janie the sled dog.

talent show.

the titanic.
ever since a visit to the milwaukee public museum last spring, hayden has been:
drawing titanic
checking out books from the library on titanic
searching the internet for facts and pictures of titanic
and building titanic figures with legos.

although this idea didn't come to him right away,
it seemed like a natural choice for his second grade talent show presentation.
he was so brave, getting up there in a hot room full of classmates and parents,
talking ever so quietly about this ship he adores.
my favorite shot is the one of him waiting on deck.
to see him pull that folded piece of paper out of his pocket and start preparing to go on stage was priceless.
even we had butterflies.

scootergirl.

in the kitchen.
riding her scooter in the kitchen.
riding her scooter while eating yogurt in the kitchen.
riding her scooter while eating yogurt with her favorite tiny spoon in the kitchen.
that's a new one.

growing.

"mom, am i growing?"
"yes, you're getting so big."
(gasp!) "I AM?? but i like being myself!"

i like her being herself, too.
even if it means she puts purple lip gloss on anything and everything with lips.
good thing papa didn't mind, either.

meeting tess.

so happy to finally meet tess.
and spend the morning catching up with an dear friend...
i smiled on the way home when court said:
"those were just the friends that were girls that i wanted. they were so nice at me!"
seven girls at lunch. sounds like it would be crazy, but i can't wait to do it all over again.

jj the jetplane.

"there's never been another little guy like this.
so much in love with the sky like this.
so buckle up tight, it's a magical flight.
with jaaaay jjjjaaaay. jj the jet plane. that's me!"

if hayden's toddlerhood had a theme song, this was it.
until yesterday, this jj the jetplane has hung above his bed.
he's been asking us to rearrange his room and
"take down that jay jay so my friends don't make fun of me."
we surprised him this morning when he returned from a sleep over
with a more grown up version of his bedroom. he loved it.

saturday night beauty shop.

a saturday night off in mid january can only mean NFL playoffs on tv for the boys.
sleepless in seattle and beauty shop for the girls.

lasterday.

"lasterday"
in four year old, it means
a cross somewhere between last night and yesterday.
just one of the little gems i'd like to file away forever...

16 degrees.

thankful we got outside yesterday, even as the temperature was falling.
now we're stuck inside, but there's chicken paprikesh to look forward to
so i think we'll survive.

18 degrees.

after school, we took advantage of the heat wave that is upon us...
she was queen of the mountain until her snowball finally reached my camera.
(as you can imagine, the story ends with me running inside for a towel. quickly.)

aoc.

"mom, do you have work today?" is a common question around our house.
my answer occasionally creates a bit of drama. but only on the days i say "yep, it's my turn."
mixing motherhood with a career certainly has it's challenges,
but i like to think it helps me appreciate moments like this even more.

(she absolutely loved that she had locked me up forever when i was supposed to be at work.)

happy 2010.

it has been a wonderful, chaotic, crazy, super-fun, exhausting holiday season...
christmas, birthdays, anniversaries, new years. each one crossed off the list.
next up: organization and relaxation.
and of course, making more memories to be grateful for.
happy, happy new year. i'll be making the most of mine.