I have a new alarm clock. It’s not very reliable, as I can not set it. I never know when it’s going to go off. It doesn’t have a snooze and that is a major inconvenience. It has no radio or a funky buzzing sound. It’s not one of the old school round bell ringing clocks from the 50’s. However, this clock is very rare.

What this alarm does have far outweighs what it doesn’t. My new alarm always makes me feel good when it wakes me in the morning. My new alarm wakes me in the most gentle way, no jolting me out of a dead sleep. I look forward to my new alarm going off, no matter how early it wakes me. OK, maybe not too early.

My new alarm clock is Elle.

Lately, when Elle wakes up she quietly walks into our bedroom, works her way to my side of the bed, puts her hands on the side and slightly pulls herself up until she can just see over the mattress. As I hear her working her way up the side of the bed, I open my eyes and my new alarm clock has started my day.

I have the best alarm clock in the whole world.

Morning Daddy!!!

“I want to give Santa a hug.”

Elle, after opening her last present.

Elle and I went skiing today for the first time. We had a blast. We rented her, a pair of her very own skis and then headed to the gondola at Beaver Creek.

I learned a lot about Elle today. She is a very focused young lady. I dont think she spoke but 10 words the entire time, and half of them were in response to me. She was completely focused on the task at hand. No emotion on either side of the emotional spectrum.

Once on the slope she did awesome. Elle has unbelievable balance. Gliding down the bunny hill all by herself was a cake-walk. She looked like a pro!

One of the few things Elle did say was, can I go over there, pointing to a steeper hill.

We gave it a try. She was doing great until her head of steam became a bit much and she did a face plant. Ouch!

Like a pro she just jumped up. I was blown away to watch a two year old face plant and just shake it off.

I had a blast with her. She was unbelievably low maintenance. No crying, no complaining (it was snowing and windy) just skiing.

Ellen asked how did you know when she was done. It was simple, at the end of a run. I walked up to her and she said; “Can we go home now?” That was is it, nothing more, nothing less.

So we went home.

The girls and I went to Afternoon Tea the other day and had a blast. We went to the Hotel St. Julien in Boulder. It was a Saturday. We had reservations for 3. It was awesome. It was a gorgeous day. The Hotel Julien does Tea every Saturday. The table was beautifully set with glass tea pots and cups for each of us. Set in the lobby, the pianist played and a fire burned in the giant glass fire place.

The girls loved it. The each had their own tea setting. We ordered a black current tea. It was delicious. The waitress brought a 3 tiered tray containing finger sandwiches, fruit, and scones. Kenna and Elle didn’t care much for the food. Kenna spit out her blueberry scone. Elle spit out the chicken sandwich. Despite the disdain for the food, they LOVED the tea. They went through 3 pots each.

For me it was an amazing experience. It was magical, from getting ready to go and doing their hair, to Valet Parking and getting out of the car. It was special to spend time with the girls, just me and them doing something unique and “girly”. We are going to make this a tradition. We’ll go a couple of times a year. It’s going to be fun to watch how the experience changes as they grow. And as they grow, and come into themselves, hopefully we will always have afternoon tea to keep track of it all.

Thanks Kenna. Thanks Elle. I had a wonderful time. -DADDY

The History of Afternoon Tea:

Afternoon tea dates back to late 1700s to the early 1800s by the seventh Duchess of Bedford, Anna whom was waiting for Queen Victoria. In her time, large breakfasts were followed by small lunches and late dinners. Due to the unusual meal schedule, she often felt an emptiness at which point she instructed her servants to serve tea and little cakes in her room. The experience was so extraordinary, she repeated it every afternoon. Over time, the custom of tea became established only beginning with the upper class. As tea continued to gain popularity, different styles and venues began to open for the general public.

Palindrome-pal⋅in⋅drome [pal-in-drohm]
–noun
1. a word, line, verse, number, sentence, etc., reading the same backward as forward

Elle’s name is a palindrome and I think she has taken it to heart. Elle has this very interesting habit of doing things backward or the opposite. She reads books upside down. She says green light “stop” and red light go. She asks to have her window put up, when she wants it down and down when she want is up. She wants her jacket off because it’s too cold and wants her jacket on because it’s too hot. ellE does a number of thing backwards and just maybe, it’s not by mistake.

They say names have no impact on the a child’s personality or lot in life. With this palindrome, I’m not so sure.

Kenna spent the entire year in dance class. She went every Wednesday. What can I say? This is the result. I cried through the whole thing.

A star is born.