December 26

Today was supposed to be the quiet after the storm that was Christmas, but it wasn't.

Daisy and Lily had to go back to the doctor's office for a re-check of their ears after they both ruptured their left eardrums two weeks ago. Daisy's ears are on the mend, though they still aren't healthy and normal due to her persistent congestion. Stupid winter and incessant colds. Lily's left ear - the one that ruptured - looked fine, but her right one was problematic. Our doc couldn't see all of it, but it was clear that the top was perforated and it was pretty nasty. Poor baby. No wonder she hasn't been sleeping well lately! Luckily, her next re-check will coincide with her 18-month checkup, so I don't have to pay for another doctor appointment. 

We left the doctor and headed home to eat lunch before I took Caleb and Daisy to a birthday party for one of Daisy's preschool classmates. I will never understand why people schedule children's birthday parties during nap time. Perhaps the birthday boy - who turned 4 - no longer naps, but my 3 and a half year old definitely felt the missed nap. Still, Caleb and Daisy had lots of fun, and since the party happened to be at a party spot in a mall, we were able to pick up a few things while we were there. As a reward for their good behavior, we went up and down the escalator. I love that my children are still impressed by things like escalators.

Some completely unrelated pictures:

This is a terrible picture of Daisy, but I have to share it because she is so. darn. happy. My mom gave Daisy her own Lego Duplos for Christmas, and Daisy is so excited to have Legos of her own to build with! She is a building machine, and is so proud of her work. Daisy's face looks so weird here because she is quite literally bursting with pride at her tower creation. (Also, my sister gave Daisy some super-soft fleece pants - with pockets! - and they are now Daisy's favorite thing ever.) 

After dinner, Daisy tried on her new leotard and silly dance shoes. She was so excited!

Chris played DJ and chose dancing tunes while Daisy took advantage of our still-empty room as a dance floor.

Lily joined in the fun, too, using a cloth napkin as a dancing prop.

Sadly, the dance party ended before I could get very many pictures because Daisy's dancing shoes are too big and one fell off and then she completely melted down. (No nap, remember?) I was actually trying to take a video when she flipped out, so here is first-hand footage of how volatile 3-year-olds can be when they are overtired:

I suppose we'll have to try again another time, and in the meantime I'm going to try to sew her slippers so that they aren't quite so big.