Hibernation

We have been in a post-holiday, mid-winter state of hibernation.  I've enjoyed the slower pace, the gray skies, the clean house, the lazy days and nights, the successful potty training.  The GERMS descended upon our home with a vengeance and tried to disrupt our resolutions for healthy and happy days.  But, we're gently emerging out of our hibernation. The little Whitfield people have still been adorable, hysterical, and sweet.  Both Sophie and Cameron continue to show such independence, wit, and intelligence.

Photo proof that we have been living life thus far in 2015:

Christmas 2014

The hype and excitement for Christmas in the Whitfield home was unbelievable.  And the actual magic of the holiday exceeded any of my hopes and dreams as a parent!

The week prior to Christmas, Sophie and I attended the Boise production of The Nutcracker.  She was SO EXCITED the morning of the performance, and I relished every minute of our mommy-daughter date.  During the entire ballet, she sat on the edge of her seat, mesmerized, attentive, and in awe.  During the intermission, (or "halftime", as Sophie called it), she and I shared a frosted cookie in the lobby and discussed our favorite parts.  She understood and interpreted so much of the story, simply by watching the dancers and listening to the orchaestra.  When we returned for the second part, she whispered that next year, we need to buy "maybe 2 or 3 cookies".  There are so many snapshot memories from that day that I will hold in my heart for years to come: me, running from the car in the day's downpour while Sophie, in her skirt and tights and shoes, wrapped her legs around me in a giant hug..... her bottom sitting on the edge of the theatre chair, her chin high in the air, her eyes darting to every dancer, her eyes lit up with excitement at the beauty of the dance... her sweet comment that she "didn't know that boys could do ballet, too".... and her squeeze of my hand as she said so sweetly, "Mommy, thank you so much.  This was AWESOME!".

The buildup to the holiday also included several fun holiday dinners with friends, Sophie's winter dance recital, a movie play date with Grady for the inaugural viewing of "The Polar Express", and hours spent playing with toys around our tree.

Sophie and her best friend, Ally, having a pajama play date (and Cam:"my hold my own hands") 

On Christmas Eve, we enjoyed a wonderful brunch at the Johnson's house.  The kids were so excited to play together and run around, and their excitement skyrocketed when we noticed a few wet snowflakes start to fall.  When we returned home, both kids brought tubs of toys down to play underneath the tree, Doug started to prep his Christmas Eve feast, and I seriously lay on the couch with my feet up taking it all in.  The clock hadn't even reached 3:00 PM when I unveiled my traditional Christmas Eve present to the family: new pajamas.  But these jammies were different this year.... they were matching. Yes, we spent half of Christmas Eve day in our jammies.  It was wonderful.






For Christmas Eve dinner, Doug made traditional and homemade Australian Meat Pies.

They were delicious.  While we enjoyed them around the table, we looked outside to see that it was dumping snow! We all shrieked with joy and amazement.  Cameron put on a coat and boots over his pajamas and immediately went outside.  Sophie started writing her letter to Santa, and we watched the snow fall while tracking Santa's route via NORAD. Cameron started a hysterical habit on Christmas Eve of taking one bite of cookie, replacing it back on the platter, and taste testing another bite.  Soon enough, we were all sharing Christmas desserts.  This habit continued with Christmas morning's donuts and Christmas Day's cookies.  We all laughed, because Cam has never only had one bite of something and passed it on, but this became his contribution to the holiday's traditions.

Doug and I set an alarm early Christmas morning to make sure we heard the pitter patter of Sophie and Cam's feet as they discovered Santa's presents.  Sure enough, Sophie woke up first and knocked on Cam's door to wake him up.  Doug and I were giddy with excitement, and watching them unpack their stockings and read Santa's note filled us with such joy.  The rest of the morning was spent unwrapping and playing and unwrapping some more. All of us were lovingly spoiled.  Cam really got the hang of opening presents and became an animal tearing off the paper, not wanting to wait between presents.  Sophie kept saying "YES! YES!!" after she would open a present as if she had been waiting her whole life for that present.  She was so gracious and appreciative.  With trash bags filled with wrapping paper and boxes of toys covering the living room floor, we spent several hours each doing our own thing! I set up and played with the new Lincoln Log train set, Doug experimented with the marble tower, Cam drove new race cars, and Sophie talked with her new ponies and other trinkets.  We were all in our matching Christmas jammies sprawled on the floor, playing with toys. It was special.

(still claiming that he wanted to punch Santa....)

The rest of the day was filled with Skype sessions with all of the family, Doug's culinary talents of lamb with homemade mint sauce and potatoes, and a house bursting with Christmas songs and loot.

Other photos of note to close out the holiday season:

Our neighborhood as taken by Doug while driving...

On the 26th, we joined friends to watch the Boise Steelheads ice hockey match!

This boy and his tractors....

test driving his brand new remote control car

Doug taking snowman making to a whole new level: using a cheese grater

The day after we packed up all of the decorations, ("the house looks naked, mommy!"), the holiday cheer returned with the arrival of a true snowfall.  So, any holiday letdown that could have set in was replaced with excitement for winter snow and skiing!

Welcome, 2015!