TDY Day 2: Processing

So this evening Lily said to me, "In a little while, when I miss Daddy, I'll probably cry."

Me: That's OK. I'll probably cry too sometimes.

Lily: But I'm not going to cry this day. Later, in a little while. (pause) But if I rub my eyes with my hand, I won't cry. But not if I rub them just once. I'll have to rub my eyes a couple of times to not cry.

Actually, Lily has taken Andy's absence remarkably well so far. And tonight we were able to chat with him over video Skype, which we'll try to do pretty regularly. There's a 12-hour time difference between here and Cambodia so we'll probably wake Andy up every morning when our computer rings his computer when we get home from work/school each evening.

I'm convinced that Lily being able to see Andy will make him seem much less "gone." Technology is amazing.

Staying put

Since we didn't end up going out to our play date this afternoon, we decided to romp in the snow a bit (well, the girls romped while I shoveled).

Like Amalia's NASCAR outfit?

Up and over

Still needs a bit of practicing, but Amalia is well on her way to putting on her own jacket. Conveniently, she has an older sister who is all too eager to help zip her up. Pretty soon the parents will be obsolete.

Note: This is also Day 1 of Andy's 60-day TDY to Cambodia. Aside from the larger-than-expected snowstorm the gods decided to throw at us, we're doing pretty well so far. We made it to gymnastics class and the library this morning before having to cancel a playdate this afternoon. (6-8" is more snow than this SoCal girl can handle in a car.) Right now the girls are upstairs happily playing a game that Lily made up called, "Rainbow, Rainbow, Bear, Tiger."

Of course, it is only 4 o'clock in the afternoon. There's a lot of day left.

I'm all for being economical, but...

...you know your thermostat is set too low when your toddler suddenly decides to don her snow hat and mittens in the dining room.

Mistaken assumptions

Amalia
You'd think with the size of our dog Blue that Amalia wouldn't make such mistakes, but this evening when we were walking home from the bus stop, she saw a guy walking his St. Bernard and promptly shouted, "Neigh!"

Lily
Upon picking Lily up from school today she asked me if I had a surprise for her.

Me: No. If I had a surprise for you every day, it wouldn't be a surprise.

Lily: Well, perhaps not having a surprise could be my surprise today, and then every other day you have a surprise for me.

Uh, no.

Clean as a whistle

This is what Amalia does to an ear of corn. The corn really doesn't stand a chance. "Corn!"

On a related note, Amalia often reminds us of that baby in Lemony Snicket, gnawing on random inedible things, like furniture and metal railings.

Not sure how long we can claim her molars are coming in...

MLK in Pre-K

Lily: Do you know Dr. Martin Luther King?

Me: Yes. Do you?

Lily: Yes. He had a dream. But it wasn't a bad dream...it was a good dream.

Me: Really? What did he dream?

Lily: He dreamed that all the children in the world were good. And I am!

Me: Hmmm. He was a very important man, you know.

Lily: Yeah...but he doesn't have a skinny head. He has a wide head. Barack Obama has a skinny head.

Of course, it got more interesting later when Andy got home.

Lily: Do you know Dr. Martin Luther King?

Andy: Yes, he's my doctor.

Lily: (pause) Really?

For Pete's sake

I suppose someday the girls will watch this video and wonder who the heck Pete Yorn is. They'll say, "Aw Mom, why'd you make us listen to that stuffy old music?" But for now I like to imagine that I'm sowing the seeds of good taste.

Tea party

Thanks go out to my Aunt Sandra for Amalia's new teapot set. I hadn't pegged my younger daughter as the dainty, high tea type. Fortunately, Lily has been all too happy to show her little sister "how you're supposed to do it."

It's no Disneyland

I normally avoid Expo Centers like the plague, but with the wind chill down into the single digits last weekend, Andy and I were looking for something to do with the girls that didn't involve frostbite. Hence, our trek out to the Viriginian suburbs to explore Fairfax County's first annual "Frostival."

It was a good way to kill a few hours and the girls slept in the car on the way home. Plus, the gutter guy stopped asking me if I wanted a free home estimate the third time I passed by his booth (doing the toddler circuit). So a win-win all around.

Old toy trains, little toy tracks

When my parents were in town over the holidays, we went to the U.S. Botanic Garden to check out "Holiday Magic," a mash-up of model trains and plant-based sculptures.

Amalia's daycare is within walking distance of the Mall, so the exhibit was old news to her. She slept through our entire visit. Well, that's not exactly true -- she woke up and wanted to get out of the stroller when we were in the desert/cactus portion of the Botanic Gardens. Yes, Little-Miss-Touch-Everything has impeccable timing.

Here's a caterpillar train winding its way through a Poinsettia forest.

Imagine my surprise when Lily pointed out the princess castle.

Much like the Rose Parade floats, all of the sculptures were made out of plant-based, natural materials. The White House diorama was updated with the Obama girls' play set.

Who cares about The White House when there are castles to gaze at?

You know how sometimes when kids try to smile for pictures, it ends up looking like a monkey baring its teeth?

Legally Blonde: The Prequel