To my beautiful Princess girl,

Today you turn three years old! I can’t believe how fast time flies and what a big girl you’re becoming. It seems like only yesterday we were getting ready for your arrival…

You were due on Dec. 21st, 2008 and I was SURE that you would come on that day, mostly because I didn’t want to spend the holidays in the hospital! Of course, you had other plans and so, on the afternoon of Dec. 24th, we headed to the hospital with expectations that we would have a new baby girl before dinnertime. And yet, you were still being stubborn and refused to come out (I guess you were just too cozy!), so our doctor cancelled his plans to attend Christmas Eve mass, and we settled in for several hours of watching “Christmas Story” and “Christmas Vacation” over and over (and over) again. Finally, at 10:47pm, on Christmas Eve night, you arrived in the world, our wonderful Christmas gift.

We celebrated your arrival and opened Christmas presents with your brother the next day in our hospital room, and all the nurses came by to celebrate – you ended up being the baby born closest to Christmas in our hospital,so everyone wanted to meet you.

But the real adventure began when we brought you home and I quickly learned that no matter how hard I tried to steer you in a different direction, pink was (and still is) your favorite color. And, while we’re still learning to live with a full blown “princess girl”, we’ve loved (almost) every minute of the last three years. Your smile, laugh and sense of humor is what we love best and it more than makes up for the times when you turn into a sassypants.

Happy Birthday, Colorado Princess! We love you lots!

A few years ago, Colorado Boy was talking about how much he wanted his own Christmas tree that he could decorate however he wanted because he was upset that I wouldn’t let him put ALL the ornaments on one branch (I think the tree would have fallen over!). So, the next day we went and bought a mini Christmas tree and a new tradition was born.

This year, Colorado Boy went for minimalism on the tree itself, with a special display of train ornaments UNDER the tree

This year also marks the first year of Colorado Princess’ very own Christmas tree. Colorado Grammy bought her a PINK PRINCESS TREE to celebrate the occasion. Woohoo!! This particular tree came “pre-decorated” by Colorado Grammy, but Colorado Princess has moved things around and added an additional ornament to celebrate her favorite Princess, Belle!

I’ve been away from my blog for a little while, having traveled to North Carolina to attend my grandfather’s funeral and celebrate his long life. But, as we were mourning the loss of one family member, we were celebrating the “birth” of a new family member who has joined us this week! He’s not a new pet and I didn’t go through nine months of pregnancy before he showed up. So, who is this mysterious new family member? He’s Colorado Princess’ new imaginary friend and his name is…Prince Phillip! Naturally

I guess I shouldn’t be surprised, since I also had an imaginary friend when I was growing up. His name was “Sicky” and he went EVERYWHERE with me. Yep…Sicky. My mom insists that it was because I liked the cartoon “Ziggy” and so used a similar sounding name, but I’m pretty sure it was because he showed up when I was sick. Either way, he became part of our family and had his own chair at the dinner table.

I’ve always wondered what it is that makes some kids have imaginary friends and some not. For me, I think it might have been because (at the time) I didn’t have any siblings so wanted some one to play with that didn’t have to go back home to their own house. But, that’s certainly not the case with Colorado Princess, although her brother isn’t really into playing “prince and princess”, so maybe that’s why Prince Phillip has arrived. And why did Colorado Boy not have an imaginary friend? He was an only child for the first five years of his life… It’s a mystery, I guess!

Whatever the reason, we are happy to have Prince Phillip with us for however long he stays, although I am having a hard time learning not to sit on him and making sure I kiss the correct cheek when he goes to bed And, while I’m sure his singing voice is beautiful, he really needs to stop asking Colorado Princess to join his middle of the night concerts, because we’re starting to have some sleep issues!

What about you? Did you have an imaginary friend growing up? Did any of your kids?

I know this is a little bit off the usual Disney topics I write about, but I wanted to share a little bit about my grandfather, who we lost yesterday, Dec. 1st, 2011 at the impressive age of 97.

Grandpa was a career Army man so traveled pretty much all over the world and collected a great number of stories and experiences, but the biggest impression for me was not the real-life stories he had, but his amazing ability to make-up richly detailed stories that he would tell us at bedtime. I think my all-time favorite was the story about The VCR. Not the machine that we used to watch our favorite movies, but the nickname for a river called The Very Cold River that ran through a faraway land. The details of the story are starting to get fuzzy with age, but I remember a troll, a bridge, and two intrepid adventurers named “Holly” and “Wendy” (aka Colorado Sister) 

If any of us kids started “acting up” around him, he’d give us this stern look and say “You better watch out or else I’m gonna cloud up and rain all over you!” I don’t know what would actually have happened if we didn’t knock it off, because I’m pretty sure it worked (at least on me) every single time. And now, I sometimes use it on my kids, although they kind of just look at me like I’m nuts - I guess I don’t have a stern enough voice for it or something!

While Grandpa tried to instill his love of gardening and nature in me by always touring me through his garden to show me his latest crops or describing the newest cardinal that was coming to visit the birdfeeders, I think one of the lasting things that I got from both Grandpa and Grandma, was my love of Disney. My grandparents loved visiting Disney World and really enjoyed strolling around Epcot, people watching and visiting the Disney versions of some of the countries they had been to. They were even on my first trip to Disney World when I was 8, so while I probably can’t credit them with ALL my Disney craziness, I’m sure their influence has been a very big part of it and I will always remember that first visit with them.

While I will miss him a lot, I will always cherish the memories and stories we shared. And Grandpa, wherever you are, I’m assuming you’re keeping an eye on me, so don’t worry, I’ll do my best to stay out of trouble so you don’t have to “cloud up and rain all over me”!

Grandpa with the grandkids – October 2009

• My family (the ones I live with):This is probably pretty obvious, but it is so true. We just spent a few days up at my parents’ house in the mountains as a mini “staycation” and while there were a few grumpy moments, we shared a LOT of laughs, some good relaxation and a little bit of healthy competition (I won Phase 10 AND pinball. HA! ) Thank you for helping me enjoy this life to the fullest!

• My family (the ones I don’t live with): From my mother-in-law who watched our dog while we went to the mountains, to my mom who came over to check on our house while we were gone, to my sister who encouraged me to start blogging, to those relatives that live in North Carolina and Georgia that I don’t see enough, I have a great extended family and I am truly blessed for all the help and support I get from them throughout the year. Thank you!
• My coworkers: I know you probably don’t hear this very often, but honestly, my company kicks a**. While there are occasional bad days, I can always count on my coworkers to make me smile, and I honestly count them all as “family”. We laugh, cry, fight and celebrate just like any other family I know. Thank you to all of you for getting me through the day with a laugh or a smile.
• My home:
  

  Rocky Mountain National Park, outside of Estes Park, CO

  I take it for granted a lot, I think, but we really live in a beautiful state. Although we don’t have an ocean nearby (something Colorado Dad reminds me of EVERY DAY), we have the mountains. And they ARE beautiful. I hope to always have Colorado in my life.

And finally:

• My friends: Whether I have known you since kindergarten or have just met you virtually for the first time, I am so grateful to all of you. No matter how well I know you, you are part of a group that actually knows me the best and give me encouragement and support, no matter what –  for that I am so thankful. I’m looking forward to expanding all my friendships in 2012!

So, to all that I am thankful for in my life, Happy Thanksgiving! I hope that your celebrations are full of love, thanks, good food and great friends!