Huh? Whaddya mean? We're right here.

Hi. Where y'all been?

You take a 32-day blogging hiatus and email starts rolling in, wondering if everything's OK. I can assure you everything is great... and we appreciate the concern.

Life is crazy for everyone, so I won't offer a long-winded explanation of how busy we seem to be. Suffice to say that, for some reason, we just haven't totally found our daily groove since the holidays and move. But it's coming. I feel it.

UPDATES ON HOT TOPICS
The twins: Sonja's hanging in there like a champ (although her hips have been giving her some pain and she feels like "somebody is prying my pelvic bone open with a crowbar"), and the buns in the oven are cooking well. At the last ultrasound, they were each at the average size for a single pregnancy -- exceeding the normal size for twins.

This may be old news for everyone, but we did find out that we have one boy and one girl on the way. Names are pretty much settled on, but we'll keep those secret -- just in case a late contender comes flying around the outside and overtakes the favorites at the finish line.

The move: We're pretty much settled in, although I'm currently sitting in the one room that still contains six big boxes full of knick-knacks and other non-essential items. And the two-car garage is only capable of holding one car, since it's full of random stuff that needs to find a more permanent home.

Zoe struggled with the move for a while. Each day on the way home, she'd ask if we were going to our old house or our new house. And she wasn't thrilled when the answer was "new house" each time. We tried to explain that Shelby lived in our old house now, and our new house had lots more room for her to play. She wasn't buying it. "I want to go live with Shelby," she told us one day. "But is that a boy or a girl?" (A boy, for the record.)

I think the move caused a little bout with separation anxiety. Drop off at daycare was pretty tough for a couple weeks, and she told Aunt Tephs the past few Mondays that she didn't love her any more -- she wanted her to leave and Mommy and Daddy to come home (this after she excitedly asked all weekend if Monday was Aunt Tephs day, of course).

But I think that's all behind us. As I type this, Zoe is in Bay City with Busia and Dziadzia and at last report had only asked about us -- Mommy, specifically -- once. (Note to self: Three years from now, when Sonja and I are trying to remember the last movie we saw in a theater, the answer is Juno. Good. Really good, in fact. But not Best Picture-worthy, IMHO)

NOW FOR THE OLD STUFF
So, that's pretty much where I was going to end. But I was outvoted 1-to-1 in the Savannah Lane version of the democratic process. While my profession keeps me focused on the news-worthiness of a story, maternal instincts are more focused on the documentation of memories.

Since this blog (and the hard-copy version of it we maintain) essentially serves as Zoe's baby book, the editor informed the staff writer that he has more work to do. I guess you, the reader, can decide if you still want to know what we've been up to since Dec. 17 by continuing to scroll or returning to your daily lives.

(I'll give you a moment to decide...)

We've talked enough about "the move," but it'd be remiss of me not to pick up where I said we'd pick up at the end of that long-ago last post. Sonja's family showed up en masse for move-in day and we had that monster of a truck empty -- and stuff pseudo-put away -- in what seemed like a remarkably fast time. We're so thankful for their help -- and for everyone's help leading up to and following the move. It's great to have so many family and friends willing to help out... but I can assure you we'll never do it without paid movers again!

On with the update, which coincidentally starts off on Christmas Eve morning in Newaygo. That's where "the twins" -- or a molded plastic version of them -- made their first appearance, compliments of Honey and Papa.

Zoe says she's excited about being a big sister, and she talks about her brother and sister frequently. But if the way she treats her twin dolls is any indication, we may have to keep the baby boy at a safe distance. She frequently takes Sister (that's the girl doll's name) into bed with her, but tosses Brother (you guessed it) aside, saying he can't sleep in the bed. Only girls, she says, as she accumulates her pink-hued stuffed animals for bedtime and leaves Brother to fend for himself in the corner of the bedroom, among the lion, bear, frog, horse and other "boy" animals.

So, chances are the real baby sister will be more likely to be invited to play with these puzzles and blocks:

Christmas Eve night it was off to Aunt Shawn's for a full family party. Here cousin Danni helps Zoe open Hi Ho Cherry-O, which has become a playtime favorite. ("I got an idea. How bout I be the cherries and the apples and you be the blueberries and the oranges. How bout that? Wouldn't that be silly?")


Later, Zoe and cousin Alix snuck away for some play time in Aunt Shawn's basement:


Here Zoe asks Papa why her friend Charlie gets to take up three seats while there are 25 humans in the house. (OK, not really... but I thought that was funny.)

Next, it was off to Bay City where Zoe wondered on Christmas morning, "did Supa Busia really say it was OK to play ball in the house?"

Convinced they had permission, she gave it a go... although cousin Zachary (perhaps not convinced yet himself) couldn't bear witness:

"Ten bucks? Woohoo. Now this is a tradition I can dig."

Some of the current generation of little ones gather around Supa Busia while Nick J. -- who held the "little cousin" title himself for a decade (give or take, right? How many years between Nick and Jeff?) looks on.

Next, we headed back to Busia and Dziadzia's house -- where Christmas festivities officially outgrew the living room and had to be moved to the basement. Here Busia helps Zoe start digging into her pile of presents, which slightly edged Aunt Tephs' in mass for the second straight year:

The highlights included a nifty little art table (below left) from Busia and Dziadzia and a sparkly new tricycle from Aunt Tephs. She's getting better at peddling around the basement... but steering might take some serious summer road work.

Before we headed home, a dance session -- to a new CD of children's music -- broke out in the "cat's bedroom," as Zoe calls it. Sonja and I now hear "Pop Goes the Weasel" in our sleep. ("It's number six. Put it on number six, guys!")

The end.

Of Christmas, that is. But wait, there's more.

It's been so long that we've posted... there was a second family visit. Honey, Papa, Aunt Shane, Alix and Danni stopped over for a weekend of help/fun. Papa and I cleared out our storage unit -- creating the aforementioned stockpile in the garage -- while Honey and Shane helped put up some window treatments (no longer called curtains, apparently). Thanks!

There was some time for fun, too. Like celebrating Honey's birthday:

And a visit to the Chelsea Teddy Bear Factory. The first time we stopped by, this big ol' boy kinda creeped Zoe out. Apparently she got over it:

ONE LAST NOTE
Finally, here's a little beauty that Sonja and I are taking partial credit for -- considering Ella's parents (Jerome and Heidi) started dating after our wedding. We met Ella for the first time earlier today... she's sweet, and it was great to see her parents for the first time in a while, too!

Whew. That's it for now. Hope your morning coffee isn't too cold. Or your dinner burnt on the stove.

We'll try to get back into the blog groove, so the next one isn't quite so long.