let the drool begin

well, it began a few weeks ago, but now we're geared up and ready to face it. :)

Redwood Valley Railroad

All the girls, in action!

Random pictures from Nona's visit. More to come. Really. I promise.

Pictures: The girls painting the new coat hangers (one to be hung at just the right height for Molly, so she can put her own coat away!); Molly licking the bowl after another successful banana bread making adventure (with no loud mixer!); Clara, enjoying her hands; A cow that looks like Molly; Nona and Clara on our Ardenwood adventure.

Clarie-Berry

Molly loves rhyming nicknames. Her current nickname for little sis is "Clarie-Berry" (from "Clara-Bear-a" & "Clare-Bear"). Nona get's "Noni Noni!" and "Noni Boney", I get "Mama-bama", etc. Here's Clari enjoying her big sister's artwork & a little sunshine in the kitchen.

I love you guys sooooo much!

(that's what Molly says these days)

Molly waiting for a leaf to fall on her head (please!); Nona & Clara self portrait; Sofi & Molly hamming it up at the (plant) nursery; Molly showing off her outfit (picked out ALL BY HERSELF!).

working

we had a neighborhood work party in the rain this morning with the Porembas next door, planting plants between the two houses. Molly and her friend Nate helped out a bunch, and afterwards I told her that they were a bunch of hard workers. She replied, "I'm not a hard worker, I'm a soft worker!"

reading time

big girls

This week marked milestones for both girls: Molly gave up the pacifier & Clara figured out how to bring her hands together.

It's been three nights for Molly - so far we're doing alright. When she started chewing through her pacifiers late last summer we struck a deal with her: when she chews a hole in the pacifier, we throw it away. And we're not getting any more (at one point when we discussed the deal Molly replied with "yeah, and then you can go to the pacifier store and get another one"). There were a couple close calls this fall when we got down to one or two pacifiers and none of us were really ready to kick the habit. I realized we'd painted ourselves in a corner and went to the store to try to find replica's of pacifiers from the past. We only had to use one "replica" and I don't think Molly really bought our story that we found one of her old pacifiers. But she went along with it.

Either way, Zach cut the cord, so to speak, a three nights ago when she really had chewed through her last pacifier. He got buy-in from her, she threw it away, they talked about what that meant, and she went to sleep. Last night when I put her to bed she asked for a pacifier and I reminded her that we were done with them. Tonight when Zach put her to bed she started to ask for a pacifier and then remembered that there were none. In all, I think I'm more worried about it than she is, but we'll see what happens in the next few days. I also worried that she'd be frustrated with Clara having a pacifier. I even tried to get Clara to use a pacifier that looks nothing like Molly's, but she actually prefers one of Molly's old pacifiers. Don't ask me how that happened, but Molly either doesn't realize it's one of hers or doesn't mind. And, given how sweet Molly has been with Clara recently it very well may be the later.

December, at home

Here are a smattering of photos I took during our December "vacation at home."

After returning home from our trip to LA we decided to postpone our planned trip east and spend some time together as a family, just the four of us. We kicked off the vacation with a week of just me, Molly, & Clara on our own, since preschool was on holiday and Zach was still working. Then we had a week and a half of just the four of us - puttering around the house, having little adventures to the supermarket, Habitot, or the park, and playing with the neighbor's kids.

Initially I was terrified of that first week alone with the girls, but it ended up being probably one of the most valuable chunks of time I've had with them. Particularly with Molly. Molly & I had a chance to reconnect in a way that we haven't since early in my pregnancy with Clara. Yes, there were moments when we were all melting down (I ended up sitting in the garage for a good 15 minutes after leaving Habitot one day while Molly & Clara both cried). But we figured things out, and Molly learned a lot about her little sister and about being a big sister.

The time we had with Zach home was also wonderful. I was very sad to miss New Years with my family, but they were remarkably understanding and supportive of our decision to postpone the trip. There were a number of reasons for that decision, including feeling like we'd been sick for two months, dreading the thought of traveling with Clara again (the drive back from LA was painful, to say the least), and giving Molly a break from the constant visitors (we're trying to understand and respect the fact that she has a hard time with changes and takes some time to warm up to "new" people, even if those people are people she knows and loves like both sets of grandparents). I think these (approximate) quotes from my father sum it up nicely: "It sounds like your children are trying to tell you to slow down" and "The children are the most important".

By the end of our vacation Molly was in a much better space (she had been "acting out" a lot before - understandably, but still not something we were happy with), and as a family we were feeling much more connected. Now Molly's struggling a little with the transition back to school, but it's nice to know that we have a solid bond to rely upon in transitions like this. Oh, and Molly seems to be enjoying Clara even more now! :)

Pictures: Sisters in tool shirts; A cow in a field; sisters; Molly makes presents for Nona & Opa; Molly decorates a gingerbread house (& later we learned that they're not really meant for eating); Clara; Breakfast scene; Molly as the "parking direction"; Molly; Molly; Molly; Molly painting; Molly painting; Molly moo; Sofi & Clara; Clara stretching.

sisters

they're up to something

happy new year from clara

well i think she said happy new year... love to all of you from all of us!