Awesome iPhone Photo

Posts might slow down for a bit but I wanted to give you this sweet, sunny, smiley & smirky photo...

Mama Tiger, Baby Tiger

Ellia's Halloween costume has unexpectedly been given a new lease on life. Ellia wore it one day and somehow the dress-up evolved into her new favorite character "Baby Tiger". And somehow I became "Mama Tiger". I put on a different voice (picture Tiny Tim on Vicodin; high-pitched but super-calm). When I put the 'mask' on and change my voice, Ellia immediately becomes Baby Tiger from head to toe: Her face softens and she scrunches up her face ever-so-slightly, tilts her head and stetches out her limp arms as if she's a baby and says "Mamaaaaaa...."
It kinda takes a lot of effort to keep stepping into the Mama Tiger persona. If I say "later" she asks "when it's light out?" or "when it's dark out?" Still, it's cute to see how excited she gets. And I rope Claira into the scene as well. She's been deemed Baby Seal. (We pretend to eat her chubby chubbiness)

Ellia Update

"Stage 5 Clinger"
We all know that Ellia has, for some reason, put Jackson into a catagory all his own.
She shows such a different side of her when she's with him. I think she had envisioned Jackson's birthday party a certain way, in her own little head. And in the beginning things went according to plan: she sat next to him at his party table & then they went to the tunnel crawling maze together. Jackson had lots other friends there and naturally he wound up in another part of the maze with another friend. Well, that was not in the plan
. . .

After that happened, Ellia had a somewhat letdown look to her. And Jackson at times had a held-hostage look to him. These goofy kids are so interesting to watch, as they grapple with 'real world' emotions. And then they squeal and skip off.

Thank goodness for Gramma & Grampa's house! Ellia always looks forward to going there: Picking oranges with Uncle Adam, The Castle Amusement Park with Grampa, grooming Kirby (the doggie), and lots of loving attention!

We had some recent bouts with random illnesses & a few trips to the doc. But both girls did so well waiting in the lobby, then the patient room & then letting the doc figure out what was going on. Plus, on one visit, we didn't have a car to get there so we had to take a loong stroller/trike trip...but we made it fun!

"That's beautiful, Mommy."
I don't think anyone says "beautiful" more beautifully than Ellia. When I sat down with Ellia and started coloring in her book, I suddenly realized that it's the first time since I was an adolescent that I've colored a page in a coloring book! There's quite a few 1970s era photos of myself, head bowed, calmly but intently coloring, coloring, coloring. I hope Ellia & I can do artistic things together throughout the years.

Claira Update

"Sweetie-Pie Clairey" (as big sister Ellia calls her) is such a dramatic chick. But what's cool about her drama is that 2 seconds later she's off to something else. "Action-packed", "Non-stop", "Go-getter" are all nicknames that have sprung to mind as I've watched this little one grow. As you can see from her many expressions, above, she's full of life and can't wait to steam roll through it! (as you can see from her constant climbing over any obstacle)

Ellia & Claira love going to Chuck E Cheese; or as I call it Chuck E coli.
Ugh, how many illnesses are lying in wait on every square inch of that airbrushed, blinking, buzzing "restaurant".

Claira and her soon-to-be suitor Griffin.

Super BAAAAWL Sunday! What a great football game it was! And I actually got to watch a decent amount of it - whaddya know! The Navarro family were kind enough to invite us over. Ellia had a great time playing with Ella (she sweetly gave her random nicknames: Little Cookie and Little Radish) Ella and Claira are 1 month apart in age. Each time we get them together we plop them on the couch and *click*click* document their blossoming friendship! As you can see, above, it was very much bedtime when we took these pictures.

Does someone need a haircut?
Poor little Claira, always looking at this new world through strands and strands of chestnut hair. Well, after taking this photo I realized she really deserved to see where she was going. Claira's "New Look" COMING SOON.

Memory Mental

Ok, look. I know, I know. Pink Duckie is just a plastic inflatable duckie manufactured in China. Pink Duckie is no different from the million other pink duckies out there. Well, I'll keep telling myself that as I gently deflate and place Pink Duckie in the trash to be hauled away. I've collected special moments with my girls while this ducky cushioned their sweet tushies! I cringe at the thought of Pink Duckie ending up in a pile of toasters, water bottles & diapers. But, Pink Duckie, I don't want to end up on A&E.
Look at poor Pink Duckie: contemplating it's last days; reflecting on all the sweet memories: Ellia scooting & splashing around...Claira always intrigued by the 'quack-quak' sound...both growing bigger and bigger...calmly reclining against it's tail while playing and chit-chatting...both growing bigger and bigger...