Parkes and Recreation

Tuesday, February 18, 2025

Calliope is 2!

Calliope turned 2 on December 3. She is such a delight to be around. She's been telling jokes since the moment she emerged from the womb. She's the chillest kid I've ever met, and she's comfortable in pretty much any situation (though she's started to get nervous at the doctor). She rarely has stranger danger, and is fine being around other kids and grown ups alike (and she doesn't discriminate between women and men.)

She loves being outside and going on walks, wearing rain boots all the time, her stuffies, making us laugh, and finding ant piles to look at. She enjoys painting, gluing, and coloring. She likes going to the library, going to nursery, and going to the gym. She loves to learn and has picked up a lot of knowledge despite our lack of formal pre-schooling, like counting, colors, animals, and more. She often surprises me with the things she knows.

She's very good at finding ways to keep herself entertained around the house; she frequently gets out toys and starts playing with them all on her own. She loves the cats and sets very firm boundaries about them not coming in the house. She likes to just be with me as I switch or fold the laundry, tidy up, or do dishes. She has a contagious smile and brings us so much joy.

She is a great eater and is not usually very picky. Her favorite food is probably a toss up between quesadillas and cream tuna, and she loves rice, applesauce, oranges, and candy. She doesn't usually like cake, so we had jello for her birthday treat. She was a big fan! Here's the photos from her big day.

We started the day with a present or two. This was sidewalk chalk.

Abby helping her get unbuckled.

Outside time

Learning to pray

Quesadillas for lunch

New puzzles!

New helmet! And trying out the balance bike for the first time.

These sisters love each other

Jello!

We are so lucky to have Calliope in our family.

Tuesday, January 14, 2025

Holiday Season

In 2024 we got together with some friends for our first official Friendsgiving. It was so nice to be with friends on the holiday, and to not have to cook a ton of food for just our little family. I would love to continue this tradition! Although, next Thanksgiving we will be living somewhere new, and Mason will be a professor! Ah!

Christmas time was fun and busy. The things that come to mind first are attending the ward Christmas party, getting to ride on the train at Monkey Park for free one day when we just happened to be there with a friend and they pulled it out to test it, going to the Christmas Carousel in Valley and having the time of our lives, going to Camelot to look at lights, it being a major bust, both of the kids crying in the backseat the whole time and Calliope falling asleep on the ride home (right before bedtime), Abby discovering a love for tree climbing, Calliope discovering a love for play-doh and beads, baking and decorating gingerbread cookies, gingersnaps, getting caroled to by the Brady family (makes me cry every time), receiving Christmas cards, making secret santa presents for each other on the sly, opening said presents on Christmas Eve, having a wonderful, chill, peaceful Christmas morning, having weenie roasts in our backyard (we had two, including one on Christmas), and traveling to Winder for Dad's retirement party and the Annual Grandma Mingledorff Memorial Mingledorff Family Singalong. It was all so much fun.

And here, in no particular order, are a bunch of pictures.

The kids have entered their era of loving to play together

Matching jammies! Abby decided after one night of wearing them that she was not a fan. She said it felt like there were swords in the feet. I think it was the seam.

Good weather=picnics for lunch. Blockhead (the cat) ate Abbys' entire PBJ in about 4 seconds after she accidentally dropped it.

Shell gifted me a manicure when we were all in Winder. It was fabulous, and the arm/hand massage was arguably the best part of the whole thing.

We discovered that Calliope rocks it in overalls.

Carousel

Alabama's largest Christmas tree! New this year in Opelika. Apparently it's only 2 feet shorter than the one at the Rockefeller Center in NY.

Me and Abby went on a walk close to downtown together one morning, just the two of us. She brought her camera and took lots of pictures. It was so much fun!

Christmas Morning!

Literally the only photo I got of Dad's retirement festivities. This was a HUGE surprise party with all the adults in the family. He was shocked! And even more shocked when Mom gifted him an Alaskan cruise for 2 this summer!

Calliope started deciding that sometimes she needs to put herself in the corner, even though we tell her she doesn't need to go. I think it makes her feel grown up.

Fabulous jewels from Abby and Grandmama

Rosie made these hats just for Abby and Calliope, and even did it in their favorite colors!

Riding the train! Serendipitous.

Abby has started really liking listening to us read chapter books. This one was in spanish and had Mason dusting some cobwebs out of his brain so he could translate.

The only way I got her to agree to leave the ward Christmas party was taking this picture.

Play doh fun

Making hershey kiss cookies

Abby made a pillowcase out of this fabric for Calliope for her Christmas eve present. She also painted her a picture, made her some bracelets, and bought her some cute minnie mouse silverware with her own money.