Up please

The following is a series of shots that are my frequent view of Miss Magdalenne Sanne.  

The girl wants to be picked up (by me) constantly.

"Up!"  

(I'm working on getting her to add the "please")

Now things start to get a little desperate when she doesn't get into my arms a.s.a.p.

"So close, but just not in her arms... oh those arms, that is where I long to be.  Oh those arms, they feel so good to me!  Oh those arms..."  

(That is my random musically-minded brain adding a little soundtrack to what might be going on in her little brain.)

When in actuality, I think it's more along the lines of "PICK. ME. UP. NOW!!!"

Happy now?  You bet she is.

That girl....

Have a great weekend everyone!  We're off to Omaha tonight to see our dear friends, the Peters.  Hopefully I'll remember to take some pics of all the girl craziness to share with you.

Peace!

On Rainy Days

(A little U2 shout-out for Papá)

On rainy days, we'd go swimming out 

On rainy days, swimming in the sound 

On rainy days we'd go swimming out

You're in my mind all of the time

I know that's not enough

If the sky can crack, there must be some way back

For love and only love 

M@18m

That's right -- our "baby" is 18 months today!

Starting to pull a whole lot more attitude...

(A typical example?  Clearing everything off of the table and onto the floor when she's "done" and we don't react quickly enough, or when she's just ticked off about something)

Little exploradora... 

her adventures take her from the depths of my purse, the garbage and the toilet to tumbles down the stairs, off of chairs, and out of beds.  There's no stopping this one.  Curiosity must be sated; bumps and bruises are the price she pays.

Loving books more and more, 

which always gives me twinges of guilt as I know I read so much more to Juliette.

Still on the go, but with a bit more speed!  

Leading me to constantly shout "slow down!" whenever she's not in my arms.

Still (seriously) attached to Cleo the purple dog.

Cleo and the green blankie.  

Makes for awkward walking when she has to carry all that around, 

but carry it all around she will!

Not adding too many words to her vocabulary.  

Her classics are:  "dog", "agua", "mama", "papa", "tita" (for Juliettita); "more", and "up".

Her recent additions are:  "abajo" (down in Spanish); "no", "elbow", "knee", "eye", "ear",

"why" (mimicking Juliette -- the meaning will come soon, no doubt), 

"duck", and several animal sounds.  

Taking her time with words, but always getting her point across!

She follows Juliette around, and even acts like a dog just to be like her animal-crazy sister.  They've been playing more and more together lately -- Juliette even asks her to come and play (!)  It usually lasts just a couple minutes and almost always ends in tears, but we'll take it, and Magdalenne loves it!

Although she's still a squirmer-wormer, she has been a super mommy's girl lately, which has been building up my arm muscles far more than my non-existent visits to the gym.  This one's no featherweight, folks!  As difficult as it is on me for her to be so clingy and needy, I try really hard to remember it won't last long and she'll soon be too big even for super-buff arms to carry.

And I know I keep saying it, but I keep regressing and unwittingly repeating myself: our baby's not a baby anymore!  (Still, I'm going to keep calling her my baby, and I'll probably need to reaffirm the fact that she's not a baby yet again in some future milestone post when I proclaim it at last official - again.)

Happy 18 months on planet Earth, M. Sanne!!  We love you to pieces!

Smiley face from The Lettered Cottage.

35

Who's this, you ask?  Why that my friends, is me -- about 35 years ago:

While we tend to view birthdays as a day all about us, since my venture into motherhood, I have now come to view birthdays (particularly the birthdays of us oldest children) as a day to honor the noble and brave accomplishment of being a parent for so many years.

So thank you, Mom & Dad! 

 Thank you for 35 years of support, education, love, worry, work, laughter, camping, prayer, siblings, card games, acceptance, feeding, projects, road trips, patience, singing, ideas, and so so so much more that I'm only now beginning to glimpse as a I learn about the incredible job of being a PARENT.

You guys are the best -- I love you!!!

Music Moment

Chen had to work both days this past weekend... womp womp.... It's been a tough thing having him gone so much on the weekends.  Family time is pretty rare, particularly family time when we're not trying to get out the door in the morning, or cooking dinner or doing baths in the evening.  On Sunday he came home for lunch, and after everyone finished eating, he realized he still had five precious minutes before he had to leave.  

One of my favorite words in Spanish is "aprovechar" which basically means to "make the most out of something".  

This how we aprovechar'd those five minutes:

Chen got his guitar out and we had an impromptu jam session.  

(Juliette's playing the box drums, in case you couldn't tell.)

It was short but oh so sweet.  

A moment I held dear in my heart as I watched my little family all hanging together, 

just enjoying a song.

A Day at the Domes

Last week, my friend Lisa invited the girls and I to join her for an art festival held at The Domes.  I had never taken the girls to The Domes before, so it was going to be a new adventure for everyone.  

Before we even got inside, the girls were already quite taken with the little water fountains near the entrance  -- Magdalenne's plain delight drew the attention of many as she just stood and laughed at the spouting agua:

Juliette was a little more adventurous with her proximity.

Once inside, it was time to EXPLORE:

Here is our illustrious benefactress:  the only picture I got of her -- I'm so terrible! -- but it's so Lisa with her cute dress, purse and Starbucks in hand...  :)

Magdalenne expresses her fondness for Seurat's pointilism technique, 

which she articulates through -- what else -- pointing!

Frolic, frolic, frolic....

My little lovely.

And the three of us in a rare shot together, though I am looking fairly insane, which I suppose isn't so rare...

Have a great week!!

B&W happies

Just some happy girl pics to end the week:

(I really love that she has pasta stuck all over her and doesn't seem to mind a bit!)


Have a great weekend, everyone!!!