On New Year’s Eve, the three of us were invited to a friend’s house for a New Year’s Eve party. He lives with another family in a huge house in the mountains. The family was going to be out of town, and like many times in the past, he was hosting a big shindig. This was the first time we’d been invited as a “family of three.” Another family with a girl just a year older than Claire was also going to be there, so we knew that the three of us would have a good time.
Blizzardous high winds had closed the major interstates and highways around us the night before, and they were all still closed. The problematic road situations were just west of where we were going…so we thought we could make it. The drive up into the mountains was actually much calmer than we anticipated, and we made it without any trouble.
As soon as we arrived, Claire was in her element! She and the other little girl played and played! Claire brought part of her Princess Tea Set and Strawberry Cheesecake to share, and the other little girl brought the dress-up clothes. It was the perfect combination!
You can click on each picture to enlarge it.
Clicking on it a second time will make it even bigger.
Dress-up Costumes!
Two princesses
It was the perfect tea party!
Here is Claire with her party hat and “honker” (as she called it). She actually figured out how to make that thing work by the time we left. Joy. 
Everyone had such a great time!
Claire and the other little girl went to bed at 9pm in separate rooms. Claire was able to use a borrowed pack-n-play that we’d set up in an unoccupied bedroom upstairs, and she went to bed without any fuss at all!
The adults continued with the ringing in of all of the New Years…all three of them. At 10pm, we celebrated with the East Coast people in the room. At 11pm, we celebrated for the Central Time people many of us had left behind, and finally, at Midnight, we rang in the New Year for the Mountain Time Zone. Staying up to ring in the New Year for the Pacific Time Zone was too ambitious, and Daddy and I quietly joined Claire shortly after Midnight…
Claire was ringing in the New Year in the best way possible…
…sound asleep.
Yes, this picture was taken shortly after Midnight, Mountain Time. No, the flash didn’t even make her wiggle. Oh, and the Panda and “Other Puppy” belong to the little girl who let us use her room (she and the rest of her family were ringing in the new year in another city). Claire latched on to them the moment she saw them when we were checking out where she’d be staying. Thankfully, I was able to distract her when we left, and Panda and “Other Puppy” are safe and sound in their rightful owner’s room!
The original plan was to stay the night and then go sledding with everyone the next day. So, we lugged all our snow gear into the house in anticipation of that. Well, things didn’t go as planned. Remember when I fell down the stairs in September? Neither had I. It didn’t even occur to me that sleeping on the floor wouldn’t be as comfortable as it used to be. We had a sleeping pad AND an egg-crate under our sleeping bags, so I thought I’d be fine. It didn’t even occur to me to bring my back-pain medication, because it really hasn’t bothered me for a couple months.
Apparently, the combination of being an old lady and having a delicate back do not mix with sleeping on a hard floor. Who knew?
Needless to say, I woke up with an incredible pain in my back. So, we altered our plans a little and made the trek back home after a large and gorgeous breakfast. I took some of my pain medication, a big nap, and then by the late afternoon, the three of us were able to enjoy some sledding in the back yard. (I have a feeling this was more our speed anyway…but don’t tell Daddy that. He really wanted to go sledding with the other big kids.)
Bundled up, in the snow, and ready to go!
Daddy taking Claire to the top
Daddy pushing Claire down the hill
Momma pushing Claire down the hill on a different sled. It looks like Claire has rolled right off the sled, and she kinda did, but no toddlers were harmed in the making of this documentary; I swear! 
What you can’t hear is Claire screaming with joy, “Do it again, Momma! Do it again, Momma!” Granted, with a different caption, you’d get a different idea from this picture! You’ll just have to take my word for it.
As you can see, Claire loved playing in the snow, and the three of us had a really good time!
So, that’s how we rang in the New Year! Food, friends, fun…it doesn’t get much better than that.
sent to your Email
