a very merry white Christmas

Grandmom and Grampa flew in from PA to celebrate Christmas with Veronica. Veronica got lots of clothes, a few tree ornaments to call her own, and an adorable Christmas dress. There were shoes with the outfit too, but they didn't last too long on her feet. And if you liked the ruffled bloomers from her last dress, get a load of these! 19th century retro undergarments are all the rage with newborns this season.

The snow continued to fall in Seattle all week, even as we opened presents around the tree Christmas morning. We spent the homebound days lounging around and catching up with family. We ventured out a few times and luckily Veronica received a hat and glove set from New England just in time (thank you Cheryl).

And Playoffs? We're talking about playoffs? ...well some of us in this house are anyway.

Snow Day!

Eight inches of snow has landed on Seattle in the past few days and cabin fever is starting to set in. One of the drawbacks to living in a mild climate is the dearth of snow plows and lack of salt for the roads. The city "sands" the roads out here and apparently they only budgeted for one day. The roads are in such good shape that a cross country skier slid past our house yesterday. And Daddy would be shoveling the driveway, but he budgeted for snow removal as well as City Hall did. The front walkway is swept clean and the Jetta had to muscle its way out of the driveway on its own. Veronica got her first taste of the snow yesterday. We scoffed when Mimi sent us a snow suit from Bean, but there we were yesterday, all bundled up in a snow suit.

Veronica has been exhibiting a lot more independence recently. A few nights ago she was fussy in Daddy's arms and wasn't any happier in Momma's. We tried all the usual tricks, but all Veronica wanted was some peace and quiet in her swing. Veronica's play mat has also become party central. Veronica likes to smack the hanging toys and she's getting pretty good at it. I think we all know whose hand-eye coordination she inherited.

Christmas celebrations continue. The Heaters stopped by for brunch ahead of this weekend's snow storm (the word blizzard was thrown around). Henry was kind enough to volunteer to open V's present and let Uncle B play with Hot Wheels.

Coo-Coo Ka-Choo

Veronica has been cooing up a storm for the past week. Lots of "ooh's", "wha's" and the occasional "hey". Along with her improved vision, this makes Veronica much more interactive since she can look right at us and talk about what's on her mind. And when the mood strikes her, Veronica will break into a Joni Mitchell sing-a-long. Toys have become more fun for V too. Her dexterity has improved to the point that she can hold a rattle, which will become even more fun to play with when she realizes she is the one controlling it. But her favorite game remains lying on her play mat and laughing at the beautiful girl in the mirror. With all these developments, Alison is now starting to understand why mothers decide to go through labor a second time.

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas in Seattle. Momma and V worked together to get our Christmas cards out. Veronica's penmenship needs work, but she has a knack for knowing zip codes.

Otherwise, Veronica has been her adorable self and getting lots of kisses from Daddy, but she isn't too keen on reciprocating.

Immunization Station and the rest of Staycation

Wednesday was Veronica's first round of immunization shots. It also marked the debut of Veronica's WTF?! face. Poor Veronica had no idea what she was in for and was smiling at everyone when three shots pierced her little thighs in rapid succession. The nurse did a great job of giving the shots as quickly as possible, but that was little consolation for V. Or for Momma. I'm not sure who cried more. But Veronica was quickly soothed by nursing... and Momma needed a chai latte, then everyone was happy.

Thanksgiving week also meant not having to go to work due to a fortuitous collection of off days. That meant a week full of lazy mornings and long naps. Veronica likes to take her time waking up in the morning. It's hard to tell which one of her parents she gets waking up slowly from since we both claim credit. Veronica has also started dreaming recently. What does a 2 month old dream about? What else?

Veronica took her first ferry ride last week. It's not easy to capture the thrill a ferry ride in a picture, but Veronica had fun. However, changing a diaper in the back of a Jetta with the door open on a moving ferry wasn't fun. Once we got to Bainbridge Island, Veronica got to wear her polka dot dress and handmade sweater from her Great Gram Grace. The dress and sweater were cute and all, but were no match for the piece de la resistance: the ruffled bum on her tights.

And the world has another Giants fan, but at least it's a McPartland.

A Venery of Learys

Thanksgiving week, oh where to begin? Veronica met her cousin and future partner in crime, Lucia (known aliases include Lucy, Luce, Chia, Chi-Chi, Goose, and Girlfriend). The two teamed up for a rip-roaring 4 days in the Emerald City. There were trips to the park, lots of pies, and a belated birthday celebration for Lucia.

Lucia is enjoying a dress up phase right now and her mothers couldn't be happier... or could they? We got her every dress up accessory we could get our hands on and she ended up a bunny-fairy princess. Lucia was very impressed with the end result and spend most of the week in her princess tutu.

Enough about Luce, this is about Veronica's tales. Veronica got a new hat, rocked a Thanksgiving outfit, and rode on the South Lake Union Trolley without hearing any acronym jokes from Daddy. And any history buffs reading the blog will appreciate the lesson in sharing Uncle B imparted... ok, only Grandmom will get that one.

Their visit seemed to end as soon as it started; hopefully we'll be blogging about our next visit soon.

For your ears only

The best thing about the weather getting colder in Seattle is the ears on Veronica's hoodies. The hoodies with ears are also the key to capturing her elusive smile on camera, even if she tries to hide it.

Alison has been hard at work this week capturing Veronica's giggles on video since most of the time she stops smiling as soon as the camera beeps. It's not an easy job and Momma has requested that you watch the video on mute and disregard her high pitched parentese... so turn the speakers up louder. Go ahead, gather your friends and call over you office mates, it's the Silly Momma Show!

Travelling to Burien

We went to visit the Heaters this weekend. Henry enjoyed shaking hands with Veronica and gently petting her hair. Not that Henry was the only Heater happy to see Veronica.

We continue to try to capture Veronica's smiles and giggles on video, but she won't cooperate once the camera comes out. You'll just have to come visit and see it for yourself.