CHEESE

CHEESE!











Need I say more?

Just in Time

Here is a photo, taken by our good friend Cambria, of Sylvie and Mommy with the belly. We are very excited to welcome a new family member next week and can't wait to see what and who they are!!!!

I just talked to a mother, who has a child in Sylvie's class, who said that her 2-year old daughter did not talk to her for two weeks after she brought home her son a few months ago. YIKES. I wonder how Sylvie will react and I hope that we have prepared her as much as we can. She has seen her friends become big sisters so I hope that will help.

She is not the first little girl to get a sibling so I know she will do great. She seems pretty flexible in general.

Mew

Cookie Monster

Sylvie's Granmother made this sweater for her and the first thing I thought was "Cookie Monster!" so I made a hat and some googly eyes and this was her 2nd Halloween Outfit. IT was a big hit and everyone recognized it right away! Plus it was "NiYaM WaYM" which, in Sylvie speak is "Nice and Warm"

And This one

2 years old

Here is Sylvie's official
"IAMTWOANDGORGEOUS"
photo.

Two!

Sylvie's party was really cute. Kim and Tim brought a slew of pink and green baloons, Joey and I decorated the back with pink crepe paper streamers and shots of Sylvie's two year old photo shoot.







Noni made an ADORABLE cake with marshmallow bunnies and Sylvie spelled out in m&ms. Everyone LOVED the cake!















Sylvie loved her new trike and the new Doll that she promptly placed in the trunk of the new trike ;)
(see doll peeking out of trunk at left)













Overall it was a very good day! I can't beleive that our girl is two.

Lawrence Welk

Last night was a very special mommy moment for me.

Most every night that I put Sylvie to bed I sing two songs to her. One is the goodnight song from Donnie and Marie:


May Tomorrow
Be a perfect day
May you find love and laughter along the way
May God keep you
In his tender care
'Til he brings us together again
GOOD NIGHT EVERYBODY!

It has been etched in my brain since I was 7 and was a favorite at many a slumber party. Sylvie likes this one but the second one is her favorite....

The second one is the goodnight theme from Lawrence Welk:

Good night
Sleep tight
and pleasant dreams, to you
Here's a wish
and a prayer
Let every dream come true
AND NOW 'til we meet again
Adios, Au Revoir, Avederzein
GOOD NIGHT!

Last night Sylvie totally sang this one with me for the first time. It was so sweet with her little two year-old head on my shoulder and her little voice in my ear. She really started in on the AND NOW part and she totally said Adios (maybe because of Dora). It was a tender moment.

Obviously, I was raised around a TV and I know I watched alot of Lawrence Welk at my grandmother's house. The results are that I can sing along with most any standard and I totally know how to fake a smile while swaying back and forth ala sweeney sisters. Now Sylvie will share in a small part of that with me. Mew

Gimme a Smile 

Sylvie on the lake 

Summer Fun at Hayden Lake, Idaho 

Aquarium Hell

We went to the aquarium today. Typically June is awful in Seattle but a downpour just after the first day of summer still gets you where it hurts. So, even though all of the summer clothes are at the top of the pile, you dig down deep, pull out the raincoat, pack up all the bags with everything but the kitchen sink, and push yourself out of the house. We did it with four kids though, and that is not easy even on a nice day.

These days, being in the car = snack time. When did that happen? Why does getting buckled into the 5-point harness trigger the pavlovian need for goldfish? and water, of course. Also, my two-year old is a total repeater "watey?, watey? watey? water?". Are all two-year olds this way?

All I remember from the aquarium was receiving the knowing smiles from other parents as they passed by our scene. Sylvie laying on the floor in utter desperation screaming at the top of her lungs to carry her snack-trap. I wanted to say something like "we are having a two-year old moment" or "it's just one of those days" but, and this was the highlight of my day, I realized that I didn't even have to. Most of the parents had older kids, so they already knew exactly what I was going through. I got alot of kind looks. There weren't alot of other two-year olds there, duly noted.

The worst part was having a kicking, screaming, going limp, temper tantrum child in my arms while pregnant. There really is no comfortable way to deal with that, as if there ever is. Oh yeah, on the ramp up to see the otters, my adorable daughter was screaming "I want booty" over and over as if she was in the middle of a marathon and her body could not survive without the popped corn cheddar air that is Pirate Booty (or baby crack as it has been called).

I literally ran by the toddler watershed play area. No way was I going to risk having to leave that place eventually, y'know what I mean?

It will be a long time before we go back, not because I don't love to see the otters rubbing each other on their backs, or the peaceful tropical fish stripped from their paradise home waters, but because it doesn't look that good as a big, watery, blur.

Poor Ani

OK - I need to blog out the Star Wars Episode Three. I loved it in general and walking out of the theater into the daylight was such a "reality bites" moment that it almost ruined the experience. I loved it so much I can hardly wait to see it again!

DO NOT READ FURTHER IF YOU HAVE NOT SEEN IT!

The Good

• Obi Wan flipping out of his crashing ship simultaneously wielding the light saber - HE ROCKS!
• Anakin reuniting with Padme after saving the Chancellor - "Excuse Me" !!!Kissing!!!
• Yoda spinning in the air and killing stooges with the wave of his paws
• The score - brilliant
• The beheading of Dooku
• the droid general wielding 4 light sabers literally TEARING IT UP!
• The sudden appearance of the familiar empire fighter ships
• The horrifying state of Anakin after Obi Wan's asskicking
• Anakin's landing of the titanic-ish burning breaking ship
• Anakin's growth from annoying teen into a half naked husband with a developed chest - even the men sitting behind me moaned at the sight of this :0
• Anakin's abandonment of the double rat tail hairdo
• Crazy elevator maneuvers
• Padme's hair at her funeral
• Most Favorite: How much do I LOVE R2D2?!!!!!

The Bad

• the total average pillows in Anakin and Padme's pad - beige with blue piping - come on!
• Don't stand on the porch brushing your hair and say 'love is blind'
• Don't say "obi wan said you are really stressed out"
• The turn around from - "I can't believe what I have just done" to "Your wish is my command evil master" was sorda quick - I think he should have had put up more of a fight!
• Don't kill younglings - ouch
• Giving birth to two full term babies while looking like you are 4 months pregnant
• The lava flow fighting scene - wouldn't it be too hot to fight ON TOP of lava - too much of a PUSH
• Padme going from a strong, intelligent queen and senator to a hairbrushing helpless pregnant wife - that was a long hard fall!
• Order 66: how quickly those clones will turn!
• The sudden appearance of the nazi-ish empire generals in uniform managing the building of the death star
• Anakin's greasy hair
• Why was the droid general coughing - 1st time any star wars character had health problems - no?

In general I wonder about how little boys will interpret this: Anakin's ultimate weakness was his love and caring for the women in his life. Of course his pride was his downfall as well but his love was really what allowed him to be manipulated by Darth Sidius. What message does this send to the 12-year-ols who were wearing capes and saber fighting while waiting in line for the 7 o'clock showing (at 5:40)?

I totally believe that there is room for another one. I want to see the creation of the rebellion. I want scenes of Leia growing up on Alderon. I want to see the transition of Darth Vedar from mourning Padme to Standing at the window managing the death star. I want to see Luke nailing the rats back in beggars canyon on tattoine! I would love to see some history on Han - he must have some midichlorians in his back pocket! Who could play a young Han? That would be a hard casting challenge. PLEASE we need an episode 3.5!

Comments? I don't want to visit a star wars chat room though I am tempted I would be overwhelmed by the nuttsies!

Blog it out - Sleeping

I recently got an email from a friend about putting her child to sleep earlier and it released a flood of memories about my own sleeping problems as a child. I need to blog it out....

I hated going to bed so much when I was a kid and really didn't need very much sleep. I have a birth mark on my butt and, until I was 15, thought it was from being spanked from getting out of bed so much. I also had a drowsy doll that used to say "I want another drink of water!" and used it on my dad all night long. I would sit in bed and stare at the canopy and never remembered falling asleep. I didn't learn to close my eyes to fall asleep until I was a teenager. Strange huh!? My mom used to try relaxation techniques on me - it is all coming back now. Anyway, I swear it gave me the imagination and creativity that I still used today. Still, I think I should have been allowed to stay up. Every kid is different.

My parents tried alot of techniques on us and one was the star/reward system. We got to set some of our own rules as long as we were willing to follow them. My parents even gave us the opportunity to decide on a bedtime. The catch was that my brother and I had to agree on a time. Well, this was a big problem. My brother wanted to go to bed at 7. DORK because he was born a realist and was extremely practical. I remember yelling - THIS IS OUR OPPORTUNITY TO STAY UP UNTIL 11. My brother probably knew that this would be my reaction so he started out low with some room for negotiation. I was doubly pissed because I felt that, being the oldest, I should automatically get to stay up later. I think we decided on 8 which was really sad for me. My brother often got his way because he had more resources - he was a hoarder and could coerce me with his stash of NOW and LATERS.

Another sleeping nightmare was day-care. My parents had to tell the daycare not to let me take a nap because it made bedtime even worse. The daycare people hated me for it and made me read in the sleeping room, in the DARK! I was so bored that I used to pinch the sleeping kids to wake them up - AWFUL!

Luckily, Sylvie loves to go to bed and sleeps for 12 hours on most days. I think she got this from her dad. PHEW!

crocheted flowers closeup 

girly sweater 

Girly

Here is my most recent sweater and probably my most favorite. I took a Rowan pattern with trees and snow and added crocheted flowers and grass. I am still working with leftovers from the log-cabin heirloom below. This sweater is for the next baby girl to bjorn. I can't wait to see it on. mew

Frieda

This portrait of Frieda was taken with my new toy Holga. The holga is a plastic $19.00 camera that takes medium format film. After learning how to carefully load the film, I figured out that it can take really nice portraits with interesting light-leakage in the corners and great depth of field. This is the best shot so far. It looks like Frieda wants you to throw her that ball but she usually grabs it before you can pick it up. In Sylvie's case, she takes too long to throw so the ball usually gets taken from her hand by Ms. Friedsers.

Here is my portrait of Ms. Frieda Sterling 

French Bob Haircut 

Cheerio Bliss