Maliana ~
Well this week has been pretty darn good if I do say so myself. It’s been full of bike riding, nature runs, practice fishing, a visit to the zoo, and spending time with family and friends. In fact, it was such a good week that I wasn’t even all that depressed come Sunday night when I knew I was going back to work the next morning. We’d done this week up right so I was nice and relaxed going into Monday morning.
This particular week we’ve had super weather, gorgeous during the day and some very impressive thunderstorms at night. You’ve decided to begin practicing on your new big girl bike every single night, going around the block not once, but twice each evening. You are doing amazingly well too. You have your brakes down to a science, and are even standing to pedal when you need to get uphill. We’ve also made it a game to see how many worms we can “save” from the hot sun or trampling feet on the sidewalk. This week you were pretty proud to say you saved 4 worms from their imminent demise. My little nature lover.
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| slick little wave as you roll by |
You are such a natural athletically, even Ms. Theresa and Ms. Krista (your Tap and Tumble instructors) made the comment that you are doing really well. A super strong kid.
Here you are on your bike ~ look at you go!
http://youtu.be/u2qczI4MR_U
And speaking of loving nature, you and I went on a few different runs together. After school one day I took you to Sharon Woods, and since you have chosen to begin skipping naps at school, on this particular day you slept the entire 3.8 miles that I ran with you. You love to sleep outside and the lull of the jogging stroller really puts you out when you are tired. You may have missed the 6 wild turkeys I spotted along the trail, but I’m glad you got your nap in. For our next run you were wide awake and I’m so glad because we ran into an old friend, Mr. Turtle! We’ve seen this little guy off the trail by our house for at least the last 2 years. We know it’s the same one because he has a little chip on the side of his shell. Pretty cool stuff. I wonder how old he is?
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| hi again little guy! |
Also, upon leaving the house for this run, the fog had not yet burned off. You were so excited to see the “frosty” as you called it.
This week I also took a little personal time from work to get things done at home before picking you up at school. As I attacked your room, cleaning and sorting all of your accumulated stuff, I had to laugh at what I found in your bed. It’s always interesting to see what your kids stash in different places. Between your sheets I found: Spiderman, the Green Goblin, part of a spaceship, 10,000 various sized blankets, Dora, Mickey Mouse, and your Innotab (or as you call it, your Ipad).
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| feeling girly in your requested heels |
We had a super time eating a picnic lunch and then visiting a bunch of animals. We always enjoy spending time with the Neuhausels and it’s nice to see you and Mia together. All three of you kids, (you, Mia, and Freddy), were pretty tired with not one nap between the three of you, so there were challenging moments towards the end, but we had a great time nonetheless.
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the Neuhausels
(Mia, Michelle, Freddy, and Fred) |
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you girls were more interested in checking out
the lake than eating lunch |
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| feeding geese |
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| checking out the carp with Dad |
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the tunnel that is always fun to yell in as you go through...
to see who can make the biggest echo |
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| riding a manatee |
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note to self: take group photo before the kids begin
their meltdown...all three of you were beyond
the point of no return |
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| boat ride! |
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| (love that face!) |
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| Mommy trying to steal a kiss from you |
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| you look a little constipated, but that's just your fake smile, ha. |
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| Dippin Dots! |
Once home, Daddy headed out with friends and you and I waited for Lao Lao who came over and made guacamole with us for Cinco de Mayo. While you waited for Lao Lao, you raided my thank you cards and created some masterpieces especially for her. On more than one card, you had drawn pictures of Lao Lao, which remarkably all looked about the same and so we surmised that this is in fact how you must see her. It’s a pretty good likeness too!
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| your artistic vision of Lao Lao |
You loved helping make the guac and even enjoyed some tastes too, although were more into the lime tortilla chips than anything else.
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| smooshing the avocado |
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| cooking lesson with Lao Lao |
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| guacamole is done! |
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| and the first taste ~ yum! |
Sunday felt like a lazy day, but was anything but. Daddy took you to Safety Town in New Albany so you could try out your big girl bike there and so I could get some flowers potted and the house cleaned.
After you worked up an appetite, he took you to a Chinese restaurant nearby (Great Wall) where you made a new friend, Selena. Her parents own the restaurant and you are both only a month apart in age, however she just returned from living in China most of her life and so does not speak much English at all. No matter though, because “play” is an international language and boy did you guys “talk” up a storm.
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| "silly" is understood in any language |
After returning home you needed to take a nap, but were fighting it tooth and nail. You had wanted me to lay down with you, and so both Daddy and I did for a bit (in our bed), but then you kept kicking (because you were angry) and several times they landed on me. I gave you fair warning, and when you didn’t stop I got up and went back downstairs to repot more flowers. You immediately got very upset, but I felt like you needed to learn a lesson and suffer the consequences of your actions, so I stayed downstairs. A little bit later, I was pleasantly surprised when you came outside with Daddy. Evidently, all on your own you had asked to come down and apologize to me. I was very impressed (making sure to tell you how much I appreciated that). But I was even more shocked when you decided to sleep in your own bed for nap. You even went in your room and did it all by yourself. That’s a first that you did it all on your own. There are usually many arguments, stalling, and creative negotiations to accompany any type of sleep in this house. So wow! Mark this date in the record books.
Sunday evening we wrapped up the weekend with dinner at Northstar Café with my cousin Amy and her little girl Chloe, as well as Lao Lao, Uncles Flint and Forge, and Papaw Rick. They (Amy, Tre (who is Amy’s husband), and Chloe) live in Tennessee since Tre is in the army and so we don’t get to see them much. In spite of there being 2 years difference between you and Chloe’s ages, you found a common interest in rearranging the condiment counter together. I’m sure the staff loved that. Ha. Anyway, it was nice to catch up and have you spend some rare time with both of them. Amy is expecting a baby soon (who will be your new cousin, Eva), but unfortunately Tre is being redeployed to Afghanistan this fall. Because of this, the girls are all moving back to Ohio for 9 months or so. Hopefully, we’ll be able to see them more often and help make the time pass a little quicker and easier while they wait for their Daddy to return.
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| the gang at Northstar after dinner |
Love,
Mama
You are such a natural athletically, even Ms. Theresa and Ms. Krista (your Tap and Tumble instructors) made the comment that you are doing really well. A super strong kid.
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