It was a real joy to have Jim and Catherine here with us to share some of the holidays. Before they left, we gave them their Christmas gift. It was really sweet to watch my family gathered around the gift with grandparents. A moment I for sure wanted to capture.
My baby girl is FIVE years old! It's so hard to believe. She's always gonna be my little girl I think. For her birthday, Maeve was convinced we'd have snow so she wanted to go sledding, skiing and ice skating and then drink hot chocolate. And while it snowed the morning of her birthday (magical btw), it wasn't enough to sled or ski. Conor took Maeve ice skating just the two of them in the afternoon. Maeve was thrilled with every part of her birthday. We gave her a mermaid palace toy she has been pining for. She saw it in a catalogue and has spent hours looking at the picture. Nana and Papa JJ gave her some cute outfits and Maeve wears the sweater around the clock, to bed, the whole deal. I need to wash it. Maeve wanted a chocolate cake with pink icing. Done and done girlfriend.
The day this girl was born, the world became a better place. She's so delightful. And I'm so honored to be her mom!
We had a long and involved list of activities to do with Nana and Papa JJ. But, once the adults started getting sick one by one, we had to prioritize. Instead of going into the forest to cut down a tree, we went to a tree farm. The morning we went tree hunting, an ideal amount of snow fell at the right elevation and so looking for a tree was extra beautiful. I mean, check it out! This year, I wanted a fuller tree because those are harder to come by in the wild. And I'd say we found her! Getting the tree home and lit and decorated all went really well. Maeve was a little confused as to why she didn't have some of the same ornaments as her sisters (she had yet to be born those years). Surprisingly, the babies have been very kind to the tree. I'm impressed and relieved to not have to police the tree.
A Muirhead tradition! Chocolate making! We were so happy to make chocolates this year with Catherine and Jim. It's lovely quality time and "work" that just about every family member can participate in especially if one doesn't feel too fussy about the outcome. And now they're all we want to eat.
A new little activity E and I have taken up is walking to the end of the street and back (ideally without crying). E pushes the push toy and says, "uh-oh" anytime he sees it's about the veer off the sidewalk. Sometimes he takes a few steps up a neighbor's sidewalk. He likes it when there's something extra going on in the neighborhood, like a tree getting cut down, the moon shining or a rock to hold in his mouth. It's the little things. But honestly this 20-30 minute activity is just the ticket.
