There's More Than One Way to Skin a Cat

"God is great. God is good.
And we thank Him for our food.
By His hands we are fed.
Thank you for our daily bread.
Amen."

And that, my friends, is the prayer I heard recited before dinner tonight. No, it wasn't part of her Sunbeams lesson last Sunday, although that was about prayer. No, I'm not teaching her to be well-versed in prayers of different faiths, although I'm all about teaching tolerance. It is merely a product of the little lady being enrolled in preschool since September.

Different? I won't argue that. Sort of adorable? I daresay it is.



In other news, this one climbed an entire flight of stairs for the first time today. Eek! So my question to you: To gate, or not to gate? Just FYI, we never put up gates with Makenna (we moved here when she was 13 months; Addison is 11 months). My mom and I taught Makenna how to do stairs- up and down- when she was 12 months. And she's still alive. However, I'm not one to push all safety precautions to the side just to "live on the wild side" as mothering goes. Hmmm...


And lastly, my mom sent these adorable Easter dresses to them last week. However, they were way too cute to wait until Easter and Makenna was begging me on hands and knees to wear hers to church. I think they're both rocking the pensive, somber look. Agreed?

The Latest...

Makenna's first day of Sunbeams- my big Primary girl! The best part, according Lil' Miss, is getting to take her new scriptures to class (maybe she should start reminding her mama to start bringing hers).


I let her do her own makeup today as we were getting ready. I especially like her Geisha-esque eyebrows. Am I a bad mother if I confess I was impressed by her accuracy?


And this is my other big girl who decided to say her first word right after Christmas and start crawling right before that. Can you tell who her favorite person is?

In the words of Kenny Rogers...

"Christmas Is My Favorite Time of the Year" (I grew up with Kenny. This song is comfort on a cold day.)


My family has come and gone. The tree's been hauled away. The decorations are in the attic. I am officially another year older. And I always feel a little melancholy this time of year. So I'm posting a whole mess of pictures of the truly fabulous Christmas we had as an entire family. Why, oh why, do we have to live so far away?

(Daniel, Addison, Mom, Dad, Eric, me, Makenna, Drew)


(These girls ADORE their grandpa. BTW, Makenna ran away from me the other morning, saying, "Missed me, missed me. Now you gotta kiss me." When asked where she heard that, she said, "My Grandpa taught me that.")


(Addison got so much attention from everyone while they were here. She and Eric became little buddies and she'd laugh whenever she saw him.)


Christmas Eve after our traditional beef stew and going to look at Christmas lights. We decided that VA needs to take a lesson from the West on how to show up your neighborhood with an obscenely gaudy light display- which is the only way to do it.


(Waiting at the top of the stairs Christmas morning. Makenna didn't get the whole "wait right here and let me check to see if Santa came" while we race to turn on Pandora's Christmas station and get the video camera ready. She said, "No. He came. I want to go see.")




See the stocking? We all have them. They're a Bird Family tradition. My grandma used to make them for all her kids, spouses, and grandkids. Then recently it became hard for her to knit them as she's gotten older. This year we finally got them made for the girls- so cute and I'm so grateful we have them now. I think it may be one of my motherly duties to learn how to knit these works of art.









Birthday dinner at our favorite Mexican place- Guapo's. If you ever come to Fairfax, you'd be doing yourself a disservice by NOT getting some fajitas here. Who knew they sang to you w/ a sombrero on and then took your picture and made you a card???


We did some sightseeing downtown one day and my family mentioned they'd like to go see the Holocaust Museum. It's pretty amazing. Didn't realize until AFTER we'd been assigned an identity and taken the elevator ride to the top that it probably wasn't the best choice to take 2 kids three and under. After 10 minutes of Makenna asking Drew and me why that man was bald, why were they wearing all the same clothes, why that little girl was crying and how come those people are all laying on the floor, we had a reality check- busted out the M&M's, found a quiet, dark corner and put on a two-man circus until the rest of our crowd had seen what they came for. Lesson learned.






Whew- that was a long post with an absurd amount of pictures. If you're ever in D.C. around the holidays there are a million fun things to do. We'd be happy to be your tour guides, as long as you take us to Guapo's in return and kindly request that we leave the kids home for the Holocaust Museum. Loved this Christmas with my family! Definitely one of my favorites.

At Walmart today...

Me: Hey, let's have quesadillas for dinner tonight.
Makenna: WHAT? QUESADILLAS? Oh, come on Mom. Are you for REAL? Good heavens.


p.s. Christmas pics galore are coming soon.

Gingerbread Houses

My family's here for Christmas. It's a bit crowded in our little townhouse, but only in the best way. We're taking our old Bird Family traditions and mixing them with a few newer Mann Family traditions and ending up with a super fun holiday so far. When I was 3 years old our family started making authentic German gingerbread houses. It's a big deal. It's an all-day ordeal starting with making the gingerbread, cutting out the pieces, letting it cool, constructing the homes, and then decorating them to our hearts content. By far, it's my favorite tradition growing up. This is the first year I've done it in my own home (I felt the overwhelming need to start this since Makenna is finally "of age").
Brief recap: Makenna impressed us all with her mad decorating skills; she has an acute sense for detail. I needed to overcook the bread in order for it to stand up to the harsh conditions it would undergo with all the candy/icing (I instinctively went for taste and texture, rather than for practicality); lesson learned. Addison scored big time in her high chair with a boat load of gingerbread scraps to keep her happy. Nothing much has changed over the last 27 years (more candy and icing is always consumed than used in the decorating of the houses).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Love this time of year. Love my family. Love traditions.

O Tannenbaum

A couple of weekends ago we embarked on the all-American Christmas activity...chopping down your own Christmas tree.

Some words to the wise:
1. If it says it's 35 degrees outside, it will feel like 35 degrees outside, no matter how warm it is inside your house before you leave. (Don't forget gloves/mittens/scarves.)
2. Not all trees are created equal. The cheap ones are cheap for a reason. Splurge a little and get a Christmas-tree-looking-tree.
3. Your children will probably not appreciate the momentous occasion you and your spouse are pumping it up to be.
4. Just make sure you have your camera so you can show them when they're fifteen that it was, in fact, a memorable Christmas memory. Also, don't forget your tripod. There isn't a soul in sight when you've tramped through acres and acres of trees to find the perfect pine.
5. The hay ride at the end is not just for kicks- get on, that tree is heavy.
6. You'll know you've found a great tree farm if people are walking away with steaming cups of hot mulled cider. Don't be shy- they EXPECT you to go back for seconds (and thirds and fourths).







Also, pictured below is Makenna's favorite fashion accessory as of late- the monster flashlight. It's a must-have at all times.


Now we're just waiting for Grandma, Grandpa and Uncles Daniel and Eric to get here in a week! So excited.

A Child's Prayer

Makenna's prayer last night at dinner (and just about every other night):

"Dear Heavenly Father,
Thank you for this day. Thank you that we went to Thanksgiving at Neve's house. Thank you that Gavin's mouth is feeling better. Please bless this food it nursh and strengf our bodies. In name of Jesus... and I love you...In name of Jesus Christ, amen."