a new year

The tree is down, the needles have been swept up, and the ornaments have been packed, with care. Acorn is at an age where she can help make ornaments, which means we have a few extra ones to pack. She and I made applesauce cinnamon ornaments a few weeks ago. The first day we had the tree, she came down from her nap and hugged the tree, her arms half-circling the greenery. She is quite sad that it must go.

Dahlia is almost 9 months old. She is starting to wave, almost clap, loves looking at books that have photos of babies. She is growing quite well. Her favorite person to watch is her big sister, her favorite person when she is tired is this Mama, and her favorite person to vocalize with is her Daddy.

We tried to keep the holidays low-key, but that is impossible when you have lots of very-happy-to-have-children-around relatives. I remind myself that we are lucky to have so much love and generosity surrounding us, and I hope that I will find a space for all of the *stuff*.