Our first Christmas in Ohio

Our first Christmas in Ohio brought mixed feelings. I had the white Christmas I've always dreamed of. Being able to look out the window and see all the snow while listening to Christmas music was surreal. Emma loves the snow, and is happy to stay outside as her nose and cheeks get pinker and pinker. My wonderful friends in California didn't forget about us, and we both received fantastic gifts. Everyone was so generous!

It's those friends that brought on the mixed feelings, as a matter of fact. I miss them, terribly. And I hate to admit it, but that same snow that was so beautiful, that I've wished for for as long as I can remember, was a serious reminder that I'm not in CA any longer, that my friends are not in driving distance, and that I don't know when I'll get to see them again. It was tough. As the gifts they sent were opened, I was reminded of just how fortunate I am, and Emma too, for having them in our lives. Not because they gave us presents, but because they took the time to keep us in their lives, despite us being so far apart. It made me miss them, all the more.

Another tough adjustment: every Christmas, for my entire life, has been full of family, noise, laughter, food...all the things that a family celebration entails. This year was quiet, just Mom, Sam, Emma and me. Again, it reminded me just how much things had changed.

Ah, but then December 26 came, and Michael and Beth came over, and they brought the kids. The noise level went way up. People were laughing, talking, kids were shouting and running through the house, toys came out, food came out, and it was Christmas! Emma was beside herself; she loves those kids! She gets so excited when she's with them, and they're all very, very good with her. They pulled her around on her toboggan, played with her and her new toys, let her lead them around and be the boss of them. Emma's favorite place is in the center of attention, and she was right there, all day. That was probably her favorite Christmas gift!

Well, we did have a few moments when all eyes were definitely not on Emma. The girls were watching out the window, looking at some squirrels in the backyard, when they suddenly started shouting about deer in the backyard. I'm not kidding, we had a herd of about a dozen female white tail deer back there! Actually, they started out on the street behind us, then ran through the yard of the house behind us, then into the trees at the back of my parents' property (the pic I have here is from when they were in that stand of trees). Then they ran out of the trees, through the yard of the neighbor two doors down, and off to wherever they went. Another thing that you don't see in California. But this didn't make me miss California; this made me happy to be in Ohio.

The girls and their hats... 

Yep, those are deer back there. We had an actual herd of deer parade through our backyard! 

Feliz Navidad! 

Christmas Eve, sporting new jammies! 

Emma, Queen of the Snow Parade, in her toboggan. 

Beautiful! The trees behind the house were covered in ice, and when the sun set, they positively glowed. 

My little princess

Emma thrives on attention. I mean, seriously, she lives for it. I was dancing with her this evening, and she kept saying, "Hey! Hey!" to Grandpa, trying to get him to look at her and see that she was dancing. Once he looked, she just grinned and soaked up the adoration.

It's no surprise, then, that she does the same thing when we're out in public. Take today. I got her a toboggan for Christmas, but when we got snow a couple days ago, I couldn't stand to wait any longer, so she got her toboggan early. We had an ice storm that evening, so yesterday we couldn't go anywhere. So I bundled Emma up in her snowsuit, strapped her into her toboggan, covered her with a blanket, and we took off down the street.

People were outside shoveling their driveways, but in Emma's view, they were out to see her. She shouted "Hey!" at everyone she saw along the way. When someone looked up, she blew kisses, just like a princess in a parade! She was out, bestowing her kisses on her subjects, and assuming that every one of them was lapping it up. Of course, many of them were! There are few things that are cuter than a toddler, bundled into a toboggan, and going for a ride.

One additional thing...we had a base of about six inches of snow when the ice started to fall. We ended up with a 1 1/2 inch layer of ice over the snow, and more snow on top. I actually went out and shoveled the driveway, and what a job that was! I was out for about two hours, trying to get the driveway cleared enough for all of us to get our cars out. I've never been so physically exhausted. Remember, I had a c-section; even childbirth was not as tiring as shoveling that driveway! But today, the clouds cleared, and the sun shined down on our ice-covered world, and I can honestly say that there are very few things that are more beautiful than the sight that greeted us when we looked outside. Of course, I'll have to send some pics to this blog...they're too pretty to not share!

Our favorite place

Emma and I went to Inniswood Metro Park today. It's definitely my favorite place here in Westerville. It's never very crowded, and so Emma and I can walk around and feel like the entire place is ours. I've taken her there several times, and we never fail to have a great time.

It was cold there today; there was still snow on the ground here and there from Tuesday's snow. Inniswood was just that much prettier with the snow. Emma had a great time, toddling around and finding dirt to play in. She was wearing her mittens from her snowsuit, and they kept falling off, which she found completely hysterical! She giggled and giggled every time one would fall onto the ground. Hmmm...maybe that was a diabolical giggle; certainly, digging in the dirt is easier when one isn't wearing any mittens!

I took some very cute pics of Miss Emma while we were there at the park, and one of them is now posted below. She is such a delight, seriously. I can't say just how many times I smile or laugh every day simply because she exists. Yep, this is in spite of tantrums and throwing food (see my previous entries)!

Funny faces at Inniswood Metro Park 

Toddlerhood

Emma invariably throws her food on the floor when she's had enough. Instead of just not eating any more food, instead of complaining to me, instead of pushing on her tray, she takes a handful of food, reaches over the side of her high chair, and lets go. Sometimes, I catch her, just when she's ready to drop her food, and I say to her," Young lady, don't you do it, or Mama will be very angry." You know what her response is, right? Yep, she looks me right in the eye and lets go.

Tonight, she did it with a particularly messy food: shrimp and crab gumbo. This stuff is delicious, but it's gumbo, so it's loaded with rice, which is a pain to clean up off the floor. The best way to clean it, in fact, is to wait a little while until it's dry and then sweep it up. But waiting means running the risk of tracking it all over the house, and that stuff is sticky! Long story short, waiting for it to dry isn't an option, so I have to clean it up when all it wants to do is stay right where it's fallen...a total pain in the behind! Anyway, back to the story. I decided that I'd had enough, that she had disobeyed me one time too many, and by gosh, she was having a time out. But what to do? I had to clean up, and she was a mess (did I also mention her penchant for rubbing food into her hair?), so I couldn't put her anyplace that wasn't right where she was, until the cleanings of both her tray and her were complete. So I simply said, "That's it. You're going into time out." Then I turned her so that she was facing away from me, and I left her there, strapped in her hight chair, while I went ten feet away to clean her tray.

Did she complain? Nope. Did she cry? Uh-uh. Did she seem the least bit fazed by this form of discipline? Absolutely not. And I know that, tomorrow, her food is going on the floor when she's done eating. So I'm left to wonder: how do you discipline a 20-month-old child? Do you even try? And is food-throwing one of those things that you just live with, knowing that they'll eventually (please!) grow out of it? So many parents of kids Emma's age complain about the same thing. Clearly, it's like a rite of passage or something. You can't get out of your toddler years without throwing food on the floor, shoving something up your nose, and having a tantrum at least once. Is that what the Toddler Rule Book says?

I don't believe in the Terrible Twos. Every age has its terribleness and its wonderfulness. Toddlerhood is an exciting time. Emma's eyes light up when she gets a new concept. And every day, she does something new, and I ask myself, "How did she learn that?" It seems effortless on her part. But as she approaches her second birthday, I'm starting to hear, "Oh, she's almost in the Terrible Twos," or, "She's sure acting like she's in the Terrible Twos already." I think about it, and I wonder, just who are the twos terrible for? Emma? Nope. She's doing all kinds of new and exciting things. She's also beginning to learn how to express herself, and she's gaining a little bit of independence from me. Heady stuff, but very cool for her. So, then, are the twos terrible for me? Nope. I live to see her branch out and try things, to run instead of walk, to experiment and fail, and then experiment and succeed. And all this independence means that, when she stops for hugs, kisses, and cuddles, they mean that much more, since she's making the choice to pause in her adventures for an affectionate moment with me. That's the kind of time out we can all enjoy.

Ahhhh....snow!!

We got snow yesterday and today...yay! Growing up in California, I always mourned the lack of snow. I felt robbed every year when Christmas meant green grass, sunny skies, temps in the 70s...it was just wrong. I dreamed, every year, of living someplace that got snow in the winter, fall color in autumn...you get the picture. So you can imagine what it felt like to wake up today and see white on the ground. Incredible, and exhilerating, and exciting, and so much fun!

I took Emma out as early as I possibly could. Forever ago, I bought her a snowsuit from Once Upon a Child. From the pics below, you can see she looked like a big, lavendar marshmallow. She certainly felt squishy in all that fluffy down! I had hoped that she would like the snow. We had flurries on Thanksgiving, and she was completely not impressed. So today I took her out and set her on the ground, and then I crossed my fingers. She looked down at the stuff coating her boot, and it was clear that she was thinking, "What the heck is this?" So I tossed some in the air, and it floated down, powdery and dry, and she started giggling and squealing and shouting, "More, more!" She tried to toss some snow herself and ended up on her tummy in the snow. Instead of fussing, she giggled and started digging and shuffling around in the snow. I couldn't stop giggling, myself.

I'm absolutely thrilled that Emma will grow up with all the seasons. She can jump in piles of leaves, make snowmen, get excited when the first bulbs pop up, and complain about the heat and humidity. But there won't be that constancy that you see in California, the lack of change that I never enjoyed. There are some that appreciated the mild climate, but I wished for the excitement of changing weather. Now, just watch: Emma will long for mildness!

Playing in the snow 

Let it snow!! 

Emma meets "Santa!" 

Fun with cousins

Tonight Michael and Beth brought the kids over to see the Christmas decorations and to have dinner. Emma absolutely loves the kids, all four of them, and so she had a wonderful time. She was in the tub when they got here, and when she heard the doorbell ring, her eyes got wide and her ears practically perked up. I got her out of the tub and took her to look over from the loft and say hello. As soon as she saw everyone, her little body stiffened up, and she got so excited! I took her to dry her off and dress her, and she kept saying, over and over, "kis, kis, kis!" which is Emma-speak for "kids." If she were a dog, her tail would have been wagging, she was that happy!

The three girl, Sydney, Alex and Cassidy, let Emma boss them around when they're here, so she is absolutely beside herself (and full of herself!) the entire time she's with them. Sam, though good with her, is less enthralled, so he spent much of the evening in the loft, playing with Emma's Little People toys.

But, oh, Emma had such a good time with the girls! She was playing with Sydney and Cassidy, and she kept making them lie down on their backs. She would then just stand over them and survey the situation, making sure they didn't try to sit up or disobey her in any way. When they did sit up, she quickly ordered them back down, pushing on their chests until they did her bidding. Once, accidentally, she got ahold of Sydney's hair (I say accidentally, because she was clearly tentative about it). When she realized that pulling hair was effective, though, she did the same with Cassidy, only was much more forceful about it. The girls weren't hurt, and we all chuckled over the little girl who ruled them all with an iron fist full of hair.

Jingle Bell Rock

The school quarter is finished, and now I don't go back until January 3...hooray! I have tons o' projects to finish for Christmas gifts, but I don't anticipate having too much trouble. Of course, that depends partly on Miss Emma. I've been taking my crochet projects into the bathroom to work on while Emma plays in the bath. But the child doesn't like for me to be paying attention to things that are not her, so to get my attention she stands up in the bathtub. Tonight she even tried to climb out!

She likes for me to sing to her when she gets out of the tub; we actually have a singing game we play. I start singing a song, she lets me sing for a moment, then she says, "No," and shakes her head. I say, "How about......." and then I start a new song. On and on it goes, until I find just the right song to suit Her Highness's fancy. Tonight, I sang "Jingle Bell Rock" to her, and she laid there and listened, so I thought I was onto something. We had a big finish, complete with high kicks. After the big ending ("that's the jingle bell rooooooooooock!") she looked at me for a moment, then shook her head and said, "No." Ah, so much for the big finale!