Christmas 2012

Christmas was definitely a success this year! Elizabeth was able to attend as a full-fledged little person this year, instead of just as an embryo with waving arms and legs like she did last year. Evie was actually able to appreciate and participate in our Christmas traditions this year, too. For example, when we were still in Idaho for Thanksgiving, Todd helped my dad and brother put their lights up on the house before the major snowfalls in December made the roof too slippery. Anyway, as soon as they turned on the lights to make sure that they work, Evie wanted to go outside to gawk at the pretty "nights," and we practically had to wrestle her back inside. Since then, every time we drive past a lit house at night, she excitedly points out the lights to the rest of us. So, when we finally put up our own Christmas tree and decorated it with our own lights, it was as if Christmas had come early. ;)

Every year, our local mall has Santa come in for a couple weeks before Christmas, and people can come in with their own cameras to get free pictures with Santa. We did it last year, and Evie seemed to do well, so we thought that this year would be really fun for the girls. Unfortunately, we waited a little too long, so when we finally got around to visiting Santa, his shift was almost done and his helpers wouldn't take the time to just do pictures of the girls with Santa. Instead, we all got pushed onto his lap for a few quick pictures. This was the best one of the lot:

When I was visiting a friend of mine, her kids showed Evie a fun toy that they'd just received from their Grandma: a singing Christmas tree that lit up and sang "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree." It was actually cute and not as offensively annoying as most other singing toys I've come across. Evie was enthralled! Her new-found love of lights, combined with her appreciation for all things musical, made this the most enchanting toy she'd ever seen. My friend's little boy very kindly offered to let Evie borrow the dancing tree for a few days, as long as she took care of it and returned it before Christmas Eve. Evie eagerly accepted the offer, and we were treated to endless choruses of "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree" for the next week. She loved that tree so much that Todd and I looked up where it came from so we could get one of our very own. We finally found out that it came from Macy's, so we headed over that night to see if they had any left so close to Christmas and how much they were. It turns out that they did have a couple left, and they were even on 40% off sale, so we headed home with our very own dancing tree in tow. On Christmas morning, Evie headed straight for that tree, and we finally had to take it away so she would open her other presents!

She finally did open all of her presents, and she got quite a great haul, too! I was finally able to collect Evie and all of her great gifts into one place a couple of days later, before breaking down the tree for my birthday:

Then, of course, I gathered Elizabeth and all of her gifts together in one place, and did the same thing with her:

Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night!

Christmas Angels

Tonight, our family received a miracle. Todd and I had just put the girls to bed and were watching "It's a Wonderful Life" when the doorbell rang. A couple of minutes later, his parents called down to us and told us to come on upstairs. When we got there, we saw a huge box, full of wrapped presents, most of which were addressed to our girls! The side of the box held a sign that read "To the Todd Jacobs family: Merry Christmas!" We currently have the box tucked away upstairs so that the girls don't find it before tomorrow night. I was already excited for Christmas this year because we planned it so that we were going to be able to give our girls a better Christmas than last year, but now it will be even better!  I had so much joy in my heart that it started to leak out of my eyes. Someone out there loves us very much; enough to go out and spend lots of time and money picking out wonderful gifts for our family and then wrapping them up for us. If this kind act was yours, please know how much we appreciate your generosity! Thank you so much, our Christmas angels, and I hope, whoever and wherever you are, that you have a wonderfully Merry Christmas, too!

Favorites

I have a small confession: When I was pregnant with Ella, I was worried that I'd secretly favor one child over the other. I thought, since I've known Evie longer and Ella is a relative stranger, that I'd unconsciously prefer Evie over her little sister. Or I thought, since Ella is littler and needs more care and attention, that I'd unconsciously focus more on her and basically ignore Evie altogether. Either way, I was worried about favoritism, and I would lie awake at night, haunted by the thought that I might love one of my children more than the other.

Then Elizabeth was born. Sure, the first few weeks were strange as we adjusted to having a new little person in our family. But now, several months later, I've come to a new and wonderful realization: I don't have a favorite! Don't get me wrong, my babies are not clones of one another; they're actually very different people, and that difference is what is so liberating. I love each girl differently than I love her sister, but not less. I love the very differences that make each girl unique. Evie looks like a mini-me of her daddy, but she acts more like me. Ella has my same coloring, but she acts just like her daddy. Evie is more bouncy; Ella is more calm. But they're both my babies, and each one has a part of me in her somewhere. Plus, I cheat just a little bit: I still tell each girl that she's my favorite, but not in a way that would make the other jealous. I tell Evie that she's my favorite brown-eyed baby girl, and I tell Elizabeth that she's my favorite blue-eyed baby girl. And the two of them together are my absolute favorite babies in the whole world!

Hobbit Baby

I'm sure most people have seem the scene in the first Lord of the Rings movie where Pippin talks about all of the meals hobbits enjoy in a single day:

Whenever I see this scene, it reminds me of Elizabeth; she nurses so many times--and so regularly--in a single day that sometimes I'm convinced she's actually a hobbit changeling!

Breakfast:

     6:30 am

Second Breakfast: 
     9:00 am

Elevensies:
     11:30 am

Luncheon:
     2:00 pm

Afternoon Tea:
     4:30 pm

Dinner:
     7:00 pm

Supper:
     9:30 pm

Midnight Snack:
     2:00 am

And yes, she adds an extra meal that isn't mentioned in the movie or book, but I'm sure that hobbits would love the idea; this girl's appetite would make any hobbit proud! I'm proud, too! I've been exclusively nursing Elizabeth for 5 months now, and she's a healthy and happy little girl with adorably chubby cheeks and a triple chin.

Bon appetit, my little hobbit baby!

A Letter to Ella

Dear Little-one,

Even though we've only been together for a few months now, I've already learned so much about you, my sweet child. For example, you are my little water-baby, and it shows in everything you do and are. You absolutely love taking baths and splashing in the water. Even when water splashes on your face, you just blink it away with your bright blue eyes and continue playing. Your favorite animals are tigers and hippos, which is fitting because tigers are the only big cats that enjoy swimming, and hippos are animals that spend most of their time submerged underwater. You fit right in with them, too: if you had a choice, you'd prefer to just stay in the water all day, splashing around and luxuriating in the tranquil buoyancy surrounding you. You soak up all of that tranquility and make it a part of yourself; you have such a soothing presence which just flows off of you in waves of peace and calm. You have the gift of quiet clarity, so whenever I hold you, I'm able to just slow down and reflect on the truly important things in my life: you and your sister and your daddy.

You're a relatively quiet baby with very simple pleasures: as long as you're being held and fed, you're happy. In fact, you would love nothing more than to be held all day long! This has caused me to wonder if your primary love language is Physical Touch. After all, when you cry, almost any physical contact works to calm you down. You like it when I stroke your face, but you love grabbing onto my finger and holding on while you drift off to sleep, as if you need tangible proof that I'm still there watching over you. You are, without a doubt, the most snuggly baby I've ever met, and I love picking you up and holding you close to my heart. I'm grateful that you're still exclusively nursing because I feel like it give me an excuse to just snuggle you several times a day, which I think strengthens our love-bond.

Because you're only a few months old, there are many things I don't know about you yet, but I'm looking forward to learning all of them. There are some things that I already know, though. For example, I know that I love you absolutely, and I know that you are a very special little girl. I'm thankful for your beautiful little spirit. I'm thankful for the blessing you are in my life. I'm thankful for your calming influence. I'm thankful that I get to be your Mommy. I'm thankful for YOU. Thank you for coming and making our family complete. You are my precious baby, and I love you so very much! Happy Thanksgiving, Little-one!

Love you forever,
Mommy

A Letter to Evie

Dear Evie-girl,

You are my sunshine! When I first chose that song for you, I didn't realize just how appropriate it was, but you are definitely a sun-baby. I finally realized just how much of your life is influenced by the sun. For example, your favorite colors are yellow and orange: very bright, sunny colors. Your favorite flowers are dandelions, which look like mini sunshines, and you love to pick them and put them behind your ears. Your favorite  animals are lions, particularly daddy lions, and with their tawny coloring and big manes, they can also be considered very sunny animals. And you fit right in with them, too. You look like a cute little baby lion with your big beautiful brown eyes and your tawny blonde hair that tends to fly all over the place. The way you chew on your favorite stuffed giraffe would make any lion proud! Also like your "kindred" lions, you would love nothing better than to play and lie out in the sun all day, soaking up its warmth and light. Fortunately, you've inherited your daddy's slightly darker complexion, so you never burn. And when you come back in, that light just radiates off of you in waves of joy and love. You make every day brighter, just by being in it!

Like the sun, the arts have always played a major role in who you are. Even when you were brand-new, you loved it when I would sing to you. Your favorite song was "I've Been Working on the Railroad," and it never failed to calm you down when you were upset. As you've grown, so has your love for music. You love humming along into a mouthpiece when Daddy plays his trombone. You love dancing whenever you hear a song on the radio. You love banging on the piano keys and singing along to your own special songs. I love singing songs to you and with you! Your new passion is art. You're a big fan of stickers, and you have such pride in your drawings, whether they be with pencil, crayon or marker. In fact, a couple of months ago, you defaced our couch with red Sharpie! You were so pleased to show me your artwork until you got into big trouble. Your daddy and I have very high hopes for your future, and we're excited to see how your love for music and/or art will play a part in it.

Because of the way that singing would calm you when nothing else would, I've often wondered if your primary love language is Words of Affirmation. You certainly picked up on language very quickly. You started babbling at a very young age, and once you started talking, you almost immediately transitioned into full sentences. Your vocabulary is actually many times larger than that of the average toddler your age, and your doctor has been impressed with how advanced your verbal skills are. I am so proud of you, and I try very hard to always be positive when I speak to you because I know how much words can either soothe or hurt you.

In addition to being very good at receiving love though words, you are also very good at demonstrating it in many ways. You are my little sweetheart, and I love how affectionate you are. In fact, you're one of my best friends; I love the time we spend talking, giggling, snuggling, and tickling. You are quite proficient in giving hugs and kisses, you are an expert at snuggling and tickle-fights, and when you say "I love you, Mommy," my heart just melts. Your smile lifts my spirits, and your giggle makes them soar. Evie-girl, you are so beautiful and perfect exactly as you are. I love you so much, in a way that you won't be able to understand until you have a baby of your very own someday. I am thankful for the blessing you are in my life. I'm thankful that I get to be your Mommy. I'm thankful for all of these little tiny things, along with so many more, that make up YOU. Thank you for being my firstborn baby, for making me a mother for the very first time. You've changed me so completely; you are an angel sent from heaven, and I love you so very much. Happy Thanksgiving, Evie-girl!

Love you forever,
Mommy

Family and Food

This year, it was my turn to spend Thanksgiving with my family, and I enjoyed every moment of it. We spent all weekend talking, laughing, eating, and playing. The girls were adorable, and I had so much fun showing them off!

A 4-generations shot of the ladies on my side of the family: My grandma, Elizabeth, me, my mom, and Evie.

My young cousin, Mavis, put her cute harvest headband on Elizabeth and the result was just too adorable to pass up!

The 3 littlest members of the family: Evie, Mavis, and Elizabeth.

My root family: my brother, my cousin, my mom, Todd, Elizabeth, my dad, me, Evie, and my sister.

The road trip to and from my family's place was horribly long, but totally worth it. I loved spending so much time with my family, people who get my own personal brand of crazy, and the food was amazing!