A snowy end to the year

The last day of 2009 has brought some snow to our house. Perfect weather for daddy to be home...I unfortunately am doing a very mundane and time-consuming work task today (cite-checking a paper, for those who know what that means, as many of you do). Here's to a 2010 filled with a bit less of the white stuff.

Christmas 2009: Part I

We had a really great Christmas this year. It was the first year that Lucy could really anticipate what was coming and oh boy was she ever excited for the day to finally arrive! We counted down with an advent calendar and also a chart on the fridge. I think it has something to do with being almost 4 -- she understands the passage of time in a much more concrete way now than she did last year. Phoebe was excited, too -- but she was more taking it as it came. I also anticipated the holiday more than any year since I was a kid...I was so excited to see them open the gifts that Santa had so lovingly picked out for them :)

{waiting for lucy & phoebe to arrive}

No explanation necessary

If only it had calories!

Santa came anyway

Dear Phoebe,

Even though you:

(1) Ate my cookies

(2) Stole my milk

(3) Nibbled on my reindeer's carrot

...I still came. I must REALLY love you! I hope you had a merry Christmas!

Love,

Santa

'Twas the night before Christmas

{pure talent}

Holiday school fun

It's been an exciting month, to say the least, for the girls. Especially Lucy -- she has practically been in orbit waiting for Christmas. This week, she got not one but two special events at her awesome preschool -- a winter party yesterday and a pajama day today. Who would have thought that getting to wear pajamas to school would be a cause for so much excitement? Oh, to be three again!

Here she is at yesterday's party:

{"skating"}

{yes, little sister was there}

{phoebers wants to be three}

{sitting for a story with her teacher andrea}

And here she is this morning, soooooo excited to be wearing her new christmas jam-jams to school:

Cookie Stroll

Lucy had the good fortune of going on a "cookie stroll" last Saturday on Cape Cod, accompanied by me and Nonni. It is best described as a sort of trick-or-treating for Christmas cookies at various gorgeous homes near the Bass River in South Yarmouth. We got to see plenty of beautifully decorated homes and trees and we came home with a bag full of homemade cookies. It was a bit of a walk and it was also cold, so miss "Janer the Complainer" (as I like to call her these days) was in full effect. Still, I know she enjoyed her time there and it was memories made -- which is what is most important.

{on the trolley, which lucy called the charlie...and it was too cute to correct her!}

{lucy & nonni...yes, i am into shadows these days}

{wouldn't you like this to be your back yard?}

{miss lucy}

{warming up at the library with some hot cider}

{can you find me in this photo?}

We are family

It's funny because I am making part of my living these days taking lovely photos of other peoples' families, yet this is one of my favorite photos of my own family and the one that I am most likely to enlarge and frame for my home. Something about the absence of detail just lets what is most important shine through...the imprint of the four of us, dark & inky, created by a stream of sunlight spilling over the Charles River in the city that we love as a family.

I am thankful for...

....my hometown. On a crisp, clear fall day like this.