A Sweet Moment

This may or may not have lasted all of three minutes, but nonetheless, I adored it.

I was making dinner and they were watching Barney...I looked over and found them like this.

(even though they were (mostly) still, the focus is a little off here...I need some tips, and lots of practice, on capturing movement)

Be still my heart.

Sweet Tiny Girl

I was playing around with Shutter Priority mode for these shots.  Always, always much to learn.

Love us our sweet tiny girl (and our sweet big one too :)

Did That Just Happen!?

This is a random, funny, little story that happened to us the other day that I just don't want to forget.

We were craving salty (totally unhealthy), but we just needed a Golden Arches fix...not to mention E loves the playplace there.  So off we went to McDonalds.

Our thinking was that we would have a normal dinner (ya know, food thrown all over the floor, two littles learning to eat nicely, etc., but in a public place :p).  We chose a booth kind of in the center of the restaurant.  We started eating our meal and from around the corner came a mom and her (~eighteen month old) daughter.  The little girl was smitten with Nora who was in a high chair.  

She started to wave and say "papa" (Slovak kids' version of hello/goodbye).  She picked things up off the floor and handed them to N, then she just stood there for a little bit, staring.  

Wellllll, then the mom, I guess, got bored.  So she just pulled up a chair for her eighteen month old and left her sitting at our table.  Didn't ask.  Didn't blink an eye.  Just pulled up the chair, sat her in it, and walked away back to her own table!! Ha! Jas and I were both pretty shocked that she did this, but we *tried* to play it cool (though it could perhaps have been evident on my face that I was a bit in shock that she just left her daughter at a stranger's table to sit with them).

So the little girl stayed there for a good ten minutes.  The mom did occasionally peek around the corner, but all in all, it was a very unique and unexpected visitor we ended up entertaining for some of our meal :) 

I don't think this is a cultural thing at all...rather I think it was a different approach in parenting than our own.  Unexpected.  Enlightening.  Suprising.  Unique.  Whatever you want to call it...it was a first experience for us, indeed.

But I mean, can you blame the girl for wanting to make friends with this cutie!? ;)

For the record, we're still laughing about it.  And still a bit in shock that we were given the opportunity to babysit a random baby at dinner the other night ;) haha!

His Valentines

I adore this picture of the three of them (even if Nor wouldn't look at the camera for anything, haha).

Daddy bought his littles flowers on Valentine's Day.  Two for Elise (because she's two) and one for Nora (because she's almost one).  Adorbs.

The Mama also got some too ;) (thanks Daddy Boy!)

Let's keep it real here, though…I did have to pick them up off the floor after this picture and keep Nora from eating hers, but I'm pretty positive they'll grow to appreciate it more and more the older they get.  Now that they've been rescued, those roses are being proudly displayed by the window :)

And man, Jas, you're good-looking (I'm allowed to say that, it's my blog after all ;)

This girl...

…is pretty creative these days.

She's all about some pretend play.  Earlier today she and I pretend cooked for a solid thirty minutes, complete with getting plates and cups out of our imaginary "air" cabinets.

Then tonight she and Daddy Boy walked their imaginary dogs and let them out to go potty.

She amazes me with what she comes up with.

She's full of spunk and joy.

Please don't change, little bitty, please!

Nora Rose: Ten Months!

Maybe everything is magnified by the fact that N has started taking steps on her own this month, but MAN she sure seems to be growing up so, so fast.  Where did our baby girl go!?

She's ten months old today, this one.

Taking a monthly photo of her lying down has become increasingly difficult, of course.  So we're going with what we got here :)

A rundown on our N presently:

- Weighing in around 16 or 17 pounds (lost some weight after sickness in December and January)…but has a voracious appetite these days!

- Pulls up on everything, cruises all the time, and as of yesterday she's getting her walk on by herself…one tiny (sideways) step at a time!  So cute.  And happening so fast (SLOWWWW DOWN!)

- Eats quite well, though fruits are most definitely her favorites.  She's a big fan of banana yogurt as well.

- Dances  (more like bounces) when music is on.  The cuteness.

- Is usually content when her sister is around.  They've had quite a good many giggle sessions as of late. 

- Says "Dada" and "Baba" but has only said "Mama" maybe a handful of times.

- Still nursing first thing in the morning and before bedtime, but she's seeming more and more ready to drop the bedtime feed.  I'm thinking sooner than later.

- Thinks Mama is her own personal jungle gym (and pulls my hair out all the time, haha) and LOVES to smile at her Daddy Boy.

- While she's not got a lot going on currently in the hair department, her third tooth is starting to come in!

 Oh these girls…always up to something.  Giggling at, yep, you guessed it…Daddy Boy.

That above is most definitely a blurry picture, but I wanted to throw it in here anyway…big moments for our tiny girl…getting her walk on!!

Nora Rose, you are truly a little light.  We love you to the great big moon and all the way back.

A Girl and Her Dad

Today E and J went on their first real father/daughter date.  I couldn't have been more excited about it.  Perhaps I was more excited than either of them ;)

You see, it's something I've prayed about for a long time.  It's something I wish I had had growing up.  Thus, I prayed that our kiddos would have a great Daddy.  And the Lord answered.  I'm extremely thankful.

While E was waiting on Daddy Boy to get ready, she was in full fledged Mommy mode.  Coco had to have her diaper changed :)

 Nor Nor photo bombed, but she was told that in the future she, too, would get to go on a special date with Daddy.  They're blessed to have him.

(Nor helped me organize while they were gone…and by organize I mean she ate her snack and then climbed on me like I was her own personal jungle gym :)

I know this is a gush-y post, but seriously, look at those three.  Full heart.  Don't want to take them for granted.

I hear they had a good time together…sushi, train rides, and E got to pick out some special chocolate.  I hope they'll have many more special dates ahead :)

A Little Bit Sour

Today wasn't the very best of days.

It was a bit sour.

Things like being told by a lady that she "likes unusual things" when referring to my accent and language skills.  Haha.

Perhaps that was in some way supposed to be a compliment?!  

But you know what they say, when life gives you lemons, grab your camera, change the lens, and experiment! ;)  

(Need to do some more experimenting and learning with that lens, I believe…but I'm still on track for picking up and using my camera at least once a day!)

Miss Boots

I was vacuuming up the post-lunch floor mess the other day when I realized that E had been kind of quiet.  I looked over and I saw little Miss Boots herself…

Naturally I wanted to capture the moment and asked her to give me a "biiiiiig smile."  This is how she responded.  Oh how I adore that face!

And on a sidenote, stripes and polka dots ALWAYS match around here :)

As the Day Faded...

Simple.  And beautiful.  A quiet moment nearing the end of the day.

God's glory painted across the sky.  A gift.  That's all.

Serious in the Snow

This baby girl got to experience her first (real) snow this past week.

We bundled her up and stuck her out on the balcony to enjoy it falling on her ;)

Her reaction was quite serious and poised…no giggles or tears, she just laid there for awhile looking around. ha!

What a little snow bunny!

Elise Was Here {and I'm glad}

Sometimes I feel like I'm always picking up and cleaning up after things only to turn around and find it all back on the floor again.  You moms feel me?

It can be tiring.

But then yesterday I turned and saw Elise had left her tutu out in front of the door by the balcony.  Obviously we're not using the balcony much now thanks to snowy conditions, so I wasn't in a hurry to pick it up as there were more pressing tasks awaiting me.

And I just never got around to it.

Then today I pulled out my camera and realized that there it still lay.  A reminder that yes this is most certainly a period of messy and ever constant clean up, but also a reminder that this tutu is worn by a little girl who's going through a fun dress-up phase now.  It's a reminder that one day these messes will be gone and while I'm sure it'll be fine to have a clean house, I know I'll miss little girls running around in tutus.

So, there it still lays.  And that's just ok.  Perhaps I'll pick it up tomorrow ;)