The McClelland Family

Last night, as we tucked them in, Mary and Lila told me what they had asked Santa to bring them for Christmas…peace on earth and goodwill towards men.

I can only hope that their dreams come true.  I also hope that Lila is the one who made this request, because I’m not sure that Santa would have been able to hear Mary through all the crying.

May your day be merry and bright!

Love,

Kirsten, Kevin, Mary, Lila, Pearl, and Morris

Lila and Mary visited Santa on Sunday.  We woke up bright and early, got dressed, and headed to Bellevue Square hoping to beat the crowds.  Our plan worked, and when we got there at about 8:15 there was no line!  Santa and his elves were just hanging out in his workshop and the mall was so peaceful and quiet, it was almost surreal.

Before we had their picture taken, there was another small matter that needed to be addressed. In the car, Lila managed to rip the bow out of her hair and then tear it apart.  We needed to buy her a new hair bow before we could have their pictures taken…not because I’m some crazy mom who thinks girls should always wear bows (although I won’t lie, I do love a good bow and tights!), but rather, it’s because Lila has pretty long hair in the front and if it’s not clipped back it hangs in her eyes, and that drives me nuts!  So, after stopping at about five different stores we finally found a red and white bow to match her dress and we were off to see Santa!

Mary and Lila were in fine spirits, so while Kevin managed the stroller, diaper bag, Puppy, Mr. Giraffe, Mary’s binky, our four coats, my purse, and a partridge in a pear tree, a helpful elf named Peppermint assisted me in carrying the girls up to Santa.  First we placed Lila in Santa’s lap and she didn’t even bat an eyelash.  Then it was Mary’s turn.  I quickly put her on Santa’s lap, but before she even left my arms I knew it wouldn’t be good.  Her sharp little claws fingernails dug into my neck and she wrapped her legs tightly around my waist as I leaned towards Santa.  As soon as she made contact with Santa’s lap, the screams began.  When Mary is really upset, her screams are incredibly loud, deep, and raspy and sound like a tiger growling.  Apparently Santa and his elves were used to this reaction so the photographer snapped away while Peppermint danced around trying to entertain the girls with a stuffed Rudolph.

After a minute or so, I rescued Mary from Santa and we looked at the pictures.  Unfortunately, Lila was looking away in all of them, so we decided to try again.  Now, don’t be mistaken…we weren’t trying again in hopes that Mary wouldn’t cry.  That was pretty much a given!  We were just hoping that one of our children would look at the camera and not freak out in the picture.  Peppermint played with Lila while Kevin and I calmed Mary down (still no line!).  Then, it was time for round two.  Same reactions from both girls, but this time we managed to get Lila to sit still and look at the camera.

So, without further ado…

Mary, Santa, and Lila, Christmas 2009

And, for fun, here’s last year’s picture…

Mary, Santa, and Lila, Christmas 2008

*Yes, I realize that the girls are wearing nearly the same thing this year as they did last year.  There’s just something about a soft red corduroy jumper, a white onesie with a ruffly Peter Pan collar, and white tights that screams “Christmas!”  I’ll try to branch out a bit more next year.

**It was a happy coincidence that the girls were seated in the same order both years, but it does make for a nice comparison.  Hopefully we won’t forget and we’ll do the same next year!

***Don’t worry.  Mary stopped crying the minute that I picked her up off of Santa’s lap.

Let’s talk about baby hair.  It’s fine.  It tangles easily.  Babies are constantly running their food-and-milk-covered fingers through it.

We have two very different heads of baby hair to groom.  Mary’s is very fine and curly.  We have to brush it multiple times a day to get out tangles, and after each nap the only thing you can do to smooth her frizzy bedhead is get it wet, comb it, and let it air dry (or, if you’re not going anywhere, you just let it be).  Lila’s is longer than Mary’s, is also very fine, and is wavy in the back but straight in the front.

Today, I decided to try ponies again.  I’ve done it before, but it was hard to get the girls to sit still long enough and wrap the rubber band enough times to get the ponies to stay in place.  However, I have a new distraction toy at hand…the face mask that we use to administer Lila’s inhaler.  Yes, I’m serious.  They love it!

The results of today’s hair styling?  Tall Sprout and Curly Sprout!

Tall Sprout (aka Lila) enjoying some milk.

I don’t call her Tall Sprout because she’s taller than Mary (even though she is…).  It’s because her front hair (which is the hair pulled back into the pony, aka sprout) is straight and it stands up tall in the air.

Half smile from Tall Sprout

Curly Sprout.  To achieve this look, I brushed out all the tangles until her hair looked like cotton candy.  Then, I pulled the front back into a pony while she chewed on Lila’s face mask.  Finally, I got my hands wet and ran my fingers through her hair to de-frizz as much as possible.

Curly Sprout, side view

This morning, Tall Sprout, Curly Sprout, Mama Sprout (I, too, was sporting a pony today), Pearl, and Morris took a walk to Starbucks.  As we sat out on the patio by the fireplace, me sipping my grande drip with an inch of steamed eggnog, M&L trying to pull off their mittens, Pearl and Morris eating stray crumbs and other debris off the pavement, we were interrupted by a man (henceforth known as Tactless Man).

Tactless Man: Twins? (pointing at the dogs)

Mama Sprout (giving Tactless Man an annoyed look):  No.  The dogs aren’t twins.  (I wanted to add on: “I believe that they are born in litters of 8-10.  That would make them, what, octuplets?” but I was being nice.  Christmas spirit and all, you know?)

Tactless Man:  Oh.  What about those? (pointing to adorable Tall Sprout and Curly Sprout in their stroller)

Mama Sprout:  Yes, they are twins.

Tactless Man (leans over stroller, eyes Tall Sprout and Curly Sprout in their matching hot pink jackets and pink mittens):  A boy and a girl?

Mama Sprout:  Hmm.  Well, they’re both wearing pink jackets, because they’re both girls.  (This was said in a rather UN-Christmas-spirited voice).

Tactless Man:  Really?  Oh.  That one (points to Curly Sprout) has curly hair.  And she’s smaller.  She looks more like a girl that this one (Tall Sprout).  Her hair is straight and she’s bigger.

Mama Sprout: silence

Tactless Man: silence

At this point, Mama Sprout stared down Tactless Man until he turned and walked away.

Lesson learned:  The general public may or may not think that in any given set of twins, the baby who is larger and/or has straighter hair is a boy, and any smaller or curly haired baby is a girl.

Mary and Lila have learned a new word: hug.  If you say, “Hug your bear!” or “Hug the baby!” or even “Hug your book!” they’ll cradle said object against their neck and swing it back and forth.  It just melts my heart!

Lila has also started walking/knee-walking/crawling (whichever way she chooses to get around) up to Kevin and I when we are sitting on the floor.  She’ll lean against us, rest her head on our shoulders, and snuggle in.  Unsolicited.  ::heart re-melts::

Mary is a kisser.  She doesn’t give real kisses, but she likes to give kisses from a distance.  If you say, “Kisses!” or make a kissing sound at Mary, she’ll give you air kisses back.

Yesterday, I was cleaning up the kitchen after feeding the girls and they were standing at the baby gate, whining to be picked up.  Lila walked behind Mary, lost her balance, and grabbed a hold of Mary to steady herself.  Unfortunately, she grabbed Mary’s hair, and Baby Bear started shrieking and crying.  Lila looked surprised, and I could tell that it was an accident.  I said, “Lila, don’t pull hair.  Give Mary a hug.”  And (I swear, I couldn’t make this stuff up if I tried!), Lila walked back over to Mary, leaned against her side, and rested her head on Mary’s shoulder, just like she does to me and Kevin.  ::heart is now a puddle of liquid on the floor::

Of course, Mary’s response was to push her away and scream even more.  And Lila’s response was to try again, a little harder.  More screams.  More aggressive hug-attempts.  My response should have been to rescue Mary from Lila’s hug-attack, but I was sitting on kitchen floor laughing too hard to move.

Here’s Lila giving her bear a hug…

And Mary giving some kisses from her highchair…

That is the question Lila has pondered for some time now.

As I mentioned here on the blog, Lila took her first steps a little over a month ago.  However, since then, she would only walk if Kevin and I (or grandparents, aunts, uncles, etc.) sat on the floor, dangled toys, sang, clapped, etc.  With enough bribery, Lila MIGHT walk 5 or 6 steps towards us.  She definitely preferred crawling.

Until tonight, that is.

This evening I was home alone with the girls.  After putting Lila’s jammies on, I set her in the play area and was about to go get Mary ready for bed, when all of a sudden Lila stood up and walked over to the ball popper!  I thought it must be a fluke.  Normally, she speed crawls or walks on her knees.

After I finished with Mary and brought her out, I gave the girls their bottles (yes, we still do a nightime bottle, it’s probably more for me than it is for them), and then let them play a bit before bed.  So, I was sitting on the floor, half playing with M&L, half enjoying a diet coke and watching The Office (don’t judge, okay?), when all of a sudden,

Lila

stood

up

and

started

walking

around.

And kept walking.

For about five minutes.

After a few moments of shock, I grabbed the camera and started recording.  I couldn’t believe my eyes!  She kept falling over and then getting back up again, sometimes with my help, sometimes without.

It was truly magical, and I am so thankful that I was here to witness it!

Of course, Mary couldn’t have been more nonchalant about the whole thing.  In the video, you can see her crawling around, playing with her tea pot, and putting toys into the toy bin.  She probably won’t walk until 2011.

I couldn’t NOT post about this tonight, but I also have many other pictures (including our trip to Richland) and tidbits (an exhausting trip to the doctor’s office and a baby-locked-in-the-car incident, to name a few) that will just have to wait.  Tomorrow is my last day of work before a two week break, so stay tuned for more updates then.  For now, here is a video of Lila’s Big Night.

During the girls’ naptime today we decorated our Christmas tree and put up our Christmas lights.  Things are feeling much more festive around the McClelland house this evening!

Lila woke up first, so we brought her out to see the Christmas tree.  She was in awe of it all and stood in front of the tree for over 10 minutes just touching, pointing at, and talking to the tree.  When Mary got up, we brought her out but she wasn’t quite as into the tree as Lila was…she was more interesting in sneaking into the kitchen and getting into the drawers.

Here are some pictures of the tree and the girls.  Sorry they’re a little grainy, I didn’t want to use my flash because it washed out the pretty lights on the tree.

Christmas tree 2009

Lila particularly likes the “dah” (dog ornament).

Staring down the tree

Lila, Mr. Giraffe, and The Tree

It’s as if she’s saying, “Can I have it Mama?”

Special moment

Mary meets the tree

Going in for a closer look

Mary clapping for the tree

Mary also found the dog ornament

After a few minutes, Mary was done with the tree and had moved on to the kitchen, where she busied herself trying to get into the drawer where all the baking tools are.  Maybe it’s time to make some Christmas cookies?!

Lila plays with Morris’s “necklace”

Chin scratch

Pearl joins in the fun

When I was little, I loved to draw, color, paint, make things out of playdough, make jewelry, and make books.  As a pre-baby adult, I loved to bake, make cards, and I really wanted to learn how to knit.  My problem is that in my current state of life, I  have a hard time finding…well…time!  And when I DO find time, it’s usually after 7:30 at night, the kitchen’s a mess, I’m soaked with baby bath water, the couch is calling my name, and I’m too exhausted to use that time productively.

Well, today I found some time, and I made something.  It’s not much, but it’s something, and it was incredibly satisfying.

Do you like?

I also wanted to include some pictures of Mary and Lila all bundled up for a walk today, wearing hats that Grandma Cindy knitted for them!  They’re also sporting their brand-new mittens.  Santa’s elves delivered them early because they knew that M&L needed something to keep their little paws warm in this weather.  They’re super soft and have the long string that you feed through the sleeves of their jackets so we (hopefully!) won’t lose a mitten.

Mary in stripes, Lila in solids

Baby Bear all bundled up

Cozy Lila

Triplets?

We did our usual walk to Starbucks, where I fed my eggnog latte addiction.  Apparently we were the only ones crazy enough to be sitting out in the cold, so we had a front row seat at the outdoor fireplace.

Aren’t the hats great?!

Lila loves her new hat and mittens!

Mary enjoys the sun while it lasts.  There’s supposed to be some form of precipitation in the next 24 hours (rain…or snow?).

Pearl snuggles up to Morris to stay warm.

Lila enjoying her lunch after the walk…grilled cheese, bananas, and milk.

It’s unbearably cold in Seattle this week…we’re talking low 20’s in the early morning, and “warming up” to low 30’s during the day.  Thankfully, the skies are clear and dry so we shouldn’t have a repeat of last year’s blizzard.  Things are supposed to get back to normal by the weekend, and until then we’ve got the heat cranked up!

Mary and Lila wore their mitten shirts in honor of the cold weather.

Lila was cranky tonight and the one thing that seemed to cheer her up was sitting on the couch.

Mary used Daddy’s iphone to practice her texting skills.  Start ‘em young!

Look what I have!

All the while, Lila’s still hanging out on the couch.

Getting comfy

Mary Bear

Kevin tried to take his phone away from Mary so he could use it, but she wasn’t having that…

Mary took “her” phone back.  She must have had some important calls to make!

Lila, still on the couch just watching Mary play, but more importantly, not crying!

Time to get off the computer and watch The Biggest Loser finale.  Nevermind the fact that I’m eating pizza for dinner as I watch.

This weekend we packed up the car and drove to Richland to visit Kevin’s family.  This was Mary and Lila’s first trip, and I won’t deny it…we were nervous.  Lila had a 103.5° fever on Thursday, so she wasn’t feeling her best and I wasn’t sure how she’d handle the car ride and sleeping in her pack’n'play.  Then there’s Mary.  Based on our day to day experiences, if anyone is going to cry in the car it’s Mary, and she certainly does not stop crying when you rationally explain to her that you’re stuck in traffic and can’t stop the car and hold her.  Instead, she raises the volume tenfold and screams until her voice is hoarse.  Then there’s the matter of luggage.  We packed, among other things, 2 highchairs, 2 pack’n'plays, clothes, diapers, toys, books, cups, bottles, snacks, coats, and shoes.  Plus our own stuff.

However, despite all my worries (pessimism?  realism?), the girls were angels!  They didn’t cry ONCE in the car, there or back!  They followed their regular nap/sleep schedule.  They ate well and only threw a little of their food on the floor .  They were able to met Kevin’s friends and their kids.  They spent time with their Grandma Julie, Grandpa Don, Aunt Kirby, and cousins Lauren and Tyler.  Lila was enchanted by Kirby’s Christmas tree.  Mary discovered a love for apple slices (in little pieces, of course, and she made the cutest little sour face after each bite but kept going back for more!).  The girls  opened Christmas presents and got some adorable outfits, jammies, and some new books, and  Kevin and I got a new Flip video camera so we can take more footage of M&L.

All in all, a wonderful road trip.  If it didn’t require all the packing and upacking, I’d say let’s do it more often!

I’m too tired to walk all the way upstairs and plug the camera in to show you pictures from the weekend, but I will soon.  Until then, here are a few more cute pictures from last weekend that I never had the chance to post!

Lila and Mary turned 14 months old the day before Thanksgiving and on Sunday we took their 14 month pictures with Big Pink.  It gets a little bit harder each month, but somehow I just can’t give it up!  It astounds me to see how they change from month to month and I just don’t want to forget a single moment.

Yes, I’m still addicted to baby tights.  There’s just something about little striped legs…

See, Mary likes them too!

Look at all those teeth!  I remember when she was 11 months old and she still didn’t have any teeth…I was so worried!  That seems like ages ago.

Pretty Bear

Pageant wave and bouffant hairdo. Tots and Tiaras, here we come!

Little Lovey

Lila was rocking Mary in the glider…it was adorable.

I love how each month they act as if they’ve never seen Big Pink before!

Bear attacking Bunny.  Bonus points if you can spy part of Lila in the picture.

Lilaroo.  Lila always wears a bow to hold her hair out of her eyes…it doesn’t stay in place naturally like Mary’s!

The minute I saw this picture…

I thought of this one.  Different hairdos (obviously!), and different smiles, but the eyes are exactly the same, don’t you think?  7 months old.

…and this one, too.  Four months old. ::sigh::

Anyhoo, back to the present.  Lala and Big Pink meet again!

Is it just me, or is Lila bigger than B.P.?

Lila was feeling a bit fussy so Teddy came over to cheer her up.  Kevin calls Lila our zoologist because of her new obsession with stuffed animals, particularly Teddy Bears!  And who can forget her lovey, Mr. Giraffe…

A visit from Teddy did the trick!  Back in high spirits.

She’s got B.P. by the throat!

Giving Big Pink a pat on the head.

Now, time to get some sister pics, right?

Wrong!

Well, at least they’re not both crying.

At this point, Lila’s like, “Whoa!  Get that crying baby away from me!!”

Lila tries to make a break for it as Kevin tries to pick up Mary.

And, scene.