Disney Freak: Merry Christmas!

Well, like everyone else, we were literally snowed in for 13 days! All in all, I think we had about 18 inches of snow fall! Needless to say, I'm done with it. D-U-N-N as we say in the Gardipee hale. Because of this, many of our Christmas plans were cancelled, but we made due and had a rad Christmas anyway! My Mom and Dad made it over thanks to my Sister and Bro-in-law, and all made it to our house for a small, casual get-together for Christmas Eve. We simply weren't able to make it to Olympia to spend it with my Dad's side of the family. The benefit of not being able to go anywhere was that we got lots of quality time with Mom and Dad. I also think that they kept G and I from going certifiably insane! Christmas Day was spent in our jammies, eating (including Jesus' birthday cupcakes), unwrapping gifts and hanging out. It was a joy to see Kealan understanding the Christmas Story (our 3 Nativity Sets didn't hurt), and also to witness Tiernan's love of unwrapping gifts. He's got it! It was great! K and T couldn't have loved it more, and both are still very sad after Dad leaving Sunday, and Mom leaving Tuesday. K just whines, "I want Pumbaa to come back." and declared that she "wants to go to Ohio too." Thankfully, My dad, T and I were barely able to get out on the 23rd to make T's Children's appointments in preparation for his surgery in 2 weeks. His echo cardiogram was normal (an answered prayer) which means no damage to his heart caused by the sleep apnea. Yay!

We received an unexpected call on Christmas, telling us that G's sister, Skye, was being sent to the hospital with labor pains. Skye was only 24 weeks along, and due to complications, Grace Elizabeth was born on the 26th. She's only 1 pound, 7 ounces, though has a full head of black hair and is doing well considering the deck stacked against her! Our prayers are with her every day.

We were also able to get out to give Mom and Dad their Christmas gifts - a trip to the Science Center to meet Lucy herself! If you know my Dad, you know that Lucy has been a love of his for most of his life, and my mom ADORES geology, fossils, and paleontology. It was a great exhibit, and I learned so much. Afterward we dined at the Steelhead Diner (YUMMY) and stuffed ourselves.

T had his 18 month appointment yesterday, and to quote Dr. Joe, "Wow... Oh, Wow, Sonnet...Holy Cow!" He's still surprising all of the staff with his growth. He's 36.5 inches tall and 27 pounds, 13 ounces. He's in the 75th percentile for weight, though continues to register off the chart for height. Right now he's not following the growth curve, and Dr. Joe said that if he slows down to the growth curve, he estimates that he'll be at least 6 feet 5 inches. All I can say is, it's in the blood, but not manifested by G or me!

Today we reached another rite of passage for my daughter - her first movie theater experience! We've been trying to see Madagascar 2 with her since it opened, though one thing or another has caused us to cancel every time! April and Gregg watched T while we went on our "date" - Thanks April and Gregg! She liked it, though I think here favorite part was the popcorn!

K story: Monday Night Football is an event here, and the best part for K (and most of the time me) is the "song". We sing it at the top of our lungs! This last Monday, K asked G what day it was. When he replied, "Monday" she exclaimed, "The Song!" He had to break it to her that The Song wouldn't be back for a long time. I believe he was very proud at that moment!

Spending lots of snowed-in time wrestling

Reading with Pumbaa...

And O'ma

O'ma and Kealan's Snow Cat (I think it started as a mouse)

Kealan posing with her Dinosaurs from Santa. He also left us cat puke on the living room floor that K declared was Rudolph puke after he ate the caramel we left for him!