Pink Balloons

I was going to write a letter to 2014.  I was going to write something along the lines of "I hope that you bring less disappointments" and "please take it easy on me this time around." I was going to tell 2014 that I am going to embrace it and see the joy in it.  I was going to...

...until the pink balloons.

Maggie and I had gone to Old Navy, where she was given a pink balloon.  The nice things about Old Navy balloons are that 1. They don't have helium in them, 2. You do not need to purchase something in the store in order to get one, 3. They are free, and 4. They make your living room beautiful and clutter-free.  Ok well, maybe just three things.  After we left the store, we stopped at the school where my mom works as a school nurse.  Her window is near the front door and I got the clever idea to knock on it to suprise her.  Maggie wanted to bring her balloon in to show Grandma and had asked me to hold it while we were outside.  As I leaned in to knock I did not take into consideration the bush that was below the window, proudly displaying its leafless, cold, and pointy little branches.  Yup.  Mom fail.  I popped the pink balloon and Maggie very much knew that I was the one that did it.

The next evening Kyle, who had heard about the pink balloon tragedy the night before, saved the day by bringing home a pink balloon (with white polka dots!) from his office.  (It was left from a baby shower.  We all know that an investment firm is nothing that exciting that it deserves balloons.) We were over at my parents for dinner that night and Maggie and I slept over.  The next morning we met friends for a play date, where I had kept the new pink balloon in the car.  As I was about to load Maggie into the car, I opened the wrong door on my key fob. When I did, the strong wind took it right out of the car.  Another pink balloon loss.  Another mom fail. (At least this time I blamed the wind and was off the hook.)

As you can imagine, Maggie's reaction after each balloon vanished was anything but happy.  There were lots of tears.  There were lots of sobs.  There were lots of "my booooooooooon!" All I could think about was how to replace it.  I wanted to send out an emergency text. "I need a pink balloon. STAT!" I didn't even require a pink balloon.  ANY balloon was fine in those moments.  I just wanted her to be happy again.  

The more I thought about it, I realized a few things.  My daughter will experience disappointments in life - a lot of them that cannot be fixed with "another balloon." All I will want to do is fix those disappointments for her.  Instead I must let her face them, learn how to work through them, and be her example.  Instead of asking 2014 to give me less disappointments, I must realize that they will come and I need to be strong and work through them. 

Oh and we went to Old Navy today, where she was given... a pink balloon.  

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

Some of my favorite Maggie phrases lately:
"Have fun Mommy.  Drive carefully!"
"That's terrible" (complete with both hands over her face and eyes)
"What is that those? (she always adds "those" even though it's unnecessary)
While dancing at Super Cuts: "C'mon mommy.  Feel the beat!"

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

I have been missing my Vermont friends a lot lately.  Actually, a lot doesn't even cover it.  My friendships with them are ones that are so precious and meaningful.  I have been longing for that.  I wish I could tell each of them how special they still are to me and how many tears I've shed wishing for their company.  While I still stand by the words in my very first post, that I will not give myself a timeline for adjusting to life in Rochester, I am eager to cultivate new friendships. We went to a new church this week that we think is "the one."  I am hopeful that it will be fruitful to us in many ways and will bring me some friendships similar to the ones back "home."  

And speaking of Vermont...

I was breaking graham crackers apart for Maggie and ended up with this guy. 

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

As far as asking 2014 to take it easy on me, I think it already has.  If you haven't seen on my Facebook page, we bought a house! (I will be posting pics of it shortly.)  It happened super fast but is definitely the house for us.  We close one month from today on February 28 and could not be happier.  It is everything we want and about a half mile from my parents.  Salem Road won't know what hit it once the Zess family moves in. :)

I asked our realtor if we could include "The weather shall always be as pleasant as it is in this picture" to our contract.  She thought it would be inappropriate.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Just a note- When I refer to 2014, I am just doing that to be cute (as if I wasn't already ;) I am fully aware and believe that God is in control of everything that will and has happened.  To Him be the glory.

We Wish You a Very Zess-mas

Yesterday I tried writing a new post, only to be pulled away by a non-sleeping Maggie who was supposed to be napping. For a while all I heard on the monitor was singing, then a pause, then "maaaamaaaaa .... come baaaaaaaaaaack" over and over.

As I was looking through pictures on the laptop today, I came across these two from our vacation at the Thousand Islands this past summer. With it being so cold today that they closed schools, it did my soul a world of good to look at them. I even felt a little warmer.

Pigtails in the warm breeze

The cutest Crocs. Ever.

Strawberry ice cream with rainbow sprinkles.

So, Christmas. It was wonderfully overwhelming.  Maggie seemed to understand the nativity, and loved pointing out Mary, Baby Jesus, and "Joe-fiss" (Joseph) and although she got excited about Santa coming and leaving toys under the tree, she refused to put out cookies and milk for him.  When we were growing up I remember my dad saying something about how Santa really prefers pretzels and beer. (Perhaps a new tradition in the Zess house?) She kept telling me that she didn't want to see Santa, and I can't blame her, really.  If you stop to really think about it, we spend time parenting our kids about "stranger danger" and yet we also encourage them to sit on this old man's lap and tell them how he comes in their house ONLY when they are asleep.  So, don't worry, Maggie.  You don't have to SEE Santa because you will be sleeping when this jolly stranger comes in our house.

Christmas Eve consisted of the annual Pearson Christmas Eve party, which occurred at brunch this year, as opposed to dinner, because of nap schedules.  I think Maggie's Christmas dress was the highlight of my Gram's holiday.  It was made with love by her and worn 27 and a half years ago by yours truly.

Oh, and this is what Christmas Eve looks like in the Zess residence (which is currently our residence)...

... after church, of course.

Christmas morning went better than I thought it would.  Last year Maggie was a bit overwhelmed by the present opening process.  This year we gave her a present to open, then we each opened one.  Spacing out her opening gifts cut down on her getting overwhelmed and gave her the opportunity to take her time with each gift. 

Here are a few shots from that magical morning ...

Seeing the gifts under the tree 

Maggie has an incredible love for rubber duckies.  

Here are 2 baby duckies she got in her stocking.

When someone asks her "What did Santa bring you for Christmas?" she answers "ducks."

Funny how she mentions the 2 things that Santa spent the least amount of money on.

The Minnie Mouse pretend digital camera continues to be a hit.

Minnie Mouse (the third one she got for Christmas this year).

Mickey says this was his best Christmas ever. Dude is one lucky mouse.

Good thing Mimi and Papa got new pots and pans for Christmas.

It's not like she just opened a bunch of new toys to play with or anything.

One of my favorite gifts that Maggie got was a Melissa & Doug dish drainer set, complete with dishes, dish soap, and a sponge.  Girlfriend is a very thorough dishwasher, even putting the cups in the drainer upside down for maximum drying.  It's never too early to learn housework.  It's about time she started pulling her weight around here.

Christmas dinner was at my brother Dave's house again this year.  Maggie was excited to play with her cousins, Katie and Lydia. It's fun that she and Lydia are only 2 months apart in age.  Here is a picture of the two of them on their first Christmas with my dad...

This year the three of them got new pjs so here they are sporting them ...

Stay turned for the next post, which will be my letter to the year 2014.  As always, thanks for reading and keeping in touch.  Stay warm. It's cold enough to freeze your Winnebago!