just Laci

Laci ends up in our bed almost every morning, somewhere between five and seven. That is, if I'm lucky enough to still be in bed at that time. Most mornings, I hear her little feet patting the floor as she makes her way across the house to our room. But the other morning, I heard her crying in her bed. It was about 5:30. I hurried to get her before she woke Mia as I certainly did not want to start my day that early.

I brought her back to our bed, snuggled her between Ryan and me, and she quickly went back to sleep.

Went she awoke a couple of hours later, I teased her. "How did you get in my bed?"

"I was crying," she said.

"Why were you crying?" I asked her.

"I lost you mommom."

Aww, so sweet.

****

Her imagination is going wild these days. She acts out stories with her toys and loves it when Ryan or I will play with her. She isn't so fond of letting little sister join in. She made Ryan and I re-enact The Lion King the other day. It was the scene in the gorge when Mufasa is killed. Laci was Simba, I was Mufasa, and Ryan was Scar. (Random note: Laci is convinced that Scar is a hyena, not a lion, and no amount of reasoning will change her mind.) She made me roar "really loud" and then I had to fall out of the chair and die. "Close your eyes and die," she told me. She is quite the director.  I was trying my best not to laugh, but wasn't very successful, and was scolded on more than one occasion to "be dead."

She really is a sweetheart. She just wants everyone to be happy and she can be so helpful and loving. Most of the time. I won't talk about those other times when she is just a pill because her extreme sensitivity, moodiness, and emotional tendencies, well, that's all me in a smaller package.

She seems like such a big girl now that she is three. She has started telling me how she is growing up and getting bigger, though I'm trying my best to keep her little for as long as possible.  She still loves to snuggle under a blanket when she's tired, and too often, I feel like it's a waste of time to just sit on the couch and do nothing.  I keep reminding myself that she won't always want to sit with me and "white blanket, and sippy cup, and mulp, and white blanket" (which is a direct quote).  And when that day comes, I will be sad.

just Mia

I know it's boring, but for the sake of record keeping, Mia had a check up a couple weeks ago. She weighed in at 19 lb 14 oz and is 28" tall. She is healthy and happy, got two shots, and barely even whimpered. Such a tough girl, she is. I know I'll be glad I wrote this down somewhere, like I was glad the other day when I could look up an old post and see what Laci weighed at the same age.

Miss Mia can moo now. And bark. And howl. She still refuses to say momma. I am amused that my children learn animal sounds first. She has decided to wean herself. She actually has been trying to wean herself for a while, but I wasn't fully on board. She would far rather wander around with a bottle or lay on the floor and drink her milk than bury her face in my chest. She is just too independent. Oh, and she finally cut her fourth tooth a couple weeks ago.

The temper on this kid is something. If she is crying, it is most often because something isn't going her way, only rarely does it mean she is hurt. But when she is happy, she is pure sunshine.

She has started "reading."  And by "reading," I mean, she opens a book, makes some gibberish noises, and then shuts the book.  Repeatedly.  It is just about the cutest thing ever, but I'm biased.

She is our little shark bait, and I think it is pretty obvious, that we just love her to pieces.

when daddy is home

It was another Family Day Sunday, and it was THRILLING.  And by "thrilling," I mean pretty boring and quiet with a little bit of fun.  Hold onto your seat, it is about to get really exciting here.

Laci took full advantage of having her Daddy home.  The first thrilling event:  putting on her riding pants and helmet and trying out her new motorcycle.

Even when the helmet is too big, it still manages to squish her face.

Mia had to watch from the sidelines.  She was tired and needed a nap, but wasn't exactly cooperative.  She never wants to nap.  She wasn't too happy about being strapped into her stroller.  She also never wants to be strapped into anything, strollers included.

Laci doesn't look happy either, but she was.  She didn't want to stop even though it was super hot and Ryan's backside was sore from riding.

Manly looking on that pink bike, isn't he?

Laci managed to rub both her thumbs raw on the handlebars, so I think it qualifies as a fantastic first motorcycle ride.  It isn't fun without a little pain, right?

Oh, hello random picture of Lunati, whose nose is almost finally healed, by the way.  And yes, Mia got out of her stroller.

To play with the world's most awesome toy, which also happens to be one of the most annoying.  That's why this particular toy lives outside at our house.

Thrilling event number two:  Happy dogs chasing tennis balls.  The picture doesn't show it, but Laci was jumping as much as the dogs were.  It is very exciting to throw tennis balls.  I wouldn't know because I stopped throwing tennis balls for the dogs years ago.  When people come by to visit, we always tell them, "Don't throw things for the dogs."  There are a number of reasons, two of which are the incessant, AND LOUD, barking that accompanies the chasing of tennis balls, and because our dogs are old and will run until they are unable to walk.  They are real smart like that.  Also, people never listen to us.  Our dogs are not only smart, but very persuasive with their big brown eyes and wiggly butts.

Thrilling event number three:  JEEP driving.  It's a shame, but the Barbie Jeep sits in the shop most of the time.  It was after dinner and we needed something to do until bath time.  Enter my great idea to bring out the Jeep.  After quite a bit of whiplash, Laci got the hang of pushing, and continuing to push, the gas pedal.  That is, until they discovered the radio.  In typical girl fashion, she was more concerned with the radio than with looking where she was driving.  Mia also was very concerned with the radio, but you know what scares me more?

The thought that, someday, THIS girl will be behind the wheel.  That is NOT the face of a responsible driver.

The fourth, and final, thrilling event:  Rattle snake in the shop.  Yes, IN THE SHOP.  I did not take pictures. I don't know why.  Maybe because there was a freaking rattle snake in the shop.  He was curled up in the exact location where the Jeep had been parked.  We only knew he was there because the cat had him cornered and he was hissing and rattling like crazy.  He was about 12-18 inches long, and had about five or six buttons.  I'm no expert in rattlesnake aging, but I would say he's been around a little while.  I also don't know how far their mouths open when they strike, so I have no idea if it was the same snake that bit Lunati.  He met his fate with the flat side of a shovel and I've been keeping my eyes peeled more than usual.

That pretty much sums up our Sunday.  We also threw in a little cousin play time, some Chinese food for dinner, and early bedtimes for all.  I don't think it gets any more thrilling than that.

end of summer, start of fall

Summer is officially over.  We had fun.  Now I'm ready for Fall.

At this point, the only thing signaling the changing season is a note on the calendar that says Fall Equinox.  It is predicted to be 90 degrees tomorrow and I have not seen a single leaf change color.  It isn't exactly the weather that inspires warm cider and cozy fires, but I'll be ready when it happens.  I'm giving myself permission to buy miniature pumpkins this weekend and spread them about my house at will.  My kids will probably collect them and turn them into some game where the pumpkins are puppies or babies, because that's the kind of things they do these days, but I'll give it a good try anyway.

The thought just struck me that Mia has officially experienced each season now.  As I get caught up in the everyday stuff, I sometimes forget the obvious fact that this was her first year on Earth.  That everything she saw and did was for the first time.  And, although she has many firsts still to come, there will never be another first Summer.  That makes me feel maybe a little bit sad to see the season go.  It was too cute to see her eat the veggies from the garden, watch her learn to walk around the baby pool without falling down, learn about things like Otter Pops and sprinklers, and running around the yard in just a diaper.  Sigh.

Time marches forward, always.  And I'm ready for that fire, a cup of something warm, and maybe snuggling under my grammy quilt while watching a movie.

out and about

Ryan and I took the girls to the salmon ladder by the river yesterday.  We walked over to the hatchery too, although I'm not sure why.  We didn't show Laci the room with the viewing windows where they harvest the salmon, it's a little violent for a three year old.  As a kid, I remember asking my mom what that white stuff was that they were getting out of the fish.  I couldn't remember what she told me, so I asked her last night.  She thinks she told me it was milk  Good one, Mom.  They harvest eggs from the females and then put milk on them?  Apparently it was enough information for my curiosity at the time because I don't remember questioning her explanation.

I caught a jumper.

Ugly, aren't they?

My favorite part of going to the hatchery as a kid was after the young salmon hatched and we would feed them handfuls of food.  We would run up and down between the long holding tanks where the fish grew and I remember we always ran out of quarters for the food before we were ready to be done feeding them.  Ah, the life of a kid would be so much easier if there were an endless supply of quarters.

Anyhow, Laci liked the fish.  She told me they were nice fish and they weren't going to bite her.  Which is true because there is quite a distance, and thick glass, between her and the fish, but honestly, I don't know where she comes up with this stuff.

Mia was tired and ready for a nap.  She almost fell asleep looking out at the spillway.  I guess the sound of the rushing water is soothing, but she is a stubborn one and refused to shut her eyes.

It was a simple outing and completely free (my favorite kind), and just enough quality family time to get us by for a little while.

The bath house, from across the river.

our weekend plus friday

Life just happens sometimes, in such a way that you lose track of time and suddenly realize it's the middle of September, and I wonder "how did I get here?"  Also, I have been trying to catch up on sleep that I've been missing out on for something like three years.  Going to bed earlier instead of basking in the quietness that happens after the girls are in bed.  I think it is what my sanity needs most at the moment.

Our weekend was quiet, simple, and not unlike many other weekends this Summer, except Ryan didn't have to work Sunday.  I said it, he did not have to work Sunday.  We might be getting our weekends back soon, but I don't want to jinx anything.

Pieces of our weekend in pictures:

Friday

Big girl braids.

 Feeding the horses and Maverick bombs another picture.

 Mia keeps her distance, she isn't too sure about those horses yet.

Saturday

 Loving their brother.

Who wouldn't love a face like that?

(Mom, these pictures are for you).

BBQ Pizza with homemade dough and the freshest toppings you can think of.

Sunday

Coloring.

More BBQ.  Tri tip, yummm.

Some pool time.

And a sweet, silly face.

The End.