Christmas Fun

Jamisen and the 'Three Questions' 

What is your favorite color: gold

What do you want to be when you grow up? Maybe a soapmaker; but maybe

What is the meaning of life: It's like a place where you can go and see things

Lily and the "Three Questions" 

What is your favorite color: green, and pink, and gold

What do you want to be when you grow up? An artist

What is the meaning of life: Candy. And, soap.

Lily continues to have some issues with her bladder and her torturous colon that leads to less-than-successful-bathroom attempts and misses. Jamisen's hilarious commentary tonight as he walked over a wet spot on the carpet? "If it's wet and it's warm, it's pee." Oh, sweetie; no truer words have ever been spoken. And we continue to hope Lily will outgrow this phase. 

The sweet Elf on the Shelf visited this Christmas, every day. He was adventurous and rappeled, baked, got into the powdered sugar and generally gave the children quite a delight every morning. 

Sweet Lily is fully into her imaginative phase. She loves to tell elaborate story scenarios. For example, last night, the candy **took over the room!!** and she had to wall off the marshmallows because they wanted to hug me so bad. But then the marshmallows escaped and they kept hugging me (she said this with the hugging motions; for future reference, marshmallows have very very short stubby arms, sort as if you stood a lizard on its hind legs ... stubby little arms). She is very (very!) imaginative. 

Of course, like every year, the kids decorated gingerbread houses. Lily ate much of her candy but Jamisen showed some good self-control and created a solid design. Lily had enough candy to decorate 1/2 of her gingerbread house. Don't tell the kids but I have two more gingerbread houses for them hidden under my desk (yes, yes I do in February still. Maybe a birthday present for Jamisen in April?). 

It's been fun to see Jamisen get super physical in his play. He is turning into quite the bruiser and he and his Dad totally wrestle and rough house. 

Jamisen got a gecko for Christmas. Not just any gecko; a crested gecko that could only be found in one place in Washington state. Luckily, that one place was near where Grandma and Grandpa Faiola were and they generously went out of their way to bring home Pom Pom. We've now had Pom Pom a couple months. She's escaped a few times but has come back to her cage each and every time. We adore her but she's a nocturnal creature so we rarely get to see her. If we do, it's late at night and she is not a huge fan of us handling her but we'll get there. Pleasantly persistent is a great strategy for people and, geckos. 

Behold two different children with the same exact project. Notice Lily smearing hers so creatively (?) that it's completely black and Jamisen slowly and carefully reading the instructions and figuring out how to make his project the best it can be. 

They really do come out of the womb differently. Nature vs nuture ... it's a thing.

The kids love having books read to them and Grandpa and Grandmas are always happy to oblige. Grandpa Winston and Grandma Kelly are champion book readers as well.

We went to a gingerbread house festival over Christmas with the sweetest cousin ever (hi not-so-Baby Alise!) The kids were SO excited to see the architectural wonders that a little gingerbread and icing can make. It was nice that they didn't try to eat the displays too. That felt like a parenting victory, however fragile and small.

Sweet Lily wore her princess gown and got to meet 3 real live princesses. She was delighted to meet them and they were enamored with her too.

Merry Christmas .... may the spirit last all year.