We need Joe!

Sometimes I like to sneak up on my kids when they are playing...I thought Audrey and Kateri singing the "Come Back Joe Bird" theme song was pretty funny.

Audrey on belief systems

Our conversation in the car last night while listening to Christmas carols on the radio:

Audrey: "Mom, what does 'merry' mean?"

Me: "It means 'happy'."

Lili chimes in: "Yeah, and some people say 'Happy Holidays' because they believe in different things than us."

Audrey (dryly): "Yeah, and some people believe in unicorns."

Lately

we've had a lot of deliveries. Usually the UPS man comes after Audrey gets home from school, but before Lili does. After I empty the box (and hide its contents) this is invariably the sight I find...Audrey and Kateri squished in it together "decorating" it with crayons. The smaller boxes make me laugh...

A great gift for a toddler...

Yesterday, this arrived in the mail with Nanny's voice recorded on it. Kateri has listened to it approximately 37 times since then. Good thing you have such a lovely voice, Nanny...otherwise I might have to invest in some earplugs. I thought to myself, "Maybe Kateri will memorize some of the poem," only to walk past her happily snuggled on the couch with the book and hear her giggle and repeat in her toddler accent: "To record, move switch to unlock position" (which is what the book says when you press the button on the bottom.) Thanks, Nanny and Papa!

Too much Food Network...

So...Christmas is coming up, and I guess I've been overindulging on the Martha Stewart Show and the cooking channel...I was making some pizza crusts ahead of time for a visit from some of the Dallas Birds, and I gave both Audrey and Kateri some dough to keep them busy. I was concentrating on my own task when I realized there were two separate but different monologues coming from either side of me...so of course I grabbed my camera and consequently over-cooked one of the crusts. "Shoot," I said, "I think this is a little more than par-baked." Audrey replied, "Don't worry, Mom. Aunt Katie's coming. She'll fix it. She knows a lot about pizza."

Happy St. Nicholas' Day!

We put our tree up last weekend. Kateri redeemed herself for last year's bungling of the Speier family tree-topping ceremony.

Do you want to know why Luke looks so happy? Okay, I'll tell you. It's because he once again used his arsenal of luck, determination, and Jedi mind tricks to get a ridiculously good deal. This time it was for our tree. Also, I was convinced it was too tall for our house, and he was convinced it would fit. It fits, as you see, but our poor little Angel is going to have a serious crick in her neck after having her head jammed up against the ceiling for the next three weeks.

The girls left their shoes outside for St. Nicholas last night...

...and found some surprises in them this morning: chocoalte coins and ornaments!

Happy St. Nicholas' Day!

Audrey my animal lover...

Yesterday we drove out to Mesa for brunch with Nona and some friends who happen to have a big beautiful property with horses and dogs. I think Audrey thought she had died and gone to heaven.

Lili was pretty happy, too.

What little girl doesn't love horses, right?

It was a treat for everyone, but Audrey especially. She has always had an affinity for animals. Lili loves them too, but Lili has always been first and foremost a baby lover. If there is a baby in the vicinity, then chances are she will try to steal it from its parents. If that fails and she can't actually hold said baby, she will violate the baby's personal space by talking/bouncing as close to the baby as she can while the parents slowly inch backwards.

Audrey is similarly obsessed whenever there is an animal nearby. So she was in heaven on Sunday.

There was only one moment when her gigantic smile faded: Lili, being older and more capable, got to use a bridle and ride without an adult leading the horse. When Audrey saw this, her face dropped and she walked slowly back to a corner to quietly wrestle with some jealous tears... sometimes it's hard being the younger sister.

Anyway, the experience made me think back on how Audrey has always loved animals so much, even as a baby when she had such a strong bond to our dear departed Sam.

She used to crawl over to him and use him to pull to stand.

I'm sure her little fingers pinched, but he always patiently stood firm.

Oh, Sam...there will never be another dog like you...

but I better stop digressing before I start weeping uncontrollably.

I love the fact that Audrey is a born animal lover. Hopefully we can have animals as part of our family again sometime in the future, but for now, we'll just have to enjoy moments like these as they come.