Out With the Old and In With the New ~ 2014!

Maliana ~

Lao Lao was a lifesaver on Monday and Tuesday of this week when she spent the day with you while your school and daycare were both closed and Daddy and I had to work. You went on adventures together both days...COSI on Monday and painting pottery on Tuesday. She said you were really busy all throughout COSI, wearing her out with all of your walking and trying out nearly every single exhibit. You had told me the other day that you didn't like science, but in probing a bit more, we discovered that what you actually don't like is having to sit in class and watch your teacher "do" science...so COSI was a great hands-on experience to get your heart pumping to love science again.

This week also reminded me of the joys of living near woods...we caught another mouse in the house ~ eek! He's lucky we are such animal lovers and only trap them alive and let them go off the back deck. Little buggers are probably just getting right back in the house somehow but this time we painted him with bright pink nail polish to see if it's the same one that keeps getting back in or not. Hopefully his friends won't make too much fun of him.

Later that same "scary" mouse night...we hit the hay and you were a bit slap happy. I love laying in bed with you, being silly, and joking back and forth. Your sense of humor is getting more hilarious by the day.

We rung in the new year this week as well...goodbye 2013 and hello 2014!! It was a quiet gathering of family and a few friends. Through the night, we saw Uncle Flint, Audrey Ayi, Uncle Joe, Aunt Tina, and then Lao Lao, Uncle Forge, and Gabrielle all spent the night with us. Just the perfect quiet celebration to balance out the craziness of the holidays. The next morning, we had cinnamon rolls and bacon for breakfast, but not before waking up Forge and Gabrielle with Nerf guns! Happy New Year, suckas!

my traditional holiday walk with Abby...she's getting old
but still loves to get out and explore

Daddy was very proud of his shrimp arrangement

Audrey Ayi and I have been friends for over 30 years...
I only hope you can find friends like this in your life

Daddy had you and Aunt Tina try out the new 3D glasses

perfect way to start off my new year!

new year selfie ~ boy, that flash was bright!

Lao Lao photo-bombing Forge and Gabrielle

family selfie outside while we made some noise
to celebrate the new year ~ and again, that
flash was SO bright!

wake up!

puzzle time with Daddy ~ you love this new
puzzle gift from Uncle Flint

almost 6 and still such a peanut!

New Year's dinner we spent at Memaw and Papaw's for our traditional sauerkraut and pork. You had a little bit of each, so your luck is a-okay for 2014. You also had crazy amounts of fun with your cousins. It's always a bit traumatic when we have to part ways though...you're just like your Daddy when he was a kid and had to say goodbye to his cousins ~ so heart-wrenchingly sad in your goodbyes. Like father, like daughter.

new year with Sammy

new year silliness

For a Happy New Year message from Sam and Mali ~ click here!!

First day back to work after the holiday and I was not feeling it...so when we got home, I gave a big middle finger to the chores around the house and you and I took Abby to the hill in our neighborhood and went sledding! It was just the fun I needed and a great way to celebrate the inches of snow that dumped on us throughout the day. The three of us headed home after zipping down the hill several times, tired, cold...exhilarated and happy.

ready to sled!

eskimo Mali

not quite understanding the concept of ear muffs yet

our first trip down the hill together in 2014!

Once home it was hot cocoa, dinner, Uno, and snuggling on the couch until you fell asleep on my chest.

please tell me you'll never get too big to do this...

Friday was freezing so we decided to stay inside after school. You brought up wanting to go through your room to look for toys to donate to other children who might not have toys. I jumped all over that offer. Then you ever so sweetly asked if we could go to Toys R Us to buy some new toys that you have wanted for awhile (and there was the catch...well-played, Mali...well-played). Ha. Anyway, you did end up filling two huge, plastic garbage bags full of your old toys to drop off at Goodwill. I was very proud of your decision! You then used your very own Christmas money to deliberately choose precisely what you wanted to spend it on (ultimately, it was Planes toys). I was pretty impressed. For a few minutes there, I thought you were going to walk right back out of that store without buying a single thing. Not a ton of impulsiveness in you, kid.

And before I forget, here is something else I found on Friday...I'm definitely saving this for you for when you're older so you can fully appreciate it...

as you can imagine, I was beyond relieved to find
out this is actually your drawing of the bottom
half of a lion costume...*whewwww*

Saturday morning started with triple berry dinosaur pancakes (which you actually discovered you do not like as much as banana dinosaur pancakes), then some playtime with Daddy before heading to the grocery store to get ready for the winter storm that is coming.

as I listened to you and Daddy in imaginative play, I wondered
if he realized how much all of his characters sounded
like the Californians skits on SNL.
Google it...you will laugh. 

I guess on your way home from the store, you asked Daddy if you could go to breakfast with Memaw and Papaw on Sunday morning. All your idea. I love that this has actually become somewhat of a tradition for you, enough to look forward to and ask to do again from time to time. It's gotten to be "your thing" with them. So sweet.

As you were pulling in from the store with Daddy, I was actually on my way out for a hike at a local metro park with Aunt Tina so we could get a little exercise and enjoy the snow. I didn't know this until after I was already home later, but unbeknownst to me, you made Daddy follow my car all the way to the top of our neighborhood to make sure I was safe and to be there in case I got stuck and needed help (since the slippery slope in our neighborhood can be kind of tricky at times). It was all your idea and you insisted quite strongly on keeping an eye on me just in case...it really touched me that you were so concerned. You are such a caring and thoughtful soul.

taken on the trail behind our house

we love to take Abby on adventures

this dog loves snow so much, she even scoops it
into her mouth as she runs

tree at the park (off our trail) where we come to play sometimes

That night we met our friends, Ziying and Zuchao. They treated us to dinner at a Chinese restaurant with very authentic (and delicious) cuisine. We talked about all sorts of things, the biggest item for them is that they are expecting a baby sometime in mid-May. It is very exciting for them and we are so thrilled to meet their little one when they arrive. On our way home from dinner, you had lots of questions about how babies get in peoples' bellies. It was the preliminary discussion of the birds and the bees. I was taken a little off guard and felt so unprepared, but I did my best. I was very honest, and (I hope) age appropriate, however it still freaked you out a bit. Oy. Why is it that these questions always come when I feel the least prepared or ready in the moment? *sigh*

Sunday you went to KDB with Daddy to meet Jay, Brooke, and Brooke's son Xander (who is 9). Daddy said he is a very polite and sweet kid who you enjoyed playing all sorts of games with all afternoon. You came home and relaxed while watching movies with Daddy while I took care of some more stuff around the house. As I finished making dinner, I heard this:

(from the other room)...
Mali: "Mom! Mom! There are sick puppies and kitties that need help!"
Me: "On TV?"
Shawn: "It was the ASPCA commercial"
Mali: "Yeah, it's the ASPCA! They need our help!"
Me: "What do you think we should do?"
Mali: "We need to call the phone number. We can help them. We get a credit card and a t-shirt!"
#wellplayedASPCA

Ahh...those commercials get me every time too, sweetie. I always end up wanting to race down to the nearest shelter to rescue every single furry critter in sight. It warms my heart that you are such an animal lover, just like your mom and dad. Life is a whole lot sweeter when we care for and have compassion for those around us...both people and animals. Trust me on that one.

Love,
Mama