All I want for Christmas is my Two Front Teeth!

When I was maybe sevenish, I lost one of my front teeth on Christmas Eve. I had lost the other one a little while before, causing a gaping whole in the front of my mouth. Because of my newest prize for the tooth fairy, my Dad taught me the words to "All I Want for Christmas is my Two Front Teeth", and convinced me to sing it for my entire family at Christmas dinner. Ever the performer, I followed through- with hand motions, I might add. I am certain that someone got it on film; I am hopeful that the footage has been lost.

Marin didn't get teeth for Christmas this year, and is in fact still a walking toothless wonder, but she did get about everything else plus the kitchen sink! (Oh boy- I am SO my mom. That is something right out of her mouth- she loves that phrase!).

We had a wonderful 14 days together as a family. We were able to visit with our loved ones, catch up with many of our friends, some of whom we hadn't seen in years, and even enjoy some time just sitting on the floor playing dollies and tea party. The best!

Of course, we packed about as much action as is humanly possible into the holidays. My friend, Emilie, called us the "Energizer Patterson's" and true to the name, we kept a full schedule of celebration and cheer. Marin troded right along like a little champ and despite getting a little cold near the end, literally only cried twice.

Here is what Marin's first Christmas celebration schedule looked like:

December 13th: Home from the cruise. Immediately bought her first Christmas tree and decorated it.

December 14th & 15th: Back to daycare. Prepare for Christmas. Do laundry, order Christmas cards, unpack our house.

December 16th: Host my mom's birthday dinner at our house.

December 17th: Neighborhood Party

December 18th: Marin's Christmas Party at daycare. First time she sits on Santa's lap. Not so sure about Santa at first, but his bells are definitely interesting.

December 19th morning: Attend our neighbor's 2nd Birthday Brunch with Santa. This time, Marin is less scared of sitting on Santa's lap, but isn't exactly crazy about him either.

December 19th evening: Holiday party with my group of college friends. Marin had a playdate with her buddy Ryan who is two weeks younger than she. Insert "older woman" joke here. :)

December 20th: Christmas party at Craig, Erica and Kai's. We work out the dowry agreements for Kai and Marin's arranged marriage in 26 years. :)

December 20th evening: We make Marin's First Christmas ornament. As her parents, we agree- there has never been anything cuter.

December 21st & 22nd: Furiously shop for Christmas in a snow storm. Took a few hours out to meet my mom for lunch and sit in the snow.

December 22nd evening: Attend annual Conti/Patterson Christmas dinner at Molly & Brian's in the city. Per usual, Marin is spoiled by Auntie Molly and Uncle Bri, excepting this silly onesie. We tell Marin on the way home that the M's stand for Marin and that "Go Blue" means "eat your vegetables". :)

December 23rd: Attend Martin Christmas at my Uncle Reed and Aunt Jeanie's. Marin discovers her love of bows, wrapping paper and oh yeah, the present are pretty cool too, after she is done playing with boxes they came in.

December 23rd evening: Uncle Jake and Aunt Katy spend the night, upholding a sleep over tradition Jake and I have upheld for as long as we can remember. After a few glasses of wine, we con Jake and Katy into helping Santa wrap presents. Suckers.

December 24th: We leave first thing in the morning for Jason's parent's house. The whole gang is there, which is a rare treat! We meet our niece for the first time, who is just two weeks older than Marin, and enjoy the day watching the girls play together and cracking up at our 2 1/2 year old nephew play the guitar with pool sticks while he exclaims, "ROCKSTAR!!!" Marin is showered with gifts and falls asleep in Pappy's arms. After all the kids are in bed, we play Christmas trivia with fun prizes.

December 25th: Marin's First Christmas!!! We wake up at 5:45am to be on the road at 6:00am. Marin sleeps through the whole thing. Santa and Mrs. Claus wish for the same pleasure. When we arrive at my parents house, we are all thoroughly spoiled beyond what we deserve, although Marin is rightfully treated like a princess and gets every gift any girl could ever dream of, including a piano just her size and Bitty Baby! What's more, my dad finished my dollhouse from when I was a little girl, which entailed hand laying shingles and a trip to the single doll house store in three counties on the snowiest day of the year. He is making a stand, and Marin and I will get to play with it together for years to come, until the day she passes it on to her daughter.

December 25th afternoon: Jake and Katy, my Uncle John and my Grandparents arrive for Christmas day dinner! We enjoy a delicious meal together and watch the snow fall, recounting all those who have shared our Christmas table.

December 26th: Christmas brunch at my parent's house. And, just when everyone has the post Christmas blues, my mom brings out the stockings! A Martin house favorite!

December 26th afternoon: Jason, Marin and I head to Jason's Aunt Jean and Uncle Don's house to visit with the Chilson family, in town from three different states. The kids all run around together and totally take over the house. And to think- next year there will be three more! (Gretchen and Bob are having twin boys in March and Mike and Elizabeth are expecting thier second in May!)

December 26th night: Pappy spends the night!

December 27th: Marin has back to back brunches- first with Daddy and Pappy, then with Mommy and her friends from high school- at the same restaurant! She eats pears prepared the same way at both meals. More ended up on the floor than in her stomach.

December 27th evening: Marin heads to Grandma and Grandpa's for a sleepover and Mommy and Daddy head to the city to celebrate Jon's birthday.

December 28th: Spend the morning in the city. Meet and have brunch with new baby Estella.

December 29th: Jason's cousin's Neal and Nicole come to visit. We have lunch and do a little window shopping in our neighborhood. Nicole brought Marin a handmade blanket that is so soft, I consider asking Marin if I can borrow it for the year- I mean night. Aunt Lindsay joins us for dinner out that evening and sleeps over that night. We have our first fire in our fireplace.

December 30th: Head to my parent's house for fondue and to watch the Illini vs. Northwestern game. The Illini win in overtime! Oskee-wow-wow!!

December 31st: First annual Christmas break luncheon with Grandma at the Herrington, a beautiful restaurant in town, on the river. We all dress up and Marin wears her shiny party shoes. For the record, she does not like beets. But she did love climbing the giant staircase in the lobby.

December 31st: New Year's Eve! Ross and Emilie come to visit! We have our own little count down with Marin at home, before piling her in her snow suit and heading to Craig and Erica's house. She and Kai spend their first New Year's Eve together, even though they are both asleep, under Erica's parent's care, and totally unaware of each other's presence. The adults head across the street to ring in 2010 with good friends old and new.

January 1st: New Year's day brunch with Ross and Emilie. Emilie and I enjoy a little hair of the dog. It's a new year- why not indulge before noon?!

January 2nd: Head to Jason's Aunt Vee and Uncle Bob's house to have Christmas with the Hinrich's family. Aunt Vee is literally waiting at the door with open arms for Marin when we arrive. Great Grandpa Hinrich's especially loves seeing Marin who he sweetly calls "my little girl; the prettiest girl in Chicago". We have a great lunch and enjoy spending the day together. Marin opens her first tea set, and even gets some money for her college fund. Marin officially has more money in the bank that her mommy does. Good for you, Marin.

January 3rd: Celebrate my Grandma and Grandpa Martin's 65th wedding anniversary! The entire Martin family attends church with my grandparents, at their request. We take up three pews, specially reserved for us. We celebrate their love, and all that it produced at my Uncle Reed and Aunt Jeanie's house afterwards. All five of their great grandchildren are there, running circles beneath their feet. And Amy and Ryan are making that six great grandchildren in 2010!

January 4th: Back to work, so I can relax. :)

I have to say, I am a little nostalgic about saying goodbye to 2009. I know it was a hard year for the country, but it was magical for our little family. Marin has absolutely made our lives worth living in a way I never imagined possible. She has made me view every day in a new way, and has made every minute a blessing. We also moved into our home this year. Where Marin will learn to run and ride a bike, and, against her father's wishes otherwise, might bring home a boy one day.

But I know that 2010 will be a good year too. Marin's little giggles will fill the rooms of our new house as we settle in and make it our home. We'll celebrate the milestone that is her First Birthday there next month. I'm sure we'll be busy in the coming year, too. But I extent my wow to this new year as I kept in 2009, to never ever be too busy to tell Marin every night how much I love her, how special she is, and to thank God for making us a family.

We are blessed. I wish the very same for you in 2010. May it be your best year yet

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year?

I am learning that as parents, there are things that we do for our kids that even though we know is torturous for them, we do it anyway because it is necessary or, as I once promised myself I'd never tell my children, "for their own good".

Case in point: The snowsuit.

Marin hates this get up. And every time she is in it I am reminded of Ralphie from the famed A Christmas Story when he is dressed similarly and cries, "I can't put my arms down!!" I'm certain that if Marin could say the words, she'd agree, Ralphie.

The Best...

One of my greatest challenges in motherhood is figuring out how to be as great at this job as my mom is.

We love you, Mom. You're the best.

Ten Months Old!

Marin turned 10 months old in the heat of the Caribbean! And, although I brought along all the props, I still didn't get it together enough to take her 10 month picture that day. We took it shortly after we got home... and back in our own chair!

Here are a few things that Marin is up to lately:

* SHE'S WALKING!!! This is, of course, very exciting; but it is also very exhausting. She is on the move constantly. Marin still really prefers to hold onto something while she walks if its available, and she hasn't stopped crawling completely, but she is walking a lot!

* She is still very, very happy and is not shy or discriminatory with her smiles.

* Marin is turning into a little goof at times. She has this new smile that is literally from ear to ear and she gives it when she is being silly.

* She has learned to play with Norah. Marin will grab Norah's toy and hold it out to her. Norah then comes up and takes it. The only thing Marin hasn't learned to do is to let go after Norah has the toy. She's almost been dragged away a few times. We'll work on this one. :)

* Marin absolutely loves to dance. Every time she hears music of any kind, she bops up and down. I know this isn't new for her, but I have to say, it's adorable.

* She is getting a lot more vocal. She says "Ma-ma ba-ba" when she wakes up, letting me know that she wants a bottle. We're working a lot on communication and trying to make sure that she knows that we understand. She still says "da-da" a lot too, and a bunch of other sounds. She's getting pretty chatty. I know you are shocked, right? ;)

* She is going through a little bit of a mommy phase. It's not to the point of all out tantrums, but if I'm around she reaches for me and says ma-ma and wants to come to me. I have to admit, I do love that she wants me. But it has been kinda hard for Jas, so I promise not to encourage it. :)

* She still loves her musical toys and her board books that are easy for her to turn the pages. She likes to feel the pages of the books, so those with textural pages are her favorites at the moment. She also likes to snuggle with her soft stuffed animals.

* She is really interested in other children. Her friends at daycare were excited when baby Marin came back from vacation, and Marin was equally glad to be back in their company. The first day back, she walked right over to them with huge smiles after I took off her coat. You can scratch "socialization" off my list of possible things to worry about.

* Marin continues to be a champion sleeper. She sleeps long and hard. You can't believe some of the noises she sleeps through- steel drum bands, sirens, plane landings, the vacuum cleaner on hard wood... The one thing she can't sleep through: the horn of a cruise ship as it pulls away from the port.

* She waves hello and goodbye all the time. It's a new trick, and again, it's adorable.

* Marin claps her hands, and loves to do so. Especially if other people around her are clapping their hands. She claps her own little hands in applause as well!

* Another favorite game of hers (or maybe one of our favorite of her tricks) is when she imitates what you are doing. If you turn your head from side to side, she does it back. It's a sure way to get a laugh.

* She has almost mastered her pincer grip and wants to feed herself all the time.

* Since Marin has been walking, she's gotten herself into a few situations that we want her to know are dangerous or wrong, so we've had to start telling her no. So far, she's pretty good at listening. Most of the time when we say, "No-no, Marin" she looks at us to see if we are serious, and then she smiles and moves on.

We're having a ball with Marin this Christmas season. She is fascinated by the Christmas tree and the lights. But not so much by the snow suit and the hats. And, it's time to start thinking about her First Birthday Party! More fun ahead!

Three Tickets to Paradise!

We have just returned from 7 warm, glorious days in the Caribbean. For Christmas this year, Jason's parents took us on a family cruise. It was so much fun to be together! And it was the perfect week to get out of dodge; right after the first snow fall of the season- and right before the temperatures plummeted to single digits.

We had a great time swimming and exploring our three ports of call: Cozumel, Mexico, Grand Cayman, and Ocho Rios, Jamaica. Marin LOVES the water. She swam and splashed in the water from sunrise to sunset just about. I kept waiting for her to get cold or bored and want to get out, but she just continued to kick her little legs and splash away to her hearts content. Another discovery- she loves to eat sand. This one- not so good.

Marin was the hit of the cruise ship. Everyone commented on her sweet little smiles and her adventurous spirit as she danced, swam, waved and clapped her way around every corner of the ship. She made it on the big screen twice, and was even "interviewed" for the morning show one day. I'm her mother, so of course I think she's the cutest thing ever, but really everything is cute when it is small. Put a pint sized swimsuit and a sun hat on it, and you have a traffic stopper.

We had a great time together at dinner every night, and loved the shows as well! One night, Marin went onto the stage with the other children in the audience. She was younger than all of them by far, but she just sat there like she was born to be on stage. And, I'm sure the comfort of her pacifier (not otherwise allowed for anything but sleep) acted as a security blanket for her, and doubled as a mute button during the performer's song.

Jason and I were able to get out without Marin a few times due to everyone's help babysitting and an on board babysitter one night. We snorkeled, went on a rafting trip, and indulged in some pool side cocktails.
We laughed a lot. What better way to relieve stress than to sit in the sun with a cocktail laughing as the band plays "One Love". Or, as the case was on this trip- while Derek changes the words to songs about people sitting around the pool. I know it isn't nice to laugh at others, but it was their own choice to wear that speedo.

Thank you Bill and Debbie, for a very fun and generous gift. There is truly, no better gift than togetherness and laughter.

First Steps!!!

Sunday, November 22nd, Marin took her first two steps!! Mommy, Daddy, Uncle Jake and Aunt Katy were all witnesses. She isn't exactly off and running quite yet, but she is getting bolder, and has since taken 3 more consecutive steps.

She took her steps in our new house, amidst a thousand boxes. I literally, have maybe never been so proud!

Baby proofing every corner: check

Watching her like a hawk: check

Bribing her with food: check

Surviving little falls: check