Mike & Cicely 2.0: A Year in Review, Part 2

SEPTEMBER 2013

Grace began her second year of preschool. This year my baby goes every single day! No more lazy in-between days like last year when she only went three days a week. It took some getting used to having her gone all morning, but right now she is only attending the half-day program. I couldn't bear to give her up all day, everyday! Not yet anyway. There's plenty of years of that coming soon enough. For now, I just want her and her baby sister to get as much play time together as possible before the years of full-time school and the flurry of activities begin. These early years are fleeting and I don't want to waste a single moment of it.

Poor baby sister looking on pitifully as an excited big sister gets ready for school.

Sure, they have their moments where they disagree (Grace being bossy and Claire letting her know she won't take it!), but they have plenty of these kinds of melt-your-heart moments that I know they truly do love each other.

The only other event of interest from this month was that I signed up for my first ever race, the Wicked 10K in Virginia Beach. Even though I have always admired people who could do things like that, I never saw myself as the kind of person who would. But I was encouraged (coerced!) by friends at a party and I'm so glad I was. Knowing there was a goal to be reached in a little over a month kept me focused and on track. And it was fun to be in it together with great friends. Our almost daily text messages of encouragement and support were crucial in keeping me going.

OCTOBER 2013

This Halloween we went for an Avengers theme. It was Grace's pick because ever since she watched "Captain America" in the spring, she had been obsessed. Claire was very into Elmo at the time and that was what she was going to be until we found a Captain America costume in just her size at a consignment shop. Grace insisted it would look great on Claire, muscles and all, and she wanted the two of them to be a matching duo. I felt a little guilty putting her in a full out boy's costume so I made a little tutu to go with it. I didn't want Claire getting upset with me years from now because I put her in a boy's costume on the whim of her big sister.

Our contribution to our church's trunk or treat event- Noah's Ark!

A tuckered out Elmo

We also tried out Go Ape, a ziplining adventure place here in Williamsburg. Grace was fearless. I am still in awe at her sense of adventure.

And lastly, I completed my first 10K race with some pretty awesome friends. I see now why people do these races! I felt such a sense of accomplishment crossing that finish line, especially looking back to where I began when running just one mile without stopping seemed like an impossible thing.

NOVEMBER 2013
November was a time for pumpkins...

Pilgrims...

Praying...

Celebrating friendships...

Grace's godsisters, Sadie and Lina

Claire's godmother, Michelle

Claire's other godmother, Liezel

Enjoying time with family...

And eating lots of turkey...

Post turkey nap!

DECEMBER 2013
December is my favorite time of year! And it's not just because I'm a December baby, either. In fact, I love this time of year despite being a December baby (combined birthday/Christmas presents). The joy of getting ready for Christmas, spending lots of time with family, and Santa! And I now know that this will be Mike's favorite time of year, too, because I finally gave him permission to get a leg lamp...

It was quite a hit in our neighborhood. We had neighbors stopping by to take pictures in front of it and I can't tell you how many cars stopped in our yard to take a picture of the spectacle. All of this only proved to my husband that we should have gotten the leg lamp years ago.

Looking for the perfect tree...