Embrace the camera: december 15

Cooking dinner is one of my favorite parts of the day... I make myself a nice cup of tea, and chop and simmer, and stir to my heart's content. Pretty much
Sometimes it's more chaotic I'd someone's needy at that point, but either way, I still LOVE making dinner and relish the time to watch everything come together. I love the way food changes when it cooks. Or like today, when it bakes. Here's Hannah and I making some banana muffins...in some delicious light! It's no wonder this sunny spot is a favorite of mine, huh?

Cranky but sweet

I don't know what triggers it, but somehow I seem to have a pretty cranky girl on my hands.
Maybe she just needed a nap.
Ha.

Things to be thankful for...

This girl. Fun times at her first preschool feast (in full native american garb, of course). Extra time at home with the family. Children who delight in the little things. Good wotkouts with great friends. Wandering "over the river and through the woods to Mema's house" for Thanksgiving. Hikes with our little family. Time to putter around in the garden. And so many more! Hoping you are feeling blessed this Thanksgiving! Count those blessings, big and small!

So thankful for netflix!

I will probably forget this someday, but just in case i wanted to save a little slice of life today, because I know it won't always be like this: We had a crazy busy weekend... sick baby. Micah replaces living room floor. Two trips to IKEA. Lots of sawing and all of our furniture in the kitchen (Hannah actually loved eating on the couch in the kitchen -ha!) And I've got grades galore to be checking before progress reports go out tomorrow! Hannah is home from preschool today... and we're trying really hard to get it all done together. So far, she's mellow enough to love the couch bed I made her, and is happily streaming Madeline episodes from Netflix! Thank God for this modern technology... I know there were a few Felicity episodes that saved my sanity during noisy naptimes this weekend, too, but even better, I love how delighted she is with these sweet programs, and its so crazy convenient to find another good program for her, so she will stay still and drink her fluids!
As for me, I'm pouring another cup of coffee, washing the sheets that Hannah puked on last night, calling the pediatrician, entering late grades and citizenship, and preparing for bible study and an Argentina meeting later on this afternoon! Wow.
And I wonder where the time goes on the weekend! Hope yours was good!

It's the little things...

We had a great conversation with good friends last night, and somewhere along the way we brought up romance, and it must have stuck with Micah, because I found this when I got home this morning! Talk about quick results! I love this. It totally made my day!

Favorite library book of the month

Potato Joe. It's a counting book. I can't even tell you how many times

we have read it in the past two months. That's right. Two months. I definitely had a library fine today, but it was worth all 875 pennies. Look at that happy little reader!

Pumpkins for poopoo

I know its gross to write about this, but we've been potty training since June 1. Hannah figured out how to pee in the potty in two days, and has been pretty much accident free ever since. Sounds easy right? Not so much. She has pooped her pants every.single.day.since. she has pooped in the potty a few times, but that was really just a matter of "timing the pitch"...she didn't quite go in there all by herself. Well, time to brag a bit. Today she did it. She's back on the bucket potty, but she went in quietly all by herself and pooped in it. Her motivation? Mellowcreme pumpkins. I got the idea from Joy's Hope and thought I'd give it a shot. It works. Like a charm!   (At least for today)!

Me and my blender.

I had to laugh a little when I recently bought a small blender, and of came with a sippy top.... designed to drink straight from the blender, as of its just too much effort to put the drink in a cup, ha! Well, it turns out it's genius... I can often be found sipping my protein shake straight from this blender, just before washing it so I can do it all again! Here I am, just back from my morning stroll with Gus. Bringing the blended full of morning Shakeology was a first today... sometimes I wonder what the neighbors might think. At least it's so dark they can hardly see... I was so happy with my lazy little blender there!

Embrace the camera: September 29

For one reason or another, dinnertime has always been a rough time for Hannah. We try all kinds of different games to make it fun for her: everyone takes a bite at the same time, Daddy shows her a scab when she takes a bite (not my favorite, but it seriously worked for a week or so), fun cookie cutter shapes, eating races, and of course, the airplane. Micah is really good at making these games up, and here's the latest: moustache fun! This makes her laugh every time... can't be cranky when you're pretending to rock a 'stache! Aren't they cute?

Go check out some more fun photos like this one here Enjoy, and Happy Thursday!

Embrace the camera: september 22

Happy birthday to Micah!

Yesterday was Micah's birthday. Even though he does not care about his birthday, to me, it's a really big deal to make it awesome. Because it's the day he was born. My life is better because of him, and I love to celebrate it! Simply, though. That's what he wants. Well, here are some fun details from the day, and a photo that begged to be shared: cinnamon rolls and bacon in the morning (I baked both in the oven. At the same time. Didn't think it would work, but so thrilled it did, because I didn't want to reek of bacon at work. Imagine what high school students would say about that..."she smells like bacon...") New pair of shoes. Hannah stole them in the morning, but Micah had a chance to wear them on our date night: Daphne's for dinner, "The Help" for our movie, and Mint Chip Cold Stone to polish off the end of the evening. In the end he said it was, "perfect." Nailed it! YES! AWESOME!!!

Embrace the Camera: On the way to school

This moment coming to you from Micah's perspective. He does the drop-off for preschool in the morning, whether or not I am home to help with the routine, and this works best for Hannah. She's a wreck if I drop her off, but she seems to calm down much more quickly when Micah drops her off. I think he's better at making a quick exit! Anyhow, I was delighted to find this in my inbox one day at work... gave me a little slice of home life when I needed it most. What a beautiful morning to be headed to school!

Oh ps... I just got a new phone, and the good news is, it's blogger capable, so I can update more often. I have missed writing, and coming in to fall, there's lots to share!!!

Today is the day!

She pooped in the potty!!! Not an accidental, sitting there reading a book - she told me, and she went!
So hard to imagine a moment prouder than this... home alone without Micah this weekend, this is all the payment I needed! Stoked does not even begin to describe the state of my mind right now...
Even though she pooped her pants again like 20 minutes later. At least she did it once. It was still a giant step forward!!!
I will never forget this day. (Especially since I took the time to blog about it. You can thank me later that I didn't post any photos!)

Random Friday Fun

I look at pictures like this...



And realize that they're worth sharing.
Random, as defined by Webster, is: "occuring or done without definite aim, reason, or pattern." If you've spent much time with me, it's easy to see why it's one of my all time favorite words. I most definitely practice random acts of kindness, creativity, prayer, and anything else that might come up (randomly, of course). In this case, it's photography!

I love the Friday Randoms I see posted on some. favorite. blogs. (yes, there's three linked up there!) so I'm super thrilled to be sharing some of mine and linking up to Life Rearranged for the first time this week, thus giving purpose to my randomness, for this week, at least! I love that the one rule is that the pictures must be from a cell phone. Then I don't feel like they have to be perfect, and I remember to pull out the camera when we're out and about. Enjoy!


Homemade onesies for my niece on the way, Kaylee! (Well, at least the applique part)


Hannah rides a skateboard home from Mima and Pa's house. Note that she is only holding on with one hand, and never rolled out from under herself one way or the other (like me). Perhaps it is because she already rides like her dad - look at that stance!


We took a walking field trip to the park with Hannah's preschool! (I had to see how they get like 30 preschoolers to walk in the same direction... I was thoroughly impressed.)


After the field trip, I set up Hannah's blow-up pool for some backyard fun... but she was really cranky and giving me a hard time, so I told her to take a time-out and come back when she was ready to be a sweet girl. She had a tantrum on the timeout spot and promptly passed out for a nap.


A sunset date with the hubs. We ordered our usual sushi from Maki Yaki to go and drove down for a view at Heisler Park. Then we strolled to Gelato Paradiso in town to finish the night off. Simple, yet could not have been more perfect.


We went to the Angel Game with Uncle Gary and Aunt Candi. Great parking, great seats, great company.


It was really hot, though, so when we moved to the shade, Hannah took a great nap. On the spot. Treat for Mommy!


And today, painting at a playdate with our neighbors! So fun!

Life is awesome, and I never want summer to end!

Embrace the Camera - Happy Planes!

 

I'm a day late for Embrace the Camera this week... but I've been saving this one.
4th of July is my favorite holiday, and this is my favorite picture from this year's celebration. It also happens to be almost the only one I took, so good thing I made it count!
Here's Hannah and her Aunt Jules - look at the joy - (they're obviously flying like airplanes). Hannah loves airplanes. Almost as much as she loves fun Aunt Jules. It's been said that aunts are just like mom, only funner, and that is definitely true in this case!

Hannah and Mima

 

What? It's already been a week since my last post? Well if there's a great reason to get back in the swing of things, it's Embrace the Camera. Here's another goodie from the Minnesota trip: Hannah and her Mima on their way to the next plane... she was so proud of how she could roll that suitcase all by herself, even up the the little corridor from the plane to the gate which was probably to steep and tricky for her, actually, but she persevered, and we were last to exit the plane, for sure, but it was a proud moment.
I love this shot, because it shows the cool bond that she has with my mom! She just trusts her: if Mima says so, well ok! For example, I am pretty sure that my mom talked Hannah into pooping on the potty today. Over the phone. Practically the same thing I keep telling her, but it was so much more exciting when Mima says it! I'm telling you, something clicked. Wish I had that on camera.

Embrace the camera: Hannah and Pa

I never get tired of watching Hannah sleep. I probably take almost as many pictures of her sleeping as I do when she's awake.
We had an almost four hour layover in Phoenix last Saturday, and as the trip approached, I was really worried about how Hannah was going to pass the time... I had packed a whole tiny suitcase full of toys and books and activities just for this block of time! Little did I know that she would have some breakfast and then climb up in her Pa's lap and drift off to sleep... so beautiful. It has been so long since I have seen her fall asleep like that, I just kept watching. I love the look on my dad's face too. He's loving every minute. Everyone wins!

Go see other photos of people sharing sweet moments with their little ones at Embrace the Camera this week!

Bob?

Where's Bob? Hannah is still looking for Bob the Cat.
We're just back from our trip to Minnesota, during which Hannah spent much of her time playing with all kinds of new animals and looking for Bob the Cat. When she asked me about him today, I knew I had to post this video!
Here's a quick translation:
woof=dog
beebee=bird
And Bob is, of course, the cat.
More to come from this trip, for sure! I've just got lots to ponder first.

first day of preschool: discovery science center

 

I'm sure Hannah is wondering: "Why can't every day of preschool be like this?" This was the perfect way for Hannah to start preschool because um, I got to go! No separation anxiety today! (Ok... almost. I did have to duck out twice to go install and then return the carseat for her new friend Alex who rode in the car with us today. She got kind of nervous while I left, but seemed rather comfortable with the amazing Mrs. Lucy when I returned!)

She had a blast at the Discovery Science Center:


using the computers

listening to ocean sounds

making friends

learning

playing

creating

dancing

and saying cheese!

Ta-da! A preschooler!

The End.