*

I was talking to Rosie near the end of our looong vacation and looong car ride. She had the brilliant idea of letting Vera color on herself with a [washable] marker. Seriously this was the biggest hit ever - like way bigger than the jumbo princess sticker book or the new videos or the hello kitty candy bracelet that I'd thought would entertain her for hours. She was so tickled that she was getting to color herself pink and literally sang about it allll the way home :) I highly recommend it as that one last trick for that last 100 miles!!

*el maiz

I love this age of eager helpfulness! You probably can't tell here but she was very serious about getting this job done. She is also eager to help set the table, fold clothes, get my vitamins, weed the garden ... but extremely slow to pick up any toys.

*big sister

31 weeks - measuring at 33, sigh.

Vera is extremely excited about her coming baby sister.  We talk about the baby a lot, about how cute and squirmy and little and squeaky [vera's words] she's going to be, about how she'll cry sometimes and we'll have to be patient, about how we'll have to be sooo careful with her, about how much she'll love her big sister, about how fun it will be to change her diaper and dress her up in little clothes.  She's really adamant about one certain name [not going to share :)] and if we even discuss other names she gets really angry - I DONT LIKE THAT, I only like ____!  She loves to give my stomach hugs and kisses and pats and always asks if she's kicking me.  She often can't stay still long enough to feel the baby move, but I love when she does and I see the bright look of wonderment on her face.  It's a really sweet time and I need to stop wishing these last couple months fly by...

*rock creek

We had such a good time with Ben's family this year! We first spent a few days at a fun little motel in Bishop - playing in the pool, eating out, a trip to Manzanar [the WWII Japanese internment camp] and a beautiful fish hatchery and the boys up a "serious" 4 wheel drive to a mountain lake with huge trout.

The rest of the time we spent up in Rock Creek - fishing, hiking, eating pie [the store's specialty], hanging out in the cabin, etc. I wish I could say Vera was a little trooper, loving the outdoors and hiking through the woods. She would do ok in the backpack for a while but mostly wanted to go home, I'm tired, I'm cold, I don't like the mountains etc. :( She did like to pick wildflowers and rocks and pinecones and treasures [hehe, tjh] and would forget her complaining and have fun. She also loved to be down by the lake fishing. She loved to be helpful and bring people bait or help reel in a fish - it really made her open up and forget her shyness. It's frustrating and bothersome that she's not yet a total nature lover, but we have to realize she's just 3 and has plenty of time to learn to love to hike! When asked she said her favorite part of being in the mountains was being a ballerina - ayayay. Personally, I had an even better time than I expected to. I thought I'd be too big and pregnant to enjoy anything, but I actually was able to walk and hike a lot - at least several miles a day :) The Caters' friend, Teresa, came along and I had a great time walking with her and practicing my Spanish [when I got over my lack of confidence]. I loved watching Vera have fun with everyone and I loved getting to read my book - The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand [longest book I've ever read that didn't have me skipping sections]. The sleeping was horrible, but to be honest noone slept well at that altitude.

anyway, to the pictures....

at the motel in Bishop:

having fun at sushi:

bonding over art with Uncle Matty:

pie at the rock creek resort:

by the lake:

root beer floats:

the wildflowers this year were amazing:

more birthday. give me that pink present!!!! :

still fits somewhat in the backpack. how do you like the patagonia/nature inspired outfit she chose for herself? pink hat on pink stripes on pink flowers on pink dots:

everybody:

on another note, Vera got into some wacky sleeping habits. I'm finishing this post now at 10am and she is still sleeping!!! I need to get her straightened out.... but then again it's so nice to have the morning to myself....

*we ♥ the sierras

more pictures to follow... but aren't those mountains and those colors and that sky just beautiful??

*el cumpleaños

...July 29 - at the lake...

good morning vera! how old are you today?

the cake ordered months ago: chocolate with pink sprinkles. also a tinkerbell candle and rainbow confetti made by olivia. the birthday girl was beyond pleased.

helping make the cupcakes for the non-chocolate lovers:

these are more my style :)

the balloons kept these three entertained for hours:

the little party - my mom, dad, liz, olivia, ivor, eliot, ben and I. my niece and nephews were really sweet and had a lot of fun helping to decorate and make it special. olivia even made vera some adorable paper dolls that morning :)

she also made bows for the 3 dogs:

I cannot describe the intensity of emotion here as vera opened these princess wands [that ben got at the grocery store 15 minutes before]. you need help opening it vera? nope, I got it! definitely one of the highlights of the day.

*favoritos

Relaxing now in a lovely air-conditioned, creekside motel in Bishop. Here's some snapshots of our time at Tahoe...

cutest bottom on the beach:

cousins:

watching Shakespeare's Tempest - scared of the fish monster:

Who remembers and loves climbing the rocks at Sand Harbor???

Liz and I making empanadas:

It's definitely a different experience being at the lake with a child - gone are the days where Igot super-tan reading on the beach from 9-5, taking care of just me :)  I did get some reading in - first The Joy Luck Club and then I started The Fountainhead - both really really good and mostly enjoyed under the umbrella.  However, the best part of the trip [as usual] was watching Vera interact with family.  The first few days she was a little overwhelmed by everyone and therefore extremely clingy and whiney.  She slowly warmed up though to everyone and ended up having a great time trying to keep up with the cousins.  "Hey cousins!!" she'd call as she joined them on the beach or in the street to play ball.  She's the youngest by a couple years but thankfully didn't seem to notice even if she wasn't really part of the game :)  On the beach she was a bit of a girly girl and spent a lot of time "sweeping" the sand off her toes, but did let herself get dirty and was more comfortable going "steep" (deep) in the water as the days went by.  I loved the moments she just sat quietly scooping sand or letting the waves break over her legs.  The other highlight was obviously hanging out with everyone, especially dinner on the deck - though it was hard to exclude myself from the bottles of wine enjoyed, sigh.  I wish family get-togethers were much more frequent.  

*tres!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY VERA!!!

I can't believe we have a 3 year old!

*seis

Ben and I celebrated our sixth wedding anniversary this weekend.  We had a nice dinner at Edgewood where we got married - we both love the nostalgia of being in that same spot and remembering what a wonderful day that was.  Six years!!  We've learned so much from those first years of really getting to know each other better, to figuring out what it really means to "die to yourself" - not an easy task!  I look forward to the next 6, next 12, 24 years sweet husband of mine!

There's where our beautiful table settings and gorgeous cake were!  We talked about how absolutely perfect it all was with Tamara's bouquets and daisy/baby's breath arch and Rosie and Jessie's sweet mini daisy centerpieces.  It really was the prettiest wedding ever in my opinion ;)

...the sunset was amaaaaazing...

Now may the God who gives perseverance and encouragement grant you to be of the same mind with one another according to Christ Jesus. 

Romans 15:5

*las vacaciones

Having a good time!!

*camitas

Vera spends a great deal of her day putting babies and animals to bed. I love finding them all over the place.  My favorite is baby hello kitty's itty bitty beds :)

Ben and I took a nice rest today too while she "put us to bed", basically replaying our nightly routine over and over for about 30 minutes. It was a good chance to go over some things, as I'd say "mom I can't sleep! will you stay with me?" and she'd reply "ok, I will stay one minute and then you have to promise to not cry or yell for me, ok?" or "mom I can't sleep what should I do?" - "just lay down and hug bunny and dream about your day, dear."

*

Vera loves to go to my appointments with me and behaves so well.  My midwife let her help hold the doppler and she was so pleased - and so professional, telling me to lay down and straighten my legs and such.  She is sooo excited about her baby sister and loves to talk about her and talk about when when she comes in the Fall and how it's hard to wait but you have to be patient.  She did tell me though the other day that maybe an angel is going to come down from the sky and tell me I'm going to have a baby - next week.  

Anyway, things are going well, except for the fact that I gained TEN lbs. in the last four weeks.  Geez I cannot avoid it.  Or maybe I can and just need to cut down on my portions....  anyway, it really bothers me and I crave the day I can go for a run and start to see the pounds shed away.  Sorry for the complaining, just talking about what's on my mind :)  I'm also getting tired and winded real easy.  My mom always asks if I am on a walk - nope, just got up to get the phone.  It's a little embarrassing.  On the whole I'd say I still feel pretty good and ride my bike as much as I can since it's too hot to walk anywhere in the middle of the day now.   Ok that's all from pregnant lady.