52 : 42 (part 7)

Christmas was great, I had so much fun. A few present highlights: I got 3 Dog Man books, a Harry Potter Hogwarts Lego set from Santa, and some toilet spray (Clorox Urine Spray) in my stocking. My Grampy also got me a Nintendo Switch and I love playing it with my family.

Darby 35/52 v5

Hard to imagine anything more magical than the Christmas wonder of a 4.5 year old, especially when Santa delivers the Ariel castle of your dreams... that is taller than you!

Darby 34/52 v5

Darby had her dance recital this week, this program was ballet focused and she has been begging to wear this white tutu for weeks and weeks. The audience was full of family and friends and our little lady loved the performance, and the roses her Daddy gave her afterwards.

52 : 41 (part 7)

I played "This is Not Jingle Bells" and "I am a Fine Musician" at my first piano recital this week. I was really really scared, but I did it and was really happy. My teacher was very proud of me and gave me a golden trophy.

Darby 33/52 v5

December is here and so it was time for our annual pilgrimage to see Santa. This year we visited him in the Garden House at Filoli. After many reviews of the Target toy catalog Darby came to her wish, Ariel's castle, and she was all smiles when she told Santa about it! This is the first year that she had no concerns about this Santa guy, but she did opt to sit to his side and give Ewan his lap. 

52 : 40 (part 7)

This week I met Santa and I asked him for a Hogwarts lego set. I saw him at Filoli and he was nice.

Darby 32/52 v5

Today we celebrated K's 40th birthday! After chocolate chip muffins with chocolate frosting Mama and Daddy dropped the babies at school and jetted to Las Vegas to celebrate. Auntie M swooped in to help with Darby and Ewan who spent the evening making gingerbread houses. Darby took a quick break from her construction project to sing "Happy Birthday" to her Daddy one more time... but when he picked her up from school the next day the celebrating was done and she was just pissed it wasn't Auntie there to get her again.

52 : 39 (part 7)

My mom was gone this week and I was really sad. When I miss her we FaceTime and I like to make her laugh.

Darby 31/52 v5

Darby's preschool picture is in... actually she missed picture day while she was in Australia so Mama arranged a shoot at a local studio as the idea of a year without a school picture was not acceptable. Our little ladybug with her preferred hairstyle in her favorite dress.

52 : 38 (part 7)

This week I helped my Dad put the Christmas tree on the car by throwing the rope when he told me to. The tree we picked is almost 8 feet tall and beautiful.

Darby 30/52 v5

Darby is typically good at sharing, but she definitely turns up the charm when her friend has a milkshake and an extra straw. This week was Thanksgiving and Mama & Daddy's 10th wedding anniversary, but Darby's favorite bit was definitely the Five Guys shake and a shopping date with Kaley.

52 : 37 (part 7)

This week we went to see "Ralph Breaks the Internet" with our Auntie. During the movie I got sad so I got to cuddle with my Mom, and soon enough the movie was over - the movie was funny and scary.

Darby 29/52 v5

We had never heard Darby say "Owen" until we were in Australia/New Zealand and she was all of a sudden fixated on the time at home and what that likely meant Owen was up to. A few short weeks later we got to meet the boy, the myth, the legend and we can understand why Darby is enamored... the fact that he had his birthday party at one of her favorite places after she'd been trapped in doors for a week because of the smoke (poor air quality) from the Camp Fire probably helped too.

52 : 36 (part 7)

I saw the new "The Grinch" movie, he was the meanest person in Whoville. At the end Grinch was nice like the other people, he even cut the roast beast. I like this "The Grinch" a lot. 

Darby 28/52 v5

It sure does seem like a lot of this year was spent on FaceTime. We were usually laughing, reading, or singing, but when Darby is hungry or tired it is harder... "Mama, I wanna cuddle and watch Gilmore Girls a little bit." Mama's pre-bedtime tv habits are of great interest to Darby.

52 : 35 (part 7)

I went to the Santa Barbara Zoo, there was a part of it that talked about our ape ancestors - I want to be a scientist. We stopped at the Zoo on our way home from my Great Grammie's 90th birthday party.

52 : 34 (part 7)

It was Halloween, I dressed up as Antman and my sister dressed up as the Wasp. We went to the party at the rec and trick-or-treating with our friends, Aria and Jordan. Jordan dressed up as Catboy from PJ Masks and Aria was Mary Poppins.

Darby 27/52 v5

You are looking at the Wasp, the lucky recipient of second place in the neighborhood costume party. Darby was stoked to be a super hero and was very proud of her winnings... and her brother (Antman) was a little jealous.

Darby 26/52 v5

Sweet, sassy, and so damn sweet. The hand on the hip is not new but the pop of the foot is, maybe it is all that ballet. It is amazing how little Bonnie Bunny looks as our girl just keeps getting bigger.

Darby Moira - 4 years 6 months

52 : 33 (part 7)

In this picture I am in New Zealand, it was really really green. We visited the North Island - Auckland, New Plymouth, and Wellington. In New Plymouth I helped my mom's old boss' (Rachel) partner (Rodney) do farm work, we had so much fun. On the farm we made new fence lines for the cows.