My chest gets a little tight when I look at this picture, my throat a little lumpy. As many people have facetiously said, “This kid just doesn’t get enough love, does she?” Yeah, that’s right. Obviously.

I am a peppermint aficionado.

And as a peppermint aficionado, I know that my dear friend Renae makes the best peppermint ice cream ever. (She made if for me, for my birthday. Isn’t that so cool?) The key to great peppermint ice cream is in the texture. While some flavor admittedly must reside in the cream itself, you must must must have peppermint chunks involved. Most seasonal peppermint ice creams just don’t meet this standard (Blue Bunny, I’m talking about you!). But Renae’s ice cream, mmm-mmm, was so perfect and delicious and exquisite that I could have eaten it all in one sitting.

Williams and Sonoma sells amazing Peppermint Bark. I’ve never eaten a whole container, only the little samples they give away in their stores. (Good thing, too, considering I’ve got to keep tabs on my blood sugars. Darn that diabetes!) Cracker Barrel retails Bob’s Sugar Sticks and they’re the best little peppermint sticks you can find anywhere with their melt-in-your-mouth yumminess.

Because I am a great lover of peppermint, I know that a little goes a long way. Peppermint can be misapplied, and often is during this time of year. Huge hunks of crushed candy canes atop cookies and brownies, large mushy glasses of peppermint shakes, too-sweet cream cheese/peppermint layers—ugh. But peppermint used appropriately, as in a single shot of Peppermint Schnapps, well, it absolutely does make the season brighter.

Merry Christmas, from the Peppermint Girl.

I present my mental health support group. Aka, my bible study. These women mean an awful lot to me.

Dear Livia,

Happy nineteen months! What a big girl you seem to be now. I just got done bathing you and your body is so long and lean these days. You still have baby fat, and a delightfully round tummy, but it’s obvious to me that you’ve turned into a toddler. We used to think you’d have stick-straight hair, but no… You’ve got gorgeous blond-streaked brown curls at the back of your head. I’m so proud to have such a beautiful baby girl. God has blessed me far more than I imagined with you!

You’ve done at least two very endearing things today that I’d like to record for memory’s sake. The first involves sign language and the alphabet. It was my guess, early on, that if I sang the Alphabet Song to you and accompanied it with sign language, you’d someday learn to both sing and sign the alphabet. It’s true that I’m a big word person—I love the English language—so of course I want to expose you early on to the building blocks of our language. I haven’t seen any indication from you that you’ve been paying attention to all the singing and signing… until today. After pressing a button on your Leapfrog Learning Table, and hearing the Alphabet Song, you turned to me and started making signs with your hands! Ah, so cute!!! My heart melted a little bit right then.

The other sweet moment of the day came about when we were reading library books before naptime. While looking for a book to read to you about potty training, I came across books entitled Feet Are Not for Kicking and Hands Are Not for Hitting. Considering your penchant these days for all out whacking when you’re frustrated, I decided it’s never to early to read helpful primers like these. We read all the way through the kicking book and learned that kicking hurts and that feet are better used for jumping, running and kicking balls, not people. After we were done you immediately turned the pages back to a picture of a sad little boy (receiver of a swift kick, no doubt) and said, “OW!” Ha. It was a funny moment. I love it that you recognize owies and yet wonder when you’re going to quit inflicting them. Something tells me it’ll take lots of positive reinforcement and consistency in discipline before we see that day.

You are still the same sweet baby girl that you were the day we adopted you. I love your cuddly, cautious personality… In many many ways you remind me of your Daddy. You are both homebodies; I can see the tension roll off your shoulders when you get back home after being gone for awhile. You both love love love to hug and kiss. On Saturday mornings you have the pleasure of cuddling together for an extended amount of time, usually while watching some cartoon Mommy wouldn’t ever watch. You also are both very observant and like to survey the scene before getting overly involved. And yet, you both love people very much; family and friends are continually on the receiving end of your affections.

Livia Raine, I love hugging you. I love being kissed by you. Very honestly, your undying baby love has made me a better woman.

Forever,
Mama

Little face
Tilts up
To see the douglas fir

A tree
In the house

Little hands
Grasp branches
Needles on the floor

Time
To sweep again

Little eyes
Behold the wonder
Of lights
And stars
And Baby Jesus

Gametime. Lincolnites, what is pictured in this photograph?

Livia + Mirrors + Balls = Lots of Fun.

Deck the halls with boughs of holly,
Fa la la la la, la la la la.
Tis the season to be jolly,
Fa la la la la, la la la la.

Don we now our gay apparel,
Fa la la, la la la, la la la.
Troll the ancient Yule tide carol,
Fa la la la la, la la la la.