Seasons

Last month, in a span of one week, I referred to the girls as both "11 and a half years old" and "almost 12" in discussions with Rich.  Each have a different feel, a different meaning.  At 11 and a half, they are older children but still very much children.  Almost 12 has a teen vibe to it.  And that's where they sit, in that in between stage of life.







A couple of weeks ago at the dance studio, it was mentioned how the girls have grown taller already this school year.  It's true.  I look over and can't believe how long their legs have gotten.  Too tall for size 7/8, but too skinny for size 10/12, unless it's those extra super skinny jeans, which don't get me started.





We cannot stop time from marching forward and for some reason the days are flying by right now.  I remember the days with three babies.  Time spinning slowly through the day.  Multiple loads of laundry.  The constant rotation of eat, activity, sleep.  Dreaming of sleeping through the night.  And then it's gone.  Now there are school dances and discussions of school shootings and me wondering how the hell we got here.





Speaking of school dances, here are two of my three before their first middle school dance.


(I know what you're thinking and one is wearing wedge heels and the other isn't wearing any shoes at all.)

Anna is missing because she and Rich were stuck in traffic leaving Boston after one of her doctor's appointments.  She was a little late to the dance but made it in plenty of time to take in all the crazy.  Apparently, the boys were on the dance floor without girls.  Ha ha.  Also, I told the girls I could sign up as a parent volunteer and that was met with a big, fat NO.  I do tend to start tap dancing when there's music.

I was fully on board with not sending out Christmas cards this year and I know I'm not the only one.  I didn't have a photo and the window of opportunity really had closed.  I took photos for some family members mid-November and I really should have taken photos of the girls at the same time but this was last minute and they didn't have holiday clothes.  It rained so much this fall so it was hard to get out there.



My test shot model.  Unfortunately, in my world, an Old Navy fleece is not appropriate holiday card attire.



The girls insisted we had to send out cards and Rich said skipping cards was not an option so I told them that they had to help me out because it usually ends up being a lot of work for me and not them.  The girls had to cooperate with photo-taking and Rich had to complete the card online because the website we order from hates my browser.





Fall quickly turned into winter this year.


  


We tried to check all the boxes when it came to Christmas.  I seem to remember the holidays stretching out forever when I was a child but the girls complained that the season was too short.  Our pilgrimage to La Salette was before Christmas this year on a non-rainy weekend.

 







We walked through all the nativity sets before the lights came on.





I'm realizing that my photo-taking has slacked off these last couple of months.  Typical of the colder parts of the year but I miss it.  Maybe 2019 will be the year I'll have success with my identical mulitples project.



Before I sign off, I'm pretty sure I have not yet shared these photos of my nephew's new kitten.





So, so sweet.



Happy New Year!