I love

the fact that no one in our house is sick at this moment.
 
that, for the first time, I hooked up the bike trailer and pedaled Tassia, Sybille, and myself to the playroom.
 
that tired-muscle feeling that means I'll sleep well.
 
the fact that, by some miracle, my playing the violin after the girls are in bed no longer disturbs them.
 
learning a new piece.
 
hearing the girls laughing upstairs with Thomas while I'm getting dinner.
 
seeing Alina get her bow and arrows, hearing her call me Caroline, and having her ask me what kind of meat I need her to bring home from hunting.
 
the days getting longer.
 
watching Tassia take apart and put together my set of nesting Russian dolls.
 
feeling like I accomplish things with my day.
 
getting rid of things we don't need.  It makes me feel lighter, somehow.

Wiggle, wiggle

At dinner tonight, Alina got a funny look on her face and said, "There was maybe something hard in my banana.  It hurt my tooth."  She put her hand in her mouth, and this shine came into her eyes.  "It moves!  Look, my tooth, it moves!"  She then immediately started to sob.  Not because it hurt.  Not because she was scared.  But because she's been asking for weeks and months about when she would lose her first tooth.  And the day will soon come.  She sobbed with a grin on her face and a gleam in her eye, and then climbed up into my lap for a cuddle.

1 for Sybille!

At 12 months, Sybille's eyes are still blue, much to my surprise. Her vocabulary consists of: Mama, Papa, Dat (that), Poop (not necessarily corresponding to anything in, or about to be in, her diaper), Boo, and Boom. She loves to play peek-a-boo, especially with books, that she will hold over her head, rather than over her face. She is capable of taking a step or two on her own, and is slowly gaining confidence in that respect. In the last month or two, her sleeping patterns have settled in considerably, much to Mama and Papa's relief. She has even been known to sleep through the night! (Tonight would make 4 in a row!!!) She has discovered books, and loves to leaf through them, especially on the potty chair. She does have a bit of a rivalry, especially with Tassia, and will scream at me if I'm not paying enough attention to her! She knows when she makes people laugh, and has a funny way of laughing along with them.

More Xmas Picts

Santa came and handed out candy at our grocery store. There was no place to sit on his lap, though...

Couldn't get Sybille to sit still for this one!

Forgotten?

When I was expecting Sybille during Christmas season last year, I often asked myself what it would be like for the child I was carrying, to have their birthday so close to Christmas. I don't want to make anyone feel guilty or anything, but today, Sybille's birthday came and went. She is a year old. We wished her happy birthday. Thomas's parents wished her happy birthday. I'm assuming everyone out there reading this was sending her silent birthday wishes and no one has actually forgotten her birthday. In any case, I don't think that her birthday rocked her world very much.
Notice that her eyes are still blue: Eating cake: (pictures got a little out of order)

Notice Alina's handiwork on the refrigerator behind Sybille!

(This is Tassia hugging Sybille's birthday cake.)

Belated Christmas Show

We may be a bit behind, but here are some memories of Alina's first ever school Christmas show. She is the fairy in purple (but, of course, you could tell that!)