We're still a few weeks away from the groundhog telling us how much longer winter is going to last and we needed to creatively pass the time this winter weekend. One of Veronica's favorite Christmas presents was a toy tea set so we decided to enjoy a real one. Veronica tried dunking her nutella sandwich in her tea (i.e., glass of milk with tea splashed in), but she doens't recommend it. Veronica has also been exploring her artistic side and doing a lot of painting. But you'll never believe what else was painted this weekend. Clearly the stir crazy is setting in. That groundhog better have good news.

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.