MC2 Family: Florida Holidays Continued

I have vowed to catch up by the end of the month, but am getting doubtful that I will succeed. Alice got a cold today, and has a runny nose. I was having trouble getting the JuicePlus into her this past week. She won't eat it in plain yogurt anymore, so I mixed the powder ith some nut butter and put it on a cracker. That worked for 2 days, then no deal. So I broke down and bought her fruited yogurt (read: sugary). She totally ate the JuicePlus in a tablespoon of fruity yogurt. So that's the new plan . . . I hate to see her sick again, poor thing. Immune systems aren't built in a day . . .

In other news, we went to a couple of open houses today. Oh. My. Goodness. This one place was so depressing. It felt like everything was laminated: the floors, the wallpaper, the furniture, so you could just hose it off. It was small and cramped and incredibly depressing. I am reminded how privileged we are, comparatively. So, the search continues.

As for new Alice tricks: she is just starting to realize she can walk, and will cruise a round a room to get where she wants to go. But mainly, her mode of transportation includes one of our fingers. She is not too keen on crawling anymore, ever, so that is making life interesting for us.

She does the cutest thing right now, which I haven't been able to get on video. She says Dadaohhhhhhhhh (kind of like Daddy-O but without the e sound). Or she simply says Ohhhhhhhh. And in both cases, she tilts her head back and reaches her arms out to us, palms up. We of course interpret it to mean come give me a kiss, so we do! She then will often hold us around the neck and not let go; she just wants us close, for snuggling (or warmth). We are completely under her spell.

And this seems very advanced to me, but our waterbug can blow bubbles in the bath tub. Isn't that advanced. I think it is very advanced. Again, we really want her to have swim lessons, but feel she needs to be able to walk first, given our stroller-free lifestyle and the need to change in and out of swinsuits at a public pool for class. If only she knew what she had to look forward to, she would probably let go of our fingers so fast! 16 months and blowing bubbles in the tub, what a superstar!

Ok, in my effort to catch up from the Holidays . . .

After opening gifts, we had a terrific lunch at Curtis' parents' home. Jack and Deppie were so generous to invite us to join in their Christmas celebration. Tom and I had to eat in shifts because of Alice, which was a little awkward, but they made us feel welcome. Curtis' brother, daughter, and wife were there, along with his step-sister, Jen (who I went to high school with--small world!) and her daughter. Alice was very taken with the big girls, but we had to redirect her energies as the big girls had toys with lots of choke-able parts--which of course was half the fascniation!!!). Curtis and Julia and Maddie ended up putting on a puppet show that had a hilarious commentary by Curtis. Fun times.

Tom and I were both sick, and he was starting to feel better and I was starting to feel worse. We soldiered on though, not wanting to miss a minute of family time. Unfortunately, I have since found out we ended up getting Peggy, and then subsequently Curtis, sick. I never know what to do in these cases. Had we not flown down, we would have been soooo disappointed, and if we had a rule that we canceled our trips when we were sick, based on the last 9 months we would never have left the house! Oy! Our condolences and apologies Peggy and Curtis! We are working hard to boost our immune systems so hopefully we won't give you such a special gift next time we see you. Hugs not bugs!

After hanging out with Curtis' family, we went to 2 of my parents' friends' homes, people I grew up with, so it is superfun to show off Alice to them, their kids, and their grandkids. Josephine is so special to us, and we have a playdate with her and Jake everytime we visit. I have video even of Josephine dancing to the Wiggles, but have sworn not to air it on YouTube!