tree

At every opportunity, I encourage the arrival of Christmas. When my mom is making a meal and I ask for Christmas dinner, that will magically make it Christmas. If she asks me to clean up to get ready for Christmas, it is Christmas morning when I am done my chores. If I run about the house singing "hooray it is Christmas," that can only mean one thing. I listen to Christmas carols all day every day. And I know all of the lyrics.

With Trinity gone this year, we were left to decorate our tree by ourselves. oh dear. She makes it seem so easy and the tree always looks beautiful. It took us two full days to decorate and the end result isn't perfect. As you can see from the photo, my mom realized early on that, with a bit of training, I can take over Trinity's job. I don't quite have Trinity's aesthetic sensibilities but I did quickly grasp onto the concept of the need for balance. We do like our tree. The best part is that, at long last, we have blue lights on the outside of our house; we have wanted that for years!

I have decided what I want for Christmas. Now all I need to do is make an arrangement with Santa.

skating party

Rarely will we schedule two big activities for one day. Last Saturday was different. Long after we booked our tickets for the train, we were invited to celebrate my dear friend's birthday at Barton Creek Resort. It was slated to be a skating party with a wintery theme but it was in the mid 80s and the rink melted.  We played some golf and thoroughly enjoyed the sunny day. My friends and I could happily spend days running about. 

The resort is perfectly lovely. My mom should hate it because of its devastating environmental impact (see The Unforeseen) but, wow, what a beautiful job they did with the resort. And my favorite bridge is on the road leading to it. 

After a round of golf (I beat my dad, again) and chasing around with my friends, I ate an amount of fondant that would make the average person vomit. It may have been the most delicious cake ever baked.

Even though I was overtired and a bit cranky (only when my parents tried to bring me inside but that is typical), this was the best birthday party ever hosted. What a joy it is to be friends with Ava. (She might be the female equivalent of me.)

train

Last weekend, we rode the North Pole Flyer.

We got off to a rough start, to say the least. Because my mom booked our tickets later in the year, we ended up in the excursion coach car instead of the first class lounge. Not only were we not served an endless supply of cupcakes and other sweets, but we had to go to the concession car to fetch our own hot chocolate. Oh the horror! As it turned out, none of us were especially interested in drinking much hot chocolate that day - mostly because it had the distinct flavor of hill country water. And my mom had packed a huge lunch for me with all of my favorites.

The concession car happened to also house a gift shop and that almost ruined my entire day, if not my entire life. My dad agreed to buy me one train to play with. Needless to say, I could not decide and, when I did make my purchase, IT WAS ALL WRONG. So I spent the next three weeks (oh wait, we were only on the train for 2.5 hours) on the verge of a tantrum. And your parents cannot simply get you off the train and take you home when you are in the middle of no where. I ended up negotiating a loan with my dad and buying a second train. Then everything was good and my first train and my second train played nicely together and they continue to bring me hours of fun. (Thanks for the negotiation skills, Montessori. But please keep your fingers crossed that my dad doesn't remember that I owe him $16. So far, he hasn't tried to collect.)

Once I had my toy train situation under control, we had a fantastic ride. There is plenty to look at. There is always at least one person in the train car who talks loudly about himself/herself the entire time  so that entertained my mom. My dad marveled at the rock formations and I was interested in all of the construction sites adjacent to the track. We even passed by a cement factory!

there's fishing, and then there's fishing

In recent days, my dad has been taking me to the lake to fish. (Please do not tell my PETA friends.) I am a very compassionate fisherman though. Since time is precious in this process, I quickly cuddle the fish, kiss them, and tell them "it's alright little fishy" before tossing them back into the lake to be free and happy.

My dad marvels at the quantity of fish we catch. I might be good luck. And, since he has never done any real fishing, he thinks these little runts are something to brag about.

My mom laughs at us. It's not real fishing unless what you catch is bigger than a toddler. This is Scott, my mom, and Heather in the early 1970s. Now that is a fish worth catching.

sneak peek

This photo is from the series taken at my school this fall. Somehow the photographer managed to get me to sit still and smile. Unfortunately, my barber was on vacation the week before and week of school photos. We briefly considered seeing someone else just that one time but barber loyalty is highly important. My mom was trying to keep these photos secret (not even my dad has seen how cute they are) but this one is too perfect not to share right away. 

My mom wrote extensive Christmas card procedures for my dad. Now we just wait for him to compile his part of the list (deadline is Saturday) and, from there, we will print photos and get cards ready. Check your mailboxes after December 10.

Once we get Thanksgiving out of the way, we will turn our attention to my whirlwind month of December. I have tickets for the Polar Express train ride. Countless birthday parties to attend. Cocktail parties. A luncheon and skating party at the country club. What else?

Since Trinity and Hector are enjoying Thanksgiving in the northwest, we will have a quiet Thanksgiving. My mom even suggested to my dad that he bbq his meat of choice. She presented this as something that would greatly benefit him but, really, she didn't want to make a four-course meal for just us when none of us really like Thanksgiving food anyhow. My mom is making quiche for me; earlier in the week I opened the fridge and had a bit of a tantrum since we had no leftover quiche. WHAT??? No quiche in the fridge!??? What is this world coming to?

Our menu includes roasted garlic on ciabatta, salad, quiche, mashed potatoes, cranberries, bbq chicken for my dad / bbq veggie hotdogs for me and my mom (what's more American than that?), and chocolate pecan pie for dessert. best pie ever. We started the pie already since my mom saw no point in not having some for dessert last night.

Capitol

After almost two months of courtship, my mom was convinced to work for the legislature during the upcoming session. We are not really sure why any of us thought this was a good idea. But the work has started.

My mom is forbidden from talking about the specific details of her work but did you know that legislators do not write their own bills? Ask my mom anything you want about issues such as surface mining, anthropogenic carbon dioxide storage trust funds, or the rate at which fireworks are taxed. Her brain is now littered with information that must have mattered to someone at some time for some reason.

Instead of our afternoons being filled with reading and playing and napping like before, we are juggling our schedules and trying in vain to make it all fit together. I have joined Casita and now stay at school until 5:30. My transition (and only mine) has gone smoothly; I started napping on the very first day - much to everyone's surprise. (And my mom is really suffering without her afternoon nap. No number of iced lattes can replace sleep.) Even though I tell my mom I cry about her when I am at Casita, the truth is that I love it. I enjoy having lunch with my friends, followed by a nap, and then two hours of outdoor play. Six of the ten children in my class now go to Casita. And my regular teacher is the nap helper so she rubs my back while I nod off. Then she sings to me when I wake up. Casita has helped to regulate my sleep schedule. I am ready for bed by 8:00 and this is a huge improvement for a night owl like me.

The worst part though is the commute. Rush hour has become considerably more intense than what you see in the photo below.

garden day

Garden day was originally scheduled for a Saturday back in early October but in typical alarmist Austin style, it was cancelled due to an expected heavy rain that never happened. Finally, today, the most ambitious of children in my class convened to perfect our outdoor environment. My good friend Samuel and I started the day by building a raised bed (with just a bit of help from his dad). Later in the day, we shoveled 220 pounds of soil into it and then planted jasmine, tri-color sage, day lilies, Mexican petunias etc. Notice my fancy new shovel! At the very beginning of the day, there was much negotiation over who would wear which gloves and use which garden tools. My shovel was popular but I had to part with it for a short time to wear Isabella's lovely pink gloves.

In the front of the cottage, we let the parents do some of the work. To make room for lavender, lantana, columbine, and other flowering plants that will grow huge come spring, my dad removed a towering cypress tree (which we brought home and planted in the very center of the front yard and now we have to wonder how that will factor into our baseball, soccer, and football games). We also had dozens of bulbs from the prized collection of a famous iris breeder that we planted all around. After everything was planted, Pragya and I watered. And watered. We are all hoping for a good soaking rain.

I am excited for the rest of my friends to come back to school on Monday to see all of the good work we did. While I don't want to wish the school year away, it will be interesting to see how everything grows and blooms in the spring.

Speaking of school, this is what my classroom looks like, sans the ten toddlers who normally occupy it. I so love the orderly nature of the Montessori classroom.

After hauling away all of the compost, recycling, and trash, I stole a few minutes to turn myself upside down on the monkey bars.