Happy New Year!

 The 2012 holiday season has been one of firsts for me. It's the first time in a long time that I've looked forward to them, planned for them, and enjoyed them. I really have my family, Abby's excited anticipation, and our great friends to thank for that.
     On New Year's Eve, I'd gone shopping, and came home with popcorn, marshmallows and hot cocoa (Olivia says Hot Doh-Doh) for our snack as we waited for midnight...or whenever. We set up the papason cushion in the center of the room for the girls to lay on while we watched "Brave" in our own little movie theater with the lights out. It was a great, quiet, family nite, ending with the noise of banging pans on the front porch as we welcomed the New Year. Looking back on the memory, it feels like a little bright spot in a sea of possible futures. :)

Party All Nite

*I was running out of time to get this book in to the Sketchbook Project, so had to cheat a little and recycle an older piece of artwork. Sorry!*

The hardest part of being a parent the week after Christmas, is getting them to let you play with their new toys. Especially things like train sets, race tracks, or the new marble tower with chutes, slides, funnels and spinny things...Man, it's soooo cool, but they keep on messing it up when I'm trying to build it. 
     There are kids out there who think that Mom and Dad have parties after they go to bed. While it's not always true, and hardly EVER true in the way we thought of parties in college, there's definitely something to having a little peace while playing with the new train set.

Or while watching those marbles roll down their tracks into the bucket at the bottom.

The Freelance Life

 The thing about my "Play all day, party all nite" lifestyle as a professional freelancer is that when an opportunity to take a break presents itself...my body pretty much MAKES me stop. By force. I'm pretty sure I've spent the last 3 Thanksgivings, and part of the last couple of Christmas' sick. I spent the ENTIRE Thursday after Christmas in bed this year, and I didn't even have the Golden Girls to watch. I think it has something to do with staying home sick when I was a kid, but the Golden Girls always makes me feel better.
     The high point of my day was that I dreamed the first quarter of the perfect Ghostbusters 3 movie. Venkman, had moved on to something easier and more lucrative, Winston stands out as a hero, Ray and Egon are back at the university, and Colin Hanks comes in as a new, young paranormal investigator.

Travel Naps

Part of the Christmas day plan is to get up, have some breakfast, open the girl's present from Santa (and one more as a family). Then we drive across the state to see Grammy and my family for Christmas. In a perfect world, the girl's will all sleep in the car...As it turns out, usually it's only mommy who sleeps. Luckily, both Abby and Olive are really good car riders.  They read books, draw, and play games in their seats so I can concentrate on how awesome the new Metallica album is...Just kidding, lately I've been listening to books on tape. Neil Gaiman is SUCH a great reader.
     So, the girls are super excited when they get to Grammy's and are just too busy to be bothered to take naps. Which means that in the late afternoon, we end up with cranky kids who fall asleep at the dinner table. Ha-ha-ha!

Speaking Of Santa

So, we do talk about Santa in our house. We talk about being kind and thoughtful. We talk about where most of our gifts come from and why, and that it's important to think about what the people we're giving to want, not what we want to borrow of theirs. So anyway, Santa only brings one present, because the rest come from people who love and care about us, and who are thinking of us.

     Leading up to Christmas, there were some questions about how Santa would get in, since we don't have a chimney. Abby, ever the scientist, came up with some Hypothesis'.

1. He'd come up the drain pipe.
2. He could come in the window.
3. He'd come through the front door.
4. He carried his own chimney to use "just in case"/
5. He's just magic.

Abby was excited to see that his snack was gone, and that he'd left a gift for her and Olive to share. He did indeed make it in.

Santa Traditions

Our tradition on Christmas Eve is that we go to Amy's grandparents, then come home, have some family time, open a present from Mom and Dad, and then put out a cheese plate and beer for Santa. There's never been a question about this, partly because Abby's only four, but also because beer isn't really an everyday part of our life. It's special...cookies, not so much. So of course, Santa should have something special, right?

Abby got a new rag doll, made by our friend April from Riley Construction. She loved her immediately, and named her Polly...sometimes Dolly Polly.

Wild Lights at the St Louis Zoo

We went to see the Christmas light display at the Saint Louis Zoo with some friends. It was cold, so we made a quick run at the whole thing first, and then a longer, more leisurely go at it after that. All the kids had a great time, running around and enjoying the light and each other's company. Some fun facts...
1. Penguins do not smell pleasant. Even from a distance.
2. Abby likes the IDEA of hot chocolate, but not so much the reality of it.
3. Always make sure that everyone pees BEFORE putting them in pants over stretch pants.
4. Giant Bug sculptures in the dark can startle even the staunchest little girl.

Nap Time Is An Adventure

Nap time is less than relaxing and productive since Olive has decided to pretty much stop taking them. Mostly now they involve her playing (loudly) in her room, going on adventures into the hall, and me coming up out of the basement to chase her back to bed. After nap time, or quiet time, or whatever it's become, we usually try to do something creative together...


Abby covered a rock with stickers today to make a Christmas gift, while I drew in the sketchbook.
Abby: "Who are you making, dad?"
Me: "It's you."
Abby: "Awww...Look at my pretty head! Can you draw my clothes like I'm wearing too?"

Meanwhile, Olive played out a story of drama, suspense and action using her hands as characters. One would "fall" off her cup, and the other would "save" it.

 

Paper Airplanes and Kids Crafts

This morning we watched some "Sid the Science Kid" on PBS. One of the really cool things about Abby's age is seeing her put things together in her head. Her enthusiasm for learning new things and making things is just great. I have to try real hard to be ready and willing to stop what I'm doing when she wants to make something, because I like to make things with her. Today, Sid was learning about airplanes, so Abby wanted to make paper airplanes too. We made three one for each of us, thought only Olive's really flew.
These sketchbook pages are an excerpt from  what I'm contributing to The Sketchbook Project.

Stargazing

 

December 04,2012 - Life With Girls

Abby drew this picture of Amy today. It's always a little amazing to me which details are important to kids. She added the three scars from Amy's gall bladder surgery, but nothing else. That's all she needed to know who it was.

During dinner, Abby told me she wanted to go stargazing. I told her it was probably cloudy and wet, but that we'd go check just in case. We all went out and layed on a quilt in the grass, and looked up at the sky. There were actually a lot of stars out...

These sketchbook pages are an excerpt from  what I'm contributing to The Sketchbook Project.

Raking Leaves in December

December 03, 2012 - Life With Girls
It was in the 70's again today. I don't know how people in Florida do it...I just don't really feel Christmassy when I'm out raking leaves in a short sleeve shirt. I hear it's supposed to snow next week, though.

Today's post is an excerpt from the sketchbook I'm contributing to The Sketchbook Project

The Birthday Present

December 02, 2012 - Life With Girls
Today we went to our nephew's birthday party, so I fixed a rocking horse to give him.
Olive was very excited to try it out for him.
Also, we had a record Breaking High of 75* today.

The Christmas List

 

To (re)kick off the "Life With Girls" comic right, we're going to do it Journal Style daily(ish) for the month of December. Thanks for stopping in, and I hope you enjoy it. All of these first thirty or so will be a part of the sketchbook that I'm contributing to The Sketchbook Project

December 01, 2012 - Life With Girls

Abby's super excited about Christmas, and has been looking forward to decorating all week. Did I say she's SUPER excited? Because she is. :)