Weekend Excitement!

It was an exciting weekend in the Rowe household, as we got to celebrate and early Christmas with Nana and Gramps.  The girls had worked hard during the week to produce hand-made gifts for their grandparent.  Madeleine created two animal ornaments, one of a monkey and one of a lion, while Julia wrote a brand new poem:

Ethan had requested "nothing" for Christmas, and had gone so far as to elaborate on his request.  "What you can get me for Christmas is a box full of nothing.  Or you can also get me a barrel of nothing.  Or, you know what I'd like?  I'd like a bunch of nothing."  So his parents decided to bestow upon him exactly what he wanted:

Madeleine is particularly fascinated by this gift, wanting to make sure Ethan is cherishing it as much as he should be.


MADELEINE: (wandering into the kitchen) Uh, Mama?  I'm looking for Daddy's NOTHING.  Do you know where his nothing is?
ME: Here.  (handing her the jar.)
MADELEINE: (taking the jar and scampering into the living room) Daaaaaddy!  Here you gooooo!  I got you your NOTHING!

Ethan was also given a set of fake mustaches, and let's be real here: of COURSE the girls wanted to try them on.

So rest assured: even if Ethan wants to be Grinchy about Christmas, his children will find utter and utmost delight in his gifts, as well as in their own!

Today was full of excitement as well.  We had church this morning, during which the choir performed a concert and the Sunday school rehearsed for their Christmas Eve pageant.  I dressed the girls in their Christmas dresses in honor of both the choir Christmas concert, as well as the Greek School Christmas concert going on after church.  Both girls' dresses are red and festive, as you can see in the Christmas card photo in which they wear them:

However, despite the fact that both girls' dresses are red, Madeleine simply couldn't handle the fact that Julia's has white fluff and hers doesn't.  She lamented this fact the entire way to church today, and apparently, couldn't quite get over it at Sunday school either.  While the girls were choosing their roles for the upcoming pageant, Madeleine still had Julia's dress on her brain.  Julia chose to be a shepherd.  Madeleine, when asked, replied that she wants to be: "FLUFF!"

Because I don't know of any Christmas fluff as part of the Christmas story, it looks like Madeleine will have to settle for being an angel.

At any rate, as soon as we were home from church, Madeleine ditched her red dress in order to don her pink sparkly dress with the coveted white fluff.  No reason not to dirty two church dresses in one day, right?!?

The afternoon brought yet ANOTHER highly exciting event: a trip to the jewelry store for ear piercing!!  Julia had been promised pierced ears as a 7th birthday gift, and because Madeleine was also feeling brave enough to try it, we decided to do both girls in one go.

Julia was super brave about the whole ordeal, hardly flinching for a second as she got her earrings in:

ME: Wow, you were so brave, Jules!
JULIA: (laughing) It didn't even hurt!


Madeleine had a different reaction.  She was completely unafraid at first, and sat in the piercing chair in complete stoicism.  And while the piercing tech cleaned Madeleine's ear lobes, she giggled away, telling the tech, "That feels a little FUNNY!"

I was thrilled that Madeleine was taking it all so well.

ME: So, Madeleine, are you gonna be super brave?
MADELEINE: Yeah!  And Mama!  It doesn't even HURT!  It just feels a little FUNNY!

Oh.  Poor, poor girl.  She thought the cleaning was the actual piercing.  Little did she know that she was soon to be stripped of her chipper facade:

I will say this, however: after the actual piercing, Madeleine did not cry.  She DID sit with tear-filled eyes and quivering lip, looking at both me and the tech with wounded accusation.  But she held herself together.  And now she has some beautiful, birthstone-pink earrings!: