Dear Emma....

 

Dear Emma,

Today was a big day for you. Okay, maybe i'm exaggerating and it was a bigger day for me than you, but, boy, was it exciting day to see. You are growing up right before my eyes, Emma, and no matter how much i try to slow down that process, well, there isn't any slowing it down. It's amazing to watch you grow and learn new things~i sometimes can see your mind connecting things together as you learn. I love how you'll turn around to me as if to say "See!! I CAN do this and i can do this ALL BY MYSELF!" as i try to cling to you to slow you down. No matter how hard i try to hold on to you, you are growing into your self by learning things and developing a personality all of your own.

You are a daredevil. I sometimes shut my eyes as you bounce on the couch with your legs in the air, arms lifted up and giggling as you bounce. I sometimes shut my eyes as you run away from me in our backyard as you laugh, trying to imprint the sound of your laughter in my heart so i won't ever forget these moments of you growing up. And i also shut my eyes when you leap up and down in your crib, treating it like a trampoline....knowing that one day, that crib isn't going to be able to hold you any longer.

Today we had a few 'firsts'....

~You walked up all of the stairs at school, holding my hand, counting the steps as you went. No more crawling up the stairs for you anymore, it seems; and you counted perfectly.

~You are (slowly, VERY slowly!) learning how to comfort and share with others. I watched you through the glass door today as i dropped you off and noticed that you went over to Isabella, who was crying and handed her your bagel and sippy cup. She stopped crying, took a bite of your bagel, drank out of your sippy cup and handed them both back to you with a smile. My heart, of course, melted at this tenderness from you to Isabella.

~You also walked up all of the stairs at your Dad's work all by yourself as we visited Ms. Kitty (your self-proclaimed aunt!) and her staff. You went office to office saying "HI!" and "I'm gonna get youuu" and laughed with delight as three grown women chased you down the hall in their heels. You also played with Joe in his office...i think that you have a thing for older, balding men. You are much more social than i am-even at the age of two...and you are always filled with laughter.

~You ate with a spoon! Huge, big deal to me...not so much for you, i think. Usually, you use the spoon to toss food on the floor.

While these things may not seem big to you, Emma, they were huge with me today. Time passes so quickly sometimes...so i try to keep notes on things that you do or have learned. I'm so proud of the little girl that you are growing into, Emma, and love you so very much.

Love you to the Moon and back....

Mommy

Daylillies!

 

 

 

 

Can you believe that i actually have these beautiful flowers in my back yard? Aren't they so beautiful??

The only sad thing about them is that the flowers only last one day....thus the name "Day"lillies.

I'm speechless...

...and it broke my heart to watch this clip. I can't even form what i want to say about this clip. It is a long clip (about 20 minutes) but so worth the time to watch.

No matter how you feel....

...about Michael Jackson, well, he was an amazing singer and dancer. This is the first video i remember seeing of him when we came back to the United States...i was speechless and amazed...

My heart is with his young children and family~how sad and heartbreaking it is to lose someone you love so very much....

Lunch....

...or how to get crumbs in your hair, in your diaper, all over the floor and manage to still be hungry.

Emma isn't really a picky eater, and for that i'm grateful. She'll usually game to try anything you hand to her; but of course, she must smell it, mush it in her hands, pull it apart and then (and only then!) will she try it. Emma does love fruit...she will try to eat her weight in strawberries, grapes, apples, bananas. Grapes are currently her favorite, followed closely by strawberries. I've always had fruit on hand so i'm thrilled that she loves fruit.

But veggies?

sigh...not so much. I've tried drizzling melted cheese on broccoli and i thought that i had won that round until i noticed that she was sucking the cheese off of the broccoli and putting the sucked broccoli carcass under her plate. Where she learned that trick, i have no idea! I've also tried corn on the cob and it's no-go too...she sucks the butter off and leaves the rest. Maybe veggies are just one of those things that you have to continue to offer?

Nap time is also becoming a challenge....i think that Emma thinks that she's going to miss something, so she does her best to stay awake. And, in doing that, i have a cranky guata-tot on my hands. A friend told me not to give up and to continue putting her down because at the age of two, she still needs to nap...even if all she is doing is using her crib as a trampoline. (Thanks, Missy for the advice...your the best!) The only good thing that has come out of our challenging nap time is a much earlier bedtime. But, long gone are the twice a day naps that "i" loved so much!

As for talking, well, she's a singer and a talker. Her words are becoming more clearer-i understand them, lol, but i don't think that others do sometimes. And singing....the child loves, loves, loves to sing. I am constantly amazed at how quickly she picks up a song's words. Granted, we are singing A LOT so maybe that's why. Emma can do the ABC Song by herself which is so dang cute. We are working on some Spanish nursery rhymes so that's been really fun for the both of us. I just feel sad that my beautiful little daughter sings like me and sounds like a cat in heat. Hopefully, as she gets older, her singing voice will improve!

We are coming up on our second anniversary as a family in July. How fast this time has flown by...it seems like yesterday that we were in Guatemala meeting Emma. There are moments in your life that you can truly never forget and that you can re-call all of the details of vividly; meeting Emma is one of those moments for me. I remember everything about that day-peeking through the peek hole at our hotel door when i heard the elevator open and seeing her for the first time, how tiny and perfect she was, how she smelled and how she nestled to me as i sat down with her alone in the next room and fell asleep. It was the most perfect moment of my life...

...unlike those 'special' moments spent cleaning up from Emma's lunch, lol...

Cool blogging things....

 

Okay, i have learned blogging secrets! I found a site (email me and i'll send you the link!) that teaches/tells you so-called 'blogging' secrets like:

~How to change fonts on your blog (really!)
~How to get rid of the lines around your photos
~How to get rid of lines around your blog title photo (how cool is that?!?)
~How to get rid of the line that separates your posts (didn't do this one...but it's EASY!)
~How to get rid of the lines on your side bar...too cool.
~How to 'center' your text (i did this on my side bar....)
~How to get 'custom' colors (who knew??)
~How to add your name in a 'signature' form to your blog (didn't get to this one...)
~How to do your own bloggy banner! (haven't tried this, either...)
~How to center widgets that you add to your sidebar...very cool!

I know that i'm probably a closet geek who just is looking for her inner 'geekness'....but dang, i had a blast playing with all of these 'secrets' the other night after Emma was in bed. Of course, i also found more sites with free backgrounds and a site that will TEACH you how to do your own background! (I haven't done that one, yet...). I can't tell you how many different blog backgrounds i looked at and tried!

Oh, yeah, baby...i know how to have a good time after i put Emma to sleep, eh? ;)

btw, the above photo is my family....Robert, me, Emma and 'Abuela' (notice her angel wings...)

At the water park.....

...was really too much fun! Emma and i went with Melinda and her son, Cooper, yesterday. I couldn't believe that this park was FREE (you know, my favorite word!) and my little Emma got her first boy kiss yesterday from Cooper. Okay, so it wasn't really on her face, lol, but close enough. ;)

I feel so lucky that Melinda lives so close to me. She's my workout buddy and has become a friend. She's really talented, too, with amazing taste. Yep, i'm lucky
to have found her!

Happy Father's Day, Pooka!

 

So many.....

 

 

 

...photos. I can't believe that i've taken so many. I've spent some of the day organizing, printing and looking through the numerous photos i've taken of Emma since we've been home. While i've always heard that children grow fast, i never really believed it. But now, well, now i photo evidence that children can grow in the blink of an eye. These years truly don't last long enough, do they?

These are some of my favorite (i have a ton of "favorites", btw) photos that i took last year at the beach in FL. While i love to take photos, sometimes, i just stop to watch Emma. When you look through a lens, it's like you are concentrating on getting a good shot and you're not really "in" the moment. But of course, the Mommy-Gene kicks in and you MUST take more photos. You know, just in case you miss "that" moment....how ever would you remember it? I've finally come to understand that 'those' kind of moments are burned into your heart.

I am sorry that i don't have more photos of my Mother and i. She hated having her photo taken and i guess i learned that from her. Most of the ones that i have were taken while she and i lived in Spain while my Dad was in Iceland and in places where she and i couldn't go. I have to smile at those photos-i was never in jeans or t-shirts....i was in a skirt or cute little pants with my necklace on. Nevermind that i was under the age of four, lol, my Mom dressed me that way. Always. I don't have any photos will food all over my face or when i'm playing (or eating!) in dirt. Those are some of my favorite shots of Emma that i've taken. Those photos are like snap shots of her daily life and not a posed moment. I am for having formal photos done....but the ones i love the best are Emma doing whatever she is doing and i catch her when she's not looking.

I'm sure that Emma will look back and wonder what i was smoking when i dressed her in the butterfly dress or in the bright red Gingerbread footy-pjs for Christmas. I do love how she just lays there and will let me dress her to my heart's content in anything (and everything!) i want. There will come a day, and it's very soon, i'm sure, that she will dress herself and decided that the shorts i think are so cute are dorky and refuses to wear them. I remember going to School Photo Day in something that my Mom picked out, wishing that the Photo Day would be canceled due to some horrific event because i looked like a dork and didn't want my photo taken. It never happened and i have lots of school photos to prove how dorky i DID look. :)

I do hope that Emma will cherish all of the photos that i've taken and will take of her. I want her to see what a happy child she is and how much fun she had chasing bugs and kissing the boxer puppy who lives next door on the nose. Those are the childhood memories that should be remembered....even if your Mom dresses you like a dork. ;)

Banana Bread.....yummmmm

I love Banana Bread....i especially love Banana Bread with raisins and chopped peacan in it. I do think that i've mastered this recipe of mine...it's one that i got from my Mother and that i changed slightly.

Baking brings back such good memories of my Mom~she was a wonderful baker. The kitchen was were we would always be, chatting and watching her bake or cook. I wish that i could say that i had her flair for Spanish cooking, but i don't. Perhaps it is something that you just have to work at....my Paella just isn't the same as hers. I really need to work on that. Here's a photo of the only time it came close to being just like my Mom's:



Yeah, i have to take photos of what i cook, lol...you know, as proof that i do cook. Sometimes. And sometimes, it's even edible! :)

Off to chase Emma...

Beauty.....

 

 

 

 

....in Guatemala

More Beauty.....

 

 

 

 

....from Guatemala.

Guess where we are going?

 

After much thought and discussion (okay, not really "much" thought...), Emma and i are headed to the beach with Robert. He has some kind of convention/meeting/fun time in Destin and at first, i thought it would be fun for Emma and i just to hang out here at home. (No, i wasn't' drinking when i thought that...nor did someone hit me in the head, lol.) But after a quick reality check, i knew that it would be much more fun to head to the beach condo. And so, my packing for the trip begins....

I did learn from our Family Beach Extravaganza Trip last summer that i pack way too much. Not just a "little" too much, but a van-full too much. I hauled it all...i wanted to be ready for everything and anything. And i was ready for anything and everything....which never happened. I have learned my lesson and will be packing bathing suits, shorts, flip-flops, camera, some snacks/water for the trip, and floaty things for Emma--everything else that we need i can get when we get there--and leave it there when we leave. I guess i was packing last year in the hope that we wouldn't ever come back from the beach...

I am looking forward to the photos i'll take and a little bit of relaxation time (with a two year old, i somehow think that the 'relaxation' time will be very short for me but very sweet...). Robert will be gone just about the whole time we are there with his meetings, so Emma and i can do what girls do best: go to the pool or beach and shop. Oh, and of course, take naps. Because what's a vacation without lots of pool/beach time, shopping and naps? :)

YAY!! WE'RE GOIN' TO THE BEACH!!

Is it nap time yet?

 

It's only 12:15pm and i'm ready for a nap.

Too bad for me that Emma isn't.

So far today, we've:

~Cleaned up soil off the hardwood floor from a large potted plant that "someone" tried to move. Re-potted plant.
~Cleaned up water from the toilet where Dora and Boots were "swimmin'"
~Cleaned up the trash from where my 'helper' helped me take out the trash.
~Cleaned up a green tea spill from where 'someone' figured out how to take off the lid to her sippy cup.
~Picked up an entire basket of clean clothes that 'someone' un-folded while 'helping' me put them away.
~Re-did my drawers where my 'helper' pulled out all of the drawers (and un-folded the clothes in the drawers).
~Searched the ENTIRE house for Pachi as he was missing-in-action. Finally found Pachi in the garage by the Christmas trees....you know, the very last place i looked.
~Cleaned up a half a box of Cherrios (again on the hardwood floors)that 'someone' spilled when she insisted that she could feed 'hewselwf'
~Put back all of the Blinds installer's tools that my 'helper' pulled back and drug though the house while i made the beds. Found his drill after he left in Emma's crib.
~Tried to reason with a two-year old why Pachi couldn't take a bath with her. Lost that contest....sigh.
~Cleaned poop out of the tub....ewwww.

How in the world do Mothers keep up with more than one child??

But in all honesty, usually our days are not like this everyday. And of course, even though i shook my head while cleaning/picking up/searching/reasoning with Emma, i know how lucky i am to be a stay-at-home Mom. I was the one who was able to see her first steps, her first smiles, her first giggles and her first words. And now i'm getting to see her sing her A,B,C's, learn songs like "Taxi, Taxi" and watch the fun, outgoing toddler that she is growing up to be.

So, today, once again, is a good day. :)

"While you were sleeping...."

 

It's no news flash that most Mommies can get many things accomplished while their little ones sleep. Everything from showers to mopping floors can get done VERY quickly as there are no little "helpers" to help. Sometimes, though, just for comic relief, a Mommy should let her little helpers "help" but those moments are usually only good for photo ops to post on your blog or to post as your Facebook profile photo. ;) At no other time in a woman's life will she think that sticking her hands into the toilet, her naked, bare bottom stuck out and giggling while having her photo taken is a photo opportunity for a blog OR for a Facebook page!

While i usually try to get things done while Emma is sleeping....usually it ends up being more 'me' time than a time to get things done. Yeah, i am selfish like that, lol. I check in with friends, catch up on emails, chat on the phone, text others, eat lunch all by myself without a cute little one trying to hawk my food and do goofy 'quizzes' on facebook so i'll know what my 'Hippie Name" should be. But don't think that i'm totally lax--i do start the dishwasher during nap time and toss in Clorox into the toilets to clean them durimg these 'me' times. After all, you gotta keep on on housework, right? ;) Of course, this means that there are at least two-three days a week when the only thing that i do is housework...it's kinda like punishment for having designated "Mommy-Time".

But i have two other favorite things to do while Emma is sleeping....

....i love to sneak in and watch her sleep. I have to be careful, though, because NO Mommy wants to EVER wake up a sleeping baby...but it is such an awesome, sweet moment to sneak in and watch your child sleep. She is so very peaceful while she sleeps. It takes my breath away as i watch her sleeping on her tummy with her bottom stuck in the air with Pachi the pink elephant under her arm. Emma sleeps with about 10-12 stuffed animals that she will put into the crib before she gets in, telling them all that "It's nap time!". I wonder about things like "What will she grow up to be?" and say short prayers that whatever she does, that God is with her, guiding her in her life and her decisions. And i'm often overwhelmed at the enormous responsibility of raising a daughter...there are so many things that i want to teach her yet i know full well that many lessons will be taught by others. Lessons that many not be kind to her but that are nevertheless a part of her growing up into a young woman.

I also like to tickle her toes while she's asleep because she'll giggle. :D

When i hear Emmma wake up from her nap or in the mornings, i love, love, LOVE to sneak in and listen to her play with her toes and talk to her stuffed animals. I hear her telling her stuffed animals things that i tell her like "Be carefuw on the stwairs!" and "Good mornin', Cupwake!!" and my favoirte "Plway time for Mama n Emmma!". I guess i realize that as she grows into her teenage years, lol, 'sneaking in' as she wakes up will not be greated with a happy "Good mornin' Cupwake!" greeting. My then-greeting will probably be something along the lines of "PLEASE let me sleep a little longer!"

So, for now, i'll continue sneaking into her room to enjoy her and to make memories of my little daughter...i know that this time with Emma as a toddler won't last nearly as long as i want it to and it will be gone quickly. I want to record as many moments for her as i possibly can as a gift to her so maybe one day, if she does have children of her own she will know how very much i love her.

Spring Hill

 

There is a town near where i live that i haven't been able to stop thinking about the past few days. It's a nice town, with new, beautiful neighborhoods and lots of pastures and trees. I've driven through there a few times and have always been amazed at how a town can grow in the mist of a cow pasture....but nevertheless, it was a sort of up and coming little town that seemed to be the place to live.

This town, called Spring Hill (don't you just love the name?!) is more or less built around a GM plant. New businesses have started from having a GM plant. This particular GM plant employees 2900 folks. Two thousand nine hundred folks with families, homes, lives. A few years back, GM invested over a million dollars in this plant...and the plant was currently building the Traverse car.

This GM plant is now in and "idle" state for the next month while GM (or the president) decides if a new, smaller car will be built there or in a town in Michigan. Most folks that i've spoken to feel that Michigan is a slam dunk as it
is a mostly democratic state. I like to think (in my rosy-colored world...) that politics doesn't come into play on decisions such as this...but it is foolish to think that.

I'm not going to go into the bailout issues, the president's part, how i feel about unions and their part in this, GM's part in all of this, or the pros and cons of the bailout and subsequent bankruptcy of GM. I could debate these things all day long as could many others who has opinions that are different than mine. But what i can not stop thinking about is the 2900 folks who work in this plant. Who have families and children. Who have homes in Spring Hill. Who, for the next month, will be sitting there as GM decides their fate. I imagine that most of these families depend on their paychecks from GM. And i imagine the horror that some of these employees of this plant must have at the thought of loosing their jobs at a time when the economy is less than inviting when you're looking for a new job. Homes in Spring Hill may not have the same value as GM may not be there so selling your house may not be the easiest thing to do.

A few days ago, the Nashville Tennessean had an article about the employees at the Spring Hill plant. How some felt "too old to look for another job" or "weren't sure of what in the world they would do". In this article, there was a photo of a woman who worked at the Spring Hill plant who had a daughter with MS....who was worried about her daughter's future, her daughter's health, and not being able to provide for her. I've not stopped thinking about this woman's face, her features showing her fear.

Through my husband, i've learned a lot about running a business~more than i wanted to know on some days. How you have to be proactive to protect not only your company, but those who work for you. How it's really about the bottom line and how hard it is to remember that when you care so much about your employees. How bad decisions can do you in quickly. How the economy can (and will) hurt you. How you have to run a lean company at times and how you have to not run so lean at times. But the one thing that i've learned from my husband is how valuable the folks are who work for you and how it's your duty as a business owner to protect them and their families. And i wonder if GM did these things....

...but mostly, now, i think about the woman in the photo with fear written in her face. I pray that her and her daughter as well as the other 2900 employees of this GM plant will be okay. That they will all survive this, and so will the others who have been touched by the GM thing. Praying right now seems to be the only thing i can think of to do...and so i do it.

I do the prayer thing a lot lately...