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Christmas 2013
We had Christmas as usual in Austin. In addition to Kit, the girls, and myself, we also had Kit’s parents, my parents, and Kit’s Uncle Bob. So it was a party of nine. Us adults can get pretty boring at Christmas, but not so much with the kids in the mix. The sneaking around to hide presents, stuffing stockings, leaving cookies and milk for Santa were all still in play this Christmas.
Claire reminded us several times in clear terms that Christmas is not about the presents. It’s about togetherness, Claire says, and she is right. At one point for fun, Claire and I asked Siri on my iPhone what the true meaning of Christmas was. Siri said it found a related article on the web. That is always her lame answer! Claire and I had a good laugh at that. Siri is great, but she should know the true meaning of Christmas from her heart, not some web page! 😉
For her part, Molly basically is a Christmas elf. She has exactly the right size and energy as an elf. You don’t get to have an elf join you for Christmas every year.
Even Molly didn’t ask for presents for Christmas, and she didn’t snoop and poke at the presents under the tree. That may be because there was basically nothing under the tree until December 23 or so, as is our tradition. By the time Kit and I had agreed on what to get everyone, bought all the gifts, wrapped and labeled them, and transported then down to the tree, it is a miracle that Christmas has not passed by already.
Probably the best part of Christmas was seeing the girls have nice long days with all their grandparents, doing art projects, games, cooking, etc. It was almost perfect. Then there is the overlapping sound of different TV shows, music, etc. on the TV, the computer, someone’s iPad, etc. Kit made a rule that only one show/sound could be played at a time. In general, World War II documentaries dominated the TV. At one point, Kit and I resolved that there was going to be a goddamn Christmas movie on for Christmas. We put on White Christmas or something. Within an hour, it was back to the war documentaries. But that’s okay, at least it was one sound, and we all settled into it. And the kids had already seen plenty of Elf and The Polar Express in the weeks leading up to Christmas.
Okay, so we have established that Christmas is not about the presents. You can stop here if you don’t care about presents.
Okay good, since presents don’t matter, I shouldn’t even mention them. But since they are kind of a time capsule, here are a few highlights… Both girls got sleeping bags for camping. They also each got a big fancy box from Santa to keep their stuff in. Many of Molly’s favorites were actually from Uncle Bob, including a 530-piece (!) paper activity set and some plastic princess shoes which Molly calls her glass slippers. She also ended up with a giant floor piano you play with your feet and a musical marble stacking/rolling thingy. Claire got some cool sets for designing clothes and making her own custom dollhouse. She also got her some shoes and roller-skates for her beloved Fluttershy stuffed pony. And a sewing machine that doesn’t work so much, or at all (oops!).
So there it is, Christmas 2013… Sometimes a little too fast, sometimes a little too slow. But this was still a real kids’ Christmas full of magic and togetherness. See the brief Christmas video too. Also, the girls’ very sweet present to Kit and me.
Claire turns 8!
Claire’s birthday fell on the day after Thanksgiving this year. For the first time in years, we went to Corpus Christi for Thanksgiving this year, and we all stayed and celebrated Claire’s birthday down by the Bay. All four of Claire’s grandparents were there as well as (great) Uncle Bob.
As you see in the photos, Molly was crying for Claire’s official candle-blowing-out. She had been asked to vacate the seat at the head of the table to make room for Claire. Molly did not agree or consent to this plan and let us know. Later, Molly made up a brief story, possibly as a sort of apology. She said the main character was Jonny Jakes. The story was called “Jonny Jakes, for Heaven’s Sakes!” In the brief story, Johnny Jakes messed up his big sister’s birthday party by making a scene. Everyone said, “Jonny Jakes, for Heaven’s Sakes!” and Jonny was sorry. The end.
Presents included two nearly identical My Little Pony Rainbow Dash dolls. It was a clear and obvious choice! We later exchanged one Rainbow Dash for Pinky Pie. Claire also got a big Playmobil Santa’s workshop. Uncle Tim mailed in a painting set with dolphin scenes, thus combining the recommended topics of art and dolphins.
DC for July 4
We took our annual-ish trip to Washington DC to see the girls’ aunt Cindy and uncle Tim. First a few photos…
And a few highlights…
- After meeting Tim & Cindy for dinner on the first night, once we were back in our rental car, Molly asked, “Who were those people?”
- We visited the Spy Museum, which was very cool. Claire was a little freaked out that spies are real and kept asking if they are good guys or bad guys. The answer: both, but even bad ones leave kids and normal people alone. Molly liked to push whatever buttons she could find, climb stuff, and watch the James Bond video over and over.
- Molly was wondering why we sold our car at the Austin airpot, bought a new one at the DC airport, then bought our old one back when we cam back to Austin.
- We also got to see the Lincoln Memorial, which was Claire’s first choice of sights to see in DC. She had learned a lot about Lincoln in school and also from talking about history with me and Kit. Plus, and perhaps most importantly, the Lincoln statue was a featured hero in the movie Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian.
- We also walked by the White House, but the girls were too hot and tired to enjoy it or even really notice it.
- Over the course of the 2-day, 3-night trip, we also saw our friend Andrea in Silver Spring, Tim’s and Cindy’s friends near Mt. Vernon, and met our other friends at a Whole Foods in DC.
- We saw the official National Mall fireworks out the car window as we drove home from Mt. Vernon. What could be more American?
- At one point, Claire was in tears asking us to slow things down, as she was getting tired of “freaking around”.
- Molly was wondering if it was “still America” when we got back to Austin. It did seem like a lot of trouble to go on that airplane for a long flight and still be in the same country, I guess. We would later decypher the “still America” thing meant the 4th of July holiday.
- The day after we got home, the girls were tired and grumpy, but at least they saved it for after the trip.
Mother’s Day / Dance Recital
Today was Mother’s Day, and the day of Molly’s long-awaited dance recital. Kit’s Uncle Bob and my parents came to visit for the recital (and Mother’s Day).
We all went to Mozart’s on Sunday morning to celebrate Mother’s Day. It was perfect weather, and everyone was put into a good mood. Claire, who had been a little grumpy, even noted that it made her feel better to get out to good ol’ Mozart’s.
Molly’s dance recital was crazy. We didn’t know what we were getting into when we signed her up. The theme was “Broadway Lullabies”, which was 90 minutes of inspired dance routines, featuring troupes of kids ages 3 (ie, Molly) to maybe 13, all dressed in pretty fancy dance outfits. This was Molly’s first dance recital. She did her pliés and twirls admirably, always watching to the side of the stage where her instructor was doing the routine. Sorry, photography and video shooting was “strictly prohibited” in the performance. You can buy a DVD if you want to.
Winter Trip to Houston
The girls and I made a weekend trip to Houston over the President’s Day weekend. The girls had three classes between them on Saturday (Molly swimming and ballet, Claire art) so we headed up in the late afternoon after the classes were done. it was a fun but quick trip. We mostly chilled out, and visited my old haunt, Hedwig Park. The girls were not ready to come back home on Monday! I’ll let the pictures tell the rest of the story.
Christmas 2012
Minimalist post, only pictures… 🙂
Thanksgiving 2012
Minimalist post. Uncle Bob took the picture for us.
Noni’s birthday
The girls’ paternal grandmother, aka Noni, aka my mom, is turning 70 this month. To celebrate, we took the girls for a weekend trip to Houston. My brother Tim and his wife Cindy fly in from Virginia. My mom seemed delighted to have everyone together in the same house, if only for one night.
We had about 24 hours together. All we did was hang out in the house and at the pool. There was lots of swimming. We topped it off with a great birthday feast at Harvest Grille. The girls had lots of fun swimming and playing with Noni’s special toys and crafts. Molly even enjoyed her new inflatable travel bed (no more Pak ‘n’ Play!). It really was great getting everyone together, and the car trip was not too bad this time around either.
Below are some pictures. One of Noni’s friends took some family pictures on Sunday morning, trying to beat in the August sunshine.
McG Kids 