She's 3!!

What a great birthday for our little "baby" Elena!  It was 70 degrees and sunny all day.  Dead of winter.  We took Avery to school in the morning, then went to Target at Elena's request (she loves to "go to the store").  Picked up some streamers and other party necessities.  Went home and played outside, decorated her cake, played outside, cleaned up the house, and played outside.  Elena set the kitchen table, carefully pouring a cup of water for herself and each of her party guests (that would be Mom, Dad, and Avery), and scattering party hats & funky sunglasses around.  After we picked up Avery from school, things got even more exciting.  Avery put on some dance music and we started hanging steamers and balloons, and after about an hour the kitchen looked like a party store exploded in it.  Elena was ecstatic.  "Don't sing Happy Birthday to me," she told me at one point.  "It makes me feel like I can't talk."  Dad came home from work early so he wouldn't miss the party, and we played with the 600 balloons we blew up over the course of the day, and Elena opened her presents.  She got a unicorn pillow-pet constellation light, and a barbie princess fishing game from Dad - a huge hit.  Played with those a bit, then dinner under the streamers, then cake - yes, we did sing Happy Birthday, and she was delighted after all.

Three years ago yesterday she was born in the luxury of her own home.

First birthday:

2nd Birthday:

3rd Birthday:

Dressed up for the (briefly) cold weather

70 degree January day = wild horse rides

In Big Bird hat, getting ready to decorate cake

Just finished hanging streamers with big sis

Princess

Avery puts the final touches on the cake

Elena's 3rd Birthday

A Few Pictures, Before, During, and After Thanksgiving 2012

Ready to run the Turkey Trot at big sister's school.  Goggles are important.

Avery's popsicle stick boat

Side dish: biggest potsticker in the universe.  Avery's idea.  YUM!

To the beach with Aunt Megan

It's never too cold for the beach.

After diving full-body into the waves, in 60 degree weather.  Luckily Mom made her bring her fleece.

Ahhhhhhhh!!!  Water's cooooooold!!!

Tree is decorated!

Hmm.  May have found another ornament.

Mischief time!!

Halloween 2012

This was really E.'s first trick-or-treat experience.  She would have gone last year, but she was sick, so stayed home with Dad handing out candy.  She was so excited for this, and she kept up with big kids every step of the way.  Became enraged when I demanded she hold my hand to cross the street.  Weaved through undulating seas of costumed teenagers to extract her piece of candy.  Did a wonderful job saying "bink you!" every time she got one.

This One's Not About the Kids

http://www.foodmatters.tv/articles-1/emotional-stress-how-chronic-emotional-stress-can-ruin-your-health

I read this article by a doctor named Ben Kim on the almighty internets today and felt a strong need to re-post it, even though I have an aversion to re-posting other people's stuff - it's why I feel weird about Pinterest. But this article has particular relevance to my life right now, so I love it...and hate it with the heat of a nova (to quote Toby from The West Wing).  But let me tell you why.

Hate it:  Here's a quote from early in the article:  "...your body cannot defend itself against the damage that emotional stress quietly creates over time. [You] pay a heavy physiological price for every moment that you feel anxious, tense, frustrated, and angry."   Just reading that makes me feel anxious, tense, frustrated and angry about my anxiety, tension, frustration, and anger.  Could it really be true that I'm doing irreparable damage to my body every moment I experience one of those feelings?  Is it helpful to even have the thought that my body is damaged every time I feel these things?  

As a therapist, mother, wife, daughter, sister, etc. etc. and just as a participant in the game of life, there are things I've come to understand about myself and everyone else.  Here are two of them: 1.) We can't change our feelings, or make ourselves not feel them.  We can tolerate them, or squash them down and pretend not to feel them, and we can make decisions about what we're going to do because of them, but we can't change them.  At least not without some serious, long term alterations in our thoughts and behavior, and even that's questionable.  2.) What we think has a huge influence on how we feel.  

For me, reading things like Dr. Kim's statement on the damage stress does to the body causes stress.  It makes me feel scared and guilty on top of stressed - scared that the stress I'm experiencing in my life right now, and struggling to overcome, is doing permanent damage from which I have no hope of recovering, and guilty about what I've apparently done to myself.  Not helpful, Doc.  

He fleshes things out a bit here:  "I'm not suggesting that you should strive to never feel these emotions. Anxiety, tension, frustration, and anger all serve important purposes when they first arise. The danger is in experiencing these emotions on a chronic basis."  Now, the second sentence in this quote seems to directly contradict what the good Doctor said in his intro about every moment of stress causing dire physiological consequences.  So I wonder which statement he truly believes. 

She's Getting Older and Wise-ass-er

I'm in the car with E. the other day, on our way to pick up A., and we sit at a red light next to the Trader Joe's construction site.  I'm all happy about Trader Joe's coming to our town, so I entertain myself with a little made-up song about it.  After a minute E. says, without looking up from her Leapster, "Mommy, stop it!"

I ignore her and keep singing.  She ratchets up the whine: "Mommy-y, stop iiiiit!"

"Aw, why?" I ask her.

"Because.  Noying."

Fine, cuteness wins.  Again.