A Pastor's Christmas Eve

Well, I've been through my first Christmas Eve as a pastor. You know, typical short day at the office, come home early, then have a nice dinner at home with family and friends. After dinner, we had an amazing chocolate mousse that Alisa made. Then after our friends went home we put Abby to bed, read Hannah Twas the Night Before Christmas, left out cookies and milk for Santa, and put Hannah to bed. Alisa and I enjoyed a nice quiet night to put our presents under the tree, listen to Christmas music, and sit back to watch a movie. It was a quiet and relaxing Christmas Eve. Not at all how we had planned for first year as a pastor.
But, we didn't factor in the foot of snow that we'd get that day, or how I would nearly get stuck at work. I eventually made it home at 2:15 that afternoon after nearly an hour drive (that normally takes 10 minutes), getting stuck on a big hill behind a semi, digging my car out of two parking lots, and stopping twice on the way home to scrape ice off the windshield. Just before I made this great trek home, I had talked with my session and we made the call to cancel the Christmas Eve service (actually to postpone it to this Sunday for our regular worship).
So, we had a little more snow Christmas morning, but have had a little break for over 24 hours now, until the next storm comes tonight. I'm estimating that we have had about 3 feet of snow in the last two weeks, and I did see this morning that Spokane has set a record for the snowiest December with 42.5". We've had some plowing this morning, so can get around town, but that is about it. So we are home, celebrating Christmas and staying warm. And the seven day forecast has snow every day ahead. Merry Christmas!
I'm sure Alisa will do a post soon with some pictures.

Christmas Party (playgroup style)

Today the playgroup that we go to had a Christmas party. I, of course, did not bring my camera, but did manage to mooch off a more prepared mom who did bring her camera (see Jennifer--some things never change!). Abby is not in the pictures as she was crawling all around Fellowship Hall, not bothering to stop for some silly pictures.

Normally playgroup is very laid back (we moms have much easier time chatting if there is no organized activity-plus, all the kids are stir crazy after staying indoors and love just running wild around the Hall). Today, however, in honor of Christmas, we decided to actually do some work. I brought some salt dough ornaments (basically, they look like over baked cookies) for the kids to paint and another mom brought sugar cones for them to spread with green frosting and turn into Christmas trees. All in all, fun was had by everyone and sugar was consumed!

Painting the ornaments

Eating the tree

Group picture!

(about half the kids in the picture are from Hannah's preschool)

Also should confess how much I miss my CRW playgroup every time we attend one here-the one here is great, I'm getting to know the moms, Hannah is making friends, but we still always miss our dear friends from Princeton. Something about that group of mothers, maybe because we were all so new to this mommy thing when we banded together or maybe because of the similarity in beliefs, that has made an indelible mark on my life. Okay, now I'm just being sappy!

Note to self

Remember when you were a kid and for fun put a soda can in the freezer, just to see what would happen (oh, your brother didn't think of that?)

Today I discovered something funny, soda cans (or, as Kevin calls them, pop cans) left in the car trunk in below freezing temperatures react the same way. For those of you who never preformed this experiment at home as a child, let me tell you what happens -- or better yet, let me show you!



That brown stuff in the picture, looks grainy, that would be frozen Diet Dr. Pepper. The packages of soda are busted open, as the soda cans exploded. In all, 13 cans died due to freezing temperatures, making the "buy 2 get 3 free" sale slightly less appealing, more of a "buy 2 get almost 2 free."

Thus, my note to self: when you find a great sale and bring home more soda then you'll need, even if it is only 9 degrees outside, and you have a baby to keep warm and no extra help, DO NOT leave the soda in the trunk of the car. Bad things can happen.

Kevin would like me to add a previous misstep I did involving grocery shopping and items left in the trunk. Only this story involved 100+ degree temperatures and fresh fish. I think I'll leave it there....

All I want for Christmas is... a set of snow tires!

Almost a foot of snow will change your Christmas list... :)

Last Friday, the girls and I set off for story time at the library, only to leave an hour later where there was around an inch or two of snow. By the time we arrived home Hannah went up and told Kevin that Mommy wanted snow tires. That day it snowed several inches, some of which blew away the next day (they said it was "blizzard like" conditions, which was overstating it), although it did snow a bit more. Since then, we had a few snow free days, only to awaken this morning to snow falling steadily for about 12 hours, depositing about 5 or more inches (really, all these inches are guesses, I stick my hand on a pile of snow and see how far it sinks in and estimate). Oh, and I should add that the temperature is hovering in the the single digits and will for awhile (for Christmas it might reach 30 degrees!).

Must admit, haven't lived in the snow for about 5 years, kind of forgot how to live in the snow (all those Princeton people -- let's admit it, NJ doesn't really get that much snow, it snows for a day and it melts and life is barely affected). Here, I'm pretty sure, the snow will be here for Christmas and beyond. Must re-learn (or just properly learn) how to drive in the snow. Thus, my Christmas wish...


Still, snow has it advantages. We decided to spend the weekend housebound, which pretty much worked. We baked gingerbread cookies, went sledding, made a snowman and snow angels, and drank hot chocolate. It was the break we needed. Sunday was of course spent at church, although even that was more family time as I refused to drive to church so Kevin had to wait to drive us. Tuesday found me driving in the snow, which made me quite proud of myself (and I did good!). Most likely would have grown cocky on my snow driving ability if it hadn't dumped on us today. Back to having a chauffeur take us to Hannah's preschool tomorrow (I get to help out with the Christmas party).

Sledding on the sled we've had for the past few years (a gift from a friend's mom). Abby had fun too!




Snowman (not much snow when he was built)


Snow angels


The girls were set to get a sled from us for Christmas. We caved. When you get snow like this, you can't hold back a cool new sled -- plus, who knows if we'll have powder like this for Christmas? (and let me tell you, the powder is amazing!)


Girls had fun with it.

Gingerbread cookies to recover with



Best Christmas tree picture I could get...

And yes, there is supposed to be more snow tomorrow. And the next day. Then skip Saturday but wait, Sunday again has snow. I really need snow tires...

Side note: Just saw the news, chains required in Spokane. Chains are NEVER required in Spokane. Oh, and sub zero temperatures in our future. That is the storm we are dealing with. At least it will be a white Christmas...

Tidbits of knowledge

The last few weeks have been a learning experience, some profound, some not so. Thought I would share them here. Oh, and this is Alisa again, finally found a moment to post.

Tidbit 1: Abby is a diva.
She is a diva in a totally unique way -- my mellow baby is quite dramatic with her emotions. 6 months ago she would demonstrate this by collapsing on the ground crying when we tried to make her crawl. Today it is more often shown by her gasping, covering her mouth with hand when surprised by something or clapping with delight, two things that she does ALL the time and is super cute!

Tidbit 2: Turkey is better with rosemary.
This last week we had our family's little Thanksgiving. We had a great one on Thanksgiving with Kevin's parents, but, due to the 7 hour car ride back, had no leftovers. Plus, someone gave us a small turkey that needed to be eaten. So, we had Thanksgiving and it was good! Here is my tip: stuff rosemary under the skin of the turkey and in it's cavity. Delicious!

Tidbit 3: Never start anything new in the month before Christmas.
Should have thought of that before I started a new job, took on starting the junior/senior high Sunday School (we're doing The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe) and volunteered to bake for the Christmas bazaar. Note to self--have more self-control when agreeing to do things (maybe practice saying no).

Tidbit 4: Get Christmas tree up the day after Thanksgiving.
The Christmas season is too crazy in a pastor's family for waiting to put up the tree or it just might not get up till Christmas morning. Our tree went up last night, but it was very hard to find that time to put it up. Kevin might add to this that we won't be traveling at Thanksgiving time for awhile, he found it hard to go from traveling to jumping into his busy schedule. We'll see what this means for future Thanksgivings.

Tidbit 5: It's okay to leave a Christmas party with the gift you brought.
I know, I know! Sounds crazy! Hear me out. Kevin and I went to a Christmas party and each brought a gift to exchange. Kevin brought the new J.K. Rowling's book, The Tales of Beetle the Bard. What did you expect me to do?! Someone could have stolen the book from me (it was one of those white elephant gift exchanges that totally allows stealing) but they didn't, so, I got the book I wanted fair and square!

Tidbit 6: Kids haven't changed too much in the last three years.
Last week saw my return to the classroom, this time as a substitute teacher (something I once swore off of). Glad to report, it wasn't too frightening! And, I started out as in the 6th grade (that is when they are scary and big!). It is also easier subbing after having teaching experience--maybe it is that I don't scare so easily. Not as good as having your own classroom, but so far, I have enjoyed it (disclaimer: have only done 3 days, 6th and 3rd grade). Now if only there was a magical way to juggle childcare...

Some of these lessons were hard learned. The payment for them has come directly from my sleep and stress level. Still, I think we are wiser for them. And, I for one can say that presents and Christmas shopping are so not my focus or worry (did my shopping on Amazon the Monday after Christmas, pretty much just have to wrap), so I guess that is good... :)

A Search for Meaning

This Christmas season I (Kevin again!), like many of you, have been rethinking the ways we tend to celebrate Christmas and how to make this time of year more meaningful and less exhausting. Alisa and I are both busy and tired, so I'm not sure how well it is working, but here are my thoughts as I wrote in our church newsletter.

In Sunday worship services during Advent we have been talking about how to meaningfully prepare for Christmas in order to truly celebrate what God has done for us, what God has done for the world. There has to be more to it that buying a long list of presents, attending a bunch of concerts or Christmas parties, and baking/cooking/traveling/decorating/singing…. Don’t get me wrong, I love Christmas and the many traditions and celebrations that come along with it. But I want to make sure that I don’t miss the meaning.
So, here are some things I’ve come up with to celebrate the meaning of Christmas.

1) The Monday before Thanksgiving, Hannah and I went down to the Food Bank to hand out Thanksgiving baskets to over 100 families in less than two hours! During the holidays we enjoy great meals with family and it was a joy to know that many people in our own community were given the opportunity to do the same! We hope to go back right before Christmas.

2) Advent Calendars are wonderful things. We always had one on the mantle over the fireplace as a kid, and it was a great December tradition. My family and I have continued this tradition at our house with an advent calendar we do each night after dinner. Inside each day on the calendar we have a simple advent Bible verse to read and a sweet little chocolate!

3) Personally, I have greatly enjoyed going through an advent devotional each day. Often I only spend 10-15 minutes on it, but it’s a great reminder of the meaning of Christmas and sometimes leads to a great prayer time or further Bible reading.

4) The Trees of Sharing is a neat thing our community does to give gifts to local children who are not as fortunate. We give and receive many gifts in this season, but there are plenty of people who don’t often get to share in that joy. It is something I’m glad my family did, and it is even more meaningful when you have to explain it to a 3-year old. You always learn something more deeply when you teach it.

The Season of Advent is just about half way through, which means we still have about 15 days to prepare for the celebration of Christmas. That means we have plenty of opportunity to practice those things which help us to make Christmas a meaningful time and to seek new ways to celebrate the true meaning of Christmas.

At least we're not ALWAYS busy...

In this season of Advent I have been trying to find time to not be so busy getting ready for Christmas. I keep tell myself that we have alot going on, but I want to resist the label "busy." Fact is, it always feels like we are busy, and even more so this time of year....

So, I am coming to terms with this fact, yet still trying to find times to schedule in to not be busy...to enjoy special Christmas traditions, to decorate, bake and read with my family, and to have a little quiet time each day to reflect on Advent...

Recent challenges to this goal have been many:

-the last two weekends (Th-Sat) away, first to Leavenworth (a great mini-vacation) and then for Thanksgiving to my parents (in Vancouver)
-Alisa starting a new job (after-school program leader, 2nd grade, 2 afternoons/week)

-Alisa substituting 2 days this week

-Me diving into Advent stuff at church

-Hannah with her normal high-energy self

-Abby with her constant desire for parental attention

-Christmas shopping, lights, decorations, cards.....you know the story

Still, I won't say that we are ALWAYS busy, we've had some great family times, great Christmas-prep times, and Alisa and I even got to go out to see a movie! In this busy season, I hope you can make some time to not be so busy and remember the purpose behind all the preparations.

My apologies that Alisa has been to busy to post or take pictures, so I did my best job with the post, and here are our photographers.

Musical challenge

[sing to tune of "where o where has my little dog gone" or whatever that song is called]

Where o where has my time gone,

O where o where could it be?

[now, I don't have time to finish the song, so why don't you do that for me...]

Leavenworth

Here are some pictures from our trip to Leavenworth...

As you can tell, we all had a great time!

***

To celebrate National Alisa Day (aka-my birthday) we are driving 6 hours to my in-laws -- who doesn't want a road trip with two small children for a birthday gift? Actually, Kevin did a great job yesterday celebrating my birthday and I was promised a chai and a People magazine for the trip--so, it is practically a day off, right?!

This and that...

This is one of those posts that just encompass a little bit of everything...

This past "weekend" (a pastor's weekend is not your average Saturday/Sunday) our family headed to Leavenworth, a "Bavarian" village located just west of the "apple capital" and just east of the Cascades Mountains. Kevin and I visited Leavenworth a few times in college and it was fun to go back. It was also fun because we got free lodging at a great place due to someone Kevin knows in Presbytery. I'll post more pictures later.

***

On the positive Hannah news front: Hannah has lately seemed to be really understanding the alphabet in a deeper way. The other day when Kevin told her that we were going to Leavenworth, she practiced saying Leavenworth a few times and then told Kevin that it sounded like "L" -- where did she get that?! Then, this morning while feeding Abby her yogurt, she asked what kind Abby was having. I told her apple and she then said it sounded like "[making short a sound]". Hannah definitely does not know all of her alphabet letters, nor has she learned much more about letters since starting preschool (a source of frustration for me). Still, we do try to teach her (or at least, say) the letter sound along with the name of the letter. The kindergarten teacher in me was just thrilled to hear her putting it together in a more complex way.

***

On the negative Hannah news front: last night Kevin and I went out to a play, having a sweet church lady watch the girls. Abby, who was exhausted after our trip, went to bed before we left and slept the whole time. Hannah was a pill. Her behavior has been improving, mostly, but last night she was awful! When we got back at 9:30, she was still up, having refused to go to bed and thrown a fit. She then pretty much trashed the place. Sweet church lady did the best she could, but Hannah was a handful.

***

Abby has taken her first steps! I'm so proud of my girl! I honestly thought Christmas was a realistic prediction of when she would walk. For a girl that didn't crawl till 10 1/2 months, walking at 13 is pretty darn good. So far, she has gotten up to 4 or 5 steps. Best part -- when she falls, she doesn't get upset. Kevin and I were both worried that our cautious girl would be held back on the walking front due to not wanting to fall. Of course, she also has her first "black eye" due to crashing while attempting to walk....

***

I got a job! Not sure if that "!" is excitement, dread or just plain fear... Now, don't get too excited -- it is very part time, which is about the only time I have. I will be doing after school programs for the school. For 2 days a week I'll be working with 10 2nd graders to improve their reading and math, then for 1 day a week I'll be teaching a digital photography class at the high school. This job is perfect for me -- gets me working in the district, is at a time where it isn't too disruptive to our lives, actually uses my teaching gifts (something my old tutoring job never did) and pays fairly decently. It will also be a way to get me substitute teaching some in the elementary, which I am less excited about but, at this point, I really miss teaching and need something outside of the girls, even for a just a few hours a week.

This week is sure to be crazy -- in the next 2 and 1/2 days I've got a dr. appointment for both girls, playgroup (which I run), preschool, meeting for job, dance, birthday celebration (cake making) and a newsletter to write. Oh, and packing to go on a 3 day trip. Ugh. I feel tired already...

Sweet on the outside.... trouble on the inside?

Lately I feel like I am living with identical twins, one good, one evil (of course they never appear at the same time).

This is good twin.

Isn't she cute? Adorable? She gives lots of hugs, tells you she loves you, loves story time, caring for her babies and playing with her sister.

This is what bad twin did today.

She refuses to do time outs, doesn't care what you take away from her, refuses to stay in her room for nap time (now that she knows how to use the baby door lock, no place is safe from her) and frequently tackles her sister. This kid has me pulling out my hair with no clue how to get her back in line.

Good and bad twin will be sleeping in this room tonight. Maybe a sticker chart to get furniture and toys back will help... We'll see. At this point, I will try anything, so if you have a crazy idea, shoot it my way.

****

Here is one of my birthday trees. It is the Japaneses maple. The Prairefire Crab Apple tree is just a stick in the ground.

Rest for the weary

This past week has been a blur --- Kevin left at 4:45 am Tuesday morning for a conference in the Colorado Rockies and is driving home as I write this, 9 pm Friday night. It has been a LONG 4 days, but I survived, and for that, I am proud. Have never solo parented this long.

So, at Kevin's conference, which was for the Company of New Pastors, a PC(USA) program to support new pastors that Kevin joined his last year of seminary, he got to hang out with a bunch of Princeton friends. His roommate was Kenny, our neighbor and very good friend, which made me jealous that Jennifer and I couldn't tag along and hang out together. He got to meet another friend's 3 month old baby (but I'm not too jealous of this as I'll be meeting little Asher at the end of the month) and just generally got to hang out with a lot of cool people. Me -- I tried to make sure that all three of us girls lived through the last four days (cleanliness optional). Uhhh. Lucky Kevin. Tomorrow, lucky me -- I see a morning to sleep in, a People magazine to read and a nice big no foam, no water Vanilla Soy Chai to drink. It will be nice....

Someone recently asked me about the website with all the butterfly stuff and I thought I would include this link - they are having a sale where you get free fairy/butterfly wings when you spend $75 (which is a bit much) or just free shipping on orders over $35. Sale ends soon (like four days, I think).

The Lost Abby Stats Post

Really. It has taken me almost a month to post on Abby's 1 year development - something I've been waiting to do for three weeks now. My excuse? Well, there are plenty and I'll just skip them least I forget to give the Abby update.

Abby is 21 lbs and 4 oz, which puts her in the 52% and 29 1/2 inches, which is at the 57% (her height based on the sloppy standing measurement had her in the 25%--which is kind of a big deal because it made her weight way over her height as opposed to practically even). So, she perfectly proportioned, right in the middle (a place Hannah never hung out).

Speaking wise, she is developing quite a vocabulary. Here it is as of 1 year:

Dada

Mama

Hannah

Kitty

More

Uh-oh

Ball

Yeah!!

Pretty extensive -- although she doesn't do them perfectly clear or all the times we put her on the spot to do it. Kitty is really more of a "titty" or something like that - and she likes to follow it up with a lip smacking sound, like she is calling Bentley to herself. Dada and Mama often become more of a "dadadadadada..." or "mamamamama..." as she impatiently tries to get us to do what she wants (most often, pick her up!).

Teeth wise she is coming right along -- she had 8 when she turned one (the four middle ones on the top and the bottom) and the next week she got her first molar (ouch!). She does not like teething, but hey, only 11 more to go!

Abby also loves to blow kisses to us. Learned it from her sister who has a ridiculous routine of "2 kisses for you -- make sure you rub them all around! No, that one was for your head, not your cheek! Okay, now catch two to give to Daddy. Rub them all around for Daddy!" and so on and so forth. Still, Abby likes to participate in putting Hannah down for a nap and thus, has learned how to do kisses.

In the movement area she is still behind where Hannah was, although doing so well that I'm not worried that I'll be carrying her to 1st grade. Loves to crawl, loves to pull herself up on things and cruise around. Just yesterday she finally figured out how to use a push toy correctly and is zooming all around with it. It might take awhile for her to walk just because she is so cautious -- she won't let go because she doesn't want to fall (a fear Hannah never had). Maybe by Christmas she'll be walking? Easter at the latest? (Okay, that was a joke).

Every time I post on Abby I feel the compelling need to state that she is our sweetheart, our little love bug baby (in some form or another). I hate to bore you with the same post, again and again, using just different adjectives, but it is true! Our backs hurt from the constant carrying, we wish she wouldn't cry every Sunday when the nursery worker takes her, we hope for the day when she wants someone other than me or Kevin to hold her, but we revel in our daughter who is so full of love for us and expresses it so well.

****

In other news, you might have heard that Obama won by a landslide. Not talking about the general election (although, 53% is pretty close to one), but the preschool one. Hannah's class, in the Republican belt of north/central WA, voted 10 to 4 for Obama. I'm guessing most of them didn't ask their dad's who to vote for (although our county, and all the counties around us, went McCain, I'm proud to say that Spokane went for Obama, something Kevin and I thought might happen when, the last time we were there, we noticed only one McCain sticker-and it was really more a Palin sticker-and at least 10 Obama stickers. For the Governor's race, how counties voted was totally, 100%, decided by the mountain range separating Eastern WA from Western WA-spooky, huh?)

Back to the preschool vote -- I totally violated my daughter's right to cast her ballot in privacy and spied on her. She voted for Obama (which I'm guessing has more to do with his fun name than her parents sharing their voting beliefs just because we didn't talk to Hannah about it -- she is a big mouth and Kevin takes seriously pastors not sharing who they vote for, although he did preach two sermons on our responsibilities as Christian to allow our beliefs to influence how we vote, just like we allow it influence how we parent, do business, etc.) and Dino Rossi, splitting her ticket between party lines. Disappointed that she voted for Rossi, he's struck me as a slimy car salesman type, but with a cool name like Dino, how could she resist?

As I was putting her to bed Tuesday I explained to her that Obama got the "most-est votes" and would be President. Tried to tell her that she should remember this day because it will still matter when she is bigger, that is was extra important what happened. I thought I was getting through to her till she asked when she could watch Obama and McCain in the races and then pantomimed swimming. Yes, my daughter was confusing the presidential race with the Olympic swim races (which, if those were mixed, Obama is thankful Phelps didn't join in). Well, teaching Hannah about civic duty and presidential politics might still be advanced, but, hey, I tried and I'll try again.

***

I think it should also be mentioned that this past Saturday marked the beginning of, what we at our house call, National Alisa Month (aka-November). There are 20 shopping days left till the big (28?!) event. Mom, Kevin, if you are wondering what I want, look here. Kevin did kick off the celebration by bringing home two trees today to plant outside (I guess wet fall is a good time to do so-who knew?). We now have a Prairefire Crab Apple Tree and a Japanese Maple Tree. Our barren front yard will definetly benefit from the addition of these two trees (pictures at a later date).

2 Little Pumpkins...

Our Halloween celebrations were kicked off by some good ol' fashion pumpkin carving. This month I have inundated Hannah with pumpkin books, both fiction and nonfiction, so she was dying to stick her hand inside the gooey mess of a pumpkin and pull out some seeds to eat. Carving definitely took a backseat to squishing, although she did have fun telling Kevin exactly what shapes she wanted on the pumpkin's face.


Her grandma had also gotten her a Mrs. Potato Head for pumpkins, which Hannah was more excited about than carving.

Hannah enjoyed showing off her pumpkins, and even let Abby get in on it.


We had a warm-up to Halloween on Thursday, when Hannah went to school in her costume and then later, when we all went downtown for Moonlight Madness. Piggy and Butterfly had fun walking around (and Hannah even left her headband on for most of the time!). On Halloween we had some friends over for dinner (and pumpkin cheesecake dessert-yum!). Brianna also went as a butterfly. The butterflies had fun trick-or-treating, especially when they were given giant size Hershey bars! I do believe while trick-or-treating Hannah was on her best behavior in two days... Abby, unfortunately, had a less exciting time -- being pushed around in a stroller while others are off getting candy isn't the most fun. Next year will be more fun for Abby. Here is a picture of 16 day old Abby getting in on the trick-or-treating. Wore her out... (look at how tiny she is in the stroller as compared to this year!)

Our girls, 1 year ago.

My girls

Which one is which?

Okay, not tough at all. I do believe my girls are following in my sister's and mine tradition of not looking alike. I mean, yes, they do look related, but not by much. Abby, thus far, has a fairer complexion than Hannah -- her hair is just brown, not dark brown/black like Hannah, Kevin and I; her skin is light (well, only when compared to her sister and dad - put her next to a blondie and she is dark); and her eyes are not dark brown. In fact, her eyes are not really anything. We've been waiting till she hit the year mark to call her eye color, mostly in the hopes that when this mark came it would be apparent -- it is not. Still, I feel like Abby needs an eye color (and her doctor said that her eyes aren't going to change at this point) so here is the color: gray/brown hazel. Is that an official color to mark on driver's licenses? I feel partially responsible for this color ambiguity, my eyes are green/brown (or, as my driver's license says, hazel). However, hazel, to me, has always been more of a green thing than a gray. Which, if I forever dress Abby in green, her eyes are the more traditional hazel. Still, in pictures, her eyes just look dark. I think a quick, and incomplete, summary would be that Hannah has Kevin's coloring and more of my features and Abby has more of my coloring and Kevin's features. What do you think? Girls look alike? Look like one parent more than the other?

The girls are continuing to be different in more than just looks. Abby, thus far (really, when making generalizations about kids, everything is a "thus far"), is a lover not a fighter, a cuddlier not a daredevil. I foresee less trips to the ER, as long as we can keep her sister from injuring Abby in her exploits. My back still hurts from carrying her all the times (obviously her idea, not mine), but must admit, she is getting down more to explore. Abby is social, always watching, smiling, pretty in-tune to other people, although also still reluctant to let them hold her. Mommy and Daddy are her favorite seats to watch the world go by. Despite their differences, the girls play together more every day -- today saw games of chase, pass back (would call it catch if throwing was involved), and empty the cupboards (who knew that was a game?!). It will be interesting how the girls interactions with each other help shape and mold their personalities. A quick, while still incomplete, summary of their personality would be that Hannah is more like me and Abby is more like Kevin, which should hopefully mean that they get along in the years to come since Kevin and I get along! We'll see how that works out when they are both hormonal teenagers (can I just admit right now that I already worry about teenage girls, close in age? Any other mother's of girls with me?).

I am grateful that my girls are different from each others, in looks and personality. It is so much fun watching them develop into their own, unique person, and, while I do compare them for my own amusement, I am glad to find a totally new discovery in Abby.