My Little Spinach Eater

I was making spinach salads in the kitchen yesterday as Amelie wandered around my legs, hungry. I gave her a little spinach leaf and she popped it into her mouth. Pretty soon, she came back for more. And more. I was so proud that she had learned to like raw spinach!

Then I watched what she was doing with her spinach. She chewed it up, then stuck each piece carefully onto the oven door.

So much for my little spinach eater!

Relaxed Christmas

We spent two nights at my parents' house over Christmas. Theoretically, we were preparing in case we were snowed in from the huge (and very disappointing!) storm, but I think we all really enjoyed it!

We built one of the coolest snow forts ever in the mound made by a snowplow. We tunneled all the way through the pile and could sled through it!

We played 36 hands of bridge, Elephant Ready, Twister, Uno, and Go Fish. We ate lasagna, shrimp cocktail, ice cream cake, chili, gourmet chocolates, and much more.

We went to church on Christmas Eve and worshipped, then came back for dinner and presents.

Impish Amelie

Look at this face. Tell me you don't see pure impiness. Innocent blue eyes? I think not!

In Amelie's bedroom, I gave her a pair of shoes and asked her to bring them to the shoe spot by the front door. She took them proudly, walked halfway to the door, then turned around and threw them down the laundry chute.

At Oma and Opa's, she chased the kittycat, saying "Khee! Khee!" Her whole body would shudder with joy when she got near the poor animal.

She really liked its tail.

What's that bruise and scratch on her perfect little cheek? Why, that's from knocking into a closing door. She also fell down a half staircase about a half hour later. We're good parents. We take good care of her. Really.

Oh, this picture of her chewing on a chef's knife? I'm sure it's photo-shopped. It would never happen. Really!

Don't believe me? Ask the imp herself. She knows the truth!

Lots of Celebrations

We got to experience lots of celebrations with Isaac's family this weekend. His oldest sister Evelyn got married to a man we all like very much! I meant to take pictures at the wedding, but ended up with only one. You'll just have to take my word that Evelyn looked lovely!

That night we slept over at Isaac's parents' house. Let's just say there was lots of wrestling, throwing things, and general chaos of the best kind. I am amazed that things don't get broken more often when those boys get together!

We celebrated Isaac's youngest sister Ana's 19th birthday. We ate a traditional meal of Guatemalan food (she is from Guatemala) and it was incredible! Thank goodness my tastes have changed since I went to Guatemala at age 9! We also played Guesstures, Ana's favorite game that she begs for every get-together, to honor her birthday!

The granddaughters piled on "Oma" for cuddles. We also celebrated Isaac's oldest brother Joel's announcement that he and his wife are expecting a baby next year!

Elizabeth and her cousin Angelica can't get enough of Uncle Nathaniel and Cousin Andrew. They are the coolest teenage boys I have ever met. They are fantastic with kids, smart and conversant with adults, hilarious at play and joking, and helpful to boot!

Elizabeth got to join in the children's Christmas program at Oma and Opa's church, which was extra special since we missed our church's program to celebrate this weekend. She jumped bravely in and did wonderfully.

It might have been the most fun we've had at a VanLoon Christmas! (Norwoods, we'd love to play the game Elephant Ready with you. It's a crazy game that the whole family can play.)

Sushi, Anyone?

Some friends brought sushi to our small group gathering. I had never tried sushi (nor did I think I would like it!) but when else would I get a chance to try sushi for free? I sure don't want to pay for it!

So I tried it. It was salmon wrapped in seaweed. It was actually worse than I had expected. It was so bad that I didn't know if I'd be able to get it down without gagging or throwing up. Oof da!

On the way home, I seized upon the teaching opportunity and talked to Elizabeth about how glad I was that I had tried it, and even if I didn't like it this time, maybe I would next time, and how I was proud of myself, and so on and so on.

Finally I turned to her and said, "Aren't you proud of Mama for trying sushi?"

"No!" she burst out. "I'm sad for you that it was so horrible!"

Maybe I'll have to keep working on the teaching opportunities!

Old Age

Elizabeth said to Isaac, "Daddy, you're 29. That's almost 30. And 30 is almost 40, and 40 is almost 50!"

She told her friend's mom that I'm 27, though, so we're good!

Ready to Celebrate Christ

We are set for Christmas - all the presents have been made, purchased, and wrapped as appropriate. Aaah!

Now I can relax and settle in to celebrate Christ. All year long!

Nice Choices

Elizabeth made a list of compliments about me. It was very nice- except that she only wrote four of them and one of them was "I like your husband!"

I felt better when I read the list she made for Isaac. He got four as well, except his included both "I like your wife" and "I like your family!"

Oh, the silly stuff kids notice about us. Elizabeth recently overheard me talking about possibly dying my hair red sometime, and started crying about how much she likes me as a blonde. Hair color isn't something I've ever thought of as being important to my children.

I wonder sometimes if we have equally silly priorities about the things we notice about God. Do we focus on externals (His provision, His creation) and ignore the internals (His righteousness, His holiness)? Not that His provision and creation aren't hugely worthy of adoration, but He is so much more than that. Just a thought...

Amelie in the Snow

We took Amelie out to play in the snow for the first time this weekend. She loved it!

Isaac and Elizabeth were busy making snow angels and shoveling all the snow in the backyard into one big pile. (Some families rake leaves together. Others make snow piles!)

Amelie wasn't a very big help.

After a while, Amelie managed to take off both pairs of mittens I had forced on her. She kept repeating, "Brr!" but didn't want to go inside or put the mittens back on.

Eventually, of course, I had to take her in before her poor little hands developed frostbite. She screamed the whole way inside in protest.

Mooch

Hi. My name is Allison. I'll go anywhere for free meals.

Thanks for lunch and dinner, Mom!

Family Carol Sing

One of my favorite parts of Christmas each year is the annual carol sing with my mom's family. It's mostly about the food and family, but we sing some carols too! Maija is by far the best piano player among us, so she is always enlisted to accompany.

With two professional photographers among us, there's not a lot of need for me to have my camera along too!

Elizabeth is always thrilled to be with her cousins.

They were very enthusuastic singers - until they got bored.

Dad claimed Amelie and chased her around patiently.

It was pretty tough to get a picture of all of us girls smiling at once.

What Are We In For?

Amelie is getting at least one molar right now and probably three more. It's pretty ugly around here sometimes, and she hasn't slept very well for days (not that that's unusual, but this time we have an excuse!). Anyway, I put her down for a much-needed nap today at 3:05. She's still sleeping, and it's almost 8:00! I think she thinks it's nighttime.

I'm trying to look at this as a good thing. Maybe it will catch her up on sleep and the teeth will break through and everything will be fantastic tomorrow. Besides, I had a very nice night crafting with Elizabeth while she slept.

Or maybe we'll be up all night. Or worse yet, up for the day at 3:00 in the morning!

Is That a Compliment?

Elizabeth was worried her grandparents wouldn't understand a note she had written them. "I think they will," I comforted. "They're pretty smart, right?"

She pondered that. "They're old, I guess. That means kind of smart."

More Fun with Words

Elizabeth brought home from school a list that she had made of words that start with "S." It was pretty typical: Sam, science, sail - until I came to scotch.

"How did you think of the word scotch, honey?" I asked, cringing silently at what the teacher thinks of our family's (non-existent) hard drinking habits.

"It was on a roll of tape on the teacher's desk!"

Hope she explained that to her teacher, too!

Ice Skating

I took Elizabeth ice skating for the first time since last year. Although the entire event took less than an hour, she's really improved since last year and I hope we might have fun skating together this year! (But definitely without Amelie - holding Elizabeth up is all I can handle!)

Cuddle Bugs

Although Amelie is a constantly-on-the-move, active, intense baby, she's always managed to be a little cuddle bug at the same time. Here, she's giving Daddy "cuddles" whenever he asks for them.

Of course, when I saw that, I had to get in there too.

We thank God for the moments she's not emptying the garbage cans, climbing into the bathtub, or messing up the printer! I love that baby!

Manners - In Your Face!

Elizabeth has been testing her boundaries on politely eating what we serve her, so on our way to my godparents' house for dinner tonight, we played a manners game.

Isaac: "If they served you soup made of swamp water and olives, what would you say?"
Me: "Thank you! I love olives!"

Me: "If they put dirty socks on your plate for you to eat, what would you say?"
Isaac: "Would you help me cut them please?"

Me: "If they served you a brownie that you thought was chocolate but was actually made of mud, what would you say?"
Elizabeth, making a yucky face: Blank stare

At least our game was fun, if not terribly effective.

However, when we walked in the door of my godparents' house, the first thing Elizabeth told them about was the game we played in case they served something she didn't like! Maybe next time we'll tell her it's a secret game!

(Disclaimer: They always serve excellent food!)

Productive Morning

I felt pretty good about what I'd gotten done today. I drove Elizabeth to school and had a short conference with her teacher. I filled up on gas. I cut Isaac's hair. I grocery shopped with Amelie at two grocery stores (without a meltdown!) and fed her lunch as I cleaned the refrigerator and put all the groceries away.

I was feeling pretty good about my morning.

Then I looked at the clock. It was after 2:00.

Elizabeth will be home from school in less than two hours and I haven't even eaten lunch or had my quiet time yet! (Please don't mention that I'm blogging right now!)

So much for my productive "morning"!

Nerdiest Thing You've Done?

I just finished alphabetizing a list of authors that Isaac and I enjoy reading. For fun. I also have computerized lists of places we want to camp, books for Elizabeth to read as she gets older, lesson plan indexes, holiday ideas, and (embarrassingly) so much more.

I don't know if that's the nerdiest thing I've ever done, but it's got to be up there.

You?

Come on, indulge me!

Not Quite Connecting

Amelie and I spent a recent afternoon working on learning "No." (We do this frequently!) Over and over again, she went to the computer printer and tried to push buttons. Over and over again, I said "No" and, when she pushed the button anyway, picked her up and sat her down against a wall.

Finally, she responded appropriately. I said "No" and she turned around and walked away! I started to praise her for listening, when she walked right past me and sat down in self-imposed time-out against the wall.

I guess we're not quite connecting yet!

List Making

Elizabeth is really into making lists right now (I don't know where she gets it!). She makes lists of friends, people in her class, numbers, colors, words she can spell, etc. I'm posting some of my favorites.

A List of Compliments: "Very nice. Good Job. I like it. I love it."A Note Written During Our Small Group: "I am not sleepy. I whoud like to go to school. I rilly whant to."
And finally, my very favorite: She carried this one around the room of all our small group members. It says, "Im very hungry!"