We went to the beach yesterday. It was our first time this year (and Dorothy's first time ever!) We had a lovely time, and I took precisely zero pictures, because I had my hands full enough with two little girls and all the gear that entails, and I didn't want to add an expensive-to-replace camera into the mix. I would have snapped a cell phone picture or two, but my battery was almost dead, and I figured I should save the battery for potentially urgent phone calls.
So, here are the pictures I didn't take:
Mama, with a baby on her back, dragging a laden stroller across the sand.
Dorothy, in her little blue hat and long-sleeved bathing suit (that still fit Valerie last summer), shoving a fistful of sand into her mouth the moment I set her down.
Valerie making a sand angel.
All three of us, sitting in the shallow water (sheltered from the waves by a sand dune), Valerie filling her buckets with wet sand.
Dorothy shoving fistfuls of mussel shells into her mouth, with Mama trying desperately to stop her.
Dorothy standing in the bucket so she can't reach any sand or shells, chewing on a bubble wand while Valerie fills the bucket with water until it overflows.
Mama building sand castles, and Valerie giggling hysterically as she smashes them flat.
Dorothy fast asleep in the shade.
Valerie sitting in the hole we dug, asking for more water, because the water sinks away almost instantly every time we fill it.
Naked 2.5-year-old screaming in the cold shower as I try to rinse her off.
Naked 8-month-old screaming in the cold shower as I try to rinse her off.
Two little girls fast asleep in their car seats as we pull up to the house.
Thursday, June 30, 2011
June Road Trip Photo Post
There is quite a blog post backlog in my brain right now, and I think it's time I started just throwing stuff up here to make room for coherent thoughts in case they ever decide to make a reappearance. Until then, photos and half-formed sentences.
Ten years ago (June 9, 2001), Jeremy and I got married. We spent the first two nights of our married life at a lovely B&B with a king-sized bed. It seemed ridiculously large.
Ten years later, we stayed at a hotel in Buffalo for my cousin's wedding. It had a king-sized bed, which now seemed to be just the right size.
Classic family picture at the wedding reception - Half of us look okay.
We had some friends watch the girls at the hotel for the second half of the wedding reception so we could go back and enjoy some kid-free time. (Which, for Mama means dancing, and for Daddy means playing with the settings on the camera. Win-win, because he got some pretty good dancing pictures.)
On Sunday, we drove Jeremy to the train station so he could go back to work on Monday, then the girls and I bounced around Western New York for a few more days.
We spent the day in Niagara Falls with my friend Sarah. Both girls fell asleep. (Valerie slept in the stroller for FOUR HOURS!)
Then we went to visit my friend Nicki, who has five sons, a farm, and a baby girl 2 days younger than Dorothy.
I let the older boys play with my camera, and they took hundreds of pictures, some of which were pretty good.
And there is so much more I would like to say, but I need to finish this quickly or it will never get done (like the other version of it that has been sitting in my drafts folder for weeks). Here's to good times with the best kind of family and friends - the kind you can go months without seeing but pick up right where you left off without missing a beat. I love you guys!
P.S. There are way more pictures than this up on Flickr. Click on the black and white farm photo to see the slideshow.
Ten years ago (June 9, 2001), Jeremy and I got married. We spent the first two nights of our married life at a lovely B&B with a king-sized bed. It seemed ridiculously large.
Ten years later, we stayed at a hotel in Buffalo for my cousin's wedding. It had a king-sized bed, which now seemed to be just the right size.
Classic family picture at the wedding reception - Half of us look okay.
We had some friends watch the girls at the hotel for the second half of the wedding reception so we could go back and enjoy some kid-free time. (Which, for Mama means dancing, and for Daddy means playing with the settings on the camera. Win-win, because he got some pretty good dancing pictures.)
On Sunday, we drove Jeremy to the train station so he could go back to work on Monday, then the girls and I bounced around Western New York for a few more days.
We spent the day in Niagara Falls with my friend Sarah. Both girls fell asleep. (Valerie slept in the stroller for FOUR HOURS!)
Then we went to visit my friend Nicki, who has five sons, a farm, and a baby girl 2 days younger than Dorothy.
I let the older boys play with my camera, and they took hundreds of pictures, some of which were pretty good.
And there is so much more I would like to say, but I need to finish this quickly or it will never get done (like the other version of it that has been sitting in my drafts folder for weeks). Here's to good times with the best kind of family and friends - the kind you can go months without seeing but pick up right where you left off without missing a beat. I love you guys!
P.S. There are way more pictures than this up on Flickr. Click on the black and white farm photo to see the slideshow.
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
I think she's signing!
This morning, Dorothy was sitting on my lap, and I noticed her opening and closing her hand. This is the sign we use for nursing, so I asked her if she wanted nursies. She gave me a big smile, latched on, and had a good, long feeding. She only ever nurses when she is actually hungry, so I was a little less willing to write it off as a coincidence as I was the first time Valerie signed at me (since Valerie would nurse at any and all opportunities). Still, I wasn't completely convinced.
Then, at lunch, I put her in her high chair with some turkey, and she kept eating it, and looking at me for more. After her fourth helping, when she was finally full, she looked up at me, smiled, and stuck both hands straight up in the air - which is almost the sign for "all done". She kept smiling as I cleaned her up and got her out of her seat.
By George, I think she's getting it!
Then, at lunch, I put her in her high chair with some turkey, and she kept eating it, and looking at me for more. After her fourth helping, when she was finally full, she looked up at me, smiled, and stuck both hands straight up in the air - which is almost the sign for "all done". She kept smiling as I cleaned her up and got her out of her seat.
By George, I think she's getting it!
Monday, June 27, 2011
Shopping with everyone's favorite aunt
After a 17-month reprieve, Aunt Flo came to visit this weekend (and caught me completely unprepared). We went shopping today, and let me tell you, she is a very demanding houseguest.
AF: CARBS!
JA: No, first we need some meat. Let me grab a rotisserie chicken. Oh, they are out of chickens. I guess we'll get a turkey breast.
AF: Turkey breast? THAT MEANS TURKEY DINNER! STOVE TOP STUFFING! GRAVY! CRANBERRY SAUCE! MASHED POTATOES!
JA: No, we don't have time to make mashed potatoes. And the boxed stuff sucks. Can we just get frozen french fries?
AF: AND CARBS!!!
JA: Potatoes are carbs.
AF: BREAD!
JA: Okay, we do need bread for sandwiches. How about this nice whole wheat--
AF: FLUFFY WHITE ITALIAN BREAD WITH NO REDEEMING QUALITIES! AND THOSE DONUTS ARE BUY ONE GET ONE FREE!
JA: Okay, you can have the white bread--
AF: AND BAGELS!
JA: --and bagels. But we don't need donuts.
AF: Fine. Cheesecake, then. You wanted cheesecake yesterday, remember?
JA: But...
AF: CHEESECAKE!!
JA: Alright, cheesecake. Let's see, we also need juice, veggies, eggs--
AF: LOOK!
JA: What?
AF: CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIE DOUGH! IN A TUBE!!
JA: We don't need cookie dough. We just bought a cheesecake.
AF: BUT IT'S IN A TUBE! YOU CAN EAT IT STRAIGHT OUT OF THE TUBE! TUUUUUBBBBBEEE!!!!!
JA: Fine. Cookie dough. In a freakin' tube. Can we go now?
AF: Pickles?
AF: CARBS!
JA: No, first we need some meat. Let me grab a rotisserie chicken. Oh, they are out of chickens. I guess we'll get a turkey breast.
AF: Turkey breast? THAT MEANS TURKEY DINNER! STOVE TOP STUFFING! GRAVY! CRANBERRY SAUCE! MASHED POTATOES!
JA: No, we don't have time to make mashed potatoes. And the boxed stuff sucks. Can we just get frozen french fries?
AF: AND CARBS!!!
JA: Potatoes are carbs.
AF: BREAD!
JA: Okay, we do need bread for sandwiches. How about this nice whole wheat--
AF: FLUFFY WHITE ITALIAN BREAD WITH NO REDEEMING QUALITIES! AND THOSE DONUTS ARE BUY ONE GET ONE FREE!
JA: Okay, you can have the white bread--
AF: AND BAGELS!
JA: --and bagels. But we don't need donuts.
AF: Fine. Cheesecake, then. You wanted cheesecake yesterday, remember?
JA: But...
AF: CHEESECAKE!!
JA: Alright, cheesecake. Let's see, we also need juice, veggies, eggs--
AF: LOOK!
JA: What?
AF: CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIE DOUGH! IN A TUBE!!
JA: We don't need cookie dough. We just bought a cheesecake.
AF: BUT IT'S IN A TUBE! YOU CAN EAT IT STRAIGHT OUT OF THE TUBE! TUUUUUBBBBBEEE!!!!!
JA: Fine. Cookie dough. In a freakin' tube. Can we go now?
AF: Pickles?
Tuesday, June 07, 2011
Hour-a-Day April: A Month Later
I got a lot of things done during my HADA month. But I got a lot more things not-quite-done. Then May was Crazy-Busy-Running-Around month (CBRAM!) and I barely kept up with fell completely behind on the everyday stuff, and the HADA projects were all but abandoned.
So here is where we stand as of today, on the bedroom and closet sorting projects, by way of annotated photographs:
The hallway and closet didn't fare too badly, actually. If I just made a massive Goodwill run, most of that would be taken care of. The bedroom, however, is a different story. Remember those pictures where you could actually see the floor? Sigh.
But, in spite of the seeming chaos, most of the unfinished projects in the bedroom are *almost* completed. That box of winter clothes? I just need to put a lid on it and move it downstairs. Those boxes of Christmas stuff? I need to shuffle things around a bit to make the lids close, but then they can go in the top of the closet. All those clean clothes (present in every picture) that need to be put away? That only takes a few minutes. So why don't I do them? Because whenever I have five minutes, there is always something else that more urgently needs my attention.
Maybe I'll do HADA again in August (which conveniently starts with the same letter as April, allowing me to use the same acronym), and focus on ACTUALLY FINISHING THINGS.
Speaking of finishing things, I may not have completed the projects themselves, but I totally completed my HADA goal of spending an hour every day on something I don't usually make time for. I think I still owe myself a gooey chocolate dessert.
So here is where we stand as of today, on the bedroom and closet sorting projects, by way of annotated photographs:
The hallway and closet didn't fare too badly, actually. If I just made a massive Goodwill run, most of that would be taken care of. The bedroom, however, is a different story. Remember those pictures where you could actually see the floor? Sigh.
But, in spite of the seeming chaos, most of the unfinished projects in the bedroom are *almost* completed. That box of winter clothes? I just need to put a lid on it and move it downstairs. Those boxes of Christmas stuff? I need to shuffle things around a bit to make the lids close, but then they can go in the top of the closet. All those clean clothes (present in every picture) that need to be put away? That only takes a few minutes. So why don't I do them? Because whenever I have five minutes, there is always something else that more urgently needs my attention.
Maybe I'll do HADA again in August (which conveniently starts with the same letter as April, allowing me to use the same acronym), and focus on ACTUALLY FINISHING THINGS.
Speaking of finishing things, I may not have completed the projects themselves, but I totally completed my HADA goal of spending an hour every day on something I don't usually make time for. I think I still owe myself a gooey chocolate dessert.
Wednesday, June 01, 2011
Seven Months Old!
Dear Dorothy,
Well, you're seven months old, and the whirlwind of summer is upon us. Your monthly letter is 12 days late this month, and even your birthday photo shoot was 3 days late. I promise we've been busy with fun stuff, though. I'm behind on my blogging, too, so this letter is not only late, but it is also a cheat, because I'm going to dump all of my "what we've been doing this past month" stuff in here, too. There's also a decent chance I will abandon proper sentence structure and throw a bunch of fragments up here. Good thing you're too young to care.
First Easter.
Too interested in the world around you (and how to put parts of it into your mouth) to look at the camera.
You started solid foods this month, and you are absolutely loving it. You are adventurous with new foods, and while you might pass over the carrots for the broccoli at one meal, you'll pass over the broccoli for the carrots at the next. You are also proving to be extremely adept at picking things up and putting them in your mouth, which is awesome when I put awkwardly-shaped food in front of you (and less awesome when you find random things like rubber bands on the floor).
Backyard weather and sisterly love.
So close to crawling!
Road Trip!
We decided to break in our new minivan, and took a girls-only road trip (Daddy had to work).
We went to Vermont to visit my sister and her family. First time meeting your cousins N. and T.!
Then on to Ottawa, to visit Grandma and my brother's family. I'm sorry, I forgot to get a picture of you with your cousins A. and J. (Wasn't it thoughtful of my siblings to name all of their kids with different initials?)
Mother's Day with Grandma.
Babywearing in the tulips.
Then a quick stopover in Watertown to visit some of Mommy's friends from college. You got to meet Mikey, who is only 10 days older than you!
Then, I blinked, and the month was over. We went away to Camp Nerdly for the weekend the day you turned 7 months old, and I was too busy to do a photo shoot all weekend. When we got back, I had Jeremy hold you up in front of a tree, and quickly snapped a bunch of pictures. It may have been our most successful photo shoot ever, oddly enough, which makes me wonder if all the preparations I usually take are worth it. Or maybe we just got lucky. Either way, we got a whole bunch of really nice pictures, at least one of which will be going on the wall. The trouble will be picking just one.
Sorry for turning your birthday letter into a huge photo dump post. I probably could redeem it with a good, sappy concluding paragraph, but the real life you needs me right now, so I'm going to sign off. I love you, sweet baby.
Love,
Mama.
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