Wednesday, December 30, 2009

Christmas, Birthday Party, Vacation... Oh My.

So. We are enjoying our family vacation. We aren't going anywhere, but this week, we've been doing fun stuff at home and around town that we normally can't fit into a weekend. Monday we went to Yellow River Game Ranch and got to feed all kinds of animals and just stare at some others (cougar, foxes, coyote, mountain lion, bobcat, etc. etc.). It was a very strange experience, since it literally feels like that place hasn't been updated in 30 years, and some of the pens that the animals live in just look really sad and depressing, but it is undeniably enjoyable to feed and pet squirrels, goats, donkeys, deer, ducks, chickens, etc. I think Roxanne's favorites were the bunnies that would hop around after you looking for more crackers. She also really liked the ducks. Yesterday, we went to Lenox to ride the Pink Pig. My mom and Leah met us there and helped me keep Roxanne entertained while we waited to get on the ride. I still remember riding the old one with my sister when we were little. It was really fun to ride it with Roxanne, even though it just sort of feels like an advertisement for Macy's. Justin used it as a chance to hang out in the Apple store. Sigh.

This morning was Roxanne's two year check up. The doctor said she looked great, and her height is around the 80th percentile, and her weight is around the 65th. I was a little nervous about her weight only because of our recent bout with the stomach virus, so I'm glad it's still a healthy number. We also chatted about dairy, since Roxanne is finally weaned, but doesn't like cows milk at all. The doctor said it was fine to rely on other sources of low fat dairy, like yogurt and cheese. So that's a relief. Hopefully at some point Roxanne will come around though and like cows milk. We'll see.

We had a lovely Christmas, and got to spend time with a lot of different parts of our family. It was so nice. And we really loved having Christmas Eve/Christmas morning in our very own home. It was so fun to set out cookies and milk for Santa and an apple for the reindeer. Roxanne was really excited, and when she got up on Christmas morning, she had a lot of fun opening her gifts. It took quite a while because she wanted to open all of her toys as soon as she unwrapped them, but we decided we should let her take her time. And it was so funny listening to her open them, since each time, she would pull the paper back and say "Oh my! Look at this!" or some variation. She sounds sort of condescending when she says these things, but in a hilarious kind of way. Like how a pre-school teacher might talk to a toddler. She loves to talk like that to me and Justin. She'll give Justin a bite of something, or order him to perform some kind of task, and when he does it, she'll say "Good girl, Dada, I so proud of you [eat food or perform task]."

Roxanne's birthday party was on Sunday afternoon, and it was wonderful! Justin and I were both a little overwhelmed, and we talked later how it ended up feeling kind of like our wedding, in that we felt like we didn't really get to talk to anyone, even though we wanted to talk to everyone and thank them for coming. So we apologize if we didn't talk to you! We really had a great time, and Roxanne definitely loved every minute of it. After she had opened all of her presents, she came and sat in my lap and asked me to sing the Happy Birthday song to her again. I asked her, "Roxanne sing it?" and she said, "No, everyone sing it!" so everyone obliged and sang her the birthday song again. She LOVED it. And asked for it again, but I told her that that was enough. She has so many wonderful, thoughtful gifts, and she has been having a great time all week playing with everything. We still haven't taken the decorations down. It's like we're still kind of exhausted from the party. Sad, but true.

Also, a special thanks to Jesse and Jacquelyn (and Evie and Owen) for our fabulous new kitchen cart! We still have to put it together, but I can't wait. It's going to be so nice to have the extra prep space. We can't thank them enough for such a nice housewarming gift. Thanks guys!

Oh, and we didn't take any photos at the birthday party (yeah, seriously) so if anyone has any, please send them to us. We would be SO appreciative.

We hope everyone had WONDERFUL holidays, and lots of good thinks in the New Year!

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