Thanksgiving and birthday celebration

we had a full and fun weekend. my parents arrived tuesday evening. we hadn't seen them since the summer. i was amazed how great Claire was with them - it only took her about 10-15 minutes to warm up to them. Phil and i were relieved because we had planned a dinner outing, just the two of us, the next evening. we couldn't even remember the last time we ate out without the girls! Phil had made a reservation at L'Etoile for 6pm, so that we could be back to put the girls to bed. i thought we would be the first customers at the restaurant, but we weren't. we were the second. but we got some great seats by the window which overlooked the capitol that was lit up and it started to snow, so we had a fantastic view. the food was delicious and it was really great to be able to just enjoy my food uninterrupted. most meals, i'm scarfing down as fast as i can or i'm getting up from the table a million times (mum, i need this or that, someone else is screaming to be taken out of the high chair, etc). when Phil and i got home, Claire was screaming. fortunately, it hadn't been for long. i think it went well for her first time without mum in the evening! my mother said she did great until the very end.

it was so great all weekend to have my parents playing with Skye and Claire. i was cooking up a storm (or so it seemed!), so it was great for the girls to have my parents to play with them.

thanksgiving day, we went over so a friend's house. there were several other families so there were lots of playmates for the girls. friday, Phil's parents and brother, Mike, and his wife, Megan, came up from Illinois to celebrate Claire's birthday with us. there is a Korean tradition for the first birthday: you set out various items that symbolize different things and the baby gets to pick something out. for example, we used a ball of yarn to symbolize long life, $20 for wealth, pencil for wisdom/intelligence, ball for athleticism, and then my parents sort of threw in some other things too. like a paint brush for artistic talent and a stethescope for doctor. guess what Claire picked out? so she sort of went for the money, then she sort of went for the paint brush and then decided on the money!







both Skye and Claire are wearing hanbok the traditional Korean dress.


if you'd like to watch the videos, i've posted them at vimeo (you can access them from the sidebar). it was great fun for the girls, but i also realized how hard it can get for Skye with all the attention on Claire. she's a much kinder sister now that all the celebrations are over and all the people oggling over Claire are gone! not that she did anything horrible, but there were moments when things just weren't easy.

all in all, it was a fun and busy weekend. now my parents have returned to Michigan and we are getting back into our regular routine. and before i know it, Christmas will be upon us!