Party #2

Despite all my best intentions, I failed to get a picture of all the kids. We love all our family. Thanks for helping us celebrate!

Party Number 1

We had the goodies
and the decorations,
and Pin the Bee on the Flower was ready to go (thanks to JD and PopPop),
and Macy couldn't wait for the excitement to begin.
We no longer attempt to get everyone smiling. Just getting seven out of the nine kids sitting by each other is a victory. (Coleman and Abby were here too.)
Here are all the birthday girls [Millie (1 on the 20th), Claire (1 on the 16th) and Macy (2 on the 20th)], texting and gossiping:
Thanks for coming to the party!

Two

Macy is two

and

very sweet

and

a little bit naughty

and

a little shy

and

a little bit wild.

She is joy

and

more joy.

I am blessed to be her Mama. Every day is so exciting at this stage. I get to wake to new words, new expressions and new abilities. I love watching her grow. I am blessed indeed.

While We Were Sleeping

Last night as we slept unsuspecting, Macy attended some sort of crash course on growing up. Today she had a conversation with JD on the phone. (She really missed him today after a whole week of having him home.)

She also warned me before each time she messed her diaper. I didn't believe her either time, but sure enough.

And then tonight she offered the prayer for dinner, repeating each statement JD made.

It is such a bittersweet experience for your baby to grow up and meet each new milestone.

Christmas Recap

Christmas Eve is traditionally a very special night at Grammy and Grandpa's and this year we held a wonderful Fake Christmas Eve earlier in the month at Greg and Andrea's house. Their house was beautifully decked out for Christmas and the food was fabulous. We had a wild nativity. (But if you want to see photos to prove it, you'll have to follow the link.)

So on real Christmas Eve we called in the skeleton Summerhays crew. We had Greg, Andrea, Will, Max, Claire, Jennifer F., Jonny and Haley over for a traditional turkey dinner. I only got one picture of the evening. Macy truly loves Jonny and Haley and instantly becomes super hyper when she sees them.


Christmas morning we knew we were in for a good day when this was Macy's response to the first candy cane she pulled out of her stocking . . .

Before:


After:

Macy wanted to play with the things she unwrapped and we had to persuade her to open another present. The hit of the day was the toothbrush that plays music.

That afternoon we went to Tom and Mine's adorable house for some crazy fun.

Opening presents:



And the Fifth Annual Pinata (which has become a much anticipated Christmas Day tradition)

Before:


After:
We had a magical day and hope yours was too.

Merry, Merry

We were supposed to prepare a musical number for our family Christmas party. Macy practiced for weeks beforehand to memorize her favorite tune. Since she tends to freeze up around crowds (and because we didn't want to tote her piano to the party), we just pre-recorded her performance. Please enjoy, Have a Very Macy Christmas:



If you like this, go out and buy David Tolk's Holiday CD (or download it from iTunes). It's quite simply the best Christmas album ever. Macy's working on his version of Good King Wenceslas for next year because it's her dad's very favorite Christmas song.

Photos (and I mean A LOT of photos)

We took 173 photos for our Christmas card this year. We went to Murray park and let her loose. And she ran . . .


And played with the geese .
And we caught the expressions I try to burn into my memory every day. The faces we don't normally capture in pictures. The looks that make up the day.




And I am reminded just how priceless pictures can be.