Christmas Cards

Merry Christmas! There. That may be all you get from me. I love Christmas cards. I usually have sent dozens signed by each person in the family by early December. I've been known to offer a prize to whomever can sign all the cards first, so I have plenty of time to address envelopes and get those blessings in the mail. Not so this year. I do have cards. They are sitting unopened in a box. I'd like to put a family photo in each one. We haven't all smiled at the camera at the same time yet. So, IF I get any cards out, I'm sure they will be late. Merry Christmas anyway.

Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving! This was Annalyn's first Thanksgiving, of course, and she loved PaPa's fried turkey. See her devouring the leftover?

Peter Pan's Shadow

Annalyn was so afraid of wind and sunlight when we first got her. It took her a couple of weeks at home before she would touch the grass. Now, she pleads with us to take her outside every day. Today, she and I were singing and dancing out on the deck. All of a sudden, she stopped, yelled, and pointed. She was pointing at her shadow. I walked over beside her and told her what it was and showed her my shadow. She began moving her arms slowly above her head and to the side. She squealed and giggled. Trying her best to catch it, she started chasing her shadow just like Peter Pan.

Everything is new to her. I know that, but I'm still struggling with grasping it. Everything is new! Wind, sunshine, shadows, gravity, animals, dolls, leaves, sticks, sippy cups, carpet...it's all new.

Happy Birthday

She's two! I wasn't really planning a party, but we ended up with one anyway. We went to Sister Cousin's third birthday on Saturday. She asked if she could come home with us to stay the night, and well... how do you say 'no'? So, Annalyn got to host her first sleepover. After Church we made Chinese food and opened presents and ate cake. Bubba Patrick made her a ladybug cake. I'll get a picture of it on here next time we take the laptop to town. Posting photos from home just doesn't work. She and her brothers are playing the new xylophone right now. Ahh, cacophony.

Kisses

I got kisses! Right on my cheek! Finally! Annalyn's been blowing kisses quite willingly to anyone she wishes to charm. She's let us (daddy, bubbas, and mommy) kiss her from the beginning, and she's been kissing us on our shirt sleeves for several days. But, tonight I got kisses on my cheek. Oh boy!

Fall Break

The boys went to MeMa's to meet up with cousins on Fall Break. That left me home alone with a toddler for several days. It's been a long time since I've done that. We talked a hundred times on the toy phone. She's working on the word 'Hello' which will be her fourth after 'Momma' (that includes anyone in the family), 'Uh Oh', and 'Mup' (as in 'pick me up'). We enjoyed many tea parties with dollies and teddies. It's so sweet that she's gotten over her fear of stuffed animals and is nearly over the fear of real ones. She even giggled this moring when the schnauzer licked her on the face. We spent hours singing in the porch swing, even in the rain. It was nice to be able to focus just on her, but it was hard to do anything else like cooking or emailing. Now, I'm so glad to have the boys back, and we're trying to get into a routine again. I wonder if we ever will.

Sleep? I remember that.

I remember what it's like to sleep all night long and wake refreshed the next morning. I remember what it's like to wake up to nurse a newborn and doze back off for a few hours. I also remember the occasional night with a wailing baby that won't be comforted, but those were few and far between. Now, we sleep with a toddler at our side who cries in her sleep. She's happy when she's awake and she throws tantrums in her sleep. Last week several people suggested we try sleeping with music playing. She slept much quieter, but it's hard for us to get used to. One night, the cd kept waking my hubby as it sounded like his cell phone ring. Another night, we accidentally had it set to repeat the same song - Vivaldi's Four Seasons. It starts out with a bang then ends softly. I think I woke up every time it repeated. Last night, we woke up to her sleeping screams at 3:00am. We'd forgotten to put on a cd. So, we were half asleep and trying to remember how our son's cd player works and the first two cds were scratched and sounded like a broken record. On the upside, once we figured out how to play the music, Annalyn quieted back down. Pray for rest. It's a sweet treat we miss. Pray for peace for Annalyn. All the stress of a new life seems to be coming out in night terrors.

ps. This picture was taken in Shanghai. See the very thin matress and very thick, pure silk comforter? Nope, didn't try to bring one home. Maybe she'd sleep better under silk.