Christmas Survey

• Egg Nog or Hot Chocolate? Both. One is warm and one is cold, so they are needed at different times. And the egg nog MUST have nutmeg on it.
• Colored lights on tree or white? White. But if the girls want colored lights on their tree, that's fine. As long as they're not flashing!
• When do you put your decorations up? As soon as I can convince Isaac to help me. It's usually the day after Thanksgiving, but I was lucky this year!
• What is your favorite holiday dish (excluding dessert)? Mashed potatoes and gravy.
• Favorite holiday memory as a child? My parents and I opened gifts on Christmas Eve after dinner. I was very eager, of course. One year, my mom and I went into the living room to prepare to open presents and my dad decided to clean the oven because he noticed it needed cleaning. We've never let him forget it!
• When and how did you learn the truth about Santa? I always knew he was pretend and always thanked my parents for Santa's stocking. I was strictly forbidden to discuss this with any of my friends, though.
• Snow! Love it or dread it? Love it. Fresh snow is beautiful and fun. I always believed that if it was going to be cold, there might as well be snow on the ground. However, now that I am a parent and have to put boots on and keep my family from tracking snow through the house, I really appreciate dry sidewalks.
• Can you ice skate? Yes. I grew up on a lake and remember pretending I was in the Olympics (lack of talent didn't stop my imagination!) Unfortunately, Isaac doesn't enjoy it and so far Elizabeth doesn't either.
• Do you remember your favorite gift? My dad made me a wooden dollhouse and painted it red with white shingles. I can't wait to give it to Elizabeth when she's old enough to appreciate it.
• What's the most important thing about the holidays for you? I love the special-ness; everything seems exciting and more special. I adore the music, lights, food, and opportunities to spend time with my family.
• What is your favorite holiday dessert? Egg nog, mint meringues, Andes mint cookies, cornflake wreaths with red hots, my mother's fudge and caramels, peanut butter kiss cookies, and the list goes on and on. However, I don't like pumpkin pie or pecan pie.
• What is your favorite tradition? I can't limit this to one: the candlelight service on Christmas Eve, the annual Scott family carol sing (actually, any carol sing!), decorating the tree, Christmas Eve with my family, sleeping over at Isaac's parents, the Hollidazzle parade, and on and on!
• What is your favorite Christmas Song? I love to hear "O Holy Night," but I won't sing it in front of anyone but Isaac! I also love "The First Noel" and "What Child Is This?"
• Ever recycled a Christmas present? Yes. Especially when I was teaching and got really nice, expensive generic gifts. I miss those! Is re-gifting really so bad? I like getting gifts that other people don't want!

For you blogging people, this is a meme I copied from Baby Tunnel Exodus. I won't assign it to anyone, but if you want to do it, I'd love to read your answers!

Differences in My Daughters

My daughters are very similar in appearance, but they have some serious differences as well:

• Elizabeth is always warm and thrives in the cold; she was born in the summer and almost never wore a onesie or socks. I never needed baby blankets with her and didn't really see the use for them. Amelie is very cold-blooded just like me and always needs a onesie and socks. I love to cuddle her under the very necessary baby blankets!
• Elizabeth only took a bottle once and rarely rode in a baby carrier - I simply never tried to use them with her. Amelie has taken 3 bottles already and I depend on the baby carrier frequently!
• Elizabeth at two months old was already showing stranger anxiety and wouldn't go in the church nursery without screaming. I was frequently paged to come get her because she was inconsolable. Amelie spent an entire 40 minutes in the church nursery today and was sleeping in someone's arms when I returned to pick her up. So far, she's pretty willing to go to strangers.
• Elizabeth was waking up about twice a night at this point and didn't sleep through the night until she was 9 months old. Amelie wakes up once each night to eat and has actually slept through the night about 5 times now (just not consecutively).

I'm curious to know how much these differences is due to personality and how much is due to a less uptight parenting style. I suppose I'll never find out.

Observations on a Timberwolves Game

My dad was given free tickets to a Wolves game (thanks for being a veteran, Dad!) and he gave them to us along with free baby-sitting, so Isaac and I had a night out last night. Isaac convinced me to leave Amelie too, and she did just fine for 4 hours with my dad, even taking a bottle of expressed milk without a problem. Here's what I learned:

• People in downtown Minneapolis dress very differently than I do.
• Some men wear fur coats to Wolves games.
• Lots of women wear stiletto heels to Wolves games, even with jeans. Some even wear leather miniskirts.
• There are a lot of skanky women there.
• The noise and action kind of hypnotizes a tired mom - I was in a daze before the end of the first half.
• The Wolves "dancers" were by far my favorite part. I loved watching them move in their stilettos. Some of them even had to climb the stairs into the stands (that takes serious talent in 3-4 inch heels - they were really leaning). It was fun to watch the men behind them ogle shamelessly.
• Basketball players are really tall.
• It's fun to be out with my husband.
• I'm willing to do this again anytime someone has free tickets and is willing to babysit!

Birthday Cake

My parents have the same birthday, just 3 years apart. Since Elizabeth is convinced that it's just not a birthday if there isn't cake, we made them chocolate cupcakes with chocolate frosting for their birthday - and Elizabeth did ALL the baking. She did all the measuring, pouring, and mixing by herself (even the egg and cocoa powder!). I simply supervised and cleaned up as we went along! It was very messy - and we need to buy more salt as half the canister ended up in the sink - but she was very proud of herself.

It's the Start of THE SEASON!

Today, my mother (henceforth referred to as "Grandma"), Elizabeth, Amelie, and I went to downtown Minneapolis for the day. Amelie rode in the Baby Bjorn. The frontpack is wonderful since you can ride all the escalators without dragging along a stroller, but it's also kind of difficult since you have to schlep the diaper bag/coats/etc. without benefit of a stroller!

We took the city bus downtown, partly to avoid parking and partly because Elizabeth has always wanted to ride the city bus!

Once we were there, we must have looked like we didn't belong. (I can't understand why, since so many downtowners are either super-stylish or rather bummy!) A man immediately greeted us by saying, "Four shoppers here for the day, huh?" Another group of two young men must have never seen a Baby Bjorn before, because they saw Amelie peeking out of my coat and started laughing uproariously, telling us, "That's hilarious!"

We went to the Macy's Eighth Floor exhibit, which was excellent, although we waited in line about 45 minutes to spend 15 minutes looking at it! (That was all right, because Elizabeth waits very patiently and Amelie slept.) We got to eat lunch in Macy's 12th floor Skyroom, which was delicious and remarkably reasonably priced - I highly recommend it.

Grandma took Elizabeth into a candy store and let her pick whatever she wanted (we only do this once a year, remember?). Elizabeth picked a long spiral lollipop, which she ate for the next 4 hours straight. It was a great choice, because then we wandered all around the skyways and malls and Elizabeth was happy because she got to eat the whole time!

The day was wonderful, and made even better since both girls were perfectly behaved. Amelie slept for the first 3 1/2 hours, then pleasantly observed all the stimulation, and fell asleep again shortly thereafter! Elizabeth ate her lollipop happily and walked without complaint. And Mom and I had a wonderful time, as usual. Mom is my favorite person to do things like that with. She's the one who taught me how to get so much pleasure from every little thing, and so we're both very happy people. We enjoyed every one of the 27 escalators we rode! I even got an express manicure for $5! What a great start to the season!

Christmas Decorations

I LOVE Christmas. I get really into carols, food, lights, family, celebrations, worship, special events, and all that good stuff. I derive a ton of pleasure from sitting next to our lighted tree with a candle and a cup of egg nog. So when Isaac actually agreed to put up decorations before Thanksgiving, he got major husband points!
Isaac dragged up all our boxes from the basement while I packed away all non-essentials for the season. I set Elizabeth to work washing the leaves of a plant with a baby wipe to keep her out of the way! Finally, with Christmas music playing in the background, it was time to bring out all our Christmas treasures. Elizabeth didn't remember any of them, so it was really fun to share them with her again. Every time I gave her something for her room, she would abscond with it - I still have no idea where she cached her little treasures!
Isaac's least favorite part of the season is putting the lights on the tree (I'm really picky and high-maintenance about the way it looks). During after-Christmas sales last year, we picked up a pre-lighted tree, which made my sweet husband very happy! Our new tree is beautiful.
Did you notice Elizabeth hiding out in her new favorite spot?
Elizabeth got to decorate her own tree. This picture doesn't really do it justice, but you get the general idea. Her theory of decorating is "the more, the merrier."

True Confessions

1. I kept reminding Elizabeth to "ask Daddy if we could set up our Christmas decorations yet" - starting last week! Our sweet-talking worked - we set them up on Saturday!

2. Elizabeth and I made pretzels dipped in almond bark this weekend - and I've already eaten them all (she only got to eat them on the day we made them).

3. I serve Elizabeth at least two vegetables every dinner and rarely eat them with her (she still hasn't noticed).

4. I'm blogging while Amelie lies on the floor and talks to the couch.

5. "Elizabeth and I" made cute Christmas ornaments for her teachers today - and I only let her help with 2 of them because it was so much easier to do it myself.

Beautiful Blue-Eyed Girls

What I'm Learning

I'm reading Having a Mary Spirit by Joanna Weaver. She addresses the topic of our sinful nature. I realized that I frequently let guilt get in the way of spending time with God. Every time I go to God, I have so many sins and shortcomings and failures to confess. While I had been trying to accept His forgiveness and move on in prayer and growth after each confession, I unconsciously still felt guilty and far away from Him. I felt that even though I kept begging God to help me change and become more like Him, it wasn't happening, and that would only make me try harder in myself and (of course) fail again.

Weaver writes,

"Satan wants me - and he wants you! - to be so constantly preoccupied with what
we're not that we never get around to realizing all that God is. Our enemy
wants to keep us so consumed with our inadequacies that we never get around to
appropriating the love and transforming power God has made available to us
through His Son."

Ooh - that's me! I need to focus on God rather than on me. (A recurring theme in my growth, I'm afraid!) As sinful and low as I am, His bigness is so much more than that.

A few pages later, she writes,

"Somehow in the past I had confused repentance with penance... You see, I had
picked up the false belief that I had to feel really bad for a certain amount of
time before I could be forgiven; that I had to add something to the Cross and
the shed blood of Christ."

I realized that I had been doing that too. I didn't (and probably still don't, although I'm working on it) have the right understanding of God's grace and forgiveness. He already knows what I'm like; He knows everything about me. He loves me anyway. While He wants me to confess to Him and ask for forgiveness, He wants His relationship with me to go further than that. If He's not hung up on that part of our relationship, maybe I don't have to be either.

It's funny how we grow in our walk with God. Years ago, I read Philip Yancey's What's So Amazing About Grace and found it transformative. At that time, I was convicted about needing to show others more grace. I didn't really make the conviction that I had any problems accepting grace myself!

I'm so thankful that we have a God who is kind and compassionate and patient with us. I really need it!

New Description of Me

Elizabeth called me "a two-kidded mama." Not a bad description!

Game Night

We had a very enjoyable family night and taught Elizabeth how to play Sorry.
It's nice now that she's getting a little older and we can move beyond the really boring games of Candy Land and Chutes and Ladders. Memory is okay, but I can only play one game of it because if I try two in a row, I get very confused. Elizabeth learned to play Dominoes with Isaac's grandparents, but she just matches them while the rest of us play for points. That's fine for playing in a group, but it's not competitive enough for me to really enjoy!

We recently tried Uno (that's going to show up at Christmastime!) and I'm looking forward to Yahtzee, Rummikub, and the many other games I remember playing (probably tediously) with my parents when I was growing up!

During our family game night, Elizabeth had a lot more fun than Amelie did.

Cute Kid Stories of the Week

Elizabeth and I did an exercise video together. She proudly told Isaac that we had been "playing video games."

As we were driving down a highway (55 mph), Elizabeth decided that we were going "even faster than Mommy can run, but not as fast as Daddy can run."

As Amelie fussed in her bouncy seat, Elizabeth bent over her, then announced, "I gave her a big bounce to startle her quiet!" (Thanks.)

While praying at night: "I pray that all my friends will be well, except Jaylon" (Jaylon is the boy who blows on her). (This led to a nice discussion/lecture about love and turning the other cheek.)

As Amelie lay on the floor, Elizabeth clamped her hand over Amelie's mouth. Aghast, I said sternly, "Elizabeth! Take your hand off Amelie's mouth! What are you doing?" Confused, Elizabeth explained, "I'm praying for her!" (She was "laying on hands.")

China Fun

My mother just returned from a trip to China - it's so nice to have her back! Selfishly, it's also nice to have all the presents she brought back - China makes great jewelry and silk! Elizabeth loves wearing her Chinese girl outfit.Although many people speak English in China, translations are often pretty funny - check out this bag my mother brought back. It says, "Big rice in love in rat."

New Look-Alike

Does anyone else see a resemblance to Conan O'Brien?

Loving Grandparents

Yesterday we went down to Faribault to visit Isaac's family and attend his dad's church. We also celebrated his niece's second birthday, his mom's birthday, and his parents' 30th anniversary! (They're all within 4 days of each other.) I always like to hear Isaac's dad preach (and since I missed half the sermon to nurse Amelie, it was a great length!) and Elizabeth loves to go to churches where they have a children's sermon.

Here is a picture of Isaac's parents with their three granddaughters!
I don't think we've ever visited Faribault that Isaac's mom (the first Elizabeth VanLoon!) hasn't read Elizabeth a book or two.
Amelie took right to Dan, and I was so relieved. For some odd reason, Elizabeth resisted him until she was close to two years old, and I always felt so bad. Now, of course, she adores him, especially when he takes her down to see the horses! As much as she loves all of Isaac's family, no one can compare to Isaac's 14-year-old brother Nathaniel, who has first place in her heart. If you ever want to see what pure idolation looks like, just check out her face when she looks at Nathaniel.
My girls have two wonderful sets of grandparents. My parents adore them too.
Here's Amelie gracing Dad with one of her beautiful smiles. (I just about live for those - they melt me every time!)

Girls' Day

My friend Jen had a bunch of girls over to her house yesterday to scrapbook or do whatever.

Elizabeth had a blast because there were lots of snacks. Jen brought up a box of toys and activities from her basement and JJ got down on the floor and played with Elizabeth. She was thrilled with the extra attention, and loved doing projects with the grown-ups.

Most people brought stuff to do, but didn't get much done! Since I had to bring both girls, I didn't even attempt to get things done, but I sure enjoyed the chance to be with some friends.

Amelie spent the day nursing, hanging out in the sling, and sleeping on the floor of Jen's hallway. We won't name names, but someone forgot she was there, just about tripped over the sleeping baby, and scared herself half to death!

Amelie also spent a lot of time spitting up and creating laundry for me to do. She went through three outfits and all the burp cloths I had brought. Ahh, the life of a baby...

Amelie wasn't the only one resting. Lisa was clearly very comfortable at Jen's house!

It was a very fun Saturday. I hope we do it more often!

Stick Around or Run Away?

Elizabeth's devotions tonight were about Jesus being taken away by the soldiers in the Garden of Gethsemane. At the end, it told how the disciples ran away because they were afraid they'd be taken too.

One of the devotional questions asked, "What would you have done if you were a disciple?" I don't know what I would have done. It seems like the right answer is to stick with Jesus, no matter what. But the practical side of me says that just because one person has to die, there's no reason for others to die too. Jesus never specifically asked the disciples to go with Him after the soldiers came, and it seems like they would do more good free than they would captured.

I asked Elizabeth what she would do. She answered, "I would run away to you!" I guess things are different when you're a kid.

What would you have done?

From the Mouths of Babes

Today, Elizabeth randomly told me, "If you hadn't got married yet, and I was a grown-up, I would marry you!" (I love her purity, love, and innocence!)

She discovered the baby aspirator (a little thing that you use to clean out babies' noses, if you don't know what it is) and after being told what it was, exclaimed, "It's a baby booger breather!"

At her doctor appointment, she was playing in the waiting room with some baby dolls. Loudly enough for the whole room to hear, she proclaimed, "Let's get you dressed - you pooped all over your onesie!" Nothing like realism in play, huh?

From the mouth of my other babe: lots of spit-up. And sometimes bubbles.

Gummy Smiles

Amelie still saves her best smiles for the windows behind our rocking chair, so we treasure every gummy little baby smile we can get!

"Who Loves You?"

Confession: When Elizabeth is asleep, I kiss her and talk "mommy-talk" to her. (Mommy-talk is very similar to baby talk, which is why I am embarrassed to admit it.)

The other night, I went in and whispered my usual, "Mommy loves you so much. Mommy loves you. You're Mommy's good girl. Mommy loves you..." (and so on ad nauseum).

Then, because sometimes she wakes up just enough to parrot something cute back to me, I asked, "Who loves you?"

Very sweetly, in her sleep, she whispered, "Daddy." Little stinker!

Ideas for Helping

I've been noticing more people begging at stoplights now that the weather is turning colder. I used to feel really awkward as I waited next to them for the light to turn green because I don't feel comfortable giving them cash. If I'm on my way home from the grocery store, I can offer them some of our food, but that doesn't happen very often. My mom buys $5 gift cards to Cub Foods and hands those out, but honestly I don't want to spend that much.

I like to keep extra hats and mittens in my car and offer those to people on the corners. People seem really grateful for them, and I'm glad I can bless them with something they can use. Yesterday I went to the thrift store and loaded up for the coming season. I feel corny saying "God bless you" as I give them out, so this time I've written notes to pass on with them that say "I will pray for you tonight. God bless you and keep warm!" (I signed my first name only.)

Reason to Be Glad

Elizabeth was pretending to be a teacher. Isaac and I were enlisted as her students (my name is always "Sarah" and Isaac has to be "Daniel"). As she read us a book, I decided to spice it up a little and pretend that Isaac was the little boy that blows on her during group time. I complained, "Daniel, don't blow on me. I don't like that."

Isaac, who of course was not blowing on me, gave me a strange look. A few minutes later, I raised my hand and said, "Teacher, Daniel is still blowing on me after I asked him to stop."

Isaac glared at me. Elizabeth put down her book and grasped his face in both her hands, telling him not to blow on me.

Next she declared it was singing time, and we had to sing with her about Canada. In my experience playing this game with her, I have learned that you just make up a song and sing it at the same time as her made-up song. So Elizabeth and I started singing about Canada. Isaac cracked up laughing at us and did not sing.

Elizabeth ran over to him, grabbed his face again, and sternly told him to stop laughing and sing with us. Then she looked at me and shaking her finger, said, "You should be glad you're not him!"

Insulting Billboard

On a billboard for Wedding Day Jewelers:

"You may pay forever. Just not for the ring."

What message is that sending about marriage?

Good News on the Kidney Front!

We had Elizabeth's annual follow-up with the pediatric nephrologist today. She also had another ultrasound and urinalysis. We don't have the results from those tests yet, but we're assuming she's just fine.

Her left kidney is still much larger than her right. The doctors and technicians agree that it is probably a duplicated kidney, but unless that causes her problems, it's not worth doing a bunch of tests to find out the specifics about it. While duplicated kidneys are uncommon, they're certainly not rare, and many people who have them have absolutely no problems.

The more time that has passed with no infection, the better - and we've had absolutely no problems since the severe kidney infection that started all this on Elizabeth's third birthday. So that's great news, and we don't have to go back again unless she either has multiple urinary tract infections or one severe infection. Yeah!

Isaac and I were so proud of Elizabeth today. She was completely brave and chattered away to the doctors and technicians and never got scared. And Amelie slept the whole time in the Baby Bjorn. We celebrated at Perkins afterward, and we're glad to close that chapter of Elizabeth's life!

Where Are All the Parents?

• Little Mermaid: No mother
• Beauty and the Beast: No mother
• Dumbo: No father
• Heidi: No parents
• Lion King: Father dies
• Bambi: Mother dies
• Cinderella: Mother dead, father dies
• Snow White: Mother dead, father dies
• The Little Princess: Mother dead, father dies
• Pollyanna: Mother dead, father dies

It seems that we have very few intact family role models. Is anyone else noticing a pattern here?

Plumage

Some birds have very elegant plumage that sticks up from their head. Amelie does too. We can't get her hair to stay down.

Look-Alikes

Who's who this time?

Snow and Cold

We've had our first snow the last two days. It hasn't been enough to stick, but it's nice to see at least a little of it on the ground. I do like fresh clean snow, and I love being in a warm house during a snowstorm.

I don't like getting two children into warm clothes and strapping carseats around bulky winter jackets. It's hard to fit through the door when I'm wearing my big old jacket, carrying Amelie's huge carseat bucket, lugging a big diaper bag over my shoulder, and stumbling around Elizabeth in her big old jacket!

I didn't really have anything interesting to say today, but I just found out that Isaac's aunts read this blog and that my grandma checks it every day. That made me feel good and I wanted to have something there when they checked it!

Honesty

Amelie woke Elizabeth up at 5:00 the other morning. I got up with Amelie, but left Elizabeth in her room since she's not allowed to get up until 7:00. I warned Elizabeth that it was still "nighttime" and a long time until 7:00 and that she should go back to sleep. She didn't.

At 7:00, she came waltzing cheerfully out of her bedroom. I asked her if she had gone back to sleep. "No, Mama, but I tried," she explained earnestly. "I tried every time I thought I heard footsteps!"

Look How Big I'm Getting!

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My Favorite Fashion Accessory

My new favorite fashion accessory is the Baby Bjorn. I wear it all the time. Here's why:

• It's slimming and covers up a "mummy tummy."
• It puts Amelie to sleep within minutes.
• It's easier to use than a stroller.
• It allows me to move around and get stuff done while holding a baby.
• I developed a little exercise routine that can be done while wearing it (squats, lunges, wall push-ups, and weights).
• I can tidy the house and clean things that are waist-height or higher.
• It's an easy way to bring Amelie to pick up or drop off Elizabeth at preschool.
• It keeps me warm, and all I have to do for Amelie is tuck in the beautiful blanket that my aunt hand-wove on her loom!

Too Late Reminder

I had this cute idea to take a picture of all of us with our "I Voted" stickers on to encourage people to vote, but I didn't get it posted in time. Here it is anyway, since I made the effort!

Here's what Elizabeth did with one of her "I Voted" stickers (she "voted" twice, since Isaac and I went separately so that one of us was home with the sleeping Amelie). I think it could be taken as a commentary on the electoral college system, or the primary system, or the necessity of fundraising for the election winner, or the "Use Your Voice" campaign...

Anyone dare to interpret this picture politically?

Halloween

I feel pretty mixed about Halloween. There isn't a lot in the holiday that glorifies God, but it also seems wrong to deny participating in some good clean fun. To me it seems that refusing to acknowledge Halloween might turn some people off from Christianity, but I really go back and forth on this. Maybe I'm rationalizing and don't know it.

The past few years, we've dressed up but pretty much ignored trick-or-treating. This year Elizabeth has been excited about it for the past month! Her preschool had a "Creation Party" on Halloween, where the kids dressed up like something from creation and ate lots of candy and sweets. (Guess how much she enjoyed this!) We've always done princess costumes made out of her dress-up clothes so that we don't have to pay them, so I made her into "starry night" with a star garland from the dollar store.

Then in the evening, we went to North Height's Fall Kids Carnival. It was really fun. Elizabeth got to pick any dress-up clothes she wanted. She decided to be Belle from Beauty and the Beast. However, she's never seen the movie so she thought that wearing yellow made her into Belle. She wore her bright yellow dance leotard and tutu, and proclaimed herself "Elizabeth Queen Belle." People were confused when they asked who she was, but she loved it. Now I'll get to see how sequins come out when you try to wash the cotton candy and Snocone out of them!

The carnival had TONS of candy, giant inflatables, carnival games, a petting zoo, concessions, and a variety show. Amelie slept most of the time in the Baby Bjorn, and Elizabeth had a blast. She really went crazy in the jumping castles and big slides.

Between preschool, my godparents, and the carnival, Elizabeth received a full gallon bag of candy. We told her that she got to pick 10 special pieces to have as "no-asking candy," and she could eat one piece a day without asking. The rest we contributed to our candy drawer to be "sharing candy" that everyone can eat. She's such an agreeable, easy-going kid that she's fine with that and is excited about her 10 pieces.

What I've Learned This Slightly Fussy Morning

Things You Can Do With One Hand:

• Fix the running toilet
• Apply makeup and put in contacts
• Read to a preschooler
• Clean counters, stovetop, etc.
• Put things away
• Type a blog entry
• Make and eat breakfast

(Caveat: These things may take double the time.)

Things That Require Two Hands:

• Making the bed
• Getting yourself dressed (a.k.a. why I am always the last person in the house wearing pajamas)
• Washing dishes
• Folding clothes
• Tying shoes or curtain sashes