When Annelise was faced with a birthday cake all ablaze on her 2nd birthday, her reaction was the most priceless I have ever seen. Not long ago, we celebrated Michael's 2nd birthday and I have been wanting to compile all of our 2nd birthday video footage in order to make the side-by-side comparison of how all our children reacted to the strange phenomenon of lighted candles juxtaposed with the whole room singing and grinning at them. Turns out, all five of them produced distinct reactions fundamentally rooted in their personalities. It's actually quite remarkable. I won't list my perception of these personality traits but will allow you to draw your own conclusions. Just know that my children themselves made comments along these lines when they watched the video.
I also decided to include footage of their first steps since this is such a precious moment and worth re-visiting! So sadly, I came to learn that we did not capture this moment for Annelise! Aaargh! Turns out, our camera was broken at the time and now that I think back on it, I remember thinking to myself that I should try to borrow a camera or do something!!! Sadly, I disregarded that intuition and have to settle now for her earliest steps on camera which is Christmas 2009....probably a month or so after the actual event.
My favorite thing about Christmas is the music! It is the most effective way to help me remember the Savior. It also explains a lot about why I invest so much time and energy into the music education of my children. This year we put so much effort into learning our Christmas music that when all was said and done I wanted make a compilation video to journal our exploits. I don't expect anyone to watch it all the way through except for myself. But I can assure you that I will be watching it enough times through for all of us. Both to enjoy my children and the beautiful music they are privileged to make, and to make myself feel better for not being able to keep my house clean. Ever.
