The Holiday Letter

THE MOUNTAIN TIMES

By now, I suspect those of you who were going to receive the Christmas card have received it. If you didn't, apologies, you really missed out. I always feel like our cards should come with a newsletter, because I find those brilliantly entertaining. So here it is, the recap of our year. I'll try not to bore you to tears. 

PS: I chose The Mountain Times because our last names put together makes us The Mountains. This has caught on with some people, and it tickles me to no end. 

So anyway, it's been almost a year since we moved to our new house in Eugene. Eugene is a strangely unique place, a big(ish) city with small-town charm. A nice mixture of hippies, hipsters, and down-home Oregon folk. People talk to you like they know you, customer service is generally on point, and on Game Day, you're part of a large family if you're sporting green and yellow. Go Ducks! galore. Here are the Top 3 Most Eugene Things that have happened to me thus far:

1. I witnessed a biker get taken out...by a Smart Car. Not sure who was hurt worse.
2. I went to parent orientation night at Trinity's preschool and was immediately spritzed in the face by lavender water. "It's refreshing AND calming!"
3. I was hit on at a bar with the pickup line, "You look like you eat pretty healthy. Do you eat all organic?"

I treasure each of these memories and hope I will continue recognizing and appreciating these uniquely Eugene experiences as the years go by. 

After Snowmageddon 2014 in February when we couldn't leave our house for 4 days, we bought a brand new Subaru Forester. Something also very Eugene. We love this car. It goes everywhere and does everything and makes our late '90s Accord feel like an early '70s Pinto. What ever did we do without heated seats, Bluetooth, and XM Radio? 

We've only had one scare with it, and that was when Travis attempted an oil change, and instead of draining the oil, he siphoned out all the transmission fluid, leaving it immobile. It took me a few Google searches to realize this somewhat common mistake, so we had it towed to the dealer for the most expensive oil change/transmission fluid fill of all time. No more DIY oil changes.

The highlights of our summer consist of our annual Cultus Lake trip, a new paddle board, the Willamette Country Music Festival , and my 10-year reunion (ugh I'm so old.) The memories I glean from these all kind of run together in an alcohol-induced slideshow that include late night boat rides, shooting stars, midnight burpees, paddle board yoga, endless lines, beer garden shenanigans, and watching the sun come up over the water. Good times indeed. Let's see it in color

Trinity started school in the fall. It's really her first time being around a lot of other children on a daily basis, so I was afraid she would be socially awkward. While she does tend to do more observing than participating, she fits in really well and seems genuinely loved by both the kids and adults at the school. Her French is coming along splendidly, and I suspect she knows a lot more than she lets on. Her school recently hosted a Winter Celebration where the kids sang, danced, and put on a little play. The adults in the crowd recorded this on their phones and looked on with pride, all while having absolutely no idea what the kids were dancing and singing about. It was amazing. 

As expected, Trinity's health has been less than ideal since starting school. She washes her hands regularly, sleeps well, and eats balanced meals (as balanced as you get with a 3 year old), so I found myself wondering how she could keep getting so sick. Then Trinity tells me in the car the other day, "Rosie and I were holding hands, and then Rosie used my hand to wipe her nose." I guess that's my answer. Sorry kid, no coming back from that. 

I am forever amused by the crazy things that come out of her mouth. She's incredibly perceptive and grounded for her age. I still maintain she's an old soul. The other night after getting out of bed a few times, I put her back and tell her that she really needs to go to sleep. "I'd rather go to Applebees," she says. Me too, kid. Me too. 

*obligatory work-related update*

Travis and I continue to work our lives away. He's been enjoying all the travel experiences his job requires, and I'm thankful that mine allows me to work from home. We are both lucky to work with some amazing people, and I'm especially excited about what the new year will bring for me professionally. ;) More on that later. 

Trinity is especially excited for Christmas this year, and the giddiness is contagious. Without meaning to, we may have gone a bit overboard on the gifts. Hopefully she doesn't get too overwhelmed. I don't feel too bad, since I really try to focus on providing experiences, not toys throughout the year. 

I hope this Christmas finds you extremely merry and your New Year is the happiest yet!  Happy Holidays from the Mountains!

An Ode to Fathers

I thought I should take a moment to appreciate all the dads out there on this day. Specifically the dads who have really embraced fatherhood, not just donated genetic material to create a tiny human. So, Happy Father's Day to the dads who:

• Have napped with babies in their arms
• Have been puked on, pooped on, and peed on without batting an eye (or at least without puking themselves)
• Have contemplated pushing down other small children at the park who dare look wrong at your child
• Have walked out of stores carrying bright pink princess cars
• Attempt dressing their kids (seriously, this is hard)
• Go to every gymnastics class
• Still carry that kid in the hiking backpack, even though she is definitely big enough to walk
• Still can't say no to "please Daddy?"
• Moonlight as dinosaurs

I'm lucky enough to say that Trinity's daddy has done all of this and more. I'm good at giving him a hard time about his odd dad ways, but I rarely tell him Thank You for being such an awesome dad. He's patient when I'm not, understands when I don't, and teaches things I can't. Thanks Trav, for being the perfect donor of your genetic material. We created a pretty awesome kid, and I guess you deserve at least 30, 40, ok 50% of the credit. I definitely could not do this without you.

In honor of Father's Day, Trinity answered a few questions about her dear ol' dad.

1. My dad is funny because: He laughs like a little bird! tweet tweet
2. My dad thinks I am funny when: I sing and dance
3. My dad is 29 years old
4. His favorite thing to do is: Play with me
5. His favorite color is: Green and Blue
6. My dad's job is: at an office
7. He loves to eat: Rice and broccoli
8. He is really good at: Loving me
9. My dad loves when I: Play with him
10. My dad always says: Love you
11. My favorite thing about my dad is: Lots of things

It is evident in her answers that she feels loved and is not starving for attention from her dad. But maybe he should do something about that laugh...

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!!

Threenager

See what I did there? It's like she's 3, but somehow she possesses the demonic qualities of a teenager. I'm not ready for this. I thought I still had about 10 years. I think people talk about Terrible Twos just because of the alliteration, but in reality Two is not bad. Two is just a tiny human learning how to communicate and showing frustration when they can't do so adequately. Three is a culmination of all their communication skills effectively used against you. Middle-aged men always tell me they feel sorry for me when she becomes a teenager (some kind of weird phenomena in itself). They should feel sorry for me now.

Her favorite outfit

Balance beaming on her own these days

You know you have a Threenager when:

• She has a very strong opinion on her outfits, and her choice is usually something you disagree with.
• She cannot go anywhere without her lip gloss, or her stuffed lamb
• She refuses to go to bed until the wee hours of the morning, and then sleeps until late afternoon
• She has to learn the hard way. For everything.
• She runs hot and cold. Either she just wants you to hold her, or "stop messing with me!"
• She must do everything herself. This usually results in something spilled or bruised
• She listens zero percent of the time to anything you say.
• She wants the pink shoes, the pink ones, PINK, PINK SHOES! Once the shoes are on, she bursts into tears and declares she wanted the purple ones.
• The TV apparently belongs to her
• She talks back with attitude, defiance and conviction. 

That little sassy onion spouts back like it's nothing!

• Me: Trinity, did you hear what I said?? I said NO!
• Trinity: Did you hear what I said?! I said YESSS!

Straight-faced, unafraid. I know what you are saying, "Aw Hellll NAW!" Because that's what I said. And Because we all get ghetto when we talk about the way our children may or may not act in the future. But they do. They will. Maybe they'll get slapped for it, or put in timeout, or sent to their room. But they will still do it. 

Yes I know I should not be playing with the Windex, but I'm really sad you caught me doing it

I should mention that she's not yet three. Her birthday is next month. And don't ask me about party planning, because there is nothing worse than toddler parties. Let's wait til she has a social group, perhaps, and not torture the poor adults who love her with Minnie Mouse party hats. I feel like last year's Disneyland trip should somehow carry over to this year. One way or the other, she'll be loved and spoiled and she'll feel special on her day.

Something else that makes her a threenager: Preschool visits. I liken this to my college visits, except college tuition didn't cost as much. I swear. Oh, and $25 extra per month for an organic snack? WTF!? You cannot come up with snack money from the Lexus payment you'll get from me on a monthly basis? Sweet lord! If she is not fluent in French and cannot do the quadratic equation by the time she hits Kindergarten, I will be pissed! Oh wait, I can't send her anything with peanuts in it? There goes my daily PB&J plan. A parent can't even pack a lazy lunch anymore. What is this world coming to? AND you want a little kickback for school supplies?! How about she brings her own? I guarantee I will spend less than what you are asking. It's like this everywhere. Or, I guess everywhere that's considered a reputable preschool. Also, you need to enroll by February to get a spot for the FALL semester! I'm blown away. Absolutely flabbergasted.

This is how petticoats were created. A toddler with a tutu saying, "it makes my dress twirlier!"

She enjoys selfies

I can't wait to see what else Three will bring. I can only anticipate being told she hates me, angry door slamming, and an ever-expanding wardrobe. As long as there are no boys involved, bring it on!

I will leave you with this Trinity-ism:
Her: I have the tootins!
Me: Oh no! What did you eat?
Her: *Thinking* ...It smells like I ate poop!