Lovin' Books

Claira really, really is lovin' books right now. (And puzzles for that matter) She can sit alone off by herself for quite a long time...picks out a book, backs herself up to the perfect sitting spot, flips back and forth through the pages, ALWAYS flips the book upside down for some reason, pretends to read, then flings the book over her shoulder and bounces over to get another one.

I absolutely love this smile on Ellia. It's a rare shot & such a pure smile. Usually if the camera is out then she's aware of it...which makes for the goofy, squirmy looks typically seen on these pages. Here she's in Claira's room embracing her inner Virgo tendencies. She arranged all of the plushie blocks on the shelf to fit together like a rubix cube. It actually looked really nice...just didn't last long.

Stay Young

If the sun refused to shine, I would still be loving you.

When the mountains crumble to the sea, there would still be you and me.

And so today, my world it smiles, your hand in mine, we walk the miles,
Thanks to you it will be done, for you to me are the only one.
Happiness, no more be sad, happiness....I'm glad.
If the sun refused to shine, I would still be loving you.
If the mountains should crumble to the sea, there would still be you and me.

Don't Fill in the Blanks

While at work I passed the large trashbins near the elevator and discovered boxes of old floppy discs! I immediately skipped over the thought that I remember floppy discs and here they are being discarded as 100% useless and archaic...and therefore I'm old. I instead decided to think about all the things Ellia might pretend these discs are used for or can turn into.

I made it a point not to tell her what they were or what they are used for. It is much more fun for her to dream up with something in her almost-4 mind. And it is much more fun for me to see what happens! She decided there were TV shows on the discs. Putting them in their slots in the couch is how you organize them. And taking them apart and gathering them into matching piles is SO Ellia.

June Update

Here Ellia has all of the climbing apparatus' of the LA Zoo playground at her disposal. But she is, of course, meticulously scouring the ground for fallen acorns...and leaving them out for the squirrels to eat.

Ellia discovers JELLO...

and Claira discovers that wiggly, jiggly things freak her out!

Here Ellia is putting the finishing touches on our gigantic pen pal craft to be sent to Novalee. Also here, Claira is 2 seconds away from putting yet another marker in her mouth.

Just a pic...

...of the supreme cuteness of Claira.

...of Ellia and Dad.

Toy Story 3, Ellia & Me

Ellia had her very 1st movie theatre experience! I'm so happy to have shared it with her. I have fond memories of going to many movies and drive-ins growing up as a kid. Ellia loved the movie, however there were some heavy emotional moments ("So sad") that Ellia had a hard time with because she felt them so deeply. We talked about how it's ok to feel so sad and that everyone feels like that sometimes. It was an intimate & fun Mommy and Me day!

Mothering your baby moose

http://www.wimp.com/babymoose

Visit the link above to watch a sweetly emotional video of a mama moose letting her two babies frolick in the sprinklers. I'll just assume they are daughters :)