Keeping up with Alette and Abria: July 2007

Sunday, July 29, 2007

Camping!

Alette's first camping trip was cut short by rain-lots and lots of rain! We had a beautiful evening on Sunday, and a great early Monday morning but by 10am the rain came in earnest. We took a nap, woke up to rain, went to McDonalds, played in the tent....and then packed it in.
Alette's adventure included a bear wandering through her campsite-she however, was fast asleep. I convinced myself it was only a large dog I heard through the tent walls-yikes!

Thursday, July 26, 2007

Our Trip to BC

Alette fixes Grandpa's hair.

Alette seemed to think Harrison Lake was a 'clothing-optional' resort.

Waiting with Grandma and Grandpa for the burgers to be done.

Alette enjoys hanging out with her cousin Nathan.

After a harrowing 24 hour trip across the country, Alette and I enjoyed a great time with family and friends. We went to the park, the pool, the lake, the mall....and spend lots of time at Grandma and Grandpa's house hanging out with the cousins.

Tuesday, July 24, 2007

Pigtails!

Alette's hair has finally gotten long enough for pigtails! She's remarkably patient as I try new things with her hair - maybe because she knows she is going to pull it all out the minute she is out of my reach.

Tuesday, July 3, 2007

More Shoes

Decisions, decisions. Alette contemplates which shoes to wear.

Monday, July 2, 2007

Summer Holidays

Our first day of summer holidays together has not gone well. Alette skipped her a.m. nap, only to be too tired to eat lunch. I put her in her chair, she screamed and pushed the plate off the tray.... I remember a time when I washed the floor and it actually stayed clean for more than a few hours. Then she skipped her p.m. nap because she was too busy playing with Nadia and Ganiyah. I can't blame her-friends are way more exciting than naps. Of course, she fell asleep in the car and has been asleep now for hours. I woke her up at one point, carried her downstairs, only to have her fall asleep in my arms again. I'm afraid she's going to wake up at midnight demanding dinner and entertainment. Hopefully tomorrow we are back on schedule... otherwise it'll be a long summer.
Typically, Alette looks like a real girlie-girl (I'm a sucker for dresses and playing with her hair). Every once in awhile she gets a hold of one of daddy's hats and her whole look changes.

Recent Words of Wisdom

18months

At 18months, Abria weighs a whopping 28 1/2 lbs and is 34" tall. She is a bundle of energy-she loves dancing and clapping to music, scribbling (unfortunatley not always on paper), chasing her sister, and playing with her toys. She's using more and more words but still communicates primarily by pointing and making the sign for 'more'. She's had a continual cold for the past few weeks, I've never used so much tissue in my life. Morning naps are a thing of the past :( but thankfully she is still taking a long afternoon nap.

Okay, it's not a REAL gingerbread house...

Our attempts at a gingerbread house was a fiasco this year. We mixed the dough, rolled it out, cut the patterns, put it together...only to have it fall apart. So we put it together again....only to have it fall apart again. I even tried to use duct tape and the glue gun. Finally we ditched it. I was determined to have a house for Alette to decorate so we built a cardboard house, then 'glued' on graham crackers with icing. So far it is till standing although the candy decorations are slowly disappearing.

Abria

Our last dr. appointment was not fun. Abria had a major fever and was feeling rather rotten. So the immunizations were put off a week...nothing like procrastinating the awful stuff. She's dropped to the 90th percentile for weight (although with her puffy winter fleece on-below-she looks huge!) and is off the chart for height. Not a huge suprise with a 6ft. tall mom! She loves her books, turning on and off the lights, climbing onto tables, and petting the cat. She's walking....abit. She's still pretty convinced that walking should only be done when holding onto someone's hand.

Abria

Politics According to a 3year Old

I was listening to B.Obama on NPR last week and decided to further Alette's awareness of politics by engaging her in discussion. This is how it went:
me: Alette, Barak Obama was on the radio, he's going to be our new president. Isn't that good?
alette: Obama's good?
me: yes, he is. Mommy and Daddy like him a lot. We think he's good.
alette: he listens to God?
me: I think so. We're excited that he's going to be the president.
alette: I want duck for president.
I think we have a ways to go before she's up to speed on her political saviness. Who can blame her for wanting a fun loving, mischevious duck for president though?

Introducing Abria Hope

During pregnancy I prayed for a quick delivery and a nonfussy eater. Abria came into this world on Friday, July 18 at 9:00pm, half an hour after we arrived at the hospital. With a full head of dark hair, and a voracious appetite, she behaved nothing like her older sister. Abria's now nearly 18lbs, and is a happy, content baby. She loves chewing on her hands, squealing, shrieking, and taking baths. We are still waiting for her to sleep through the night! She doesn't always need to get fed, but seems to delight in babbling and squealing at all hours. Somehow her big drooly smile makes it all worthwhile.