This year

I wrote this column about the end of 2009.

Parents and children

After Mia was born, I was surprised that I continued to be somebody's daughter.

When you're growing up, you think of your parents as Parents with a big P. Parents do important Parent-type stuff. They Pay The Bills, File Taxes, Have A House, Have Kids and do other really Important Things that seem light years away.

In the first three months of Mia's life, I'm pretty sure I've called friends and relatives about 7 million times to ask questions. Am I doing things right? Is she happy? Is she healthy? What does it mean when she cries this way or that? Am I doing enough to stimulate her, engage her, teach her, comfort her, love her? I know I'll call for advice millions of more times.

It isn't until you're completely responsible for someone else do you realize how vulnerable you really are.

And it wasn't until I started facing that vulnerability and overcoming it did I realize that my parents must have felt that way, too. My parents probably called their parents a million times and asked about what to do for me. They were kids, too.

You think of you parents as superheros who were born somewhere around age 40. Parents with a big P. They already know everything. You can't imagine there was a time in their lives when they didn't. But as I've transitioned into this new phase of life, it's given me a new appreciation for all of my parents.

When you become a parent, you don't stop being a child. You're always someone's daughter or son. I appreciate that I can still call my parents and ask for help. It's really a lovely place to be in life.

Christmas with the uncles

We had another Christmas last night and it was fantastic! We went over to Clay Barrett's to see him and boyfriend Marc Bell. Clay made a delicious dinner and we traded presents. (Just FYI ... that fantastic Golden Girls living room set is only temporary. No on in his right man, let alone Clay, would choose that for the long-term.) It was so wonderful. We're so lucky. We have the best friends in the world!

Why babies have pockets, 3

To carry their pacifiers around. You wouldn't want them to fall on the floor and get dirty.

Why babies have pockets, 2.

Why babies have pockets, 1.

The big crawl

Mia crawled! OK, so she only crawled, like, 6 inches. And it was really more like a flounder than a crawl. Nevertheless, it was really exciting! She had some tummy time at Uncle Jeff and Aunt Susie's house in College Station, and she pushed herself forward for the first time. It was a long series of butt-in-the-air, head-in-the-air lifts, but she finally managed to propel herself a little bit. We all cheered. Here's a look at her later attempts.

A Very Texas Christmas

So if you were to guess what is involved in a Texas Christmas, what would you guess? That's right: cowboy hats, cowboy boots and armadillos.

We discovered that Mia has the same hat size as a Build-a-Bear ...


It was really hilarious. She was, of course, very tolerant of our nonsense.

So then she decided to round up her buffalo ...

Once she had the buffalo taken care of, she decided to put on her pink RealTree boots she got from Grandpa Doug and ride the armadillo.

Then it was time to eat. We had the back half of a pig my dad's friend shot. It was extremely creepy looking on the grill, but it was really tasty when we ate.

Mia enjoyed some more cuddle time with her family, particularly Aunt Susie, Uncle Jeff and her great-grandparents, who also happen to be just plain great in general.

While we were in College Station, my dad helped Mia do her first Hog Call. I laughed so hard I'm pretty sure I wet my pants.

Drive time

It took us eight hours to get to College Station but we survived. The roads were fine except for an icy stretch between Pauls Valley and Ardmore. Leigh said I spent an hour of our trip with my eyes open wide and my hands covering my mouth. It's true. Yikes. We stopped in Ardmore and Mia had had enough of our mamby-pamby driving, so she took over. Here she is pulling out of the parking lot.

Merry Christmas!

Mia's first Christmas was white - the first white Christmas here since 1992. Santa was smiling on her. Leigh enjoying going out in boots and shorts.

Our house:

Our street:

We opened presents at the house. I got a Broingtons shirt! (You say it BRO-ingtons. It's a shirt made in honor of three of the Oklahoma City Thunder players - Kevin Durant, James Harden and Jeff Green - who make videos of themselves lip-syncing and then post them to YouTube. They are awesome!) These shirts are REALLY hard to get, but Leigh is AWESOME and found one for me!

After we finished at our house, we went over to Jill's. This little hat Mia got is the cutest!

Now on to Texas for our fourth Christmas in our third state!

Snow drifts

Leigh is a great dad! We realized we forgot Mia's gift from Aunt Connie - a copy of "The Night Before Christmas" with a recording of her reading it - in the car. This is her first night before Christmas, so Leigh braved the 4-degree windchill and 40 mph winds to go get it. He took this picture on the way:

Snow drifts in Oklahoma? The world has gone insane.

Winter weather

The weather is really gross here. Luckily, I'm working from home today, so Mia and I are staying warm. But unfortunately Leigh is at the office. Look how excited he was this morning to leave:

Here's what's happening at 10 a.m.

I'm getting worried about whether we'll be able to go to Texas in the morning. I really want to see my dad and family, but things aren't looking to good. We'll have to play it by ear tomorrow.

Things are getting worse. It's crazy! There's a blizzard warning for a big part of the state and winds are getting up to 50 mph! Here's the front of our house at noon: