Birthday Dinner

At the end of the day, when asked what her favorite part about her birthday was, Arianna said, "Eating!". I thought she might have mentioned the piles of presents she opened, but apparently her special meal shone out even above that. After Kickboxing and Tai Chi that night, we (Jeremy, me, Arianna and Joanne) enjoyed some baked macaroni and cheese, tofu (raw for Arianna, fried for us) and steamed broccoli, some of Arianna's very favorite foods. Arianna ate a LOT; so much, in fact, that when she said her stomach was full at the end of the meal, it was SO full that she didn't even want a Pringle! That's FULL, believe me - usually her stomach still has room for Pringles. Obviously she really enjoyed her birthday dinner.

Some Halloween Celebrations

This past Tuesday was a special Halloween storytime at the library. Arianna was very excited to get dressed up in her butterfly costume! After storytime, we went around "trick-or-treating" throughout the library. Arianna really enjoyed the storytime (she always does), but didn't enjoy the trick-or-treating as much as I thought she would. I think the problem was that in the very beginning we had to walk right past the computer stations in the children's area, and she got it in her head that she wanted to play a game... Oh well. She still enjoyed herself, I think - but she was also pretty happy when we were done so she could finally go play a game!

This isn't the most flattering picture of her in her costume, but it's the only one I got... Don't you love how she's smacking her gum? She was chewing it quite obnoxiously during the whole storytime. Hopefully she'll get that under control sometime soon... She apparently takes after Grandpa Tim in her gum chewing habit. She is always asking if she can have a piece to chew, and then she chews it SO obnoxiously. I just smile because it reminds me of Dad. :)

She got this Halloween card in the mail from "Grandma" Lesley and "Grandpa" Jerry (Joanne's parents, who do special things like this for her all the time). It plays a song sung by Tigger, and she loves it! She's been proudly showing it to everyone who comes to visit. :)

Fun with hair clips

The other day Arianna came up to me and actually asked me to put some hair clips in her hair. Generally she does NOT like me doing anything to her hair, so this was very unusual. She continued asking me to put more in until there were 8 in her hair altogether. It actually looked kinda cute, I thought, and she was in a cute mood to boot, so I took some pictures... :)

Family Photo Shoot - May '09

We decided it was time to try our hand at using the timer on my camera to get a family picture. Other people do this all the time, right?? Well, let me just say, it wasn't near as easy as they make it look in the movies! The whole affair lasted like 2 hours, and I had a pounding headache by the time we were done. This picture, our final product after those 2 hours, was the first picture we got where Arianna was smiling and not in the process of throwing herself off our laps. When we looked at it and saw she was smiling, we were like, "Okay, that's it, we're done!", because there was no way we were going to spend any longer in our attempts. I think it's a pretty good picture myself...

After finally succeeding in getting a frameable, semi-traditional type family portrait, we decided we could have a little fun...

Oh yeah, and during our "traditional" shots, we did get a couple of other decent ones that weren't of the whole family...

Then it was Maya's turn! She did really well, though I discovered first-hand how difficult it can be to take pictures of a deaf dog.

Isn't she a sweetie, though? :)

Arianna's Photo Shoot - April '09

In April we decided it was about time to take some good pictures of Arianna that we would be able to frame (and give to grandparents to frame). So, we got out my backdrops and set them up in Arianna's room. It was crowded, but we managed. We propped Arianna up on her little table, so she wouldn't just run all over the room during the shoot.

While I took the pictures, Jeremy played with Arianna, interacting with her with a bunch of her toys. She loved it, and it worked beautifully for some natural, real happy faces. :) None of the shots are "posed" in any way. Here are some of my favorite shots we got:

She looks a LOT like me when I was her age in this picture. I love her shy little smile and the twinkle in her eyes.

I love the dynamics with her fingers and toes in this one. :)



She looks so old in this outfit to me, with that cute little headband.

This one is Jeremy's favorite. :)

All in all, I think we got some really good shots. And I really like the fact that none of them were posed. I suppose it'll be time for another of these photo shoots pretty soon...

(P.S. The dresses were a gift from Mom (Badda), and the pink outfit was a gift from Nanny. Aren't they cute?)

Easter Celebrations '09

Jeremy's parents, and youngest brother and sister (Robert and Jenny) were able to visit for Easter. We had lots of fun coloring eggs together! :)

Arianna really enjoyed the process this year.
Our little egg artist!

Ready for the big egg hunt! There were 30+ eggs hidden all throughout the house, ALL for Arianna to find!


Here's a little clip of Arianna on her egg hunt. I think it's funny how there are like 7 adults following her around and cheering her on. She loved it! :)

More March Pictures

While Richy, Kyra, Jordan and Abigail were visiting, I took some family pictures for them. Here are a few of them:

To see more, go to our Flickr account.

March Picture Highlights

Adventures with Dental Floss...

So, if you open the drawers in our bathroom, you can't open the bathroom door. One day Arianna went in, closed the door, and opened one of the drawers. None of my promptings would get her to close the drawer, and all I could do was stand there and listen to her... as she took the dental floss and pulled it out...more...and more...and more... And once she finally closed that drawer and I opened the door, this is was I found. That dental floss covering her is only maybe about half of what she unraveled.....
Mealtime Faces

Bathtime Giggles

Four Generations

The new park!

Weee!

Uncle Richy, Aunt Kyra, and cousins Jordan and Abigail visited!

To the park again!

Arianna and Jordan going down the slide together. How cute!

February Picture Highlights

Taking advantage of a semi-warm February day. Arianna is taking her doll for a walk in the backyard...

The watering pail in our backyard. I thought it looked cool.

All-Star Karate

Sickness

Our house has been full of sickness this week. Mom and I got sick last weekend, and have been dealing with it all week. Cough, sore throat, bronchial irritation (which is always worse for Mom, with her asthma and respiratory problems), headaches and fever. Somehow I've been spared the headaches and fever, and I am most grateful for this, because I don't know how I would have managed otherwise. Of all weeks to be sick, this is one of Jeremy's busiest weeks of the semester, and he has barely been home at all. His earliest nights to come home this week were Monday and Wednesday, when he got home at 8:30. Last night he didn't even come home; he stayed over to help supervise at the "Ninja Night" Halloween sleepover at All-Star Karate (the martial arts school we are partial owners of). So, I really am grateful I have been spared the headaches and fever that Mom has had with this flu-thing.

Thursday night Arianna started coughing, and then had a fever. I hate seeing my little sweetie sick; it really is a difficult thing to deal with as a mother. There were times through the night where she was tossing and turning and wimpering in her sleep, and her poor little body felt so hot. It is at those times that I feel like I would much rather be sick 2x as badly as I have been just to spare her!

Of all weeks to be sick, today was to be Arianna's birthday party. We've been planning it for weeks, and she's been SO excited about it. Thankfully all of the children will be able to make it next Saturday, so we're just postponing it, not cancelling it altogether.

And, Arianna already seems to be improving! In fact, today upon waking up, she claims she is "all better", despite the fact that she is still coughing a little and still had a fever during the night. I'm glad to see her on the mend so soon! Mom and I are just now starting to feel better ourselves, so this really is passing quickly for Arianna. I think it's helped that as soon as she started showing any signs, I started loading her up with Hyland's Complete Flu Care 4 Kids (homeopathic remedy). Mom and I felt a noticeable difference as soon as we started taking it, and I think because Arianna started on it right away that made a big difference for her. She was pretty cute with it, too; any time she would cough, she would come to me and say, "Mommy, I just coughed. I need more medicine." The fact that she still nurses some helps a lot, too, I know. She has nursed a lot more than normal since she started feeling sick Thursday night, and I am happy to know that I am in this way providing better nourishment for her than I could with anything else.

All in all, even though we've hit a little rough patch this week, we are doing well. Once Jeremy is done helping with the children's play tonight, we'll actually have a WHOLE day together tomorrow, and that will be very nice indeed! :) Here's to hoping he manages to stay healthy...

January Picture Highlights

Arianna and her first "big girl bed". She has since upgraded to an actual toddler bed, but you'll have to wait for those pictures... :)

A look of mischief. Somehow this look reminds me of my dad. Anyone else?

Playing with Sesame...Arianna style. Basically, this meant piling toys up on top of Sesame. And look how patient Sesame was with the game! These are the kind of things that make us think Arianna really needs a sibling...and soon... :) (Though I do hope she wouldn't take to piling items up on top of her little sibling...)

Being silly! Arianna can definitely get into some very silly moods. This particular day she put her winter hood on backwards, and began running around the table (probably singing, too - I don't remember for sure, but there generally is a song involved with her) like a crazy girl, laughing hysterically at herself. She cracks me up! :)

For more pictures from January, don't forget to check out our Flickr account.