Almost one

Romey's actual birthday is December 6 but since my family was in town for Thanksgiving we thought we'd celebrate a little early. Enjoy!

It's hard to believe she's almost one!

Ro: "Give me some cake!"

......and lovin' it!

Avery helping Romey open gifts.

Unfortunately Romey was pretty tired so she wasn't really feeling the whole gift thing.

And 'scene'.......

Lovin' on Ave

Regret

I regret to inform you that you won't be receiving a Christmas photo card from us this year. We still might be able to pull it off but the prospects aren't looking very good. Here's the best of the worst:

Me looking at Avery; Dan playing with Ro.

An accurate depiction of the Nelson family. That is, all of us looking at Avery.

Avery has given up, Ro's zoning out, and Dan's making a face. I give up.

Grateful

Grateful. What a word. What a mighty big word. As we approach the Thanksgiving holiday I'm spending some time reflecting on what I am grateful for. As you might guess I'm very, very grateful for Dan. There's lots to brag about as far as Dan is concerned but one of the "biggest" things as of late is his tremendous weight loss. Last January Dan decided to make a radical lifestyle change, and because of his dedication he has lost more than 100 pounds. I'm incredibly proud of him, and so grateful that he's taking his health seriously (I have much to learn). So, here's a recent side profile of him. Perhaps he'll let me show some before and after shots sometime. In the meantime, just admire.

Laugh it up

My stream of consciousness this morning from 9:00 a.m. to 9:30 a.m.:

**A "he's in big trouble" laugh**
I’m laughing because today is picture day at Avery’s preschool, and the photographer can’t even possibly know what he’s gotten himself into. I feel terrible for him. He’s going to see this sweet little girl outfitted in a Hanna dress coming toward him, and he’ll think, “Oh, she’s cute, and looks cooperative and agreeable.” And then I’m imagining Avery screaming, “NO!” and knocking over his lights, camera, and other picture-taking stuff. Truthfully, he’ll have better luck catching an attitude look than a smile. I should have clipped a warning to Avery's back. Now I’m feeling guilty. Let’s hope Mr. Photographer has a gifted assistant.

**A remembering laugh**
I’m laughing because my mom was in town this weekend, and as soon as she saw the school picture form she laughed hysterically and it was by far our longest and loudest laugh of the entire weekend (the back story on this is that my mom and dad went with me to get Avery’s one-year pictures taken—it couldn’t of gone worse, and Avery absolutely positively whipped three adults not including the photographer).

**A "glad it's not me" laugh**
I’m laughing because the lady that parked next to me this morning was having a terrible time getting her 1 ½ year old in the car because he was throwing a ferocious tantrum. I’m so glad it wasn’t my turn today to deal with a bucking bronco kid—although it is only 10:00 a.m.

**A "how did I get here?" laugh**
I’m laughing because the pre-school parking lot looks more like a Honda lot. I’m laughing because I’ve never seen so many minivans in my life. Minivans cause me to wonder, “how did I get here?” And, gratefully, although I’m “here” and “here” can be mind-blowingly difficult, I really do love it, and know (hope) that I’ll look back upon these years longingly.

**A "you've got to be crazy" laugh**
Finally, I’m laughing because someone complimented me on my mothering. I laughed at me, and I laughed at her, and I think I said something along the lines of, “Seriously? Ha! If you think I’m doing something right it is because I don’t take myself too seriously; I cut myself a lot of slack; I lower my expectations; and I just try my best. Give yourself some grace.” Good advice—I should take it.

Hope you're laughing. And, if not, I hope it's your turn to laugh tomorrow.

Jesus

“I need Jesus!” yelled Avery, and then louder, “I NEED JESUS NOW!” I thought, okay, this is going to be interesting. I was about to tell her that Jesus lives in her heart, and He is with her every day when I realized what she was asking for: the Fisher Price nativity Jesus. She was holding a lone wiseman that never got packed up with the other Christmas decorations last year, and she was yelling and crying that she needed Jesus. It was astonishing to me that she remembered that the wiseman was a part of something; not just some random figurine. Plus, she hadn’t played with the nativity in a year so I was feeling impressed. Impressed enough to pull out the minivan (yep, you read right—more on this in a minute), approach the six-high stack of Rubbermaid containers, pull them down one-by-one, dig through the Christmas decorations to produce Jesus and all his mates and other nativity paraphernalia to a delighted preschooler. She said, “Thank you Mommy for finding Jesus!” No problem.

I’ve got to tell you that this little nativity set was sort of an impulsive purchase. I really went back and forth on whether or not it was necessary. It was a little pricey but I decided to go for it, and I’m so glad I did. Not only did it keep Avery’s hands off of my breakable nativity, but it also became a real tangible way to talk about the Christmas story. And, it has given me tons of memorable material—like yesterday, and the day after Romey was born (as Avery told the nurse that Romey was the baby Jesus, and said so with such awe and conviction; it was priceless). Now that I think of it my nurse’s name was Mary. Crazy.

And Dan’s needing a little Jesus these days too as he’s finally given up the fight and surrendered to my constant needling, begging, and downright practicality—he agreed to a minivan. Dan hates the idea of a van. He hates what it represents, he hates the idea of being seen in it—the whole package. Me, I’m too practical to care what people think so I’m ecstatic to have the extra space, and love seeing my little queens perched on their thrones. Soon I’ll have a picture of Dan in the driver’s seat with a big smile on his face. I suggested taking our family Christmas picture in front of the van but Dan said he’d put his hand over his face. So, I made him a deal. Quit griping about the van, be pleasant about it, smile when you talk about it and we’ll get a Nintendo Wii. The deal is under consideration. Hopefully he’ll go for it.

Here’s to embracing life as minivan mama, and Dan lying down in the backseat wondering who’s seen him! :o) The plates should read: DAN VAN.

Have a great day!

Avery helping my mom rake the leaves. My mom was using a "blower" (I think that it is what is called) and it was hysterical to see Avery's reaction to all the leaves coming at her. Avery loves to help--she quickly grabbed a rake and started raking. At home, she is always asking for her turn with the broom. She doesn't know it yet but I'm going to get her a kid-size broom for Christmas.

Little brown-eyed beauty watching the leaf show. She'll be a year old on December 6.
I had to "share" a craft with you. Avery is constantly bringing the coolest crafts home from school. Avery's teacher says that craft time is Avery's favorite activity of the morning. Anyway, this is a piece of pumpkin pie, and I was so puzzled as to what the white cotton was supposed to represent. Alas, I got it: cool whip, and the teacher even sprinkled it with cinnamon. Cute.

Monkey Madness

Happy sugar coma! Avery had a blast trick-o-treating. My favorite moments were Avery going up to doors and yelling "Hello? Is anybody here?" or "Thanks!" as she was halfway down the driveway, ringing doorbells twenty times, and begging to go to the "scary house." A ton of fun, and a ton of pictures to share--too many cute ones to choose from so scroll quickly!

Avery yelling, "Let's........

.......Go!"