In on a high note... out on a sour one

As I write this the house is very quiet, a rare thing with 2 kids under four and a chirpy bird.  Lisette is upstairs taking her normal afternoon nap. Emerson is also upstairs napping; however, this is his 2nd nap as he is exhausted from all of the barfing he did last night and today. And the other man of the house has barricaded himself and his germs in the man cave suffering from the same ailment as Emerson.  So January is ending on a sour note... LITRALLY (shout out to Rob Lowe).

As for other news... we had a lovely visit from Auntie Kristen and Uncle Jon Pancerman. We enjoyed a beautiful meal, yummy coffee, a walk around Maymont, and an oh-so-ladies-who-lunch lunch at Mosaic.  The visit was too short as always but we are determined to make it to Chicago so it won't be another year before seeing our friends again. We also wandered down to the VMFA last week to take in some beautiful things and get one more look at that Sperm Whale Kevin is always going on about....

The weather here in Richmond has been extremely mild so we have been trying to enjoy time outdoors.  Lisette is almost pulling herself up and takes cautious baby steps with guidance from her mama.  She waves bye-bye and can say mama and dada (although we are not quite sure that she says these words with any purpose).  She also also begun blowing spit bubbles... classy indeed! One of my favorite parts of the day is picking her up from daycare because as soon as she sees me she scoots with a wild intensity to get to me (ahh baby love). Emerson has really embraced the ups and downs of being three.  By that I mean he has become this super interesting little person who wants to know what every sign on the street says, can recite his address, knows all his letters, can count past twenty, and has the biggest, most intense melt downs in recorded history (that may be a bit of an overstatement - but make no mistake they are BIG).  As evidence of his budding personality Kevin and I have started writing down what we have affectionately come to call "emersisms"  Here are a few gathered this month:

"Jack Lion said that Max had a stomachache and . . . 

uh . . . that's not a very good story." 

"Daddy... who built me" [Kevin responds with Me and Momma built you] 

"Did you build Herman too?"

"Daddy, I like your beard can I borrow it when I grow I up and become a dada?"

~klv

Jon and Baby Girls Getting Ready to Go to Maymont

Jon and Em at the famous Maymont Bear Statue

Ladies Getting Ready to Lunch

Serious Face... Silly Hat

Riding the Elevator at the VMFA

Art...

More art...

Dancing Girls....

We really don't let her stand in her
chair unaccompanied....really.

Birds chirp. Lisettes squeal.

The following is a rather comical video of the way Lisette typically reacts to Herman. 

--kdp

A Full Rotation Around the Sun

We made it!  This past Tuesday, January 3rd, 2012 at 11:04 pm it was official... Lisette Francine Pelletier turned 1 year old. We celebrated the occasion on New Years Day with fabulous friends and a beautiful brunch.  Lisette was true to her french heritage by delicately picking at the chocolate cream cheese muffin rather than smashing it into her face (as Emerson did).  However, it is also possible that when presented with the chocolate muffin Lisette thought to herself, "what's the big deal;" because as a 2nd child she was allowed to have sweets well before her 1st birthday (unlike her older brother who was kept away from the evils of sugar for a full 365 days).

On the actual official day the four of us celebrated quietly with a dinner of grill cheese sandwiches and tomato soup. And, as tradition demands, we also consumed a large portion of a Bev's ice cream cake (cookies and cream + chocolate ice cream with an oreo crunch).  We were also able to Skype with the Pelletiers and sing Happy Birthday one more time.

It has only been a year but it seems she has always been with us and it is hard now to remember a time before "baby girls."  She is a true joy to behold... a precious little lady in every way (except of course when she burps or toots, which she gets from her father's side of the family).
~klv

"Lisette Happy Birthday"

The Birthday Spread - the yellow plate will soon hold
one of Kev's fabulous fritattas!

Everyone who came wrote down a wish for Lisette for 2012.

"Happy Birthday to you..."

Getting cake all over your face is so 2010...

A mouth full of bacon - he couldn't be happier!

Ladies who brunch.

The infamous Bev's ice cream cake!

Ok not quite as lady like with an ice cream cake.
This she gets from her mother...

Ice cream hangover....

Winter Break 2011

876 games of candy land + 2 wicked bad temper tantrums + many many fires in the fire place + a trip to see the lights at Lewis Ginter + a visit from Santa + many days spent in pjs + multiple get togethers with friends + several games of basketball with dad + a couple of time outs + episodes of sesame street and a dolphin documentary + one awesome trip to Maymont with the Lions + numerous wonderful meals + a rockin New Years Eve celebrating the rockin Amy Howard + a beautiful brunch celebrating sweet sweet Lisette = 1 FANTASIC winter break.

Winter break draws to a close and I head back to work tomorrow as the kids get one more "home day" with dad. We had a wonderful break - time did that wonderful thing where it slows down and really lets you appreciate all the moments. There were several times over the past two weeks where I would look at one or both of the kids and I was filled with that feeling where you suddenly realize how much you love your kids... you know that feeling that is always there but sometimes gets shadowed by other stuff like work deadlines, laundry, temper tantrums, broken toys.. that feeling of love that is truly overwhelming... where you just feel so grateful that these little rugrats are yours. That wonderful scary love.

We head into 2012 feeling rejuvenated and reconnected and looking forward to capturing more moments on this blog. Wishing everyone peace, joy, and love for the upcoming year!

~klv

Above mentioned dolphin doc

Em and Jack heading to see the Bears!

Lisette and Max along for the ride.

Climbing the rocks at Maymont.

You might not be able to tell but Lisette
is laying her head on my foot
which is something she frequently
does when she wants to show love
or when she gets tired of holding
her head up... melts my heart...
everytime...

Addendum

The previous video of Emerson at Christmas dinner was edited down from 3 minutes to about 1:15. And while Kendra would prefer that I not share how the video concludes, in the interest of full disclosure, I think these final 9 seconds are important -- an emphatic exclamation point to an otherwise impassioned performance! (For the record, we care a great deal about teaching manners, but you wouldn't know it from this video.)

-kdp

Christmas Dinner entertainment

I just figured out how to convert digital camera movies to iMovies, and how to upload iMovies to youtube, which is why I am only posting this video now and not when it initially happened. This is just a brief glimpse into Emerson's behavior during Christmas dinner. Our friends F.G. and Angie were witnesses. I suppose there's nothing unique about this, and any interested parent can reproduce Emerson's antics in their own child by following the simple equation: Christmas + lots of sugar + no nap = wacko child. 

-kpd