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

The 12 days of Christmas...at least

Here's an overview of our Christmas week in three parts:

Part I, Christmas Town and Colonial Williamsburg
We spent the first part of the week with Andy's mom and Colin in Williamsburg, Va.

Busch Gardens in Williamsburg creates "Christmas Town" around the holidays. I was worried that it would be lame or cheesy. And maybe it was, but not to Lily. For her, it was completely magical.

Amalia refused to join Lily inside the tree.

They had a Sesame Street Christmas show. This is as close as Amalia got to Elmo -- even though she kept repeating his name. Over, and over, and over.

Imagine Amalia wiggling her hips side to side and clapping. This would be her happy dance. They had real penguins, too, but they didn't merit quite this level of joy.

This swing ride was really lame. Lily's wondering why it isn't going any faster.

The North Pole!

Lily telling Santa that she wanted an Ariel costume for Christmas. I think she wondered why he kept forgetting what she wanted, since she'd already told him about 3 or 4 times in the past week.

This is the only thing in Williamsburg that held any attraction for my 16-month-old. Good thing they kept going around the square. "Look, Amalia," as she's about to have another tantrum, "Horses!"

This is Andy's spooky Ophelia shot of Lily warming up in the bath after Christmas Town.

Part II, Christmas Eve
We drove back up to DC on Christmas Eve.

Here's Lily opening her Christmas Eve dress from Santa, that clever man. Amalia's trying on Kathy's winter cap.
The above photo is Lily on the long walk back from the children's message at Christmas Eve service.

As in many churches, the service alternated between telling the story of the nativity and singing traditional Christmas hymns. The highlight (or lowlight, if you're the mother) was the well-timed screech by Amalia (who was delighting in the echo-y acoustics of the church). Right as they were saying, "And they heard the newborn baby cry," I was standing up to escort my noisy child out. Everyone turned and laughed. As we were leaving the service, the usher asked, "So this is the Christ child?" Yes, indeed.

Part III, Christmas Day
The requisite underwear-in-the-stocking trick.

This pony plays a catchy tune if you press on its ear. It's not at all annoying.

Now Lily can quit wearing her rain boots when she wants to dress up like a cowgirl.

Take a good look. This the last time all of these pieces were all together.

A pounding toy for Amalia? What's Santa thinking???

A fiber optic tutu from Andy's sister. As if Lily needed any encouragement.

My parents flew in Christmas evening. Amalia hammed it up.


Amalia studying Lily as she decorates her magic mirror. Nothing escapes her eagle eye. Note that Lily has her Santa dress back on -- it was about her 15th outfit change of the day.