Escape to the T.O.

On December 28th Mini-Mols got to take a special trip far up into the hills outside of Los Angeles to a magical place known to a lucky few as "The T.O." Here at the country estate of the Prehns, Lash got to meet two amazing kindred spirits named Lilah and Leif. Though three months her junior, Lilah and Leif proved to be excellent companions to little Molly with their enthusiasm for breast milk, pooping, and sleeping. Molly was just glad to have some intellectual equals around at last. Mom and Dad can be so juvenile at times with their high pitched voices and constant singing...

On the way home, the MacDonalds got held up in traffic and Molly gave new meaning to the word earsplitting. Dad thinks that the CIA should forget waterboarding as a means of interrogating terrorists and instead use baby-on-boarding, a technique in which suspected enemy combatants are forced to sit in L.A. traffic with a screaming baby in the car. Without a doubt, the world would be a much safer place.

Molly's First Christmas!

As the picture clearly shows, the MacDonald parents did indeed succumb to the universal need to dress the baby as Santa Claus and take a billion pictures. Is there no shame in this household? Absolutely none.

Lash and Co. started the festivities by hosting a Christmas Eve dinner at their place for members of the Friedman and Baltau clans. Dad and Mom prepared a scrumptious feast of, among other things, chestnuts (not roasted over an open fire but in the oven) and ham (Honeybaked not MacDonald baked). Molly, who has been routinely going to bed at 7:00 without a whimper, decided that this night would be a good night to wake up every fifteen minutes for a wah-wah-wah session. Of course, as soon as the guests left around 9:00, Lash slept soundly through the night. Dad thanked Molly for the cold potatoes and ham he got to chew on after the guests had left :(.

On Christmas the MacDonalds woke up early and had eggs. Western omelets for the adults and a breast milk omelet - hold the eggs - for Molly. Presents were opened, greeting were exchanged, and kisses freely given. Instead of gifts, Molly got a t-shirt that reads "It's My First Christmas and All I Got Was This Lousy T-Shirt (and some money in my college fund)". Such is life for the college bound four month old. Later the family went to Grandma Baltau's for a delicious Thanksgiving-esque feast. It was tasty (and Lash slept through it!). Baby Molly got to spend lots of time with Grandma and Uncle Matthew. Not a bad day all in all.

Home for the Holidays :)

Happy Holidays to all and for us welcome back to blog-land. If you are particularly astute, you may notice that the last blog entry was a mere 12 hours before Molly's birth on August 2. Yes, it did in fact take four and a half months for me to bounce back from the many nights of sleeplessness and get back into the writing groove. However, as most Molly enthusiasts already know, she has been a wonderfully easy baby who has been sleeping through the night for almost two months now. In other words, I can't really blame the blog lapse on her. But since she can't protest, I will.

Life is good at Casa MacDonald. Molly continuously keeps us entertained with her her smiles and squawks (not to mention her diapers, wardrobe malfunctions, regurgitations, etc.). She is growing fast - weighing in at a portly 15.5 lbs. and measuring 24 inches from head to toe (75th percentile on both counts...ahem.. ahem...). She can tripod (kinda) but tends to tip over after a few minutes. She loves to stand when supported by Mom and Dad and is doing her damnedest to roll over. She occasionally accomplishes this incredible feat to the delight of all family members, especially herself! More importantly, Molly has recently graduated from reading "Polar Bear, Polar Bear, What Do You Hear?" to the Economist online. She has also been selected to serve on a council of international peace keepers mediating a solution to the Darfur crisis.

Mom and Dad are also doing well. Mom is doing an outstanding job as Mom to the beloved baby and is starting her final dissertation push (whenever Molly does down for a short sleep). Dad is taking a three week vacation (got to love public schools) and studying for a standardized test which, if successfully navigated, will grant him his Tier 1 Administrative Credential (sounds fancy but really just means he can do more paperwork). Cleo (Cat #1) is getting F-A-T. Dad wonders whether the new food is not metabolizing right or if Cleo is just depressed at being outclassed and under served since Lash's arrival. Max (Cat #2) likes to yowl. Period.

OK. Enough for now. Merry Christmas and Happy Hanukkah to all!

Love. The MacDonalds.