New Year's Eve

We spent a low-key evening with some of our favorite people (tres elegant dinner — thanks, BC and MEW). Lu and Laney managed to stay up till somewhere around 11. The grownups made it till 1. It was a perfect way to ring in 2009.

For the Record

Blogger has been giving us trouble, but more posts coming soon. Happy New Year!

With the Promise/Threat of Santa No Longer Hanging Over Her Head...

...we have descended into complete anarchy. Could be the post-Christmas anticlimax, cumulative lack of sleep, too big a break from the routine, but whatever it is, Lu needs an immediate behavior correction.

She was just throwing an epic fit about...I can't even recall now, but the fit peaked with her hitting Jason in the, er, swimsuit area and consequently losing TV and computer for the rest of the day. Which should be interesting for everyone, as Jason and I both have to work today.

Christmastime is Here

You know that Charlie Brown Christmas song, how it's all sweet and calm and magical-sounding? That's how this weekend felt for me. We had a Christmas party, lunch with the cousins, a date for me and Lu at the Nutcracker (we got to go backstage and meet Clara and see the Sugarplum Fairy), plus a whole Sunday of cooking for friends and family.

Given how little Christmas shopping or planning I have done, I should feel like Charlie Brown, who finds himself strangely depressed and disaffected by the holidays (Linus says to him, "Charlie Brown, you're the only person I know who can take a wonderful season like Christmas and turn it into a problem. Of all the Charlie Browns in the world, you are the Charlie Brown-iest.")

I am not even a little Charlie Brown-ie. I am happy it's almost Christmas.


Lucy and Nathan with "Clara" backstage.

All She Wants for Christmas

As usual, Jason and I are way behind on both our Christmas shopping and our own wishlists. Everyone wants to know what to buy for Lu, but she hasn't expressed a strong opinion, or even a desire to write a note to Santa. In fact, this morning, she sat in a room full of toys playing with an empty yogurt container and one of Jason's belts. Does this mean she has forsaken material things? Or that she already has so many toys, she's immune to them?

If you're wondering what to get me, I have always wanted a goat.

Snow!

It is snowing here, which is so beautiful and strange. I woke Lucy up and asked her if she wanted to go outside and see the snow. She was sleepy and practical: "No, let's just look out the window. It's pretty cold."

Dance Dance Revolution

The first recital. Share your feeling with the group.

Our Days of Spelling Behind Her Back Are Numbered

It's official: the kid can read! I bought her the "Bob" beginning reader series and she read the first five on our car trip to El Paso. I was amazed not only by her reading, but also by the fascinating lives of Mat, Sam and Dot. Those kids sure do a lot of interesting stuff considering they only have short vowels to work with.

P.S. Jason is greatly relieved. He has been worried that she might not learn to read before kindergarten. I have advised him that he should be more worried that she might not stop peeing her pants before kindergarten.