tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-373208072024-03-13T21:34:52.535-07:00Domingo and AmaliaStill a view into the goings on of our little family. Now we are trying to keep up with a newborn and a toddler without losing our sense of humor. Learning by trial and error. Life, love and spit up, all common elements for Domingo and Amalia.Alicehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13583237871922530078noreply@blogger.comBlogger413125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37320807.post-70850768611899565082011-06-22T18:38:00.000-07:002011-06-22T19:36:27.709-07:003 years old!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_rVoyGpBYT8hzbFe25Xco3c9k1ASVDfFhF3cHMRXbp-iCch_LnC1Eq9AB8X9AQAhYEmczLNAafBFTOe58VVeehrefuXw8LOXBHT5LqDGwFE_DBJVALUbBe3FxzX4MDiPM41Zbeg/s1600/IMGP5589.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_rVoyGpBYT8hzbFe25Xco3c9k1ASVDfFhF3cHMRXbp-iCch_LnC1Eq9AB8X9AQAhYEmczLNAafBFTOe58VVeehrefuXw8LOXBHT5LqDGwFE_DBJVALUbBe3FxzX4MDiPM41Zbeg/s320/IMGP5589.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5621225342779299186" /></a><br />Amalia-<br />I know it has been a long time since I have posted on this blog, but I would be remiss if I didn't come back to document just how amazing you are on this, your third birthday. (Actually your birthday was yesterday, but I'm sure you'll forgive me for being a day late since we had your party two days early!)<br />You get more and more incredible every day. You have the funniest, spunkiest, orneriest personality of any 3 year old I have ever met. You constantly blow me away with how smart and funny and stubborn you are. You say the most amazing things, letting your father and I know that you are really listening and learning from us, even if we think you aren't. The example I always use is when you gave Daddy his "choices". You test your limits with such gusto it is almost all I can do to correct you without bursting into peals of laughter. Other times it is all I can do to keep my temper in check when you so forcefully and blatantly defy those limits. But it's all part of the learning process. You are never mean spirited, just spirited.<br />This past year you have made the most incredible leaps and bounds in all areas of your development. You have always been a very empathetic, loving, and social baby, but from two to three you have left almost all semblance of babiness behind. <br />You are getting more and more "girly" all the time, without any real support from the other members of your family you are adamant that your favorite color is pink, and all your favorite clothes are pink, food containers, shoes, bags, toys, etc. must be pink. You are still very loving with baby dolls, and have now discovered ponies which you think are the BEST. But at the same time you want to take ballet class, you also want to take karate, so all the girliness is tempered by your desire to kick butt! I will take it.<br />Another area of your personality that has become more apparent is that you are definitely NOT a morning person. You are happiest to sleep in (with mama of course) until 8:00 or 9:00, but that also means that well after everyone else is asleep you are content to chatter away until all hours of the night, using every excuse that your clever little mind can think of (I have to pee, I don't like these jammies, I need to give Daddy a hug and kiss, I have to look out the window, I need a drink of water, I'M NOT SLEEPY!!!!!!!) as you can see, there are quite a few!<br />Your favorite person in the world remains your hero and nemesis Domingo. You will do anything for his attention, even if it is negative. The best is when you play together, which is definitely more often than when you fight with each other. <br /><br />You were born on the longest day of the year so the fact that your favorite song is Here Comes the Sun is so fitting since you fill our lives with sunshine.<br />Happy 36 monthday Amalia. <br />Love Mama<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-OOWpC84ItW6pxOpHWZ_Ff5bQuU1G7nugOxRxw4FrUcDcf0dlL0ZifjMee_k2fsAopy-d6FRH2VGicct2M3Vn5-_1rc0DLL7kD2k5BLjhYaSPqxC6Y3DtdsBuVXj3vh2IcIv_xg/s1600/IMGP5240.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-OOWpC84ItW6pxOpHWZ_Ff5bQuU1G7nugOxRxw4FrUcDcf0dlL0ZifjMee_k2fsAopy-d6FRH2VGicct2M3Vn5-_1rc0DLL7kD2k5BLjhYaSPqxC6Y3DtdsBuVXj3vh2IcIv_xg/s320/IMGP5240.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5621227521737969986" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcjc7tYRu20IaUAZTfw8PaQJliyL4qdv1bY-KvK7ijJRLBkOKFWtRV5GgU0NmD1at-2iZ2MVYC5fV9YOa-q_zTog2-3pd8GpgazSh4wCyCpEUypf14G4yM0qB2v1rVmBWcupDTug/s1600/IMGP5371.jpg"><img style="display:block; 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margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRb6xMbFuruEUZ6_4lwztNncJaY66IfcXwzrHvKWQRWgPhJaq8KaeOktS7uAuLR7xB2OMvwQjcqhPjHPGzQSoDS5c2YTYD8QoK_zi-PIcTrkxgVrLtB0u9OKnf3tiSOv6Ql8vp9w/s320/IMGP5572.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5621225345139969762" /></a>Alicehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13583237871922530078noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37320807.post-69312659264273782232011-04-06T19:00:00.001-07:002011-04-06T19:21:34.810-07:00further proof that they are listening!Amalia has been on a serious roll these days, saying and doing funny things, and really coming into her own in terms of her personality.<br />She will be 3 in a few short months, but she sometimes acts as if she's going into her teens, or like she's already someone's mother!<br />At night our goodnight routine is usually 1.)read a book 2.) say a prayer 3.) goodnight "family" kiss all together. Usually there is a count down to the family kiss. Amalia started this tradition where she does the count down and adds a little exclamation before the kiss, for example the first time it was 3-2-1 OCTOPUS! Cute and funny and of course Domingo has to one up her and exclaim something himself. But lately Amalia's countdown is 3-2-1 "wuv". (She is still not pronouncing ls effectively, but the ws are ridiculously cute, particularly in the love countdown.)<br />Domingo once again had to one up Amalia and his countdown is 3-2-1 "rainbow love." It's all just too much. But that doesn't compare with Amalia's exclamation tonight.<br /> Today in the car, Chris was saying something to her and she said matter of factly "Daddy don't talk to me. I don't want you to talk to me. Here are your choices..." <br />I'm sure I have listed her choices to her in such a matter of fact tone at least a hundred times. Choices between brushing teeth or sitting on the naughty step, or playing with us or continuing to cry in a tantrum in her room and the like. But to hear that parenting rhetoric parroted back with such confidence, such bossiness, that was really something else. <br />I don't really know where she gets that from since really Chris and I are not super assertive bossy people. I might have been more so in my youth, I would have to demur to my parents and older sister on that one, but I can guarantee I never told my mom or dad what to do in such an off handed and natural way, never for a moment thinking this kind of language and tone were not appropriate for a 2 year old to be using at all, let alone with her parents. I guess I should be pleased that we are raising such a self-confident child who understands that this is how you talk to people who are being unreasonable, you have a choice, either do what is right or suffer the consequences, it is all personal choice. <br />As soon as the words, "you have a choice" came out of her mouth I turned to Chris with a smirk on my face and said "are you listening to this?" But any hope of seriousness or trying to make it a "teaching moment" to explain that this is not how children speak to their parents, children do not set the rules, went out the window the minute she set out our "choices". What were those choices you ask? <br />"One: you can kiss me. Two: you can hug me. Three: you can let me eat chocolate." <br />Given those choices, how can you not just love this kid?Alicehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13583237871922530078noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37320807.post-18413867598301328982011-02-18T15:23:00.000-08:002011-02-18T15:28:32.081-08:00could it possibily be?That the ground hog was right? I don't want to jinx it, but after the insane blizzard of a few weeks ago, the weather is starting to look down-right springy. <br />Domingo has been completely and totally disturbed by all the mud an dog poop that has emerged since the snow melted. Amalia is true to form and LOVES jumping in mud and puddles. Let's hope it continues!Alicehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13583237871922530078noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37320807.post-7255830136582181552011-02-03T18:04:00.000-08:002011-02-03T18:43:56.734-08:00Return of the Monthday!Well, not really. But Amalia and I did just go to the doctor for her 2 and a half year check up (a month and a half late-oops!) so we have another stat sheet to put up. And I also took some more pictures of the blizzard that ate the back yard.<br />School is back open tomorrow, and Chris and I are assisting, and taking the bus so that should be interesting. Amalia and I took the train to the doctor's office today, and so she is officially a city-kid. She had no problem and people were really nice and gave us a seat on the super crowded train on the way back.<br />Amalia is doing great. Once again she's still a giant among babies, but she's coming back down to earth particularly in the weight category. I think the hideous cold she had and her less than usually enormous appetite these last few days may have helped a bit though! <br />Weight: 34lbs (90%)<br />Height: 38.5 inches (95%)<br />Head Circ: 20.25(>95%)<br />BMI: 16.25 (50-75%)<br />The doctor was really impressed with how verbal and social Amalia is. She went through a bunch of the ages and stages stuff with her, and she is doing all of the things she would have expected a much older kid to be doing, talking in complete and complex sentences, knowing her colors, shapes, upper case letters(she spelled the word HONEY on a coloring page in the waiting room) and some of her numbers(I asked her to press the elevator button number 4 and she got it right away), she jumps and kicks a ball and can stand on one foot, I don't exactly know why that's on the list but she can do it! So the doctor said, just to keep doing more of the same, and to work on letters and numbers. The only thing she will not do is speak in Spanish for heaven's sake! It makes me cukoo, but I know that she understands most of what is said to her, we just have to keep trying.<br />I remember a little over a year ago I was concerned because she just wasn't talking anywhere near as much as Domingo at her age, and now she is just such a chatterbox! The first thing she said when the Dr. came in the room was "Hi, I'm Amalia, I'm going to be a doctor like you when I grow up!" The doctor was like "whoa! fantastic!" This whole, "be a doctor" thing is totally and completely her invention. I'm sure that since there are loads and loads of MDs in the family, it's only natural for her to hear about it and say that's what she wants to do, but she's taken it to a whole other level of play (and I really can't say that I mind, I'd LOVE it! So long as she never says, "I want to be a lawyer when I grow up!") she makes me wait in the waiting room, she takes my temperature and then gives me a shot and says "Don't cry, now you can get a sticker!" at least she doesn't charge me a $20.00 co-pay!<br />She was so great in the appointment today, I was by myself and a little worried about it, but she was terrific. So maybe it's karma paying me back for just how miserable she was as an infant, because she is really just a joy in her "terrible twos". But man did I earn it!<br />Here are some more winter fun pictures!<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmYvbfb8rc6_KEeGQ-nuNlhpPsc8tgUrZjixUH8DisK2NuAT5aPsWWo1m8pLltMYlXDro269KmhDfm-ud-VmmZtEVAB1sHStroOBzXRH0YSkf1B1xCXvHIqCJm6ut_yq28iIKxww/s1600/IMGP5482.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmYvbfb8rc6_KEeGQ-nuNlhpPsc8tgUrZjixUH8DisK2NuAT5aPsWWo1m8pLltMYlXDro269KmhDfm-ud-VmmZtEVAB1sHStroOBzXRH0YSkf1B1xCXvHIqCJm6ut_yq28iIKxww/s320/IMGP5482.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5569657592389755618" /></a><br />My attempt at shoveling out our car, but I had to give up when Amalia was screaming she wanted to go back inside for hot chocolate.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTwixvLy9ij02MR5n5T4uaOvKWlMewnZD5hvjvkWKV_I5vDMRH9fIaMZTHCQwKQWw0fxMPgb_U6WrFpyjYGi3LBAhDUk7zG-qmXO5opT6ASi_IaYxc0T8FuTtoU74XcJMZYKW3uA/s1600/IMGP5479.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTwixvLy9ij02MR5n5T4uaOvKWlMewnZD5hvjvkWKV_I5vDMRH9fIaMZTHCQwKQWw0fxMPgb_U6WrFpyjYGi3LBAhDUk7zG-qmXO5opT6ASi_IaYxc0T8FuTtoU74XcJMZYKW3uA/s320/IMGP5479.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5569657589948108322" /></a><br />Exhibit A<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKGtL-iqeri1-nnXqOFNPeCvo0XAxPvApqKi_jEZYXRZqg-sqVO3N7Te4egyHCf_7NBbWs8JVFDQhr3WJMmlSYDN0yIa7KzBP1FtCPR4scNHOzxCd5aCW9n_m5A2GXP8iZHUM9Eg/s1600/IMGP5478.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKGtL-iqeri1-nnXqOFNPeCvo0XAxPvApqKi_jEZYXRZqg-sqVO3N7Te4egyHCf_7NBbWs8JVFDQhr3WJMmlSYDN0yIa7KzBP1FtCPR4scNHOzxCd5aCW9n_m5A2GXP8iZHUM9Eg/s320/IMGP5478.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5569657585851095474" /></a><br />Meanwhile Domingo was "swimming" in the snow. He was so ridiculously happy rolling around and eating the snow like a puppy! <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhd9TInGN8Pild0N3IBvkO1tePVR-hBGIeXe_Lc7o3Ec4ZyGVVXrXXcflyrhrwYmZCBbAmjFF5dfC3lmyGmN5G41beLm-wHTGfG87_BvcvAhXucRmgP_nN2lylngYFDt6a7l91ZWg/s1600/IMGP5473.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhd9TInGN8Pild0N3IBvkO1tePVR-hBGIeXe_Lc7o3Ec4ZyGVVXrXXcflyrhrwYmZCBbAmjFF5dfC3lmyGmN5G41beLm-wHTGfG87_BvcvAhXucRmgP_nN2lylngYFDt6a7l91ZWg/s320/IMGP5473.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5569657574816621874" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlqR6S9eF9Njm1ou3vvpv0eAkmNOahyphenhyphenfrjo5N8R8IRh5oGEA5IKJKnoYNdvT-ots1J1fln-fczWtHb4PoY2ZLkaTPadCaARGAw7XuSZ3wWcLseILlFpgPrkOCIsgRXZz9B4khAqw/s1600/IMGP5475.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlqR6S9eF9Njm1ou3vvpv0eAkmNOahyphenhyphenfrjo5N8R8IRh5oGEA5IKJKnoYNdvT-ots1J1fln-fczWtHb4PoY2ZLkaTPadCaARGAw7XuSZ3wWcLseILlFpgPrkOCIsgRXZz9B4khAqw/s320/IMGP5475.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5569657572426895090" /></a><br />In the 5 minutes of outside time, before she became too cold and wet and fun in the snow became unbearable misery. This kid is more like her mom than I ever realized!Alicehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13583237871922530078noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37320807.post-54403126703902192482011-02-02T17:41:00.000-08:002011-02-02T18:04:48.737-08:00bad delinquent blogger makes good!For those of you who still sporadically check on this site (mom), sorry it's been months since an update! I blame facebook. It's so easy to post the funny things the kids say and do and the very occasional picture we take over there, so the blog is woefully neglected. <br />Anyway, here are some long delayed pictures from New Years, school, random, and the great blizzard of 2011! There really was a lot of snow! It was the 3rd biggest snowfall on record, they closed the schools, and Lake Shore Drive! It was pretty wild. We were glad to be warm and cozy in our little house, and then went out to play in all that white stuff! The kids got thrown around in the drifts for a bit but quickly complained they were wet and cold. Maybe there are some of my genes in there after all!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicf2K2gQnXuX2WE6O4WUCV96GJRKxuxJljoK0b9Am1axZ8_sBR9zVR_UyGdsjl3jI-HWYwctxCqYSsfXDYfshfrg3xWi98FUnEtVK1vMkX659FRowyd1DjQiPOrRBWhZBmNfGvig/s1600/DSCN0583.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicf2K2gQnXuX2WE6O4WUCV96GJRKxuxJljoK0b9Am1axZ8_sBR9zVR_UyGdsjl3jI-HWYwctxCqYSsfXDYfshfrg3xWi98FUnEtVK1vMkX659FRowyd1DjQiPOrRBWhZBmNfGvig/s320/DSCN0583.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5569275461062618482" /></a><br />proof that you do love each other, or that we forced you to hug.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh39dby26b-DAv80q-DsKQ23VhQFbc4Yn8InUc90LBS0aOtpM51798P6wuw0ptgQlMCYRyBE6fD7XNMW7LtRG54dyNtNtimyoVJYQ2ipYuvAq_FUM88qKIZret8YMiCMP5YRblo5w/s1600/DSCN0555.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh39dby26b-DAv80q-DsKQ23VhQFbc4Yn8InUc90LBS0aOtpM51798P6wuw0ptgQlMCYRyBE6fD7XNMW7LtRG54dyNtNtimyoVJYQ2ipYuvAq_FUM88qKIZret8YMiCMP5YRblo5w/s320/DSCN0555.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5569275458459849554" /></a><br />Holiday Card 2010- looks like an emo band's cover art<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBkyojVi7e_JVm6gw8uzFNhHiJwM6FcDk8cFrIz3zyFwnMDsFIbxSDPaFHVCIY6APm99xJ2YmNyvcT-3h9XwvWJ5IOjqzDTDUWshGIOJMsPtc7iPoekdVtPvHiafW-qr_WL8xLAQ/s1600/IMGP5416.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBkyojVi7e_JVm6gw8uzFNhHiJwM6FcDk8cFrIz3zyFwnMDsFIbxSDPaFHVCIY6APm99xJ2YmNyvcT-3h9XwvWJ5IOjqzDTDUWshGIOJMsPtc7iPoekdVtPvHiafW-qr_WL8xLAQ/s320/IMGP5416.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5569274610293833266" /></a><br />story time at school.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSIDozOZ2ow4H67tBZsNPIWq0lIwONcYxYQ4jHXeMqUq_vBmeHihw_3QZ2lVMTZIOdT2arW5XSnczAB4yvsTqXpHtX97EOHAfd4ZylHuQxahyphenhyphentKfA9ET6YMq8pRm6wpEfI0fUNpw/s1600/IMGP5421.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSIDozOZ2ow4H67tBZsNPIWq0lIwONcYxYQ4jHXeMqUq_vBmeHihw_3QZ2lVMTZIOdT2arW5XSnczAB4yvsTqXpHtX97EOHAfd4ZylHuQxahyphenhyphentKfA9ET6YMq8pRm6wpEfI0fUNpw/s320/IMGP5421.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5569274606007153122" /></a><br />I'm sure this is the result of some great injustice, like we said no to m&m's for breakfast.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtTkC_S-vSfkoqh1I-9IyL9kOOY_Kj06vijavwEjJBc1Mwh7ieaku4qY5KzRd8cynNmggKv4c2gH69isXPnOWze6DmLnpjzCA_dSCamBVtl3vIdvAJsiPKUHZtG42i7DPY8bLOrA/s1600/IMGP5433.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtTkC_S-vSfkoqh1I-9IyL9kOOY_Kj06vijavwEjJBc1Mwh7ieaku4qY5KzRd8cynNmggKv4c2gH69isXPnOWze6DmLnpjzCA_dSCamBVtl3vIdvAJsiPKUHZtG42i7DPY8bLOrA/s320/IMGP5433.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5569274602394559890" /></a><br />On our way to the Redmoon Winter Pageant. They were very well behaved, enjoyed the show, and Domingo fell asleep at the restaurant under the table, just like I used to do.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoc05c5F3y3lYlvjH8UJ2jj7qGf8Pc2RyI0WjusP3Zop4SkH9cOErJHJjBVJ5s5wC8UvmbhNoQJksKvJ27dftf-NGXQntsxYW-r3wsciWrI8MLMkb6YufE_qyYHEfW8Y457afgBA/s1600/IMGP5446.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoc05c5F3y3lYlvjH8UJ2jj7qGf8Pc2RyI0WjusP3Zop4SkH9cOErJHJjBVJ5s5wC8UvmbhNoQJksKvJ27dftf-NGXQntsxYW-r3wsciWrI8MLMkb6YufE_qyYHEfW8Y457afgBA/s320/IMGP5446.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5569274596184194754" /></a><br />New Year's finery.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEif75Ew99A2jp3TkJ9h5-OWDmPF88gGaVHRdFdoZi5V-WWBr_yUEcljuMYLCMJYPVs3vnwgO7pAnQgdmRd6TsVouVXrRtJVQtPTiMshN-JmQCm8IMfFSK4Wl-StS5WZhAm60ZkHig/s1600/IMGP5442.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEif75Ew99A2jp3TkJ9h5-OWDmPF88gGaVHRdFdoZi5V-WWBr_yUEcljuMYLCMJYPVs3vnwgO7pAnQgdmRd6TsVouVXrRtJVQtPTiMshN-JmQCm8IMfFSK4Wl-StS5WZhAm60ZkHig/s320/IMGP5442.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5569274581728996962" /></a><br />sibs<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPXF1G-ByGU5D-Hf3cN7I8DTo2H7ngbWrKtEzzzzb0mJVuBzTn_MFkG74TDiL851Kc5wXUQDL1Hm9jiX1fWANuiTNfNPfFwVkwNZIoN7VxWUlRemFyG8zP_t7RaForEtdbSxpUvg/s1600/IMGP5456.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPXF1G-ByGU5D-Hf3cN7I8DTo2H7ngbWrKtEzzzzb0mJVuBzTn_MFkG74TDiL851Kc5wXUQDL1Hm9jiX1fWANuiTNfNPfFwVkwNZIoN7VxWUlRemFyG8zP_t7RaForEtdbSxpUvg/s320/IMGP5456.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5569273787232128370" /></a><br />In SB with Farfar<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAM3Eehqut5KutQ_EsrTqi_GE7PSv2wTItYU3GuWQXqLfkGgIIwbP5QvWCRhT-HbzMrFG9BQzuuJyeWyMsKNdrYhtQrvy_d2XBNfjvaqGLnA4zDqaP_7CP9o9_fgOHcu04TtKYBw/s1600/IMGP5439.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAM3Eehqut5KutQ_EsrTqi_GE7PSv2wTItYU3GuWQXqLfkGgIIwbP5QvWCRhT-HbzMrFG9BQzuuJyeWyMsKNdrYhtQrvy_d2XBNfjvaqGLnA4zDqaP_7CP9o9_fgOHcu04TtKYBw/s320/IMGP5439.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5569273782815711922" /></a><br />Amalia looks so full of teen angst in this one!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwES3q68kf9cdMasf9FhCkvEBgWK9olk609IFrjv2kKaDGfueJYe5Kat85m31fB1FGoeKZ0beUiWeCi0Jh2EEm2ZDSCzak6u_TEQAzlW29DOKl_2ZYWiRLHfFTu_7SuV68sL7v5w/s1600/IMGP5440.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwES3q68kf9cdMasf9FhCkvEBgWK9olk609IFrjv2kKaDGfueJYe5Kat85m31fB1FGoeKZ0beUiWeCi0Jh2EEm2ZDSCzak6u_TEQAzlW29DOKl_2ZYWiRLHfFTu_7SuV68sL7v5w/s320/IMGP5440.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5569273771540623842" /></a><br />baby pile!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiR8CavUgc1NjwLYXn6J42dyYDAha_Xz9Vq_PvRJSgZZGzJAVIMo-PMUrVF-XMKgHFExjo7JYM_3aJlkI4zCKisW_R5zV8oDZz_Nj9HPyIwkfSMYIoC_7LucXFeuriGJ0jzD7xFag/s1600/IMGP5463.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiR8CavUgc1NjwLYXn6J42dyYDAha_Xz9Vq_PvRJSgZZGzJAVIMo-PMUrVF-XMKgHFExjo7JYM_3aJlkI4zCKisW_R5zV8oDZz_Nj9HPyIwkfSMYIoC_7LucXFeuriGJ0jzD7xFag/s320/IMGP5463.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5569273762010695042" /></a><br />snowday!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizj6YaWcvEdkLk06gP0TBqwJiXHvqNeEX1FRkPq81jbzM0Qf6RhZs5veiR_aMzz2CowjvVqcKO3tFItd4MF8gSQO8osNrtCOEi7JztUHIYYBshsoqs1fkCbDwUb7ZPD0po1oKKwA/s1600/IMGP5470.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizj6YaWcvEdkLk06gP0TBqwJiXHvqNeEX1FRkPq81jbzM0Qf6RhZs5veiR_aMzz2CowjvVqcKO3tFItd4MF8gSQO8osNrtCOEi7JztUHIYYBshsoqs1fkCbDwUb7ZPD0po1oKKwA/s320/IMGP5470.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5569273752882173570" /></a><br />whee!Alicehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13583237871922530078noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37320807.post-44462643296276728202010-11-13T09:18:00.000-08:002010-11-13T09:21:39.474-08:00JoksterDomingo told me this joke last night, he claims to have made it up himself:<br />What do you call a new born Rhino?<br />A Cry-nocerous!<br />Hilarious.Alicehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13583237871922530078noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37320807.post-48410197486226125362010-10-07T11:52:00.000-07:002010-10-07T14:00:27.859-07:00down memory laneI don't know why, but lately the kids have been really into watching old home videos of themselves and Chris and I from when we were not nearly as grey as we are today. And last weekend my mom had some long-time (notice I didn't say old) family friends over and they watched old home videos of when we were kids and they were so young. It must be something about the fall air. Needless to say, it got me in the blogging mood, and I often go back through the archives and look at how these children have gotten so big. Seriously, who snatched my babies away and replaced them with these giant children? Domingo is just such a boy I can't stand it. We were watching a video of Domi's first bath (not one I've put on this blog since it is a little too full-frontal) and I was dumb-struck by just how small he was. He was so YELLOW! Like a little sweet potato! It cracks me up now to think how defensive I was about it at the time. Also, Amalia LOVES this video and asks for it over and over despite the fact that it makes her a little weepy herself since she gets very distraught by the "baby crying." She is another one. Although all of my photos and videos of Amalia's first days (that were not preserved on this blog) were lost when the computer died, I still remember like it was a moment ago, just how small and delicate and impossibly perfect she was when she was born. Now she is such a child it stops me in my tracks on occasion. She is the queen of "by myself" or "mom let ME help YOU." She also has the need to "tell" you something of the utmost urgency, usually when you are in the middle of talking to someone else. She will grab my face and hold it in her two hands and plea urgently, "mom I have to tell you something." That something is usually what she had for lunch or that she went to the park or that she wants a snack. Her enthusiasm and new found independence are so incredible, particularly considering about a year and a half ago I was so concerned that she wasn't talking enough! HA!<br />Domingo made a comment to me today that normally would have me laughing my head off, but today just made us both sit and think for awhile. He said "mom when I'm a grown up, you'll be so OLD!" Then he said he didn't want me to be old because he always wanted me to be his mom. This child is four and he's thinking about things that are so delicate and sophisticated and hard to grapple with! We talked about it for a while, I explained that I would always be his mom no matter how old he gets, no matter how old I get. That is one of the wonderful and infuriating things about moms, no matter what you do, where you are, who you become, we are always going to be your mom! <br />And as I sit here in our nice cozy living room looking out at the changing fall leaves, I really do have a twinge of bittersweet feeling that these are the last of the baby times for me. That from now on, it will just be looking at pictures and videos not holding and nuzzling feathery soft milky babies. But then I get pounced on by my lion-boy and snuggled by my t-rex girl and I guess I can make do with the baby pictures if I get to keep wrestling with the real deals.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhR2wOoXDwjd5AaS0Zwg9Jq09AKol7RPEm7FSxnVbT4-WANoKcRIL-KTr6yO0lLJNJ7QYmum_D1oQbYNAYqhzCICNj56hh12xgkiBXZsHtk2Yq3czRHulzNBheHsssuwlOxX4UMtQ/s1600/IMGP5364.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhR2wOoXDwjd5AaS0Zwg9Jq09AKol7RPEm7FSxnVbT4-WANoKcRIL-KTr6yO0lLJNJ7QYmum_D1oQbYNAYqhzCICNj56hh12xgkiBXZsHtk2Yq3czRHulzNBheHsssuwlOxX4UMtQ/s320/IMGP5364.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5525411864537182914" /></a>Alicehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13583237871922530078noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37320807.post-12315356421688105802010-09-15T06:10:00.001-07:002010-09-16T19:41:50.011-07:00Happy Birthday my big 4 year old!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEix4Zb5RmpCqqZP_l3hyi4-UoHWL4QDXaLY4DxzCVcTPCVjuKfzZ3WMRhRuK38IQdXpatqLTJohbUWdi7T-XQxD_8vUo78PkegZTheckYA-q8iLa80XxfGKKbNkAtDAKZ2OwQh2kg/s1600/DSCN0026.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEix4Zb5RmpCqqZP_l3hyi4-UoHWL4QDXaLY4DxzCVcTPCVjuKfzZ3WMRhRuK38IQdXpatqLTJohbUWdi7T-XQxD_8vUo78PkegZTheckYA-q8iLa80XxfGKKbNkAtDAKZ2OwQh2kg/s320/DSCN0026.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5517699472257971906" /></a><br />We had a wonderful summer vacation at the cottage which culminated in Domingo's 4th birthday party. <br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhr32QE9lcwjhqN8fy84L_D-ASe_ZXdGIp1KRolw1FQPBXG_1wc5dy0fbA3cSuGvFYAZL2Qx3RTyc-cOSDTu3W6g_iXf-v9jkReFAC6jUUUDAFJaX35mMmFOMTIyQcdeubcLTuDgw/s1600/DSCN0122.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhr32QE9lcwjhqN8fy84L_D-ASe_ZXdGIp1KRolw1FQPBXG_1wc5dy0fbA3cSuGvFYAZL2Qx3RTyc-cOSDTu3W6g_iXf-v9jkReFAC6jUUUDAFJaX35mMmFOMTIyQcdeubcLTuDgw/s320/DSCN0122.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5517699501583251522" /></a><br />While I'm not usually one to brag about my culinary exploits, I have to gloat a little about the dinosaur cake I made from SCRATCH! Grandma did advise on the shape, I was planning on a T-Rex, Domingo's favorite, but this Brachiasaurus just worked out perfectly if I do say so myself.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnYa49lLEVyZmOYyCrXwhWnMUpJwMRGJpygfOCUAJwiDkze3xru55DG-HMDMLkg_pvkl-ul7ELJsUHxjTa_MKN5PwC_g8_KoLvegrGXQChCKe41Czn9O38vTuAxWk8168L2VjrtQ/s1600/DSCN0163.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnYa49lLEVyZmOYyCrXwhWnMUpJwMRGJpygfOCUAJwiDkze3xru55DG-HMDMLkg_pvkl-ul7ELJsUHxjTa_MKN5PwC_g8_KoLvegrGXQChCKe41Czn9O38vTuAxWk8168L2VjrtQ/s320/DSCN0163.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5517699481498396194" /></a><br />The table was beautiful thanks to the end of summer farmer's market in South Haven, beautiful and delicious multicolored tomatoes, local flowers, and enough chipa guazu to choke a burro. We also had Abuelo's secret recipe chicken that never fails to please. It was a wonderful party and delicious meal. Domingo has a pretty sweet set up with his birthday being on or around Labor Day every year. He got to celebrate again with the primas in Morris last weekend along with Abuelo!<br /><br />I realize I have lapsed on the month day updates, but I may do a once a month update for both Domingo and Amalia, and I think a year in review at birthday time makes sense.<br />Over this past year Domingo has really stretched out, and this once super-duper chub is now a skinny, scabby-kneed, scruffy haired little boy.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIwxidpQTMMFpSFONoAsaEQrqg4sOBA00GrG869sbxtttgFSsf0jJovMRkp6avAuQVyR0ICdMpZRGf-kQ3Ou4hK2MUILM_SUPPRHHl0H3scG8hyrN1Dn3oUlyAHvLGNkarW5jLig/s1600/DSCN0258.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIwxidpQTMMFpSFONoAsaEQrqg4sOBA00GrG869sbxtttgFSsf0jJovMRkp6avAuQVyR0ICdMpZRGf-kQ3Ou4hK2MUILM_SUPPRHHl0H3scG8hyrN1Dn3oUlyAHvLGNkarW5jLig/s320/DSCN0258.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5517700390908049186" /></a><br /><br />While he is still obsessed with all things prehistorical (mammoths, dinosaurs, homo erectus) and animals, he is also developing new interests like "mythological creatures", Super heroes and other fantasy topics. We are raising quite the little nerd! <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfJEi2XYsaFrtdKCTdckUnIvG0R8xQX7y2HI8UIMvRavLWbnWTctsQ4P6uBiB2-wMU2gqZ4cL4tzv5UOr8Yna3aopkp5e2tpwEoKvtbJjBD9DoX7xpNA7BLhyphenhyphenkc1aOheuMOoNoDA/s1600/DSCN0254.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfJEi2XYsaFrtdKCTdckUnIvG0R8xQX7y2HI8UIMvRavLWbnWTctsQ4P6uBiB2-wMU2gqZ4cL4tzv5UOr8Yna3aopkp5e2tpwEoKvtbJjBD9DoX7xpNA7BLhyphenhyphenkc1aOheuMOoNoDA/s320/DSCN0254.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5517700388608564962" /></a>(which is said with the utmost excitement and love) <br />We just finished a new chapter book called James and the Giant Peach, one of my very favorites when I was little (not nearly as little as him, but still). I see his imagination working full force when he listens to stories, and later acts out different scenes with his toys. Today he lined up his whales and prehistoric sea animals and said "this is like the battle of the Alamo, remember in Davey Crockett?" Early American history also seems to be strangely intriguing to him as well, either that or it's just the fact that it was a battle!<br />He is getting much better about playing with a sharing with Amalia and others. He almost never gets into fights over belongings with his primas, and adores his baby prima Lucy, sometimes even letting her play with his stuff! <br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMciguryCgmQbkonz_jJqzvdfmFJW_6R2UtBL8eNEVtQTpXwDPvYMVeopTYFJETp-y3pUApgBuwRJjqKFlVIE7rUKro2KbqDv3du0XOKrkv11r-r4JiD8Gaov-DQdoG2C4nlKdyA/s1600/DSCN0049.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMciguryCgmQbkonz_jJqzvdfmFJW_6R2UtBL8eNEVtQTpXwDPvYMVeopTYFJETp-y3pUApgBuwRJjqKFlVIE7rUKro2KbqDv3du0XOKrkv11r-r4JiD8Gaov-DQdoG2C4nlKdyA/s320/DSCN0049.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5517699477385880146" /></a><br />School is starting up again, and he is excited and eager to go. He has asked me to be the helping mom and said that he really likes it when we are in his school. I love the school so much and am so glad we are able to send him there again. He is so curious and interested in learning about the world around him, how it works, why things happen. He is so careful and concerned about others, whenever I say "oh no" or "oh my goodness" he runs over and asks "what happened?" Or if Amalia is crying he always needs to know why. (Unless of course he's the reason, and then he already knows! And to his credit, he always fesses up when he's done something to make her cry.) But scuffles between them are also getting to be a fairly rare occurrence. He is starting to appreciate the total adoration of his little sister, and she is starting to develop interests of her own, so there are fewer skirmishes where we have to intervene.<br />He is growing so fast and so big, it almost happens before my eyes. <br />I want to slow down these moments grab him up in a hug while he still lets me and cover him with smooches. Fortunately for me, as he has gotten older, he has held on to the sweetness that he had as a baby. He spontaneously gives kisses and hugs. Out of nowhere he'll come up and say "I love you mom." And today he told me I was the prettiest girl in the world. How could I not just want this time to last forever?<br /><br /> <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjApKAAwN9dAn8HO7r9hKRXHdbC1EcDBABnA34lpuD_fH9EKUutMS5FattLgbvnCevFXSNkeYFCefNacg6QW3456H39HxZiAMaeKuMwrPZhiJ-_JiQpZ_hCv_k1sNZeyAX2iaQ-kw/s1600/DSCN0205.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjApKAAwN9dAn8HO7r9hKRXHdbC1EcDBABnA34lpuD_fH9EKUutMS5FattLgbvnCevFXSNkeYFCefNacg6QW3456H39HxZiAMaeKuMwrPZhiJ-_JiQpZ_hCv_k1sNZeyAX2iaQ-kw/s320/DSCN0205.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5517699504682962434" /></a>Alicehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13583237871922530078noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37320807.post-64093803148834172192010-08-09T19:19:00.000-07:002010-08-09T19:23:41.713-07:00More Michigan!This weekend we were in Michigan again, and aside from the bugs it was a wonderful time! Domingo got to hang out with his new friends Joshua and Owen. Here are some pictures, enjoy!<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJCAka5rC4K9uassLDOeOSGyB51dZyCWenMeG21SeKF4IW-BJG_bKiJRXzGR3tlZXevVoJonbXweyylVePeP29dBa12nFnoc8VY7Ax1TZQJ4m9gIPkBr5EcuMjBz7pUc4Hx-AudQ/s1600/IMGP5347.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJCAka5rC4K9uassLDOeOSGyB51dZyCWenMeG21SeKF4IW-BJG_bKiJRXzGR3tlZXevVoJonbXweyylVePeP29dBa12nFnoc8VY7Ax1TZQJ4m9gIPkBr5EcuMjBz7pUc4Hx-AudQ/s320/IMGP5347.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5503600794692166674" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6lmOqz3cG2xIVR23Rlq83gEpmuGCs12_C1T5O0nYsMPp56qQ7acqvo9HlN3va7cgpDz777fXMA1nig7VVXXwdf49qmayGdfinWzgBGe_T3wbOjCUzkqhyRYOF9x8t63inxH61-w/s1600/IMGP5351.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6lmOqz3cG2xIVR23Rlq83gEpmuGCs12_C1T5O0nYsMPp56qQ7acqvo9HlN3va7cgpDz777fXMA1nig7VVXXwdf49qmayGdfinWzgBGe_T3wbOjCUzkqhyRYOF9x8t63inxH61-w/s320/IMGP5351.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5503600792416333778" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhn3QcMlNLSlTD5K-thLqRazkQfh8fD0Gk3HT7gRdJbRWnbb5VB25OHKLmZz9Ddbp3g9R8tJ8tOwX80Iiyt4Qh2PHTvi1azuo4u8xkdSgQnHOetq9nZ4ECU6e3FxFR7yee-u_WRtA/s1600/IMGP5346.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhn3QcMlNLSlTD5K-thLqRazkQfh8fD0Gk3HT7gRdJbRWnbb5VB25OHKLmZz9Ddbp3g9R8tJ8tOwX80Iiyt4Qh2PHTvi1azuo4u8xkdSgQnHOetq9nZ4ECU6e3FxFR7yee-u_WRtA/s320/IMGP5346.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5503600781040580338" /></a>Alicehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13583237871922530078noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37320807.post-56205122419089020742010-07-29T08:48:00.000-07:002010-07-29T08:59:18.399-07:00Another great Michigan weekend!Here are some new pictures from our great trip to the cottage this weekend. The primas and abuelos came along. Then we had a birthday celebration dinner for daddy. The weather threatened to be ugly- lots and lots of rain. But fortunately the rain stayed mainly overnight, and we got to go swimming in the lake every day! The waves were as big as I've ever seen, and the water was so warm, I couldn't believe it. I got in the water every day, so you know it was crazy warm.<br />This weekend we are sticking around town, and I'll try not kill myself running the rock and roll half marathon on Sunday! <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjF70x2BfBwR9ZUR0mzZaKlScF5Ysi5Mn1sYqCUvmXM3u2ZDug39Icpd2ogvPlikw6amN9cdEovOz1DpEv4P2enfAkMqgfWn4DHEpwxmQ7N4N1M-ITAq6W-uNJuAIktR-Bft3EiwA/s1600/IMGP5303.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjF70x2BfBwR9ZUR0mzZaKlScF5Ysi5Mn1sYqCUvmXM3u2ZDug39Icpd2ogvPlikw6amN9cdEovOz1DpEv4P2enfAkMqgfWn4DHEpwxmQ7N4N1M-ITAq6W-uNJuAIktR-Bft3EiwA/s320/IMGP5303.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5499356872446629810" /></a><br />campfire marshmallows!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZXNtoOZgFWZYTnR_K3lSNdoyhm92jElfQ6x83IIxbEQoBZXzlNj8A-swpP463xE7Ob4nyxwj4tGFaqlhM6Us16i8PISwAPnhdA-EiYnofWSef1v4OdZ3kX3yLUf6U0fdL7vzhZA/s1600/IMGP5310.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZXNtoOZgFWZYTnR_K3lSNdoyhm92jElfQ6x83IIxbEQoBZXzlNj8A-swpP463xE7Ob4nyxwj4tGFaqlhM6Us16i8PISwAPnhdA-EiYnofWSef1v4OdZ3kX3yLUf6U0fdL7vzhZA/s320/IMGP5310.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5499356870967268562" /></a><br />she is getting so big!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCb11JYE4tuvqS2IU0549vL6h39nN6rsVEjgNJxm2fgaH6IRAnxId5s_f2kzz_l7afA5j78U4CkpY_lgjkV2V7-DSXSCMtALm9wJcEYpJTNOCod2NWzgvfiCen9hlQSjrQpMPgTw/s1600/IMGP5300.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCb11JYE4tuvqS2IU0549vL6h39nN6rsVEjgNJxm2fgaH6IRAnxId5s_f2kzz_l7afA5j78U4CkpY_lgjkV2V7-DSXSCMtALm9wJcEYpJTNOCod2NWzgvfiCen9hlQSjrQpMPgTw/s320/IMGP5300.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5499356861522294578" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeH0fGkeE4w70gPomswQu1vSnptE0vsMWaqvaEGoFgzrMCmc7XVZMlkHR2o0hww3SZwYo5xDmvIiq3B0iQ_ZmgFAaMLBxPep9vXBA0N4lEKgOj0H4pUBKGv6624e-3-kkUEEabFQ/s1600/IMGP5291.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeH0fGkeE4w70gPomswQu1vSnptE0vsMWaqvaEGoFgzrMCmc7XVZMlkHR2o0hww3SZwYo5xDmvIiq3B0iQ_ZmgFAaMLBxPep9vXBA0N4lEKgOj0H4pUBKGv6624e-3-kkUEEabFQ/s320/IMGP5291.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5499356843946824530" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoS2rIPxyF-oP8RI2hGg2BxkqQ4xV1ilS4WBoU405L1pndKlm2vJxbEe0aNj8FCgHsX7T7LWMMLaNmik4A0qHqmeMSFZcwJd8Q4DjpmCMLdNYUiQ-ERgMSeDXs3sB6A3omPEkDqA/s1600/IMGP5289.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoS2rIPxyF-oP8RI2hGg2BxkqQ4xV1ilS4WBoU405L1pndKlm2vJxbEe0aNj8FCgHsX7T7LWMMLaNmik4A0qHqmeMSFZcwJd8Q4DjpmCMLdNYUiQ-ERgMSeDXs3sB6A3omPEkDqA/s320/IMGP5289.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5499356840159836546" /></a><br />giant boy!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCPMC8sZub2kqhVgatcz9eKYg1o53f911NcTyGy_vVABUJ1uTJiG502Dozo_wuZHvhY7DLF29vek6gvU_bU0O6fPklBdsFRjMhXTkZognlCkF26A9E4OZifOKZmrzlRUQW7mX1wg/s1600/IMGP5302.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCPMC8sZub2kqhVgatcz9eKYg1o53f911NcTyGy_vVABUJ1uTJiG502Dozo_wuZHvhY7DLF29vek6gvU_bU0O6fPklBdsFRjMhXTkZognlCkF26A9E4OZifOKZmrzlRUQW7mX1wg/s320/IMGP5302.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5499357005079414962" /></a><br />hope these guys are always as close as me and my sis!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj50pI39zGz_hD6LaVAKcWXAVlO0O-lECNca78aAEj-QWeseRby3HMhIb49ZFs2PmJMQFTK-qWIKAbDysobJVV4JvwWGOyv0obZLi10to9ByZHaryYTe1TZn3sMqSe72et-W5pceA/s1600/IMGP5309.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj50pI39zGz_hD6LaVAKcWXAVlO0O-lECNca78aAEj-QWeseRby3HMhIb49ZFs2PmJMQFTK-qWIKAbDysobJVV4JvwWGOyv0obZLi10to9ByZHaryYTe1TZn3sMqSe72et-W5pceA/s320/IMGP5309.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5499357008943605458" /></a>Alicehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13583237871922530078noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37320807.post-45982383941804024372010-07-08T06:13:00.000-07:002010-07-08T07:58:41.925-07:00Fun on the Fourth!We had such a great fourth of July weekend. We spent some quality time at the beach, saw some fireworks, and had some yummy food and more cupcakes! <br />We got to the cottage super late on Thursday night and got back home super-duper late Monday night. These kids are turning into night owls! Last night we went to the kids first baseball game at Wrigley (that they might remember that is) and they had a great time. It was a minor league game between the Kane County Cougars and the Peoria Chiefs. They made it to the end, saw the famous dancing chicken and got to take a run around the bases after the game! Unfortunately, we didn't bring our camera to document the fun time, but here are some other good times captured on film.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6d8rn9WfAyZ1SrnorDDI_fECpuIfUnExOj6rpdodR5P8jBBk12Y7oxQsoX2ut8HnGZa3WU63C0NSWu2G3oO80TU_FnZvamjWVglBX7G3Ce40kMNLo6fubtnGhCaW3H9_qH2Y7lg/s1600/IMGP5284.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6d8rn9WfAyZ1SrnorDDI_fECpuIfUnExOj6rpdodR5P8jBBk12Y7oxQsoX2ut8HnGZa3WU63C0NSWu2G3oO80TU_FnZvamjWVglBX7G3Ce40kMNLo6fubtnGhCaW3H9_qH2Y7lg/s320/IMGP5284.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5491549267154780018" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwV_jNZ-Snx1oXfrCLBGxhdMZZ65GS_9NEP7eB89RKIovKaPBjSc1m3vFtuINEJfwgnXhyXnYlQKj5oensn3hbj5iTUyZpmfUvcCf3XNFGc6e5pp5IIOS1GFmJP8cVPxtWxj-ADg/s1600/IMGP5278.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwV_jNZ-Snx1oXfrCLBGxhdMZZ65GS_9NEP7eB89RKIovKaPBjSc1m3vFtuINEJfwgnXhyXnYlQKj5oensn3hbj5iTUyZpmfUvcCf3XNFGc6e5pp5IIOS1GFmJP8cVPxtWxj-ADg/s320/IMGP5278.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5491549257318507490" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaDRPS4TN7_bBgwznzZl632vSyCav9n7OmEV-dZprFI95Hzs-D8b9yUpUD6Fc06h-avAB5hyphenhyphenV_Nx77RtLZAwbKleMsCrnWkputUuhdrXRAt_gbA6fpt_BmF3i3DejXv6mxYLGRfA/s1600/IMGP5257.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaDRPS4TN7_bBgwznzZl632vSyCav9n7OmEV-dZprFI95Hzs-D8b9yUpUD6Fc06h-avAB5hyphenhyphenV_Nx77RtLZAwbKleMsCrnWkputUuhdrXRAt_gbA6fpt_BmF3i3DejXv6mxYLGRfA/s320/IMGP5257.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5491549255198443474" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpSGm-_NWz3BqRQ_TL-6dGGPaMdvORWIcjui3XyCtNu_ms8-1OUvgrcCa2hPLinUA47_OGMpstTVQuNLUw8HrMnFSrWsfXHL-_5xTtPeWgOXw-bQhR7AW6AHjbWCxuVY2IUoydPQ/s1600/IMGP5248.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpSGm-_NWz3BqRQ_TL-6dGGPaMdvORWIcjui3XyCtNu_ms8-1OUvgrcCa2hPLinUA47_OGMpstTVQuNLUw8HrMnFSrWsfXHL-_5xTtPeWgOXw-bQhR7AW6AHjbWCxuVY2IUoydPQ/s320/IMGP5248.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5491549251588175346" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhulNRXgFj4z2pNEpdBkoiiQqYVUGXziDDTSR7W9UTCmv8w5XWBCkzczMW9STaP3Fz0ld-M24DLuf4S0Zu3b0fvImVZAznZmI5WYDvQ-w-sSgyfdJD9ENIrppfeTWrbb7Fe0NIvmw/s1600/IMGP5239.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhulNRXgFj4z2pNEpdBkoiiQqYVUGXziDDTSR7W9UTCmv8w5XWBCkzczMW9STaP3Fz0ld-M24DLuf4S0Zu3b0fvImVZAznZmI5WYDvQ-w-sSgyfdJD9ENIrppfeTWrbb7Fe0NIvmw/s320/IMGP5239.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5491549241174642930" /></a>Alicehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13583237871922530078noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37320807.post-46010856228109556012010-07-01T07:11:00.000-07:002010-07-01T08:44:00.654-07:002 YEARS OLD!!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEie8GoeRd3d-W_k4JJuAvT6_czNk-ZXjR4eSwrzbVaoeJZM5C1m7xXLyq7PuSk8vJyHhAImJvhUriQoxXcpYN0627Ytutr8ITwShDO2RobZRPar3EPzy6YQcG9tU-JRSWYu7HKx8w/s1600/IMGP5234.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEie8GoeRd3d-W_k4JJuAvT6_czNk-ZXjR4eSwrzbVaoeJZM5C1m7xXLyq7PuSk8vJyHhAImJvhUriQoxXcpYN0627Ytutr8ITwShDO2RobZRPar3EPzy6YQcG9tU-JRSWYu7HKx8w/s320/IMGP5234.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5488944247512840594" /></a><br /><br />Amalia, last week you turned two years old! You are right in the heartland of toddler-hood and are taking it all in stride.<br />Over this past year you have changed so much. Last year you were still scooting around, mostly babbling babytalk, and were so super chubby! Now you don't walk anywhere, you RUN! You cannot keep quiet, you just talk and talk and talk. And while you still are no waif-child, you have slimmed down considerably since your scooting days. You are so very tall, and still just about the prettiest little girl I've ever seen. <br />We had your doctor visit and here are your stats:<br />Height 36" (90-95%)<br />Weight 32.5 lbs(95%)<br />BMI: 17(normal)<br />The doctor said you are doing great! And that you are just a BIG girl. <br /><br />You are still such a funny, charming, and loving child. You'll gladly give a total stranger a hug. Kisses good bye are your specialty and will make the rounds through the family members like a true Paraguaya. Your favorite human being is still Domingo, <br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEha6JPfNs8IbCZzM4MLqWwu5UjRzf2YJxebP9gL3dkVsvQG3YgI6zQVocL5AMBwOGw6g6CN7J0-c29uHyRtotzzjADhKhNC9lhXw0LdBciVpXOb7JF_hDSdXP3vpLo0fG9bdUY-Ng/s1600/IMGP5159.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEha6JPfNs8IbCZzM4MLqWwu5UjRzf2YJxebP9gL3dkVsvQG3YgI6zQVocL5AMBwOGw6g6CN7J0-c29uHyRtotzzjADhKhNC9lhXw0LdBciVpXOb7JF_hDSdXP3vpLo0fG9bdUY-Ng/s320/IMGP5159.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5488944254531106994" /></a><br />although the primas, and prima Lucy are right up there all tied for second place. <br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjk3TFe_EBYT08d19jjykYoKrDkeuLJHLzeECGavdm3zxDaqHeptYTIMsrEEk-83_rFBYV63QZVEYU-tPnDUYZPN3I9wen8Ic71Xa-SqjWqQBd1e9UbLuC4pdQ9bkw2dsdbhDGtyQ/s1600/IMGP5172.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjk3TFe_EBYT08d19jjykYoKrDkeuLJHLzeECGavdm3zxDaqHeptYTIMsrEEk-83_rFBYV63QZVEYU-tPnDUYZPN3I9wen8Ic71Xa-SqjWqQBd1e9UbLuC4pdQ9bkw2dsdbhDGtyQ/s320/IMGP5172.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5488944262049348034" /></a><br />Your favorite thing to do these days is lay in bed at night after the lights are out and tell knock knock jokes. You've come up with some really funny ones, and it is all I can do to not burst out laughing when you come up with a good one, or when you forlornly call out knock knock after I've said it's time to sleep and stopped answering who's there. You also have discovered the Mickey Mouse Club song, and it is your favorite thing ever. You and your brother are total 50's throw backs, since his new favorite song is Davey Crockett. Which you like to sing as Davey Chocolate. I think you guys will be running around in mouse ears and coon skin caps before too long!<br /><br />Last week we had your birthday party. First one on your actual birthday, the summer solstice. The longest day of the year is a wonderful day to be born I have to say. <br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjc1k5m-7Nll8mgqRrCQly-DG7evt5MBZrywyqS-QNfKRnyBXao5a_Ef3gi17QTyvlCKcGvAi8uQe5iHsFjQlzFzLbnr5rMfv_8q9O5zG5jAXeM9fqiTGHu17fJBF1VefD8nrmLSw/s1600/IMGP5176.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjc1k5m-7Nll8mgqRrCQly-DG7evt5MBZrywyqS-QNfKRnyBXao5a_Ef3gi17QTyvlCKcGvAi8uQe5iHsFjQlzFzLbnr5rMfv_8q9O5zG5jAXeM9fqiTGHu17fJBF1VefD8nrmLSw/s320/IMGP5176.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5488941108174836994" /></a><br /><br />We had a nice little dinner and chocolate cake with tio James. <br /><br />Then the primas came over on Friday (with their parents of course) <br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhONNpVXpqIYjTEMmWd9hC-dZF3DN24WzSV7sTy44XMoRMDo0hdb5GieP1_HP1iFVoNxfFWN8aAN76BNMLUa0N7GJdFSvDi8FhzPBsi2FUClkK-p1IeDI_yxLurZJMI9160puQRew/s1600/IMGP5179.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhONNpVXpqIYjTEMmWd9hC-dZF3DN24WzSV7sTy44XMoRMDo0hdb5GieP1_HP1iFVoNxfFWN8aAN76BNMLUa0N7GJdFSvDi8FhzPBsi2FUClkK-p1IeDI_yxLurZJMI9160puQRew/s320/IMGP5179.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5488941122267765794" /></a><br /><br />and we had a super fun weekend, going to the farmer's market, the zoo, <br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKhl7P1qNCWgtlkLdBITYGv4ltmXSQDGD3xCjymweRCEGsVq8CWYq6UDymznLKoER28IqqZsfX8YJ6suDjFPM76sOu-vt9QfzCk11KVEnWbTzJTB7FI1tKpJBVuLCuRuweyix8bQ/s1600/IMGP5189.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKhl7P1qNCWgtlkLdBITYGv4ltmXSQDGD3xCjymweRCEGsVq8CWYq6UDymznLKoER28IqqZsfX8YJ6suDjFPM76sOu-vt9QfzCk11KVEnWbTzJTB7FI1tKpJBVuLCuRuweyix8bQ/s320/IMGP5189.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5488941125853251058" /></a><br /><br />and of course your big birthday bash including our fancy homemade cupcakes. Not really all that fancy, but tia Leticia brought her decorating stuff and we didn't do too bad. I mean, I don't expect Martha Stewart to call me any time soon as her new icer or anything, but they weren't bad for my first attempt.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0dUU5d9lXXf-NpWtTEXh6IhOP3rzXklBPFzscYEdZLzGNWDf-INMWFFDTnWaqgpe9TITktIc4d5yQ2BJonmrY_YEzwLUuM04V6-whzHShyphenhyphencnXOBJdEMyWJYT0SR5N3XKGFBK7pA/s1600/IMGP5193.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0dUU5d9lXXf-NpWtTEXh6IhOP3rzXklBPFzscYEdZLzGNWDf-INMWFFDTnWaqgpe9TITktIc4d5yQ2BJonmrY_YEzwLUuM04V6-whzHShyphenhyphencnXOBJdEMyWJYT0SR5N3XKGFBK7pA/s320/IMGP5193.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5488941101098880306" /></a><br /><br />And what Latin American birthday would be complete without the obligatory pinata? Abuela went the sissy way out and bought the kind that you pull strings and not beat until it explodes. <br />Tia Leticia is of the opinion that you have to learn early that you have to work hard to get the sweet things in life. Maybe next year we'll traumatize you by having you beat Dora the Explorer until her head comes off. <br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWSP2mBPC6IobEAFmagkMWhB6pg9TCw1U8d-ltPqHw3bHsIVE3Cc6RX3KdB1JZq07DcOiykTi9D_vKEVLRhbYGxsaPkzBKRuBzRaspq5RcGGtjUYJHUV9NIufT-U84WNkwWGCzww/s1600/IMGP5225.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWSP2mBPC6IobEAFmagkMWhB6pg9TCw1U8d-ltPqHw3bHsIVE3Cc6RX3KdB1JZq07DcOiykTi9D_vKEVLRhbYGxsaPkzBKRuBzRaspq5RcGGtjUYJHUV9NIufT-U84WNkwWGCzww/s320/IMGP5225.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5488944240729489202" /></a><br />This was the aftermath, all kids scrambling for fallen candy, you just excited that you have two lolly pops!<br /><br />Amalia, you have had an amazing 2nd year of life. You've got to meet so many wonderful people, go to amazing places and do incredible things. And you are only 2! <br />But even as you get bigger and bigger (you are about 1/2 as tall as your DAD!) and talk more an more (Where is my Minnie Mouse mama, I want it?) and learn to do more and more (running, jumping, SWIMMING!, playing the kazoo, dressing like a viking) you will always be my little baby girl and I love you.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZU1yWXhWz9JJcbC4Y3It0u4hvpjiTFFzuHsVrTN6hu3sfWFodCk5DUqjsHd5sMZYlNcO8mryw4xc6HyrkwS-I_-9Gj2ZPo24FJiM_u0fN0Ks4mcGUeRwh0a0LyKGi3S5dOt1B5Q/s1600/IMGP5181.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZU1yWXhWz9JJcbC4Y3It0u4hvpjiTFFzuHsVrTN6hu3sfWFodCk5DUqjsHd5sMZYlNcO8mryw4xc6HyrkwS-I_-9Gj2ZPo24FJiM_u0fN0Ks4mcGUeRwh0a0LyKGi3S5dOt1B5Q/s320/IMGP5181.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5488941114729544130" /></a><br />Love,<br />MamaAlicehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13583237871922530078noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37320807.post-20228477563905773542010-06-03T06:01:00.000-07:002010-06-03T06:28:34.124-07:0023 months, Grease, and Baby-oke!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGLSpZ3nnowDgePihlcmqz85cINJU2P_S9bFRia7aVwi94N2-1tCwKA1QNPoghkaCrSP4plzrR3Out2P-O_lO7pac-jsE9JHZ7yleOwIvbojKsp6qo3eQYhe_UU1b6JGQdvUel0w/s1600/IMGP5107.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGLSpZ3nnowDgePihlcmqz85cINJU2P_S9bFRia7aVwi94N2-1tCwKA1QNPoghkaCrSP4plzrR3Out2P-O_lO7pac-jsE9JHZ7yleOwIvbojKsp6qo3eQYhe_UU1b6JGQdvUel0w/s320/IMGP5107.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5478538651357876354" /></a><br /><br />It has been a while since my last post! Amalia has turned 23 months, and I can't believe she'll be two this month! Not because she's too little, no, no, since she is still a gigantic girl, but because time goes by so quickly. <br />This past Memorial Day weekend we were at the cottage in Michigan, and I was just remembering how little both Lucy and Amalia were the last time we were there last year. Last time, Amalia was just starting to walk, Lucy was still just a teeny baby. Now Amalia is chasing along behind Domingo, Theo and Freya, and Lucy is toddling not too far after. Both Domingo and Amalia can get up and down the stairs to the beach, (although of course they prefer to be carried) which is a major coup for my back since the climb up is hard enough without a 30+ pound weight!<br />Then Domingo and Amalia got really into "singing" karaoke. Singing is in quotes because they didn't really get that you are supposed to sing words. They held the microphones and just sang "oooh" for minutes at a stretch. To their credit, they weren't too terribly off pitch.<br />The last time we were in Morris to hang out with the primas, tia Leticia, and tia May, we made a few trips to Gehpard Woods and were exploring and investigating "nature". Chris and Domingo caught a teeny tiny baby turtle that was so cute I wanted to keep him. Domingo named him Grease, because the water he was swimming in looked "greasy". No we weren't in Louisiana! But ultimately, we decided that wild animals belong in the wild. So we returned him to the I and M canal where they found him. We then saw this huge wild deer jump into the canal and swim across and run into the forest behind us. I have never seen something like that before, in the middle of the day no less! Then we caught loads of tiny baby frogs that were very very jumpy! It was also catch and release, and soon those frogs figured out that if they stayed on the surface near the water's edge, we would grab them. So they would dive to the bottom, or go out too far and we would have to move on to the next little frog. We saw some baby goslings, and a big fat water snake. It was a day full of amazing nature. <br />So we are really looking forward to another summer with lots of trips to the cottage, Morris, and heck, we may even stick around here for a bit!<br />Here are some pictures! <br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyWer0oOa0vNp5a4OBwJcRXgfwrncHIcZ9d0ejrJxWic0mbLihQHIZT3rp0zOKTKG88qlhp6Ru4fy7xCHFDEmmPSggUj3bpHpmJxome1MrfBSbS-jFw9sjVwwqzU-2T3hnxKqsXw/s1600/IMGP5114.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyWer0oOa0vNp5a4OBwJcRXgfwrncHIcZ9d0ejrJxWic0mbLihQHIZT3rp0zOKTKG88qlhp6Ru4fy7xCHFDEmmPSggUj3bpHpmJxome1MrfBSbS-jFw9sjVwwqzU-2T3hnxKqsXw/s320/IMGP5114.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5478538227919535810" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjD-vzvHcz9KgtvUk4ea-cH0puyDZUaCjxTuGANF_39rpjWIoozofruvgtrWe5eOd0yGS-NpBGaM5xShzbSAj5YrOQm0DuFW4LCJ-pUOawp4U67JXRqZKmC1AGLmviuMNanSBm5Mw/s1600/IMGP5120.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjD-vzvHcz9KgtvUk4ea-cH0puyDZUaCjxTuGANF_39rpjWIoozofruvgtrWe5eOd0yGS-NpBGaM5xShzbSAj5YrOQm0DuFW4LCJ-pUOawp4U67JXRqZKmC1AGLmviuMNanSBm5Mw/s320/IMGP5120.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5478538223774195314" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-fi_QGG3Wr2wXP6mdEElAT1LnD8pe1sdZDVvwhZKIiGZJXeCJLHxce8uKiTPzurzdm0HNOlX793HImqOyFDz_-5OKKXyiLnNDivQzdXdEz87EoYSRsTc_0HttDEHzbxHL7B0mOQ/s1600/IMGP5129.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-fi_QGG3Wr2wXP6mdEElAT1LnD8pe1sdZDVvwhZKIiGZJXeCJLHxce8uKiTPzurzdm0HNOlX793HImqOyFDz_-5OKKXyiLnNDivQzdXdEz87EoYSRsTc_0HttDEHzbxHL7B0mOQ/s320/IMGP5129.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5478538211957482866" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSCCIWNmHWkRLls7p9yJl6IXUSr4zUUuirwoISs8qZcabzCYw5h4ON5Oc4lnYtpbBLWC2sAint2lgbH6lmUGkSR2oyyQyDamYPDpXwGQMODB2IVU0XX8euMEjr5cedwJUpAt8Cqw/s1600/IMGP5130.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSCCIWNmHWkRLls7p9yJl6IXUSr4zUUuirwoISs8qZcabzCYw5h4ON5Oc4lnYtpbBLWC2sAint2lgbH6lmUGkSR2oyyQyDamYPDpXwGQMODB2IVU0XX8euMEjr5cedwJUpAt8Cqw/s320/IMGP5130.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5478538203155101714" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirC4wOc2jSHRPPiuhcsl4ABKGnKB20gTfzZ-E0EdXXPCQRPQ8OIP7xidWnuJRF8dshyphenhyphenhWWUNaGPgpH7eoj1DaP_3VrTdFO00sllHjDcG_UA-3bRAsmUE33fuEFAXyK9STcXQW1Fw/s1600/IMGP5142.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirC4wOc2jSHRPPiuhcsl4ABKGnKB20gTfzZ-E0EdXXPCQRPQ8OIP7xidWnuJRF8dshyphenhyphenhWWUNaGPgpH7eoj1DaP_3VrTdFO00sllHjDcG_UA-3bRAsmUE33fuEFAXyK9STcXQW1Fw/s320/IMGP5142.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5478538200281819026" /></a>Alicehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13583237871922530078noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37320807.post-80523684913748007352010-04-29T06:58:00.000-07:002010-04-29T07:10:45.287-07:00NASTICS!Or as most people pronounce it, GYMNASTICS! Amalia and Domi have been taking this great gymnastics class through the park district. It's 45 bucks for ten weeks! They have a spring floor and rings and trampolines! Sometimes I love this city. <br />Domingo is in the "big kids" class. Parents don't go up with them because the teachers say that when the parents are around the kids don't pay as much attention. Amalia is in the Moms' and Tots' class. I get to race after Amalia on the obstacle course and the highlight of the entire day, aside from swinging on the rings, is that if they make it around the course, they get a stamp! Amalia for hours will proudly show you the ink stamp on her hand and usually wants more. <br />Since we started gymnastics, Amalia has been practicing at home by doing something insane and then yelling TA-DA! If she could keep it to just jumping off the couch and not the other furniture, then I'd be ok with it. Anyway, here are some pictures from our awesome time at NASTICS!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGBny2FLD1OquHh218b-XVnbaRJOl9FCg14irPxDmibzqDHZ0rmF-3V5Hf4WPaDQUf7pRO6GDu17nCrAKO_X5Cd8vDlC9fE0AwliKSe3v3z5AZ3Z5mNnAJWt4W0E3mwqVCR3t4zw/s1600/IMGP5065.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGBny2FLD1OquHh218b-XVnbaRJOl9FCg14irPxDmibzqDHZ0rmF-3V5Hf4WPaDQUf7pRO6GDu17nCrAKO_X5Cd8vDlC9fE0AwliKSe3v3z5AZ3Z5mNnAJWt4W0E3mwqVCR3t4zw/s320/IMGP5065.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5465561412937585090" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLLn9fbRiaE1vtAdiQVKK-ccCezOfWAfrWc7grvd6numufhYu4MLOEGBL-vhyphenhyphen32VMnelUpLPuhywoKnzuZuSEHqsWGISruxBBuv3Uh5BZydYrCpZbtHcBcEegR6MfTswlvsuY6_A/s1600/IMGP5060.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLLn9fbRiaE1vtAdiQVKK-ccCezOfWAfrWc7grvd6numufhYu4MLOEGBL-vhyphenhyphen32VMnelUpLPuhywoKnzuZuSEHqsWGISruxBBuv3Uh5BZydYrCpZbtHcBcEegR6MfTswlvsuY6_A/s320/IMGP5060.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5465561408603529618" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1rJDZwIvvceG90894APPWLgaVFZpQ1Grl9YrRzmCArDFCN3gx0miCiO_V1_UWmRyG9e3IAQjqz2uifTYMgxe965kfReMTvHVOzrOZ9SjyuD3Knpp-jmVJU15RKVDrG_SqfGZwqg/s1600/IMGP5061.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1rJDZwIvvceG90894APPWLgaVFZpQ1Grl9YrRzmCArDFCN3gx0miCiO_V1_UWmRyG9e3IAQjqz2uifTYMgxe965kfReMTvHVOzrOZ9SjyuD3Knpp-jmVJU15RKVDrG_SqfGZwqg/s320/IMGP5061.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5465561399128803522" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhm-F1r02tMmTWxs26wdHn4Kv_XyYd-3Mq45MfyrW48eXczWPpkcHSvgdi7vy3ADPUkrT7pdfeY4YY-4i5TzCUCfRqyk7Fw2IgqLfjumQF6OyXnjPa5VBe9pKc1gnxXhYVyj5I4Sw/s1600/IMGP5057.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhm-F1r02tMmTWxs26wdHn4Kv_XyYd-3Mq45MfyrW48eXczWPpkcHSvgdi7vy3ADPUkrT7pdfeY4YY-4i5TzCUCfRqyk7Fw2IgqLfjumQF6OyXnjPa5VBe9pKc1gnxXhYVyj5I4Sw/s320/IMGP5057.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5465561391231438578" /></a>Alicehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13583237871922530078noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37320807.post-47702261887173195862010-04-27T21:16:00.001-07:002010-04-27T21:40:19.665-07:0022 months already!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXWYID3j9_YerzLq5aNQ3aE0jCt3znZL_Zs03zf6Z0Tgz3YKEwR1_BBa7Soimd5D7rrnBV0oJeqCUrwUJ13389PxTzfALgEOSXUmS-jk4cLBFYc4K3ueK1-jRUuEjP1PNi-qVyxQ/s1600/IMGP5035.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXWYID3j9_YerzLq5aNQ3aE0jCt3znZL_Zs03zf6Z0Tgz3YKEwR1_BBa7Soimd5D7rrnBV0oJeqCUrwUJ13389PxTzfALgEOSXUmS-jk4cLBFYc4K3ueK1-jRUuEjP1PNi-qVyxQ/s320/IMGP5035.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5465037907730892546" /></a><br />Did I miss something? Oh yes, in less than 2 short months this little lady will be 2 years old. I can't believe it. <br />Amalia you are just a marvel. Everyone who meets you says the same things over and over, you are so adorable, you are so funny, you are so mischievous, you are so sweet. It's true, you have developed this really great personality that is all your own. And just as you are talking more and more, you are exerting a little more of your own independence, and moving away from always being so compliant with me, your dad, and most importantly and surprisingly, your brother! I knew the day would come when the scales would fall from your eyes and you would see that your brother was not the idol you made him out to be, I just didn't expect it to be this soon! While you still adore him and pretty much want to do everything that he is doing, you have stopped accepting his "trades" of cruddy non-toys that he offers when ever you have something that he wants to play with. You assert your own wants and this will very often lead to conflict, but you are no push over, even when it comes to fighting with your big brother. Hmm, I wonder where all this spiritedness could have come from?<br />Oh speaking of non-inherited traits, you are as stubborn as any person, or horse/donkey hybrid I have ever met or read about. If there is something you want to do or don't want to do it is just about impossible to change your mind or get you to forget about it. This has become a bit of a problem in the mornings when we have to leave for work and you weren't quite done with us yet. You pout and cry and stomp your feet and it is really an impressive show. The best still remains your angry pouting hominid face, complete with lower lip jutting out and brown prominently ridged. I must get a photo of this, but it is often a fleeting expression since once you see the camera you start hamming it up. <br />It really is wonderful that we've moved into this great house with its nice little yard. You love nothing more than going outside playing in the dirt, rubbing it in your hair (again, you and your brother don't seem to share a single characteristic and if you didn't look so much a like I would think you were switched at birth, or maybe he was!) and playing in the great outdoors. You even like the train and always let me know that it's going by. <br />It's hard for me to realize in the fast day to day how much you've really changed and grown in the past few months, but looking back to the monthdays-past I can really see the difference and it is incredible. My little peanut is a giant walking, talking, singing, dancing, running, climbing, "nastics" doing girl. But as I snuggle next to you when it's time to sleep and you pat my face oh so gently as you fall asleep, I know too that you are still my sweet little baby.<br />Love,<br />MamaAlicehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13583237871922530078noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37320807.post-41444294123977753752010-04-07T19:01:00.000-07:002010-04-08T15:46:19.807-07:00Spring time Sibs!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7DgO1ubMUr7hgOZAcDgwIkNTcqQUlxQpDlrrHzRfTJt0WrvEtJhEoe-HiY_sqQMUDp7jAf6JJkgwcrUlfjkrH578gYzn1CR7DzMvRqBnYUjcFEsGN5CvrlEyV5qTRlQlfcaQLwg/s1600/IMGP5047.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7DgO1ubMUr7hgOZAcDgwIkNTcqQUlxQpDlrrHzRfTJt0WrvEtJhEoe-HiY_sqQMUDp7jAf6JJkgwcrUlfjkrH578gYzn1CR7DzMvRqBnYUjcFEsGN5CvrlEyV5qTRlQlfcaQLwg/s320/IMGP5047.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5457587835599556066" /></a><br />It's really true! I was driving home today and saw little leaf buds on every tree. Spring really is here! <br />The kids have been having some spring fun by going out in the back yard, planting seeds in containers and Spring "cleaning" both the garden and the house.<br /><br />I missed Amalia's monthday post last month, but suffice it to say that the terrible twos come early around these parts. Amalia is now the same age Domingo was when she was born, and she is by far much clingy-er and more jealous than he ever was despite there being no new-born to compete for my time and attention. And not to take the comparison too far, but she is also much more prone to "tantrum" then Domingo ever was. I suspect it is partly due to the fact that he was much more verbal than she is and was able to talk things through at a much earlier age. But that doesn't account for it all. Amalia just has a much fiestier personality. Domingo has two modes, happy and miserable. He very rarely gets angry, and when he does its more like a flash and loss of control where he'll clench his teeth and fists and grunt or shout and then in a second, it's over. Not so with little miss tantrum-in-the-middle-of-Target. She has the perfect little angry Neanderthal face when she doesn't get her way or when she is frustrated, or generally displeased, which is more often than you might think. It is hard being a toddler with lots of wants, particularly with a mom who denies you unlimited cookies, power tools for toys, and doesn't even have her own ipod! (The fact that she at 21 months is perfectly able to navigate Chris's ipod touch blows me away!)<br />But despite her entering the terrible twos with gusto, she still has moments of unbearable sweetness. She hugs and kisses just about everyone she sees. She always says "Thanks!" when you give her anything, especially "yummyyummycheese." <br />She loves Domi even when he's making her life miserable: stealing her toys, demanding his story be read first, pushing her, tricking her, eating her candy, and basically paying me back for every mean thing I ever did to my sister and brother as a child, and there were lots. But there are really great moments between them too. Today I was changing her diaper, which she continues to hate, she said "Domi, Amalia's crying!" and he came over and said "It's ok Amalia, don't cry." It was one of those incredibly sweet exchanges that you hope for when you have more than one child. Of course it immediately devolved into snatching and grabbing of toys, but I captured the moment in my mind. <br />Here are some more Easter photos. The kids had a really great Easter in Morris, and who wouldn't with all that chocolate! <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-k_qA2rT53shJTaEn-0-41fsfBmkom3n4CFNTbgNDinxr3jnje42KCzLgBehZnRQX03AYWYV81lnS8XSDOdXjm1CpH-ToTnlEkXUiqMXshcldPbt-ohL6xokTMu-Xb3P15FAJow/s1600/IMGP5054.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-k_qA2rT53shJTaEn-0-41fsfBmkom3n4CFNTbgNDinxr3jnje42KCzLgBehZnRQX03AYWYV81lnS8XSDOdXjm1CpH-ToTnlEkXUiqMXshcldPbt-ohL6xokTMu-Xb3P15FAJow/s320/IMGP5054.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5457587843857584610" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglP2Oa5_Wvq3pCbWHlgd1Z6LyuqBzX_SRE1m6N2IauRVh8zefHOt4Hsw922sbf7vThbMzQSaLgZx3smfjpMxIKzS9eV6XVI78J_w89uTwq8_iX6-dyceNnePcZ23quhWbkqvQQdA/s1600/IMGP5049.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglP2Oa5_Wvq3pCbWHlgd1Z6LyuqBzX_SRE1m6N2IauRVh8zefHOt4Hsw922sbf7vThbMzQSaLgZx3smfjpMxIKzS9eV6XVI78J_w89uTwq8_iX6-dyceNnePcZ23quhWbkqvQQdA/s320/IMGP5049.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5457587838702088738" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2RzJgSzvSTDSeWAOgTjZXIyere3T5LWQ8dZxC5Jh6ScS8bQhUfgCqCXwH7WG7Ai-noB0IMvWW-EvHpHX-Nk2TmJZHdQIR2KUOYr_d1bJ5wjJUDUrT7B9NlqF9GP1z29L771QwsQ/s1600/IMGP5043.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2RzJgSzvSTDSeWAOgTjZXIyere3T5LWQ8dZxC5Jh6ScS8bQhUfgCqCXwH7WG7Ai-noB0IMvWW-EvHpHX-Nk2TmJZHdQIR2KUOYr_d1bJ5wjJUDUrT7B9NlqF9GP1z29L771QwsQ/s320/IMGP5043.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5457587831892519522" /></a>Alicehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13583237871922530078noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37320807.post-27183999113959421892010-03-16T20:20:00.000-07:002010-03-16T20:55:07.227-07:00Birthday fun! and Misc.After being admonished by unnamed sources for never updating this blog, I am happy to report new fun pictures! And old ones I never got around to posting! Enjoy!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1_WEIcd4XJ1IsSC6DwSA4uqLb76ybUrs2wdORXEoy2QoEflgCL5OAnNoKjlG6LhvZvgnsETButpvuVQJ3262QuXMdZvdGzrG7gbJnyNeJsF0piM3j7KtISrSh3VSbLYKSMpVdtQ/s1600-h/IMGP4883.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1_WEIcd4XJ1IsSC6DwSA4uqLb76ybUrs2wdORXEoy2QoEflgCL5OAnNoKjlG6LhvZvgnsETButpvuVQJ3262QuXMdZvdGzrG7gbJnyNeJsF0piM3j7KtISrSh3VSbLYKSMpVdtQ/s320/IMGP4883.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5449444433620145794" /></a><br />Curtain call for "Sleeping Princess" and "Puppy meets Kitty" two plays by Sofia and Graciela respectively.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBHREoGKBpHwveKSVw-oHcb84hyQPYzwLS-ffbfq04Qa-bnVU8L76NhwtrdCngdmBeS0hYPvkj0DKGUhGqedGUOtP3EaWKYSB59k_n9_bePCrU1M09LrUy7NIgUpXy4QIVoAHVZQ/s1600-h/IMGP4885.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBHREoGKBpHwveKSVw-oHcb84hyQPYzwLS-ffbfq04Qa-bnVU8L76NhwtrdCngdmBeS0hYPvkj0DKGUhGqedGUOtP3EaWKYSB59k_n9_bePCrU1M09LrUy7NIgUpXy4QIVoAHVZQ/s320/IMGP4885.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5449444426462360578" /></a><br />Kitty and Puppy cast photo<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRuMa4mUDmCpWOHgWiJFrwGt4g27ndRLp0dJ3rN3qvElRnjrgGALj_NfK2A_oo1XEkGMidsoB927vWB5G69zt5xrK4UuskgszQNwBemmC3q2XxfO_L2ZcnMSlL7P6su_5xS0Qjmw/s1600-h/IMGP4880.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRuMa4mUDmCpWOHgWiJFrwGt4g27ndRLp0dJ3rN3qvElRnjrgGALj_NfK2A_oo1XEkGMidsoB927vWB5G69zt5xrK4UuskgszQNwBemmC3q2XxfO_L2ZcnMSlL7P6su_5xS0Qjmw/s320/IMGP4880.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5449444423970844370" /></a><br />"Sleeping Princess" wakes up after being kissed by the magic prince in a dog costume. We may have some copyright issues with this one...<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2VrX5lpQxpVFoiFFA9fvA_NSs5VYbDKnfyBzYGS8UXPyQXBEJMiZ5ry8RAOhMUVF7K7Swi4RhRDNrStX7ciiO2cpDR7vCIN8a7bvLRJRU4f48uW9NzO2lmB5fWcOD1gj5yTljDA/s1600-h/IMGP4806.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2VrX5lpQxpVFoiFFA9fvA_NSs5VYbDKnfyBzYGS8UXPyQXBEJMiZ5ry8RAOhMUVF7K7Swi4RhRDNrStX7ciiO2cpDR7vCIN8a7bvLRJRU4f48uW9NzO2lmB5fWcOD1gj5yTljDA/s320/IMGP4806.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5449444420058426674" /></a><br />I need to know two things here, 1.) why am I constantly making this face as it gets captured on film over and over again, and 2.) is Amalia as terrified of me in this picture as I am of myself right now?<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRzE_RTQguftGzF_vYCHT9on6XlaDn1oN_irxB-3r6UrbIFxkHwRLlR-XUetOLWLj7YvXI5a8WeXyKOGf1grJuIIREAHuBeBpid6B-GYz3ke_SVo59jCgJ_XAN4mWd-8hyphenhyphenuzkVgg/s1600-h/IMGP4796.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRzE_RTQguftGzF_vYCHT9on6XlaDn1oN_irxB-3r6UrbIFxkHwRLlR-XUetOLWLj7YvXI5a8WeXyKOGf1grJuIIREAHuBeBpid6B-GYz3ke_SVo59jCgJ_XAN4mWd-8hyphenhyphenuzkVgg/s320/IMGP4796.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5449444410443437634" /></a><br />That morning cup really hits the spot.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvyr7vrGxiOYX-VTtYdEmlJdJYymLQe2nMHwFzZUyqhngyQePITeAuIYFvYVUWq9wAWzeWO5FiOzXjWxREsCVCLPgfSmHU7rIzJDZ4xIvnRBypfVRC9Ju5QF0kEam3rqVEK_onNA/s1600-h/IMGP5039.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvyr7vrGxiOYX-VTtYdEmlJdJYymLQe2nMHwFzZUyqhngyQePITeAuIYFvYVUWq9wAWzeWO5FiOzXjWxREsCVCLPgfSmHU7rIzJDZ4xIvnRBypfVRC9Ju5QF0kEam3rqVEK_onNA/s320/IMGP5039.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5449438150908468082" /></a><br /><br />Domingo's post vacation hair- still ridiculously long, but without the Florida humidity to give it that natural bounce and curl.<br /> <br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHar0ekCgP6cPk1DMc5mj5_b3oB_U3OumsuSPO0FBqA-zU9o-U5ux7tB_znceh3Qpaw1QxWhj8AsMG-U5a1I6UUrrv0IYgNH0vP2bx94KEiRUVYozKZQEdZwPANbej3ZTYitH4Pw/s1600-h/IMGP5030.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHar0ekCgP6cPk1DMc5mj5_b3oB_U3OumsuSPO0FBqA-zU9o-U5ux7tB_znceh3Qpaw1QxWhj8AsMG-U5a1I6UUrrv0IYgNH0vP2bx94KEiRUVYozKZQEdZwPANbej3ZTYitH4Pw/s320/IMGP5030.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5449438138640532098" /></a><br /><br />This is Domingo's friend Charlotte. They decided to go off to Mexico while we were at Polly's birthday party. Charlotte asked Chris if Domi could come with her, and he being the liberal guy he is said yes.<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIiBdTJP8xQMd_ljbJpvANmRGmX-qH8mLMs8V-kyzIS7KMaBPjWTlf-FueXceLuLt0cOEMerfVWLLEeNfK5TCbZjCDw0i4v92L9OG_ZLLASAjP2HjT1Qrp0xJ_Xp7OowmwEnTOQQ/s1600-h/IMGP5037.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIiBdTJP8xQMd_ljbJpvANmRGmX-qH8mLMs8V-kyzIS7KMaBPjWTlf-FueXceLuLt0cOEMerfVWLLEeNfK5TCbZjCDw0i4v92L9OG_ZLLASAjP2HjT1Qrp0xJ_Xp7OowmwEnTOQQ/s320/IMGP5037.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5449438145445220850" /></a><br />Uf DA! Polly's mom gave us this little t-shirt because Amalia is quite the li'l Norska.<br /><br />I am kicking myself for not jotting down some of the hilarious things that Domingo has been saying recently. He is just incredible sometimes. Chris and I will look at each other and say, man that's one for the blog, but by the time I get a second to sit down and type, it has vanished from my ever shrinking memory banks. Man oh man, age is a killer. In better news, it looks like the tentative beginnings of Spring around this joint. So hopefully I'll be posting some pictures of outdoor fun pretty soon!Alicehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13583237871922530078noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37320807.post-39682812631061573552010-03-14T07:29:00.000-07:002010-03-14T08:13:03.659-07:00The triumphant return!Although the weather was less than ideal upon our return, and it was pretty much ideal when we left Florida, prompting us to say that maybe we'd just stay another week, we in fact are back in town. <br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijvWt7H7h6QY0JRUl5qhVU7JreuGpdM5IF0gkOwZ2zaL3lesbDyOlip-1FX3XYQZ98L_x9ycllWrHDoMJH_txjYNK-Plh3OqbrtEQuCX-4i-Z8DdySYB0p6anlIZn2jouZ-FbLVw/s1600-h/IMGP5005.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijvWt7H7h6QY0JRUl5qhVU7JreuGpdM5IF0gkOwZ2zaL3lesbDyOlip-1FX3XYQZ98L_x9ycllWrHDoMJH_txjYNK-Plh3OqbrtEQuCX-4i-Z8DdySYB0p6anlIZn2jouZ-FbLVw/s320/IMGP5005.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5448503544076696050" border="0"></a><br />I woke up this morning and only after checking facebook with all the complaints about daylight savings did I realize that we sprang forward today. Good thing for the internet or I would've gotten to work really late tomorrow!<br />Well, we had a fantastic trip to Florida, even though Amalia got a little stomach sick on the plan ride back to Chicago. Hmmm. Maybe I should have been a little more aggressive in trying to stop her when she was licking the glass at the children's science museum.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsi-rvURSiIT-FEnYLgfB38_j9V85bzJF61aS3VWwQhzxrIlZC5Um7kXDQ-_64HWHW29pNAbEG4s_D457VA7kJAYv6Pn9JmNZCYCSKPR6Ht0doZWctnzVprOIpS1dxywwVhE9IIw/s1600-h/IMGP4989.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsi-rvURSiIT-FEnYLgfB38_j9V85bzJF61aS3VWwQhzxrIlZC5Um7kXDQ-_64HWHW29pNAbEG4s_D457VA7kJAYv6Pn9JmNZCYCSKPR6Ht0doZWctnzVprOIpS1dxywwVhE9IIw/s320/IMGP4989.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5448503530739682706" border="0"></a> <br /><br />Domingo had a great time on the plane and then on his first ride on the train. He just stayed glued to the window the entire time. <br />On this trip we learned a few things, one, there actually is a food Amalia will not eat. She refused fried calamari and said quite plainly, "I don't like it". Domingo on the other hand has never met a sea creature he wouldn't eat. He was guzzling little fried tentacles like nobody's business. <br />We went swimming everyday, sometimes twice, and my children can never doubt the extent of my devotion to them since I actually got in the water on a day it was 65 degrees, and the water was not much warmer.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBIRQ6KmFK2j4_G6D_2bUqdI1JHQycLDtkx0zfKpTZl716nphOMD3BTGnvhyphenhyphen4qj8TAanPmBYL1s9TEAZUmi2sHDnty8f0FRJnx_8404CO_0mOlCCZxKg8cV7TPHJzi_OKFDsCO4w/s1600-h/100_1127.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBIRQ6KmFK2j4_G6D_2bUqdI1JHQycLDtkx0zfKpTZl716nphOMD3BTGnvhyphenhyphen4qj8TAanPmBYL1s9TEAZUmi2sHDnty8f0FRJnx_8404CO_0mOlCCZxKg8cV7TPHJzi_OKFDsCO4w/s320/100_1127.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5448503541445116546" border="0"></a><br /><br />But overall, we had a wonderful time, got to spend some great quality time with Grandma, Farfar and baby Lucy aka Owl aka Momo aka "babycrying". And when it was time to leave, no one could fault Amalia for this little meltdown.<br /> <br /><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dzGeDLz7H2L80DJmC4uH50tEPIdMNILYPb9OEJy9rHu2399ZE1JR85LUbUsnkK500ccVt5x_5yWZeE' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe><br /><br />I feel the same way.Alicehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13583237871922530078noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37320807.post-37467510293661178052010-03-11T05:46:00.000-08:002010-03-11T06:11:48.835-08:00Florida!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAGG72mynlfRFt4nShKcXZLXEf4lOzvoDMriPUi6YjE6EOYirOhzqZ3HTvCbg5ot6vpD6E84gXePszZZ8Iw9vG0KM4iK2gGHuO2w9nsdJKoZFG5Quc7uP2Z3zgVfKJHVFJIsgxSg/s1600-h/IMGP4952.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAGG72mynlfRFt4nShKcXZLXEf4lOzvoDMriPUi6YjE6EOYirOhzqZ3HTvCbg5ot6vpD6E84gXePszZZ8Iw9vG0KM4iK2gGHuO2w9nsdJKoZFG5Quc7uP2Z3zgVfKJHVFJIsgxSg/s320/IMGP4952.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5447375584005977074" /></a><br /><br />We're having a lovely vacation down in Florida! Complete with fries and chips for lunch followed by ice-cream chasers. <br /><br />Although I've missed Amalia's 20 monthday post update, we did take her to her pediatrician appointment (two months tardy) and she's still on target for being the biggest girl on my side of the family. She's above 95% in all areas, 36 inches tall, 30 pounds, and I don't remember exactly her head circumference and don't feel like taking it again down here in Florida, but it is equally giant, full of juicy brains.<br />And she is now talking up a storm, in full 4 and 5 word sentences, usually aimed at pointing out the indignities of the life of a 1 and a half year old.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYc02ZTbwBypFcUn0UZHd6ihwpUCqCcV1BZ7OQrP7-3I4VMMzcDUrFxrHxa5du22mtsIxv3M8tqvQt5YnykB65Rggmdm58LDvX0vltZ49MlJdIzTtBnKDlxUemwon9pqhYLYxVpA/s1600-h/IMGP4932.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYc02ZTbwBypFcUn0UZHd6ihwpUCqCcV1BZ7OQrP7-3I4VMMzcDUrFxrHxa5du22mtsIxv3M8tqvQt5YnykB65Rggmdm58LDvX0vltZ49MlJdIzTtBnKDlxUemwon9pqhYLYxVpA/s320/IMGP4932.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5447375577561044994" /></a><br /><br />Either that, or saying "Amalia want to watch TB."<br /> <br />We've been keeping very busy in a lazy kind of way. Amalia and Domingo walk the 20 feet to the pool at least once a day, sometimes twice. Amalia loves to walk down the steps and lunge into the water face first. She knows no fear. Domingo, as always, is a bit more tentative. But once he decided he liked jumping in, he wanted do it over and over again until his parents were both water-logged and worn out.<br />Then yesterday we went to the beach and it was so sunny and nice, until of course you step in the water. I'll take the 85 degree pool, but not these Norse-children. <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgN2uBy746B_cbsGkDy4LtiuhXjAvUPvu2tb68JoFUxtfk4U4aNAf8OHOKkJVfewMtWvnxsOmsNi4QDAnjm3klXwM08IECSQpVKL4lpfhJxK7ofOmowh4BlaArEPjYGl6_SRzynqg/s1600-h/IMGP4968.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgN2uBy746B_cbsGkDy4LtiuhXjAvUPvu2tb68JoFUxtfk4U4aNAf8OHOKkJVfewMtWvnxsOmsNi4QDAnjm3klXwM08IECSQpVKL4lpfhJxK7ofOmowh4BlaArEPjYGl6_SRzynqg/s320/IMGP4968.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5447375567366341458" /></a><br /><br />But I can't complain too much, they are having such a blast, and no one said I have to get in the water! <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWraUr0GNQZCKa9tN0RD9TvcizMuvJpcurpJO-PxFDdSH3Z09TyGfHARBG3EEj8WXqR51spF0Yf6ba7fgraBBkry2BIpjDWGcEv18oRBEZ40yEHJlYy5KlJVhYKIPHPJ_cb9E0mg/s1600-h/IMGP4979.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWraUr0GNQZCKa9tN0RD9TvcizMuvJpcurpJO-PxFDdSH3Z09TyGfHARBG3EEj8WXqR51spF0Yf6ba7fgraBBkry2BIpjDWGcEv18oRBEZ40yEHJlYy5KlJVhYKIPHPJ_cb9E0mg/s320/IMGP4979.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5447375577239734882" /></a><br /><br />I'll post more pictures when we return!Alicehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13583237871922530078noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37320807.post-66863777202468661332010-02-05T21:09:00.000-08:002010-02-05T21:52:39.684-08:00Historic happenings/belated 19th monthdayWell, our camera has been MIA for quite a while, and I do want to get some pictures of our new house up here soon, but I'll have to make do with a written report of the goings on here at Chez D and A. The paint is dry and the floors are done, the furniture is mostly moved in, even if the beds are still in pieces. Thanks moving man! (They neglected to leave the hardware so we've been sleeping on the floor for the last week and a half!) <br />But overall it's been wonderful to be in our new place. Domingo at first did not like this development at all, calling the new house a "sad house", saying he wanted to go back to the old house, and that he did not want to move. The other day I told him to go pick out a book to read before a nap and he said, "mom, I can't, there are no books in this house!" and after being in our old place where the problem was you couldn't pick out a book because they'd all come tumbling off the over-stuffed shelves, I realized we had to get some toys and books out here asap. So we've been talking a lot, playing a lot and getting used to the new place, and I think we are over the emotional hump for him. I think that because so much of his life is his "things" being separated from them made the transition that much harder. Once the toys and books came out he told me he loved his new playroom, which I have to agree is pretty awesome. <br />Amalia is another story altogether. This past month she turned 19 months and is having no trouble at all adjusting to her new surroundings. She loves the play room, loves the yard and the "sofa" which she demands to get on by herself! In fact that is a pretty common refrain around here these days. "By MYSELF!!" is said with such gusto regarding everything from tooth-brushing, to boot-donning, to sleeping. <br />Yes, tonight marks a serious historic milestone for our little family. For the first time since she was born Amalia is sleeping by herself in her pack and play. (That is a bit of an exaggeration since the first few weeks of her life she slept in the pack and play next to me, which is basically what we're doing now, but those first few weeks don't really count as sleep, now do they? I didn't think so!) <br />I was completely taken aback this evening as we were climbing into bed (on the floor) and Amalia looked at me and said, "no this one" and pointed to her pack and play. I asked if she wanted to sleep in there and she said yes. She sat up a few times, called for mama a few times, I held my hand up to the side and she put her hand against mine and then settled in and went to sleep by herself. I should be so happy and wonderfully relieved that she is taking steps on her own to move on from the family bed. Maybe I'm deluding myself and it's just that she was sick of sleeping on the floor and as soon as the bed is assembled she'll be clamoring to get back in it with me. But for now, it is a very bittersweet pill to swallow. <br />She is so so determined to be such a grown up kid like Domingo (who shows no sign of ever giving up the family bed by the way) and I have to fight every urge to hold on to the chubby little baby that she really isn't any longer. She is getting to be so big, so much like a child, and less like a baby as every day goes by. Though she still has her chubby cheeks and sweet tummy, she's taller, leaner and talks in phrases and is so bent on independence. <br />She is still just about the sweetest most generous and loving child I have ever met. If her brother gets in trouble, she cries along with him, even when he is in the soup for being mean to her. You cannot give her a thing without also giving her one for her brother, a cookie, an m&m, a goldfish, floss, anything! She gives him his share first and takes her own after he's got his. This astounds me to no end, because I was never really consciously aware of the hero-worship I must have felt for my older sister, only the advantages that I took of my little brother, so I'm much more familiar with what is going on in Domingo's little mind than in hers. I stand gaping every single time I give her a treat or a toy or a kiss and she demands one for "Mingo", every single time. I'm sure the end will come for this too, like cuddling with my sweet girl all night, her total selfless devotion to her brother is something that is probably just too good to last. But I will mostly definitely do all I can to remember both these little treasures of her babyhood, and relish the time I have had to enjoy them. <br />Love Mama.Alicehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13583237871922530078noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37320807.post-40357514145013872372010-01-08T12:31:00.000-08:002010-01-08T12:42:41.934-08:00Lazy blogger!The past few weeks have been crazy busy, what with Christmas, New Years, fixing up our new (to us) house, blogging has totally gone by the way side. Here are a few updates:<br />I am on a New Year health kick which I am celebrating by eating a potato pancake lunch, with sour cream! Seriously, I'm actually doing pretty well, and it's all about portion control. I am determined to get back to pre-domi weight, or at least pre-domi size, and am eating salad 5 days a week, and oatmeal for breakfast every day. We'll see if it works.<br />On a related child-oriented note, Domingo honest to God gags on mashed potatoes, making him eat them is seriously like a punishment. But he will gobbled down mashed potato pancakes. Who birthed this being? What kid hates mashed potatoes? He's not Norwegian or Paraguayan, I think he's alien. <br />Amalia is talking more than ever and her official cutest word to date is "PETE" pronounced in spanish and is her version of chupete, or pacifier. She yells Pe-te! when ever she finds one and it's the best thing ever. It is totally her lovey and I have a feeling it will be next to impossible to separate the two when the time comes. Yikes. What did I wish for when I begged Domi to take one. <br />I don't even have any pictures from the last few weeks to show, so I'll have to remedy that shortly!Alicehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13583237871922530078noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37320807.post-24330010255633460142009-12-21T16:36:00.001-08:002009-12-21T19:34:41.722-08:00Winter Solstice monthday!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTHw0zNQNuWRWW3-1KZXHh5Y8vD2hZpXeQ2JYB7nFiArhkO1VFKazxCCtr-Rgip713Kqc2DcG4VrNUjnqzvKNy6Q7LCUV1TdYVHXNEb_LSpP3CGlIMqcBxGnyPu271-_R18Ngw4A/s1600-h/IMGP4786.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTHw0zNQNuWRWW3-1KZXHh5Y8vD2hZpXeQ2JYB7nFiArhkO1VFKazxCCtr-Rgip713Kqc2DcG4VrNUjnqzvKNy6Q7LCUV1TdYVHXNEb_LSpP3CGlIMqcBxGnyPu271-_R18Ngw4A/s320/IMGP4786.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5417854538023593586" /></a><br /><br />Amalia, your 18th monthday/half birthday is today on the shortest day of the year! I realize that the posting over here has been pretty light recently, but I promise there is a really good reason. We've been working hard trying to get your new house ready for you to move! Well, all of us will be moving, I don't want you to think that you are getting your own place quite yet. <br />I kind of didn't want to post about the place until we were ready to move in, but it just doesn't make sense to keep NOT mentioning the reason we've been so busy lately! But soon enough we'll have lots of pictures and a brand new house from which we'll be updating! <br />But despite being super busy, we've still kept some tabs on what you've been up to, a little.<br />So! Developmentally, you are plugging right along. You are officially a little parrot. You now repeat everything we say. I have stopped counting all your words, but there are many. Your absolute favorite thing to do is sing and listen to music. Your favorite song is the theme from Totoro, and still, Home on the Range reigns supreme. You started liking that song since I would sing it when reading "Cowboy Pequeno" or as it's rightfully called, Cowboy Small. There is a page where Cowboy Small is singing Home on the Range to his fellow cowboys, and you always would ask for mas, mas, mas! when ever I got to that part. It became kind of like your lullaby, and it remains your favorite song before bed. <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXKq_9tkwffkzzW4aaCo1mfzxv1mRfkcOWEGNMcpShrEbH1hkXV5rT2rIQD83r6GQHmKwGzh9GgBTLbj5_dGXaSX9QCvFXDkz40TKYFHjMyBUk-b0seMYGHmFXZcwLqwmOWEBOnw/s1600-h/IMGP4794.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXKq_9tkwffkzzW4aaCo1mfzxv1mRfkcOWEGNMcpShrEbH1hkXV5rT2rIQD83r6GQHmKwGzh9GgBTLbj5_dGXaSX9QCvFXDkz40TKYFHjMyBUk-b0seMYGHmFXZcwLqwmOWEBOnw/s320/IMGP4794.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5417854533343554258" /></a><br /><br />Your Cowboy Pequeno homage.<br /><br />You are still growing like a weed, and LOVE to eat and drink more milk, or "all gone" as you still call it, than any other baby I've ever seen. You are more of a milk lover than even your brother was when he was your age, and that is quite a bit!<br />We haven't taken you to your 18th month check up for the official stats, but my back tells me that you weigh at least 30 pounds. <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBZ8GL-RkUXh0gGUx66Wdpjm4WmLMbOgGX7PtIw984pK7nh1qAtueCwfk7z8YrOMmhEUvB0XxUFMpjPpvpkz-rOoqefQiw4t9IwKpYZ71ckpXyerhRxXx-qDIYdg16oCarsCit0A/s1600-h/IMGP4790.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBZ8GL-RkUXh0gGUx66Wdpjm4WmLMbOgGX7PtIw984pK7nh1qAtueCwfk7z8YrOMmhEUvB0XxUFMpjPpvpkz-rOoqefQiw4t9IwKpYZ71ckpXyerhRxXx-qDIYdg16oCarsCit0A/s320/IMGP4790.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5417854544362084626" /></a><br />Delicioso!<br /><br />And everywhere we go when people ask how old you are, they follow up by asking if you are really tall for your age. You are quite tall and I suspect that you are still off the chart percentagewise in all categories. <br /><br />You are still obsessed with "Omingo" although you do fight with him a lot more than before. You are kind of a brute. You hit and push and grab and fight, sometimes with Domi, other times with Mommy! We are in the process of really trying to get you to be a little more "suave" as we say over here, but it is a very hard lesson for you to learn. But, with a little patience, we are definitely learning it together.<br /><br />This coming month we'll have a lot to look forward to, Christmas, seeing tio Gustavo, playing with primos and primas, and hopefully moving into our new house. <br />Amalia, thank heavens the days are going to get longer, so we'll have more time to spend together. Happy half-year birthday sweet girl.<br />Love, Mama.Alicehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13583237871922530078noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37320807.post-43241462587237223272009-12-09T02:42:00.000-08:002009-12-09T03:25:09.434-08:00Happy Delinquent 17th monthday!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieCTbdD0ZAKyKm4q4IwU6IoaiaH2sBWzDLNjCsURxZyGW60l30glcp0YACH0M_imFfa-lQRTPIEzHmE-K7lobwlgbC5Sh0hUE3bKiEzMMQ47dzABbpuTpOtPGG6YlCBDgo8BCs2A/s1600-h/IMGP4688.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieCTbdD0ZAKyKm4q4IwU6IoaiaH2sBWzDLNjCsURxZyGW60l30glcp0YACH0M_imFfa-lQRTPIEzHmE-K7lobwlgbC5Sh0hUE3bKiEzMMQ47dzABbpuTpOtPGG6YlCBDgo8BCs2A/s320/IMGP4688.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5413186914171605250" /></a><br /><br />Amalia, these last few months have been super-crazy busy rather than their usual just super-crazy. You are quite nearly 18 months, a year and a half! But I would be remiss if I let last month go by undocumented. <br />You are really coming into your own in the talking department the past month or two. I was dutifully noting all your new words (like PIE!) and then realized that I've stopped keeping track because there are so many! Just to show you I'm not totally shirking my documentary duties, some new words you've pick up are more/mas, apple juice/jugo, cabeza, nariz, boca, pie-meaning foot in Spanish, as well as pie the food, bump, owie (those were learned together) hi/hola, and Domingo, which you pronounce "ingo"or "omi". I must say it's very sweet. So you definitely will have 20 words at 20 months, so I can stop worrying about language in general and start worrying about something else, like your Spanish. Unlike Domingo, you are speaking both Spanish and English pretty equally, if not a little heavy on the English. So let's try to work on the ol' espanol chica.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHitR2yL7JSxU8z1kAomH-rGUnpM85BSwjgvzgjbfTl3v0cIj45qUKFNoPz_CJiPlGVh_J_-xBgPxbQRMBivrRbsKnvJet7VBjG4xt9N4jPyOCoWK_UbTnbm5XyypZzlEWwBTgGg/s1600-h/IMGP4719.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHitR2yL7JSxU8z1kAomH-rGUnpM85BSwjgvzgjbfTl3v0cIj45qUKFNoPz_CJiPlGVh_J_-xBgPxbQRMBivrRbsKnvJet7VBjG4xt9N4jPyOCoWK_UbTnbm5XyypZzlEWwBTgGg/s320/IMGP4719.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5413186917511355474" /></a><br />You too senor giant boca.<br /> <br />I think the fact that you can FINALLY get your point across makes for a much less frustrating life experience. You did not really take to the baby signs very much (except for MAS!) so now that you have some vocabulary at your disposal, I think you are less likely to throw a tantrum, or at least I'm less likely to feel bad about it, because, dude, I know you want m&ms, I hear you, I feel your pain, but you are not getting m&ms (at least not any MORE m&ms). <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwLgMbIfjuP_brr0fXXUSATMIrauagUrqZCHvOhBGtOo62xzxRLn6maXZ6rTHy6PRegZdnRDy4ASw2SbRgbt8MTbSaftzSVWR5NunQIB6G4MfDiEr6h4XGnbT6ajXB9CsUt8-H6w/s1600-h/IMGP4760.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwLgMbIfjuP_brr0fXXUSATMIrauagUrqZCHvOhBGtOo62xzxRLn6maXZ6rTHy6PRegZdnRDy4ASw2SbRgbt8MTbSaftzSVWR5NunQIB6G4MfDiEr6h4XGnbT6ajXB9CsUt8-H6w/s320/IMGP4760.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5413186925973479298" /></a><br />You may, however, have more pasta with a giant spoon. <br /><br />You are such a quirky, funny, beguiling little girl. You love reading (EAD!), playing with babies (your absolute favorite is "your" baby, cousin Owl), and singing. Your favorite songs right now are Totoro and Home on the Range. It is really hilarious how you kind of mumble the melodies, and then yell out the last words of the phrases in those songs. I have to get a video of if some time, but we usually sing before bed or in the car. Yes, your favorite lullaby is Home on the Range, I said you were quirky.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdkq__b9XRtFz7mRpGYnArkUmh4sCf3y4uq6BR2RT64ymEm6MJh6p9Ge8KjB5eqDOuGHcp0nbq_lItYT-ua-IdKlZXVByGnE0zU9Wjcc89iKnQpxL7vy7MXhcy9SN3vLuvBqoJyw/s1600-h/IMGP4763.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdkq__b9XRtFz7mRpGYnArkUmh4sCf3y4uq6BR2RT64ymEm6MJh6p9Ge8KjB5eqDOuGHcp0nbq_lItYT-ua-IdKlZXVByGnE0zU9Wjcc89iKnQpxL7vy7MXhcy9SN3vLuvBqoJyw/s320/IMGP4763.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5413186924963736578" /></a><br /><br />This month (or two) has flown by, it's starting to get colder, it snowed for the first time, and we have a whole bunch of new stuff to look forward to in the coming months. But first there is this:<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1Oa6W1la0HB5ehl1PqqT06qBg8c0YQjILOyCFoYEeucxUle0fte0IsyC2z-lfxgs4tIBgvoZH1KrhXyKZLHTipANOxdQ9Kk9ZsBDEA2zStLNalk8yYnTW1EMQfUrGeKlc0YIh7Q/s1600-h/IMGP4781.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1Oa6W1la0HB5ehl1PqqT06qBg8c0YQjILOyCFoYEeucxUle0fte0IsyC2z-lfxgs4tIBgvoZH1KrhXyKZLHTipANOxdQ9Kk9ZsBDEA2zStLNalk8yYnTW1EMQfUrGeKlc0YIh7Q/s320/IMGP4781.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5413186941471955666" /></a><br />Oh Amalia, please don't ever change.<br />Love,<br />MamaAlicehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13583237871922530078noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37320807.post-46470634545335328262009-12-04T15:21:00.000-08:002009-12-04T15:57:31.712-08:00That which shall not be named...Of course when the camera wasn't on she was screaming PIE! at the top of her lungs, and when I turned the camera on her, she became a petite demur flower. I must admit I find it pretty amusing that one of my children is so adamantly in love with the dreaded P word. Pretty soon she'll be asking me to pass the chips and you know what.<br /><br /><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dyPKpAhWwunSoNg6tKlPpcQ5iWyzTfJ1KgLy3RSh7c3XAr_zO7PKKaT7gQqPp-faeHvmJey5n5GAIU' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe>Alicehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13583237871922530078noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37320807.post-42482416225760820352009-11-29T08:44:00.000-08:002009-11-29T08:55:25.386-08:00Give thanksThanksgiving weekend has come and is nearly gone. We had a wonderful time with family and friends, met some new(ish) members of our clan and had more food than is almost imaginable. <br />Here are just a few pictures from meeting our new cousin Liam, as well as a few from before Thanksgiving of my two little savages.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoc5GRnSf7YvO4idw1c2LSmQVrevNdvd_tkNE8oqM4XwnmXMCZjX-WjhH4oDfgQI255ab8o3GH0WbvO3QfTubjnTMz9bJkkJ0O7M_YVKWSadboabFQ8Vcw21rPu-V5S62DF5UA-A/s1600/IMGP4750.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoc5GRnSf7YvO4idw1c2LSmQVrevNdvd_tkNE8oqM4XwnmXMCZjX-WjhH4oDfgQI255ab8o3GH0WbvO3QfTubjnTMz9bJkkJ0O7M_YVKWSadboabFQ8Vcw21rPu-V5S62DF5UA-A/s320/IMGP4750.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5409569285483718274" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTX2nO1RksQiJE6xT9NgnnJ6O7j8P1NhOS8RklgIaoH0g-hBIEXCHNzoh8oJc5z69C_oWDXZxJY0VxDKLXUuO48JAysx3NkJYz2SspnDskYtUOeQej5yO7i0npr3VpanFZ-cX7Rw/s1600/IMGP4744.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTX2nO1RksQiJE6xT9NgnnJ6O7j8P1NhOS8RklgIaoH0g-hBIEXCHNzoh8oJc5z69C_oWDXZxJY0VxDKLXUuO48JAysx3NkJYz2SspnDskYtUOeQej5yO7i0npr3VpanFZ-cX7Rw/s320/IMGP4744.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5409569282613105554" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXa_RZzhQMuNEV5JtgFAGrrnNVoPXiKg2v2uuZqfbS75ycRIwKqB9HO82brdXkOuSGDHIiVYE4OyaOWKIIcL6CteOxkMean3PbFMVPfM1X06Ee4vDrggv6hRNaJ9DSY_SYFeTa1A/s1600/IMGP4747.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXa_RZzhQMuNEV5JtgFAGrrnNVoPXiKg2v2uuZqfbS75ycRIwKqB9HO82brdXkOuSGDHIiVYE4OyaOWKIIcL6CteOxkMean3PbFMVPfM1X06Ee4vDrggv6hRNaJ9DSY_SYFeTa1A/s320/IMGP4747.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5409569280576941746" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWaSNiguEqz8urJ2jl2E-pd7MpDywJbsXS-vwKxJjkvC8dIbA-uWuiv04YEimgs73814x-fIFHKSRLELACKTDBzQTiUoge0i5liC9sENR32nnZGGIH80P7w8po12KhVfQLSUAo-A/s1600/IMGP4725.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWaSNiguEqz8urJ2jl2E-pd7MpDywJbsXS-vwKxJjkvC8dIbA-uWuiv04YEimgs73814x-fIFHKSRLELACKTDBzQTiUoge0i5liC9sENR32nnZGGIH80P7w8po12KhVfQLSUAo-A/s320/IMGP4725.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5409569270416438034" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHekJPGDyExRgaoQd_Sq4XjD4rC8mi7CQqKm_0Lnc3OVs_TxFuGfWH7acb3mC7FuPdJahYFlUoE2pgbtEHLsRzKkaxOVyr29TFQM0_ioAtGZ9kVs6xIgah3JC0AcPquQm4CmWCgg/s1600/IMGP4734.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHekJPGDyExRgaoQd_Sq4XjD4rC8mi7CQqKm_0Lnc3OVs_TxFuGfWH7acb3mC7FuPdJahYFlUoE2pgbtEHLsRzKkaxOVyr29TFQM0_ioAtGZ9kVs6xIgah3JC0AcPquQm4CmWCgg/s320/IMGP4734.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5409569269140365378" /></a>Alicehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13583237871922530078noreply@blogger.com4