The giving christmas tree

Just two short weeks ago Veronica thought all Santa did was come in the front door and give you a hug. Over the past few days, Veronica learned the error of her ways. Veronica's lesson on Christmas started last weekend when she met Santa at the mall. Santa's photographer elf no-showed, so Santa walked down the line high-fiving the children. It was probably just as well since Veronica likely would have been too scared to sit on Santa's lap. Veronica's next lesson in Christmas came from Auntie Maggie and Uncle Ben. Henry's parents babysat Vv while daycare was closed, but work wasn't. The Heaters took Veronica to Zoo Lights in Tacoma, and while the lights were underwhelming, Veronica could not have been more excited about her hot date. In order to learn about Christmas lore, we sat down to watch Rudolph and Herbie try to find themselves, Kris Kringle challenge authority, and read the oldest book in the family library. Next on the lesson plan was a visit from Grammy and Grampa. Grammy and Grampa gave a lesson in spoiling grandchildren. Veronica aced that lesson. The final lesson was Christmas morning. And with gifts to open from every corner of the country, it took Veronica nearly 4 hours to open all the presents. It was a great Christmas.

I'll settle for that...

It was a week long celebration-sandwich in Brookline! We opened with a birthday celebration for Chi-chi and closed with Thanksgiving feast. The gifts seemed to come from every corner and Mothers Goose set the bar for birthday celebrations. Who wants to go back every year? Veronica was fearless climbing and tumbling and is clearly ready for gymnastics to start in a few weeks.


Veronica had a great week playing with her cousins and she even made time to hang out with a youngster for once (Lucia must have been off somewhere).

Big girls just wanna have fun

Daddy may have introduced sushi at too young of an age.

Otherwise, it's been a playdate bonanza recently. We got piano recital from Olivia during our playdate with Anna and Olivia. Norah and Agnes visited all the way from Connecticut, which is apparenlty a rougher 'hood than I've been told. Henry had to come over to be sure to maintain his status as Veronica's favorite (don't worry Hen-dog, you're safe at the top). And Reina and Gabriella hosted a midweek playdate because we needed a daycare pickup. Apparently the girls "told jokes" all the way home from school. And in just a few days Veronica heads east for a weeklong playdate with bunny and a curious girls in blue.

Me a Peacock

Veronica needed to get some candy at two or three houses to get the hang of trick-or-treating, but after that she was nearly unstoppable. She had a great support system to show her how it's done.The only thing that could stop her was a few "scary" houses. As far as Veronica was concerned, the fewer the decorations the better. She muttered "Oh, that's better" every time we walked up to an undecorated house and "scary house" if there were too many flashing lights, skeletons, or any other Halloween trappings. But a few overly decorated suburban lawns were hardly the scariest things walking the streets of Sammamish. When the night was done, Veronica ended up with quite a haul.

You know what...

This is just a quick post to say one last thank you and show off some unparalleled cuteness. Veronica is in love with her backpack from Mimi and demands to wear it around the house. And the outfit from Uncle Brian and Aunt Sarah has been a big hit. She calls the vest "rabbit" and hops to and fro when she wears it.

Veronica also added the expression "You know what?" to her vocabulary. The conversation usually goes something like "You know what? I love you".

that oughta do it...

It has been a great couple of weeks, but we are all done celebrating Veronica's birthday. All the cake is gone, the gifts are unwrapped, the balloons are falling to the floor, and Veronica now answers "Me two" if you ask her how old she is. Veronica was once again overwhelmed by the generosity of Veronica Tales readers. A big thank you to everyone.


That ought to do it. Veronica, take us out with a song.

Happy Birthday... and it's not even your birthday yet!

Nothing quite like a month long birthday celebration. Veronica has been celebrating her birthday since early September when Grammy flew in from PA, Uncle Brian and Aunt Sara flew up from SoCal, and Auntie Alex drove down from the Great White North. We sang and Veronica stole swipes of icing, what could be better? Hijacking your cousin's birthday party, that's what! Veronica let Jackson have his moments and even open a few presents, but she quickly took control of everything she could get her hands on. When you're this cute, you can get away with stuff like that.

Labor day weekend in Westport

Veronica has been to beaches as far west and east as one can go in this country, but she had never been to a beach in her home state before this weekend. There is a reason we've chosen 6 hour flights over two hour drives. Washington beaches are typically cold, gray, and wet, but we lucked out with blue skies on the unofficial last weekend of summer.


Veronica went to the beach with her favorite travel companion. She couldn't have been happier to spend the weekend with Henry and followed him everywhere. We ventured into town for lunch one afternoon, but there wasn't much to look at. Otherwise we spent the weekend combing the beach, trying to stay warm, and sharing some s'mores.

Camp Rules!

If less is more, Camp is everything. It was another relaxing week in the Sebago Lake region. It was day after day of beach time, jumping in the lake, reading paperbacks, eating junk food, with plenty of cocktails mixed in. The cousins had a great week together. Anybody want to do it again next month?

This summer is going by fast...

How fast has our summer been going by? Always a girl of action, Veronica chose to illustrate how fast our summer is going with this picture. So fast that this post doesn't even include Camp. It took a long time for summer to even get here so Veronica could play in her turtle pool. But once the sun and heat got to Seattle, she embraced summer and dressed the part. The ladies even humored Daddy with a traditional summer outing, although Vv just wanted to know where the mascot was (a fair question given the status of the Mariners).

Grammy kept us busy for a few days too. Veronica played the role of host beautifully and escorted Grammy to every park in Seattle. There was no shortage of sites to see and Veronica kept her Grammy thoroughly entertained. Thanks Grammy, come back and visit soon...oh right, you are.

Le best weekend of le year

Veronica spent nearly 10 hours on an airplane in a 3 day period, only slept for two of them, and it was worth it. We spent the weekend in Cape May with old friends and even met some new ones. It was a busy weekend of Cape May traditions and training future generations. The next generation even taught us a thing or two. We did find time to get down to business. Veronica enjoyed the new faces, endless supply of bubbles, and her first ice cream cone. Thanks everybody, want to do it again next weekend?

Happy Birthday Mama and Happy Father's Day Daddy!

Veronica enjoyed a busy week of celebrating. On Tuesday, Veronica enjoyed Mama's birthday. It's hard to say whether the birthday girl or the baby girl enjoyed the cupcakes more. And on Sunday, Veronica celebrated having the best Daddy in the world. The day started with a morning sugar rush at Top Pot Doughnuts. (The raspberry old fashioned didn't impress, but the glazed blueberry doughnut disappeared fast) Daddy and Veronica strolled through the outdoor sculpture garden along Puget Sound since it was cloudy and cold the day before summer is supposed to start. Veronica didn't mind the weather and was overwhelmed by the number of rocks to play with along the shore. Ok summer, we're ready for you, where are you?

a memorable weekend

Veronica made it back east to West Chester for Memorial Day weekend (for what else, a wedding). Veronica spent the weekend catching up with family and making some new friends, fast friends in fact. There was a bit of a kerfuffle with Connor over a big wheel, but Veronica came up with a solution that worked... for her anyway.

Veronica spent the rest of summer's first weekend blowing bubbles. Non-stop. I'm not kidding. And she hasn't stopped.

Oh me, oh my, oh May went by fast

It's been a busy month at Veronica Tales and we've got to catch up with this post before we can even get to our Memorial Day weekend trip to Pennsylvania.

We celebrated Mother's Day in style. A big breakfast and a day in the Sun. We spent the afternoon lounging at Alki Beach in West Seattle. We even let Mama handle the camera, thus there are no pictures of Vv and Mama together on Mother's Day. Ooops! But who wants to see another adorable shot with Daddy?

We've been so busy that we haven't seen the Heaters in weeks and Veronica is going through some serious Henry withdrawal. Imagine that scene everytime we sit in front of the computer. The girl has got a serious crush. Time sure flies and they grow up so fast.

And none of you may care, but when I moved to Seattle 12 years ago Junior homered twice in the first baseball game I attended and both balls landed in the exact same spot. All of his homers landed there. It was as effortless as it was remarkable. Last week we watched him try to bunt a 1-1 pitch for hit with nobody on base in a game the Mariners were losing by 5 runs. His announcement today was overdue. But because of him, I have a baseball stadium with a major league team that I can take my daughter to all summer. And frankly, she might not even care, but thanks.

Sentencing has been announced

Veronica is starting to string words together, but unfortunately for the word 'truck' she needs to work on her pronunciation. She has trouble with her t's and they come out as f's. Which really creates problems when she is pointing out trucks. She has time to figure it out, she's only... wait, how old is she again?

There is a final round of family vacation in Maui pictures via the Heaters. A few more pictures of the beach, hanging out with locals, and Mama's zipline adventure. So that's where Vv gets her adventurous spirit.

Mahalo Maui

A week in paradise is not an easy thing to describe. First there was the view from the condo. If it was any wider we would have had a view of Lanai from the lanai. It's hard to capture all of the beauty of Maui in a photograph and one point I just gave up... but then I tried to capture more beauty... and more beauty... and more beauty. Oops, one too many.


There were plenty of adventures and excursions on our trip. The dads took a helicopter ride over the entire island, except for the crater on Haleakala because it was clouded over, which is of course the highlight of a Hawaiian helicopter ride. The moms took a zip line tour through the wilderness. We all snorkeled in Honolua Bay and got there early to avoid the crowds. We skipped the road to Hana based on advice of experienced travelers that it wasn't a good idea with little kids, so we took them for a much safer ride. The dads and kids did do a poor man's version of the road to Hana by driving a one lane road around west Maui. It was beautiful, quaint, and served dessert.

Land of milk and then some more milk

Veronica played host this weekend to her cousin Jackson. Veronica and Jackson are almost exactly one year apart and it's not often Vv gets to be the big kid in the room. She did a really nice job helping Jackson feel at home. She brought Jackson some books to read (knowing the Leary boys come out of the womb reading), although she had a little bit more trouble sharing her bath toys. The two of them got so close after spending the weekend together that they woke up together on Sunday morning... at 4 AM. Veronica had a great time playing the role of big cousin. She took him to the park to show him the slide and even give an impromptu Physics lesson about kinetic energy.

Happy St. Patrick's Day

Happy St. Patrick's Day to everyone! And especially to Uncle Simon, who is like Irish or something. Veronica wore green and clovers to celebrate. And apparently ate a green bagel at daycare. When Daddy asked her if she had fun at school she replied "bagel".

Otherwise Veronica has been spending her days goofing off, recovering from illnesses, and then getting back to goofing off.

asleep at the wheel

It's bad enough that it's been three weeks since the last blog post, but there is barely even anything to post. First, there is Veronica's reaction to another blog post. It's her new favorite video and she says "happy, happy" everytime the laptop is on, asking to watch cousin Carmen's birthday song. Second, there is Veronica's reaction to her Valentine's day card from Grammy.

Other than that, everyone around here has been taking it easy.

Games of the VV Olympiad

Veronica has caught Olympic fever, eh? First she dominated the high chair tray dead lift on day 1. She followed that with an outstanding performance on the shopping cart luge, which requires not just strength and agility, but intense mental focus. Surely gained through hours of physical and mental training. And finally, she jumped into the white stuff. No east coasters, not 2 feet of snow. Shaving Cream! Veronica loves playing with it and she dominated both the singles and the mixed doubles competition.

Veronica got a haircut this week. We're waiting for the hair on top of her head to grow out before we grow her hair long. No worries, she looks cool and she knows it.

B-A-N-A-N-A-S- Bananas!

Since photos and stories of sick people don't make a good blog post, this week is only about a walk to the park and a banana. Other than those two short events, one of the three family members has been hacking, sneezing, and other things that you aren't interested in the details of. Poor Veronica got the worst of it. The first doctor diagnosed her with pneumonia. The second doctor said it wasn't pneumonia, it was asthma. The third doctor said it was both. Finally after a week of taking more shots than Allen Iverson, a round of antibiotics, and daily doses of the nebulizer, our Veronica is back to normal.

It's been unseasonably warm in Seattle and for a few days it was even unseasonably sunny. We walked down to the park to play with the new camera... er, I mean the slide. Ali had the ring, Picasso had canvas, and Veronica has the slide. Veronica has mastered the slide and her contemporaries can only hope she retires young. We had a fun hour at the park and can't wait to go back in a few months when it's sunny again.

And what can you say about bananas? Every kid loves them. Veronica is no exception and "nana" entered her vocabulary very quickly. We're just thrilled that she is reliably eating a fruit since she was headed down the path to scurvy at her previous rate. Although, we do have some concerns about the company she is starting to keep as a result.

Upgrade to Vv 1.5

Veronica Tales is full of upgrades this week. First of all, Veronica's sleeping has upgraded to human tolerable levels. Vv's sleeping problems had a long history and we were prepared to take extreme measures. Her recent bout of pneumonia aside, Vv has been sleeping though the night from 8 PM to 7 AM, which is an hour earlier in the evening and an hour later in the morning. And she even walks off to bed at 8 PM when she's tired and just needs a lift into her crib. I'm pretty sure that Mama switched the real Veronica with an identical baby that knew how to sleep. And I'm not complaining, just describing what happened.

And as you may have noticed from the quality of the image above, we upgraded cameras here at Veronica Tales. With some help from Grammy at Christmas, we invested in a Nikon that came highly recommended to us. The new camera has been a lot of fun to play with, no matter what anyone tries to tell you. It's hard to say if we love the new camera more than we are happy to see the old one go.

Next on the upgrade list is Mama's new wheels. We picked up a used Subaru Forrester and are now a two car home. That means no more juggling daycare pick up and drop offs or trying to find the car at the park and ride.

Veronica has regrettably been very delinquent with her Christmas thank you notes. Although, it's probably just as well since the card would likely read "Thanks for shipping that expensive toy(s) from Toys R Us, but my favorite thing to play with is actually shredded paper. All the best in the New Year!" Okay, that's enough for now, this thing isn't as easy to write as it looks.