Santa - round two...

Today the Gloucester Mommies group had their Christmas party at the lodge at Beaverdam Park. We thought that maybe with an additional 12 hours of maturity that Sequoia would warmly welcome Santa today.
I guess it is safe to say that Sequoia likes what she likes and right now that list does not include Santa Clause.

So today it was daddy's turn to swoop in and rescue her .. and her present...from Santa.

Here Sequoia shows that it is OFFICIAL!!! She has made Santa's Nice List. That was a relief.

It was fun getting to see all of her friends dressed up in their Christmas finest.

Here are the young ladies that make up Sequoia's Gloucester play group.

It was pretty funny when the moms put the girls down for a photo op. It looked more like a track meet between Elizabeth, Sequoia, Brooklyn and Elayne.

Sequoia is particularly fond of Aiden, the older brother of her friend Elayne.

She eventually stole his truck from him. That's my tom-boy girl.

Here is Sequoia with Aiden's truck and Elayne.

Meeting Ol' Saint Nick...

Friday night Colleen and Sequoia went to EndView Plantation in Newport News to meet Old Saint Nick. It was a beautifully traditional Christmas event with a fantastic Old World father Christmas who sat with each kid in a nice quiet setting ...quiet that is until Sequoia screamed bloody murder at the sight of Santa.

Santa offered apologies and presents while Colleen offered comfort and protection.

Eventually Sequoia brokered a sort of peace agreement that involved taking the present and running away...

Once she got home she was ecstatic to play with her new puppy-doll that Santa gave her. It looks just like her real dog, Rogue.

Sequoia rounded out the evening at home by reading/ eating one of her favorite books - Twas the Night Before Christmas ... with Elmo narrating of course.

Trying to get on the "Good List"...

This being Sequoia's first Christmas we have told her that it is extra important that she starts out on the right foot. It is critical to make Santa's
GOOD LIST
on the first try.
So Sequoia has started helping out around the house by feeding herself.

Giving herself baths every night.

Cleaning up her toys ... she has more than a a few and somehow they always end up everywhere.

And most recently she has started running errands for mommy in her sporty new (used) red and yellow convertible.
Certainly the big-guy up north will see all of this and put her on the Good List.
Let's hope so....

Feeling pretty groovy...

OK - sometimes life can only be described as
GROOVY.

I can't begin to describe all of the hours during this past year that have evaporated just being lost in the enormous personality of my little baby girl.

I doubt that anything can capture the essence of pure joy and happiness the way that her smile does. It comes from somewhere deep within that beautiful old soul she has and is almost always accompanied by the most disarmingly sincere belly laugh you could ever imagine.

I particularly love the smile in the shot above. Colleen was just playing with her after we got home from Christmas shopping when I walked in to the room. Sequoia saw me and lit up with this smile - which is pretty much how she always greets me these days, but it always feels like the first time I've ever seen it.

Watching her is like watching the weather - it is always the same but always changing at the same time. Never boring and so fundamentally part of the energy that connects us all that you can not ignore even the smallest part of the whole.

I of course love my little girl - that is a given and explains a part of why I am so fascinated by her, but only a part. The other part that can not be underestimated is the way that she makes me feel connected to the spiritual constant that makes this world such a beautiful experience. I feel the same sense of completeness with her in my life that I do while watching the sunrise from the top of some remote mountaintop or standing on a beach feeling the full power of a winter storm rolling in off of the Pacific.

There are just certain elements of life that make the journey make sense and without a doubt none are more immediate or honest than what Sequoia brings to my life these days.
That's about as groovy as it gets.

Sequoia's first Thanksgiving...

Sequoia celebrated her first Thanksgiving close to home at the home of our friends Pam and Harry Speiser. It was a nice day with good food and great company.

Sequoia is particularly thankful that she manages to survive in spite of our apparent carelessness. Take a close look at the above picture and count the number of ways our little girl could find to get into trouble. Shame on you if you can't find at least four good ones... these don't even include the fireplace just out of the shot that she is staring at.
Remember - you have to watch these little critters.

Well anyway, we do watch her and we are VERY thankful that we have the opportunity to do that. Certainly that is what I am thankful for this year.

I am also thankful that my little girl and her mommy are so very much in love with each other. I knew that I would fall in love with my little girl, but I was not prepared for how powerful an experience it would be watching how the two of them would grow together.
Pretty cool in my book.

Giving thanks and taking snacks...

The Peninsula Mommies went to the assisted living home again to help the residents celebrate Thanksgiving early this year. They all made special cards to hand out and spent the morning bringing smiles to everyone. Sequoia took advantage of all this activity to steal a few toys and snacks. Never let an opportunity slip by...

Clare certainly knows how to share a smile with the world.

To help maintain the blog, we have hired young Troy to document some of the Peninsula Mommies events on film. I should probably be concerned that he seems particularly fascinated with close ups of Sequoia...

Here is Sequoia chowing down on a Teddy Graham that she "borrowed" from Troy while he was off working. Again, never let an opportunity slip past you...

I'm not honestly certain what the topic of conversation was during this meeting between Brooklyn and Sequoia, but rest assured that the world is better off now that they sorted out whatever it was.

Just hanging around...

The other night Sequoia discovered an amazingly cool toy - a laundry basket full of clothes hangers.
She had Colleen and I rolling with laughter as she proceeded to unload the basket and play with the hangers. It was absolutely hysterical and completely changed Santa's list for her this year...

scratch the new doll,
add one basket of clothes hangers.

Of course even then, she will probably be more fascinated with the box it comes in...

Upstanding stander-upper...

As I mentioned previously, Sequoia has started to stand up on her own.

Well not completely on her own - she still needs to balance herself - but she does pull herself all the way to an upright standing position and can then balance with just one hand. She even occasionally forgets that she does not know how to stand and will let go and wobble for a few seconds before grabbing hold again.

As you can see in this series of shots, it usually starts with a devilish and mischievous smirk. She will then crawl with surprising speed to whatever route she has chosen to climb and with definitive moves that indicate she has been scouting the route for quite some time, she will methodically begin her ascent.

She is currently fearless of the kabooms that often accompany this new endeavor - me, not so much. It is one of the few times that I long for soft wall to wall carpeting. At what age can I get away with fitting her with a cool rock climbing helmet and saddle harness without being labeled an overprotective dork?

Well luckily for me she is quite coordinated and rarely falls into anything that hurts her. I know that she will fall, and she will bleed and I will cry and we will both get over it, but honestly right now I am amazed by the mixture of fear and pride that accompanies these achievements.

I know that in time she needs to learn an honest respect for pain so that she can also learn to manage her risk taking, but right now I just want to wrap her up in bubble wrap to protect that adorable sense of confidence that she has that nothing will ever hurt her.

Where the wild things are...

Colleen, Sequoia and I spent the day today at the Virginia Living Museum in Newport News.
It is a great place for kids to learn about nature, plus it is a really fun place to just hang out at as a family.

We tried to teach Sequoia a thing or two about spelunking.

Stalactite? Stalagmite? No problem. Sequoia can handle them all - even when they are fiberglass and in a museum...

It is always fun to watch Sequoia while she is discovering everything around her. She is so animated and interested in things it amazes me.

Now that she is such an upstanding stander-upper, the discovery and interaction process is taking on new dimensions.

As her physical abilities continue to develop she is able to act on more and more of her thoughts and desires. Although she is a long way from talking, her ability to communicate increases with her ability to get around.

Of course as she struggles with the real and serious questions of the universe her mom and I are on a mission to pose her on or next to anything that will make a funny or cute picture. Hopefully Sequoia will be able to overcome her parents shortcomings.... But I honestly think she enjoyed riding on the frog statue.

You can't beat getting up close and personal with a big old sea turtle.

I can only hope that this early fascination with animals will stay with our little girl as she grows up.

All in all it was another great day spent watching our little girl absorb the world around her.
You can't beat that.