Happy New Year!

I can't believe how much has happened in the past year! It is already 2008 and the babies are 16 months old. Jack and I recently celebrated our 4th anniversary, although "celebrated" has taken up a different meaning. This year, we actually got to go to a restaurant, a nice restaurant for adults. It is different going out now and leaving the kids at home. I never fully relax and enjoy the dinner. Don't get me wrong, I love going out, but in the back of my mind, I wonder if they ate enough dinner, if they had their teeth brushed, if they were in bed on time, if they had a hard time going to sleep, if they wonder where their Mommy and Daddy are... Obviously the people with whom Jack and I leave them are very capable, but the questions are always there. I guess that is part of being a parent though.

We all had a great Christmas in California too. It was nice to get away from the snow and cold temps and actually play outside most of the day. The kids love my parents' dogs, cats and in general, their house. There are more rooms for exploring and much more going on with my siblings coming and going, friends visiting and outings with Mommy and Grammie. They rode the Merry Go Round, walked on the beach, played on lots of playgrounds, went out to lunch and played with their 3 cousins and their aunts and uncles.

They didn't really "get" opening presents, but they did like playing with their new toys and especially all the boxes and tissue paper. It would be relaly quiet, so naturally, I'd go check on them and they'd all be sitting in boxes waving tissue paper around watching it move and crinkle. The wonderment of it all!

The flights were rough. On the way to CA, my mom accompanied us, since we went out a week early and Jack still had to work. We bought a total of 4 seats for me, my Mom and 2 babies and we took on their huge carseats for the flight, thinking that since they were used to them, maybe they'd sit in them and fall asleep. No such luck. One, two or all three were screaming the whole flight. In fact, one fellow passenger "helped" by asking the flight attendant to ask me if it was his ears and what could be done about it. Pretty sure he was really upset about not being able to move and about missing a nap...not his ears. On the way home, we did use some Benadryl and it worked on Liam but not on the girls. I had them in my row with no carseats. It was easier to not have the carseats because the girls were able to fall asleep on my legs and on their seat, after they screamed for about 20 minutes. Again, I had more "help" from other passengers. So, if you are reading this and were on a flight between Denver and Orange County and were ANYWHERE near our seats, I apologize, but there was nothing I could do. It doesn't help me when you stand up in your seat, turn around and stare at me. I'm not hitting them. It doesn't help when you tell me to turn on Nickelodeon on the TV. They don't watch TV and it wouldn't stop their screams. If, however, you have a way for me to get to the airport right when the flight takes off so that they can have their naps at home, then I'm all ears. A private plane would work for us.

We've also been busy playing in the snow and learning abou tthe wetness and the coldness. They love being outside and so far, haven't minded their gloves being on. It doesn't take much for them to figure out that they need gloves in the snow.

We took a walk in the snow around our street the other day. We live on a cul-de-sac so the kids were able to basically walk anywhere without me worrying about a car coming. Lily actually climbed over snow banks to get to our neighbor's Christmas decorations. She would also put her face fully in the snow and eat it. Liam liked picking it off his gloves and eating it and Ellie would have nothing to do with eating snow.

In other news, our fish, Chester, died. Yes, it is sad. We left with our very capable friends while we went to California. Apparently, he died on Christmas Eve day. Oh well. There was always something kind of wierd about him. May he rest in peace. We will get a new fish, to be named Chester2, but we're waiting until March. The kids and I will be in California for a month coming up and I don't want to have to worry about finding another babysitter for our fish.

A Happy 2008 to everyone!!!!!

Christie