Fireworks Day

Jackson. She has insisted he be HER Jackson for as long as she's known him (her whole life). Jackson's going to be moving to another state this summer. He is going to get a wonderful new house & wide open spaces to stretch out & be all the amazing things he's capable of being. I know Ellia would be in heaven to just sit on the edge of the lake in his soon-to-be neighborhood & learn to fish, to scour the muck for the grossest sea creature this side of Peachtree, Georgia. But she won't be with him. And I know it hasn't yet sunk in completely. She just knows that he's moving far away because he has to fly in a plane to get there. And she knows he's leaving after Fireworks Day (4th of July)

Time with Ellia

This is one of my favorite photos of Ellia. And, you know, I'm not even sure why. But I think it has all the little things all rolled into one. I remember when I took it. I had crept into the room because I could not believe that she was entertaining herself for so long! Oh how I remember that blue co-sleeper: how I layered it with washcloths underneath the receiving blankets tucked over to get just the right curvature for her to lay on her side like she liked (hoping that would make her sleep longer!) I remember that toy (her 1st favorite, from San) I remember sitting with her on that big tan sectional couch & marveling at how of all the thingy-ma-jigs on the toy, she wanted to master the hardest one first (and she did!) And you can almost see the crib tent that was attached to keep Kramer out (who ended up never interested in the crib at all!) I remember rocking her back and forth, staring at the red digital clock and mentally waiting for 6 minutes to pass & then bending into the tent to lay her down, holding my breath that she'd stay asleep.

Well, and here she is.. from 4 months to 4 years! She's still sleeping in that same crib (changed out into toddler bed). Getting her to stay asleep isn't like walking on pins & needles. She still loves routine if she plays a part in it. She'd still prefer to play with me instead of entertaining herself for long periods. I suppose when she was 4 months it used to wear on my last nerve that she couldn't at least sit on her own and play. Now, it doesn't wear on my last nerve because there's so much she could be doing & a lot of the time she wants to do it with me. I guess as a parent, you're just always holding your breath for different reasons throughout the years.

These two pictures show the opposite sides of Ellia. The tomboy (transformer) and the sweet girl time (barettes, lipgloss, rings, bracelets & heels). Truth be told, she'd choose the transformer outfit handsdown any day of the week.

This is a sample of what I come across daily living with a chick like Ellia. Don't know why, don't know what for - but I do know that she definitely did.

She went through a month where she wore this Angel's cap to school every day. I loved that she was wearing something to school that sorta embodied who she is: quirky, sporty, friendly.

Ellia likes almost all bugs. I havn't quite figured out her higherarchy in terms of what's a 'good' bug and what needs to be 'killed' (stomped on) right away. Harmless, tiny ant? (she'd stomp them all if she could) Slimpy segmented worm? (loves em "I don't think they're gross") A cool Walking Stick? (terrified. go figure.) I think her favorite are the rolley polleys though. She likes to say if it's a Mama, Daddy or Baby & she talks to them.

And here's a great snapshot of Ellia's typical need to break out into the randomest of random song & dance. As you can see she changes her facial expression with each move. As she gets older, her songs get more and more facinating to listen to. I noticed awhile ago how she's able to hear a song once & memorize all the lyrics. And when she makes up her own songs she actually has a structure to it (chorus, dramatic pauses, instrumental break) She may not be able to entertain herself for very long but she sure does entertain me!

Time with Claira

My loves-to-be-nekid kid! Look that 9 month old chubby perfect-circle face...I love this picture because it has captured little things I'd have forgotten: She was always on the move & the majority of the time I'd steady her by squeezing her squishy shoulder, she was always making that muppet face with her mouth & of course we can't forget the steady stream of drool running down her double chin to her melon belly. I'd always sweep her up, bury my face in her cheek and say "Oh! You smell like a baby!"

And here she is a mere 20 months later! ...Face less round, girlie smile, still on the move, still naked. Sometimes she even still smells like baby.

Yup, I know. She won't like that I took a photo like this of her, nevermind broadcasted it on the web. But potty stage is a big deal when you've been changing diapers since 2006.

This photo is very Claira. She loves to find things on the ground (and she really liked these white rocks), she was convinced that the opening in her bib was a pocket, she couldn't quite maneuver her hand into said 'pocket' but she would not give up. As if in a yoga trance, she twisted and swayed her body just so & froze in that stance until the rocks went into her 'pocket' (and promptly trickled down to her boots. Ha!)

This photo silently illustrates what I see Claira doing a lot now: acting. She definitely knows how to joke around & try to make me laugh. Here she just landed at the bottom of the slide & instead of running off, she rolled over, covered her (smirky) face & started snoring. You can hardly laugh at her joke before she laughs at herself first. She thinks she's a riot.

Ever since I brilliantly put the craft table against the sliding door, I've been able to get some beautiful photos of the girls in concentration during creating. Claira has recently shown a strong interest in painting and art. It's fun to see the difference in creative 'styles' between the sisters. And I don't mean the style of the painting. I mean the difference in how they approach it, concentrate on it, and end it. There's something in the quiet ease that radiates from Claira while she's doing art that makes me wonder if she's artistically inclined. But could it just be her arty Mama's wishful thinkin'?

Claira, like her sister, is very tender at times (usually with a toy animal.) Here she's putting the little critter to bed all tucked in and ever so gently feeding it it's 'baba'. (We'll just pretend there's not a knife laying next to the bed.)
And here she is putting her dolly on her changing table, takin' care of business. She already sprinkled powder on her, put lotion on the bottom of her feet (like I did for her with vapor rub during her fever), and lastly she's giving her hand sanitizer (aka lotion). It's the cutest thing to see her pretend to be a mama. She'll be a good one. But she needs to outgrow eating her markers first, as you can see from the blue marks all around her mouth...


And here's just some straight-up goofball time with goofball Claira. She's a riot.

There's still love...

About a month or so ago I was startled into a new phase of siblinghood: The fighting. From the day Claira was born they got along like any parent would hope and dream. Ellia relished and flourished in her role as the bigger sister who already knew everything & now she could prove it by showing this new little one. Claira was born with stars in her eyes for Ellia. For a long time Ellia even won out over Mommy. But coinciding with Claira's new milestone of using the potty - her independence and self confidence has increased as well. The first few times Claira defied Ellia's requests or demands...well, Ellia was outright shocked. I realized it had been inconceivable to her that Claira would ever think differently than how Ellia guided her to! Poor thing. I felt bad. But her & I actually had some good talks. It gave me an opportunity to reinforce with her what a great sister she is and how patient she is with Claira. I made sure to agree with her that having a little sister IS frustrating. I'd say Claira still heeds Ellia's call 90% of the time. I just hope the sibling connection doesn't drop 10% EVERY two years!

Little Girls Before Bed

Sometimes, I repeat, sometimes there are evenings where there is a very mellow drowsy zoned out calm right before bedtime. I usually miss that window & put them to bed after the calm passes and a new storm hits. But sometimes I'll walk past a room & the quiet side-by-side play is almost deafening. So I stop and take in the sweet soft specialness of having girls.

School Time (Mommy's view)

Once I've wrangled them out the door (hopefully with their teeth and hair brushed), into the car (usually to the tune of "NO Mama! I do!" as Claira can not be helped one bit into the car and seat as I look at my watch) - 1st we drive to Claira's school. Unbuckle, climb out, grab what I hope is everything I was supposed to supply her with & head upstairs. Lately Claira is having a hard time with the Goodbye. I hug her and give her to Teacher Denise and tell her "Mommy pick up before you go outside. Remember?" It seems to help her realize/remember the picking up part of the day.

Then Ellia & I head to her school just a short distance away. (The photo above shows Claira cuz it's a non-school day for her, but usually I drop off Ellia alone.) Ellia has adjusted to her new school very well. It took about 1 week of crying & clinging. It was so so hard to slink into my car after hearing her cry for me. But the teachers were so good with the transition & they would call me within minutes to say that she had calmed down already. That was 7 months ago. We now pull up & she looks around to see who else she knows who is being dropped off. She still gets antsy-pantsy nervous-awkward sometimes when attention is on her during our good-bye. But that's just her. A lot of times I'll ease her up by chatting with one of the kids about his mohawk or I'll say "Bye Baby Dinosaur!" as I wave (to kinda use the spotlight she's in to make a joke & laugh.) They have a transistion tradition there where the parents say goodbye & say "I'll meet you at the window!" The child goes to the window to say goodbye. A lot of times it's just Ellia and I sharing a goodbye but sometimes it's her and others. I like to make silly faces or spin around & get dizzy or hang Claira upside down. I want to put Ellia at ease with having attention on her.

This is a rare thing for a mom to have, I think. This is a photo of my Ellia in a moment that I share with her. It's a face, a smile, a feeling that I purposely try to imprint onto my busy-mom-brain as I close the big white gate and walk across the gravel to my car door. I want to remember that brave goodbye smile.

Pickup time got a whole lot more fun with Claira in the last month or so. She's more social now & so when I arrive she gallops over to me and 'claims' me as her mama. She really likes the attention of being the one that's escaping while the others stay. I love watching her dive into the tasks she thinks she needs to do: run to cubby & grab "Bankie" (blankie), grab her jacket off the hook, spin around and show her 'talk to the hand' palm & scream "BYE-EE!"

Next up: Head to Ellia's school. At the time we pickup Ellia she's having her outside time. Claira loves the outside yard there. She's really taken to Gus-Gus (the goose) but I have to make sure she doesn't get her fingers bit off. It's usually hard to pull them away.

I was lucky enough to be able to join Ellia on her long awaited, mucho anticipated Field Trip. I had been hearing from the kids about how they were gonna ride in a real school bus. (Geez, the things that get 4 year olds excited) For Earth Day, they were riding to see a matinee showing of the 3D IMAX movie "Born to Be Wild". You out there = you HAVE to see this movie! Amazing! Ellia & I hunkered down in our seats munching on the bag of popcorn & mini chocolate chips I had stashed in my purse.

Easter 2011

Easter morning started with a trail of M & M's leading them to their Easter baskets. Ellia L O V E D this whole concept so I'm gonna roll with it for all the holidays (Valentines day? a trail of Hersey's Kisses. Christmas? a trail of green mints. Halloween? a trail of candy corn.)

"Just what I wanted! The Easter bunny knew!" Like I said, the 99cents Store is a gift from heaven.

Well, I knew the time would come and it has. Ellia is offically candy obsessed. Maybe I've gotten lucky that it took almost 5 years to kick in. Even last year's Halloween (at age 4) I was still able to put her candy away or throw the crap stuff out with no notice from her at all. But, alas those days are offically over. Eh, that's to be expected though & a new phase of childhood is opening up. I remember my brother and I dumping our pillowcases of Halloween loot onto the livingroom floor, laying on our bellies and meticulously yet feverishly sorting through it all. Our very own candy! It actually belonged to us! So that realization is alive & well in Ellia now. Above, you can almost see her Virgo line-up of her candy. She very carefully and deliberately groups them according to their kind.

We had our 3rd Annual Cousin Easter Egg Hunt/Egg Dying/Dinner. Jimmy's cousin lives with her husband & 3 kids in Chino Hills. They graciously host this event & it is such a wonderful time for the cousins. This year Claira was definitely old enough to take part in everything.

You can see the evolution of their Easter's here and here.




While we're chatting about cousinhood, I thought I'd post just a sweet little trio of their easy & natural interaction with eachother. They 'just know' that they're family.

Some Riverside days

Ellia having some Ellia-type conversations with Kirby and with Grandpa.

I love this photo of Ellia & Auntie Carissa! Carissa wants a kiss but Ellia decides to joke when asked for kisses. Ya gotta play to win with a girl like Ellia so Auntie is playing along if that means she'll get her kiss.

Look at her crazy long legs! Ellia had a crazy growth spurt somewhere along the way. Almost all her pants are highwaters now. They loved Grandma's trampoline & that bird pillow. She even invited the next door neighbors' daughter over. I was kind of surprised at how extroverted Ellia was with the girl! A typical situation would be for Ellia to whisper to me "Can she play over here?" and if I say "Yeah, go invite her!" she would say "Come with me. You ask.." But I guess there was something that made Ellia feel like Alpha-Ellia.

Here Ellia wants to give the birdie a bike ride but she has to fill up with gas first!

I love this goofy pic of Ellia. I almost want to make it my profile pic on Facebook. Everything from her face to her crouching over the bike just says Childhood.

Just me and my squirmy little girls in a tree.