Santa was here...

We had an eventful Christmas this year, full of family visits, smiling children, food, wine, coffee (thank heaven for coffee!), music...the list goes on.

Christmas Eve started with some goofy fun at home:

{yes, she IS mine, i remember birthing her very clearly...all 45 minutes of labor}

{upside-down pheeber-deeber-doobers}

{lulu and her popi}

We got dressed up to go to the pageant at church at 3:00. It was great...all the kids were so cute in their little costumes and Lucy was fascinated by the whole thing. She told us in the car ride home that she wants to be an angel in the pageant next year. We'll see. A prerequisite for participation is the ability to sit still for a length of time and let's just say that we need the coming year to work on that skill!

Two highlights from the pageant:
(1) When the angel Gabriel came to Mary to tell her she was going to have Baby Jesus, Lucy asked, out loud, "But where's the daddy?" I was not prepared to give her an entire lesson on the heart of Christianity right then and there, so I told her, "Ummm, he's at work..." Nice one, Mommy. Look, technically, I was right. God's always at work, right? :)
(2) When Mary & Joseph couldn't get a room at the inn, Lucy wanted to know what was going on. So I told her that they couldn't find a hotel room, so they had to sleep in a barn. That made perfect sense to her, and it's the truth. But for the rest of the day, she went around telling everyone that "Mary couldn't get a hotel room" as if she had been trying to check in to a Marriott Courtyard.

{jeff and santa baby, ready to go to the pageant}

{with grammy}

{wow, a somewhat decent family photo!}

After church, we decorated the tree. We went with a live tree this year so that we can plant it in our yard in the spring. I am picturing having a whole row of trees someday in graduated heights, and being able to point to each one and say "That was 2008, 2009, 2010..."

{phoebe helping with her "baby's first christmas" ornament}

{lucy doing some decorating}

{pine cone ornaments that lucy made with nonni on cape cod}

Later that night, Santa arrived and left presents for the girls...

...while they were nestled all snug in their beds, visions of candy canes dancing in their heads:

{lanz christmas jam-jams, butt high in the air}

{new christmas nightgown}

The next morning, they were raring and ready to go:

{waiting for daddy to check to see if santa came}

{did he come?}

{cookie crumbs...he must have been here!}

{santa brought a train table for lucy}

{phoebe likes it, too!}

{phoebe got a little red piano that she adores}

{ariel nightgown = big hit}

{mommy still likes to play with barbie, apparently}

{uncle kevin is almost as fun as barbie}

{the next britney spears...oh, i hope so!}

{phoebe in her "daddy present" -- a beautiful hanna andersson outfit}

{lucy in the snow}

{phoebe in some new winter finery}

{hats don't always last too long on phoebe's head}

{ma and pa in the kitchen}

Merry Christmas!

I'll post more photos tomorrow or over the weekend...for now, here's the best one...happy holidays to all!

Isn't she lovely...

Isn't she wonderful
Isn't she precious
Less than one minute (ok, three years) old
I never thought through love we'd be
Making one as lovely as she
But isn't she lovely made from love

Ta-da

*UPDATE* My mom reminded me that I forgot to mention the acclaimed artist who did the paintings above the fireplace...none other than the talented Miss Lucy Elise!

As promised before, I painted my mantle and brick (sorry, Nana, I did paint the brick!). I'm thrilled with the result. And because everyone likes a good before and after, here goes:

BEFORE:

AFTER:

The mantle is the same color as my kitchen, Benjamin Moore Semolina (matte finish Aura paint). The brick is done in Benjamin Moore's floor & patio paint in Light Gray. It covered the brick really nicely and I didn't need to use a special masonry primer. Now let's see how durable it is! Next step...re-decorating for Christmas so that Santa doesn't pass us by, thinking that we worship the gods of home design rather than Baby Jesus :)

Lulu.

You could've knocked me over with a wet noodle

Tonight, I told Lucy to go draw on her easel in the playroom for a little while so that I could feed Phoebe and get dinner ready. I poked my head in a few minutes later and she told me she was "drawing Lucy." She's been very interested in letters and words lately -- which letter a word starts with, etc. -- so I thought maybe I'd see a bunch of lines that she thought were the letters in her name. Nope, I was wrong. She was, literally, drawing a picture of herself. And it had a round face, eyes (with pupils!), a red mouth, hair, ears, and legs. Shiver me timbers...I am totally blown away. What will she do next? Oh and to top it off, she did a second drawing that had Phoebe in it as well.

{drawing #1...i mean, c'mon...i had NO idea that she was anywhere close to doing something like this}

{lucy, on the bottom, and phoebe, top right. they look like little aliens...adorable little aliens.}

Santa 2008

Hmmmmm, where was Lucy? Oh right, hiding and covering her eyes. Maybe next year...

Nutcracker

{in her party dress}

{holding up the nutcracker that nonni brought...she calls it her "trophy"}

{outside, wearing the "daddy coat" -- the coat that jeff bought her last christmas}

{i love the way the coat fits her this year}

{this is soooooo typical lucy. she was unhappy with the way her new shoes fit.}

Jeff, my mom (Nonni) and I took Lucy to see the Nutcracker for the first time on Saturday afternoon. Nonno stayed behind and spent the afternoon with Phoebe. We did not go to the Boston Ballet performance -- I thought it may be too big an ordeal this year, plus I didn't know how Lucy would behave at the ballet and didn't want to spend a gazillion dollars on tickets in case we had to leave during the performace. So, I bought tickets to the Jose Mateo Ballet Theater's performance and it was wonderful. Easy, free parking, plus there were lots of small kids there so I didn't feel any pressure for Lucy to sit still and be quiet. She did really, really well at the performance. She was sleeping when we got there and remained sleepy throughout the show, so she was content to sit in one of our laps and watch. Other than one bathroom break (during which she missed most of the Dance of the Sugarplum Fairy -- oh well), she sat through the whole show and really seemed to enjoy it. I am so glad we started this tradition and I plan to take her every year -- and Phoebe as well, when she's ready! Oh how I love having little girls.

More Vintage

Sitting at my desk at work again and, instead of working, blogging. Looking through my old photo files today, here is what I found:

{lucy at 6 months in charleston, enjoying herself a coke. ok not really, i swears it.}

{lucy's first christmas}

{"c'mon, sweetie, let's make a baby. like in 3 weeks, ok?}

Coming soon to a living room near me

I have had a plan for a while (ok, for about a month, since we moved in) to paint the fireplace brick dark gray and the mantle a different color (i.e., something other than white). I either haven't had the time or the nerve (the time, I think...I've got plenty of nerve when it comes to my house), but it has not happened yet. Then today, lo and behold, I find this photo on design sponge:

ME LIKEY! I am determined to accomplish something very similar before Santa makes his way into my fireplace. Perhaps the orange will be toned down a *bit* from this photo...maybe the color of my kitchen or something similar (or maybe, just maybe, dark pink)...whatever I choose, it will be bold and will assure that the fireplace is an awesome focal point in my living room. Stay tuned.

Thankful

Things I am thankful for this year:

{two girls in matching dresses who are so excited and active that they can't pose for a decent photo together}

{josh & lisa joining us for thanksgiving for the first time in many years}

{phoebe learning to clap her little hands...}

{...and taking her first steps, just in time to show off to everyone}

{a working fireplace...}

{...and a completed dining room}

{chocolate!}

{cute tooshies and shoes}

{phoebe's tongue}

{stephanie nielsen...for her remarkable recovery and for her inspiration in my life. if you follow her story, you know what i mean and why i chose this photo. and, last but not least, for my very own mr. darcy.}

From the archives: Vintage Lucy

I have been fairly behind on blog posting...we are *still* unpacking and sorting out at our new house, which includes figuring out our computers, camera cables, etc. Sounds like it shouldn't be a big deal, but it has been. Blogging takes a bit of effort, as those who do it know -- getting the photos onto the computer, sorting through them, uploading them (hoping that Blogger doesn't crash while you do), writing. Try doing all this with a baby attached to your pant leg. Anyway I am trying to do better about posting...hang in there. In the meantime, I am at work today and have dug into my pictures folder so that I could post something. Vintage Lucy...that's what I got for ya on this rainy Tuesday.

Playing in the yard

Ok, I admit it, I DO like the suburbs after all :)