Happy New Year!

Can't believe it's 2007 already. I'm sitting here on the sofa, waching Brian and Melanie work on handwriting skills. They're laying on the floor, working with the Alphabet Princess book. Melanie is such a perfectionist, so she gets really frustrated when she can't do the letter exactly like the example the very first time. She gets the big sigh and the chin on the fist with the rolling eyes.

I wonder who that is like? (blushing!)

She had a quiet time earlier today and was upstairs listening to music and doing Aquadoodle. She was laughing like a little loon up there listening to Sesame Street music...I'm trying to remember what song had her singing along. I think it was Farmer in the Dell. She was singing at the top of her little lungs. Love that.

Christmas was a jolly affair this year. She was much more aware this year of what was going on, and while I think she got a little bit overwhelmed with all the stuff, it wasn't as bad as last year was. We had a terrific time with Grammy & Poppy; spent a little more time at home than out running, which was very nice for everyone involved. Here are the highlights:

1. Christmas Candy Lane at Hershey Park. She wanted to get her picture taken with that Hershey bar something fierce. Whoever the dude (or dudett) in the costume was, he had her number. He kept knocking her hat off, and she would do that big deep belly laugh, and it was cracking us all up. She was all over that, man. He even hid around the corner and was playing around with her. We also did the rides, which I wasn't sure how she'd do. She was not scared of anything - I mean, she even rode the Scrambler - and it takes some talking to get Brian on the Scrambler! She loved that - well, I don't think there was anything she didn't like, actually. We even had hot chocolate, Hershey style. That was pretty dern good. Definetely a memory making night. Of course, the batteries died in every camera that we had with us. Figures.

2. Time with Grammy & Poppy - especially reading books. She got lots of new books for Christmas, and lots of craft stuff, so she did lots of fun stuff to do with Grammy & Poppy. Once again, Poppy's reading of "Dooby Dooby Moo" and "Click, Clack, Moo, Cows That Type" were the highlight of the reading experience (thanks to Aunt Normie for those Christmas books!) By the way, if you're a reader, get those books. They're some of my favorites. (Also, please notice my new couch there - we finally have grown up furniture!)

3. Tea parties & Dress Up - she received lots of dress up stuff, and a new tea set with Dora on it, so we had lots of fun with the tea parties. This particular one had real tea - and real milk, and real sugar (and was a real mess!). Notice Grammy right in the spirit of things in her pink boa - and Poppy not so much in the spirit, in his lovely dress-up-trunk tie. He did not like Melanie tea (which is basically warm water with a tea bag dipped in it for color). And each cup was like 1/2 a swallow - more for choking you than for drinking, truth be known. It's an exciting event - you sit in your best clothes and call each other darling the entire time. Pretty fun stuff...I am so looking forward to the next one!

4. Wilbur and Charlotte. Our newest family members were gifts from Zac & Aly, and boy, if they could just sprout legs - or get some water oxygen tanks or something - Melanie would have them doing everything with her! She really tried hard to have them take a bath with her, since they could breath in the water, and she could play with them. No matter how much logic I used, I could not disuade this - you know the argument that finally worked? I didn't want her to smell like fish. That was the deciding factor. She's such a girly girl. Seriously though, these fish LOVE her - I think because she feeds them. If she gets up in the chair beside the table, they start flipping out - all over the top of the water, and on whatever side of the bowl she's sitting at, showing off. It's pretty cute. She calls them her pets, and talks about them all the time. Definetely a hit.

5. Watching Melanie explore it all. She was very aware of what Christmas is about this year, and even though we made some people mad with our Santa explination (that he's a nice man who likes to hear what people want for Christmas, but he doesn't come to bring the presents to your house), we still had a great time together as a family. The little moments - rocking her to sleep at night, sitting beside her in church or at a meal, watching her face when she opened the things she really had been asking for - that was pure joy. We are so thankful for her - she is our greatest gift!!