One of the great, long standing traditions in our family is a group singing of the carol The Twelve Days of Christmas. In the past, the performance included the guests at a big Christmas party and each of us. Now, we've raised another generation so they can take care of it for us.
Presented below, this year's version (directed by Papa himself off camera).
We spent the last week in chilly Milwaukee hanging with Papa, Nana, and all the cousins. We played inside, unwrapped presents (many games included), celebrated being together, ice skated, and sledded. It was an excellent visit. (I grow more nostalgic with every visit to Milwaukee, I love it so much.)
First up among the posts is a brief snippet of Lindy skating at Red Arrow Park. Red Arrow gets low marks for the single worst pair of skates I have ever put on. Literally, the were more prone to slide sideways than forward (and I am a competent skater... I play hockey for goodness' sake.)
Lindy, however, did quite a nice job making it around the ice for a three year old.
Nothing special about this video, other than the fact that it records the morning arrival on Christmas. You know, posterity requires that I post videos like this so I can watch them later...
Oh yes, this is fine work from my girls. If you're seeking something meaningful or deep, GO SOMEWHERE ELSE. If you're looking for something silly, you're in the right place. The first piece is about 1 minute long and includes the "introductions". My favorite parts of section one are Jesus' leg (brief appearance) and Lindy's whole introduction.
In section two, the highlight is Mary's mishap en route to Bethlehem. Don't worry, Mary and the baby are doing fine. (I also love how Handel's Messiah comes on just after the baby is born. I'm sure everyone present danced like this.) Oh, and as Aspen says, "Don't laugh" at her talent.
Lindy asked me that this weekend. We were sitting at lunch, eating gyros, with the Hickmans and the Watsons. I looked around the restaurant, trying to figure out what the heck she was talking about.
Do you know?
Would it help you if I said, "Pa rum pum pum pum"?
I think Tim Hickman was the one to figure it out. We spent much of the meal from that point forward trying to figure out how an ox or a lamb might keep time... Foot tapping? Does a cloven hoof make it difficult to snap?
Nana and Papa visited a few weeks ago (before Thanksgiving) and we had a great visit with them. Among the highlights, this highly intellectual game they taught my girls...
Yet another silly, dancing video. Yet again, unedited or improved. But if you're really into my daughters, you might enjoy. I post videos like this one because I'm sure I'll like it a lot in a couple of years.
We took an awesome hike through Edwin Warner Park this weekend, and the halfway point become a knock down (literally) drag out (not literally) battle amongst the girls and their leaves...
Taking down the crib, for the last time, is certainly something makes you ponder the past and the future. Maybe I'll make an effort another time to put some "retrospective" together. Not tonight though. Pictures of the new bed will follow soon.
Today is Lindy's third "birthday party" with a few friends, and we were just getting ready. Partly to entertain her, we had Lindy up on the counter with us. We do this pretty regularly when we're cooking. I had just finished grating some cheese, and Lindy was sitting next to the salt cellar. I looked over, and she'd opened it, grabbed a pinch, and put it in her mouth.
Tim: Lindy, what are you doing?. Lindy: Eating salt. Tim: We don't eat salt by itself. Lindy: Why? Tim: It's not good for you. Lindy: Why not? Tim and Jenn: [together, see, we're on the same page, ready for stuff like this] It'll give you high blood pressure. Lindy: [without missing a beat] I like to get high. Tim: [thinking] Um, yeah, uh, well, I guess I could just go put it on the blog...
I was putting Lindy down for bed tonight. I set her in the crib, and grabbed her pillow for her. (It's actually a stuffed shirt, but that's a story for another time.)
So, I laid it out, upside down as it turns out.
Lindy: Silly freakin' Daddy, that's not how it goes. Tim: What?! Lindy: Silly freakin' Daddy. Tim: Uh, Lindy, we don't use that word. Lindy: I just like you.
So, I was chatting with my sister Jenni tonight when she mentioned that Kiana's favorite city from our Italian voyage had been Venice. So, I thought I'd ask the girls about it tonight. We started with Lindy, and we were trying to help her remember the name of the city with the canals.
Tim: It sounds like Veh. Lindy: I don't know. Aspen: [for some reason thinking that spelling it would help Lindy] V - I - N - C - E.
I just laughed. Then I spelled back to Aspen what she had spelled. We established that was Papa's name, and we moved on. But I still think it's pretty funny.
OK, so I managed to go through the whole of Jenn's birthday yesterday without taking a picture... Oh well, I'm sure she'll be crushed.
As the girls wrote on countless banners around the house, "Happy Brithday, Mammoo!"
Aspen (with Oakley's help) gave Jenn a really sweet gift. She took one of the sunflowers that had grown in the garden and harvested the seeds from it herself. No, they weren't in great shape. But Aspen collected them and packaged them up and wrapped them herself. It was really sweet. (This was on top of the vegetables that she snuck out of the house to get yesterday morning.)
Aspen packed the sunflower seeds by placing them in a ziploc bag full of water (so they wouldn't dry out), and then putting them in a gift bag, all several days before Jenn's birthday. Somehow, and boy am I thankful, the two ziplocs both managed to stay closed.
Do you all know that seeds are best kept dry? Can I tell you now, that never, not once, has such a sweet gift smelled so incredibly bad?!?! The smell literally knocked us all back as Jenn removed the ziplocs from the gift bag... and they were sealed! The odor was so bad we had to take them out of the house immediately!
So, happy birthday, Jenn. We do love you... enough to give you stinky gifts. (And thanks Aspen, for having such grace throughout the opening. Aspen laughed with us... she is so incredibly sweet.)
Lest they feel left out, Oakley and Lindy both brought sweet gifts for Jenn as well. Oakley's cards are everywhere and very cute, and Lindy drew pictures of both Jenn and me, Jenn's with far more hair than mine.
Lindy is really awfully well spoken for a two year old. That's why I can post funny things like this from tonight as we were getting ready for bed.
Lindy: Daddy, there's a stranger. Tim: Where? Lindy: In the hall. Tim: Who is it? Lindy: It's Daddy. Tim: Lindy, a stranger is someone you don't know. Lindy: [emphatically] Like deers are strangers.
Well, I'll tell you. I've got a family that can eat some serious strawberries. Thus far, they have been eaten as part of jam, sorbet, frozen yogurt, parfaits, shortcake, and countless other things. And do we like them? Yes we do.
Lastly, an old picture... can you tell who it is that like strawberries so well at 9 months?
(A quick family related post for all of you who are wondering why this blog has been all about Tim lately.)
So, Lindy often asks about what things drink when we're at dinner. I believe this is an effort to get out of drinking her cup of water. It doesn't work. The conversation below is not verbatim. It's a collection of her thoughts and our responses from the various meals.
Lindy: Do rabbits drink water? Tim: Yes. Lindy: Do they drink juice? Tim: No, all animals drink only water. They don't have juice. Lindy: All animals? Tim: Yes. Lindy: No, they don't. Tim: Yes, they do. Lindy: Ticks don't. Tim: Touche.
OK, two nights ago I established a new rule for Lindy. Every night during the bedtime routine, she grabs one of her toothbrushes and carries it around with her, occasionally terrorizing her sisters as they attempt to get ready. Lindy can't really do much of her own stuff yet, so she's just kind of wandering.
The problem is, Lindy tends to put her toothbrushes places we wish she wouldn't... on her belly, on the wall, plenty of yucky spots. So, I made a new rule.
"Lindy, if I come up here and find that you're carrying your toothbrush around, you won't be allowed to use that toothbrush. OK?"
"OK, Daddy."
So, last night I went up there, and found her in the hall, favorite piglet toothbrush in hand.
"Lindy, I told you the rule last night. Now you can't use that toothbrush. Go put it down and go potty."
I got in the bathroom, and Lindy was on the potty, doing as she was told, more or less. We then washed hands, and went to brush her teeth. And she said...
"Can we use the piglet toothbrush in there?" [pointing to the cup with six toothbrushes]
I thought, "But that's the toothbrush she was carrying... there is, however, a different toothbrush by the sink... What happened here?"
My conclusion, Sneaky Miss Lindy carried her favored piglet toothbrush, put it back in the cup, and grabbed an alternative toothbrush to place on the counter in hopes of getting to use said favorite piglet... Conclusions? Lindy is both sneaky and creative. And, um, over the years, Lindy must be watched very carefully.
Each of the girls have struggled with snapping when the first saw it. They wanted to snap so badly, they just kept trying. Here's the latest, Lindy's early attempts.
Jenn... See, I haven't gotten Jenn to blog herself yet, so you get stories that I hear.
Jenn was making dinner with Aspen tonight, and Aspen's getting old enough where she can actually put stuff in a hot pot. Jenn reminded her not to touch the pot, because it was very hot and she could be burned. Aspen's response:
I won't, Mommy. I'm not like you.
Later, Jenn was playing with Lindy. Lindy decided to scan her.
Jenn: Lindy, how much do I cost? Lindy: Two dollars.
Lindy then scanned herself.
Jenn: Lindy, how much do you cost? Lindy: Too much.
OK, we really enjoy reading Into the Woods around here (and singing it, occasionally). One funny line from it goes like this...
"Because the Baker had lost his mother and father in a baking accident -- or so he believed..."
Well, ours was nothing that severe. Lindy and I often bake some cookies together on Wednesday nights while the others are at church.
Tim: Lindy, I need you to add three scoops [tablespoons] of salt. Lindy: [scooping] One. Oven: Beep, beep. [Jenn had left some bread in the oven. I know, it is a lot of baking.]
[I closed the salt cellar and turned around to get the bread out. As I was removing it from the pans, I heard the salt cellar close.]
Tim: Lindy, did you put in more salt. Lindy: Yes. Tim: How much did you put in? Lindy: Two. Tim: Two more scoops? [Which would have been the right amount.] Lindy: [blank stare] Tim: Lindy, tell me exactly how much more you put in. Lindy: Four inches. Tim: Thanks, Lindy. I'm gonna do the baking soda myself, OK?
Jenn has my car today because I took hers in for 30,000 mile service. That means that the kids get to experience some different music than normal. As I'm sure you all know, I'm pretty hardcore. At this moment, I'm kicking some, well, ok, I have showtunes in my CD player right now. Jenn and I went to see Rent last Friday at TPAC, and so I had been listening to it lately.
So, this is the scene in the car on the way to day school today:
Angel (Rent): New York City. Collins (Rent): Uh huh. Angel (Rent): Center of the universe. Collins (Rent): Sing it, girl. Angel (Rent): Times are shitty, but I'm pretty sure they can't get worse. Lindy: puzzled expression I don't know what sitty means. Jenn: pushes skip button quickly Oakley: No, Lindy, it's shitty. Jenn: Sometimes people use words we just shouldn't use.
We have no indication of whether Oakley knows what shitty means...
So Oakley and Lindy get a fair amount of time at home without Aspen. Monday, Wednesday, Friday... that's their time. It's one of the cool parts about having three girls spaced as we do... there are different relationships.
Lately, they've really been enjoying playing "Kindermusik". Lindy has a class she attends with Jenn each week, but this is something a little different. Oakley gets to be the teacher, which she loves, and Lindy gets to be the mommy, which she loves. It's pretty cool. Check out Lindy's bear and how well it does in class.
And yes, Lindy does pull up her pants a lot... Her bottom is so little, it fails to hold up the pants.
I am not one to recount details of childhood minutiae. Weights, heights, etc... I've forgotten most of it.
I am also not one who likes to tempt fate.
But today... I celebrate the removal of the last of the diapers from our fair house. They are all gone, every single one. Today, I thank Lindy for waking up with a dry bed every day this month. Today, I celebrate.
OK, so yesterday, when I went to work, it wasn't snowing or anything. And two hours earlier, we'd received a call indicating school was canceled. Well, there were never slippery roads, but at least the snow came, sort of.
I was unavailable, but Jenn managed to catch the girls with a few snowflakes.
Is there any better self esteem builder than your youngest daughter insisting that she bring Raggedy Ann into the bathroom when you need to use the potty, and then having Raggedy Ann clap for you after you do so? As Lindy said, "Raggedy Ann is excited."
Smoothies are often a part of our weekend breakfasts. Today was no exception. We had smoothies, "eggies", and some banana bread that Jenn makes. (Editor's note: The banana bread is perfect, even though Jenn continues to try to find ways to make it better.)
Aspen and Oakley set the table, and we sat down to eat. Lindy looked at her spoon (a metal one) and the following conversation ensued.
Lindy: Why do I have this spoon? Jenn: To be like us. Lindy (after a pause): I do like ducks.
That's right, we have more video tonight. These are basically things I throw together because I know that I'll love them in 2 years. Right now, they're a little funny, but time will improve them.
Tonight, after dinner, I decided to give the girls a bath early, and then play a game with them afterward. It worked out pretty well, because they did some funny stuff. After the game of Monopoly Junior (a Christmas gift to Oakley), we decided to read. Oakley had read The White Stallion to herself today (seriously), and she wanted to read it to us.
At dinner, she kept talking about Anna and "Grinch" as if they were both girls. I thought it a little odd that Grinch was a girl, but didn't worry about it. We got to learn that Grinch was actually spelled Gretchen.
As she was reading to us, Oakley ran right through another word, stating that the "Must-ej" did something. She missed the work mustang in this case, but I'm just amazed by Oakley's reading all the time. She really has no comprehension of phonics at all... she simply pays attention to words she's learned and the context of those words. Things like Gretchen and Mustang don't occur to her as wrong because they are words outside of the norm. She's not bothered, and neither am I.
Incidentally, this is one place where not watching TV really seems to pay off for us. I'm certain it plays a role in how well Aspen reads, and that spills over like crazy. Oakley has learned to read simply by watching Aspen and wanting to. As Oakley was reading, Lindy walked over to me with a Magic Treehouse book about buffalo and said, "Two buffaloes. Jack and Annie." I'm pretty sure that Lindy wasn't ready, but she certainly wanted to.
Lastly, Lindy was sporting some new pajamas from Uncle Dougie tonight. She chose them after the bath and was really into the "snow globe pajamas". The decal, like all decals, is kind of scratchy on the outside. She was rubbing it up and down with her fingernails and proceeded to say, "I'm playing my banjo."
Lindy and I are hanging out tonight (Wednesday's are church night for Aspen, Oakley, and Jenn). We spent much of the night outside doing various things including playing, swinging, kicking balls, and chasing bugs.
We finished up and Lindy asked me to carry her in. I picked her up and she told me she wanted her juice.
Tim: Give me a kiss. Lindy: (Kiss) Tim: I had fun with you tonight. Lindy: Yeah, you did.
Oakley has a stuffed pig (intended for drawing on) that she got for her birthday. For whatever reason, this pig has become important to Lindy. Today, before nap, Lindy wanted to hold it (and the book, and some other stuff).
Jenn: Lindy, isn't that nice of Oakley to share her pig with you? Lindy: My pig. Jenn: Lindy, that's Oakley's pig. Lindy (as if to say, "Duh, Mom"): [I] know that.
Jenn was also telling me that Lindy found my new laptop today. It was sitting on the desk in the office and she walked up to it, and opened it. Well, when it gets opened, the CD drive spins to see if anything is there... Let's just say that when Jenn turned around, Lindy had slammed the laptop closed and started running...
