Just Do It

Oh man, am I terrible at this thing called blogging or what? Life certainly is a balance most days, with busyness beating out free time. But it's about time I update this, even if in the wee hours of the night. Ryan's on-call, so what the hell. Sitting cross-legged on my bed, me with a cup of tea, my music and the dimmed light of the computer screen. I'll pretend I'm a night owl by choice, with a glorious long morning of sleep ahead of me - ha!

Christmas has come and gone, taking with it just enough of the hectic to make me feel sane again. Building a house, multiple Christmases in a row, toddler, baby... Gosh, I'm tired and I don't even have a "real" job. All labors of love, but still. We had a fun time with all the families this year.

Picking out our Christmas tree at Donovan's near our home

This one looks good dad! Just my size...

Two of my favorite people!

Anika and me enjoying the hayride (and Anika's first candy cane!)

Anika decorating the tree, once we finally got it home, up and straight. :)

All the non-breakable ones stayed towards the bottom of the tree...

I had a lot of fun putting together the Christmas card this year, and had some pretty willing and photogenic subjects. Willing to wiggle and stare blankly that is! I really wanted to put together a "Christmas outtakes" card, but opted for the other "What I Did with My Year" card instead. But I wanted to show just how many photos it takes to get to actually get one good photo. Here is just a handful of the kidlet photos I took:

Do I really have to take a photo with her, mom?

Check it out mom, a zip tie! That's great honey...

I see you back there, and you better not be trying anything funny...

Both look at camera, one smiling the sweetest smile ever, and the littlest sort of smiling... yup, got it!

Christmas Eve was spent with Gretch, Dylan, Mom, and Jak - it was wonderful. No stress at all. We all pitched in with dinner, and just hung out. It was exactly what Christmas should be about - just enjoying the company of the people you really care about. Watching the kids open up their presents took Christmas to a new level for me. Anika could understand this year what was happening, that Santa Claus (Dan Kaus as Anika says) was coming and bringing presents. Christmas morning, I heard her crying a bit, so I went in to lie with her. She didn't want to get out of bed, and was still in her grumpy Leave-Me-Alone-I'm-Not-Awake-Yet phase... until I said, "I think Santa Claus came." She threw off the covers and slid out of her bed without a word, on a mission to the downstairs with the biggest eyes I've ever seen. I didn't need to get any presents this year. Just seeing the kids experience it was more, more than enough.

Could someone please pass the cat? Thanks... delicious!

One of the few photos with Jak and clothes...

This is a pretty good representation of the evening...

Dinner was delicious!

Jak the ham!

Don't you just want to squeeze him?

Gretchan made a dress-up box for Anika this year, and it was a hit! She loves it...

Tiny dancer

In kidlet news, Kaden is officially 6 months old today. Man, do I love that kid. He is a happy, mellow little man, content to quietly observe or explore.  He smiles at *everything*. Without a doubt, he is a delightful baby. He sleeps 12 hours straight at night, in his crib - but only takes short naps, just like his sister. He can't seem to put himself back to sleep once a sleep cycle has passed. But if I can get him to sleep in my bed after nursing him, when he's laying on his side or tummy, he'll sleep for quite some time. I know, I'm a terrible mom and I'm not always following the rules. But I have a video monitor, and keep a close watch on him throughout his nap. I can see if his head is smooshed into the mattress and I know when he wakes up. I don't feel I'm doing anything but giving my kid quality sleep.

Kaden's latest trick

Sleeping like a... wait...

He's starting to sit up!

Hitchin' a ride with Dad.

So far, Kaden's a late bloomer, which I suppose is expected, since he was so early. And he's tiny, completely the opposite of his sister. I bet he's in the 5-10th percentile for weight, while Anika was in the 90% at her sixth month checkup. One thing they do have in common are their huge noggins they inherited from their father. Braaaaaaainzzzzzzzz. :D He can sit up now, with assistance and can roll over. He is very curious, despite his limited mobility. Kaden will reach for toys and interact with them now. And boy does he love Anika, and vice versa. She makes him just crack up out of the blue. Last weekend, we were throwing the ball back and forth with Anika in the living room, and Kaden was laying peacefully on the Ottoman in the middle of it all, just cracking up at the scene of us. Or today, when Anika was tickling him after a diaper change; they both were laughing and laughing together. Cue heart melting into a puddle of oozy love goo. I adore those two!

One of my favorite photos lately...

Anika is in full bloom lately, with speech and personality and knowledge in general. She's willing and able to follow multi-step directions and to accept suggestions and guidance when moving throughout her day ("Let's pick up the toys now!" "Should we take a bath now?" "Can you put on your shoes and jacket?" ...).  She's definitely eager to please, as long as it's her idea. My girl is growing leaps and bounds. She talks to us all the time now, although not fully succinct and correct. But I do speak her language. Her words are getting clearer. Not too long ago it was "Mo Wa Bees" for "More Water Please" and "Mo Mama Say Hee" means "No Mama Stay Here." Now she is finally talking in full force, repeating everything we say, bossing us around. "Me do it now. Me do it now." What a wonderful thing communication is. She is so content in herself, finally. I still stand by my prediction of show business or drama. Anika loves to put on a show. She loves her Christmas dress-up clothes and it's a struggle to get her to sleep/eat/change diaper/leave the house without either a blue tutu or pink tutu or both. She loves to play "Bawina" and dance around in her outfits. She's got the pointed toe leg extensions down already. Even before naps and bedtime, she must dance for me for a few minutes, before we read. Funny girl...
Most days, I'm absolutely in love with her. She has an enthusiasm for living that I wish I had. Her eyes are huge and blue, flanked with these long eyelashes. Her teethy smile with the dimple on the left side; chubby little fingers ready to get dirty; wisps of blond almost-curls that flip out to the sides like a nun's hat; the little gallop she does everywhere she goes. *sigh* I love her...

The face of trouble

We're coming into the home stretch (pun intended) of our new house. What a journey! I have had a blast. I thoroughly love researching, just in general. Me and www.gardenweb.com are good friends now. I've learned so much about the construction process, from footing to roofing. The devil certainly is in the details, especially in the end. Things I never would have imagine pondering: Cabinet knobs or handles? Different sizes for different drawers? Or just one or the other? Squared or rounded shower door hinges? Should we mix the brushed nickel with chrome? Blown-in insulation, or spray foam, or traditional batting? Low voltage or line voltage wiring? 5" or 6" can lights? Height of sconces? I could go on and on and on about things normal people don't care about. Ha! Everywhere I go no, I find myself scoping out all the tiniest of details in a room. I love the process! Watching everything come together, it's so satisfying. Even though I didn't actually build the house, I created it in my mind's eye. I'll post some photos soon.

Here's to a fantastic next year!