I'm Dreaming of a White Christmas

Madeleine came into my bedroom bright and early this morning to give me the important news that there was snow on the ground, which has actually been there since yesterday.

MADELEINE: (clambering into my bed) Mommy!  Look out the window!
ME: (half asleep) Hmmmmpf.
MADELEINE: Mommy!  Loooook what's out there!  I'll give you a hiiiiint: it's SNOWING!

That is the best hint EVER. 

And let me tell you, it's a good thing she encouraged me to look out the window, because it was a true winter wonderland out there:

Aside from being excited about our piddling amount of snow, the girls grow ever more fervently excited about Christmas with each passing day.  Julia wrote a new Christmas masterpiece yesterday, entitled "It Was Christmas Eve."

Madeleine, herself, even tried her hand at a Christmas book.  Holding up a piece of paper on which she had written "MAMAMAMAMAMAMAMA" along the top and "Madeleine" on the bottom, she announced, in all earnestness: "Mommy, look!  It says 'It Was Almost Christmas,' by Madeleine Emilia Rowe!" 

The girls also continue to add toys to their ever-expanding wish list (don't worry, they have already been informed that they will receive select items from their wish list, and all other items will remain on the wish list for future birthdays and Christmases.)  The general principle they follow is this: if there is a commercial for ANY toy or kids product of any sort, they both shout out, "Mommy, this is on my wish list!"  It doesn't matter how dopey the toy appears to be.  The girls see the commercial and they are SOLD.  Except for one outlier, whose commercial I did not actually see, but which prompted Madeleine to run from the tv to find me and announce, "Mommy?  That DANGEROUS wish list toy is NOT on our wish listes!"

Okay, phew.  What a relief.  No dangerous toys on the wish list.  Only completely inane, unnecessary waste-of-money toys.

Madeleine did not only create her own Christmas book cover page yesterday, but she also made a hand-crafted gift for her friend Anja, whose birthday party is this afternoon.  As Madeleine described her drawing, "It's a whole family of us.  That's me, that's Julia, that's Daddy, that's Mommy, that's Anja, and that's her ICE CREAM with a cherry on top!":

Madeleine even made sure to sign her name on the back, finally writing small enough to fit it all in one line with one try:

Birthday parties, Christmas, so much excitement.  The girls are definitely on the countdown.  Or, to put it in Madeleine's words: "Mom?  When is it Desmember?  WOAH!  That's even a TRICKY WORD!"

Happy Desmember, all!