at all, and I ended up tasting and really liking B's blackened ahi with mango salsa - delicious! She nicely shared a lot of it with me. B ordered the creme brulee for dessert. Alisa had the cheesecake. I love the plating on both of them. It's so cute. After our dinner we walked back to the suite to have Autumn open her presents. On our way I made Autumn pose for several pictures. There were many more I would have liked to do, but didn't have the time.
Autumn, holding hands with the Windsors. Laurel, Hardy and Autumn
What? Oh, and B's hott shoes for her girls' night out on the town. Woowoo. Autumn opening the present from her sisters... What could it be?? Wait for it...wait...for...it... Oooohhh no Oh, yes. So naughty.
Awwwwwwwwwyeah. Sisters (I am including both - the one without the flash and the one with, because Autumn is smiling much nicer in the dark one) The blurry lights on the water Ta-da. That was our evening. Lots of fun! Our baby sister is getting married on Saturday - hard to believe, but we are excited for her and love her and Drew both!
