*conejito

I just came across this old picture of Vera and Bunny. I can't believe how big and new and clean he was! Here he is now after 2 years of lovin. She's been asking me to give him new eyes - pink ones!

*quiet

We seem to be entering yet another clingy, sensitive, tantrum-throwing, yelling at Mommy, stubborn phase that's left me a little ragged. Moments like this, where I heard her quietly going through each of her favorite books, saying the words she knew out loud was so wonderful and so welcome.

*futbolista

I started playing indoor soccer again about a month ago - finally!! After the first game I literally couldn't move my legs forward, they were so tight and sore. It really motivated me to get running again too - I've run more in the last month than I have since before I got pregnant with Vera! Anyway, I was out in the backyard one day practicing my skillz and thought I'd see how Vera likes soccer. As you can see, she doesn't quite get it yet:

*more daily

Another almost-daily thing we miss when we're gone or have visitors is time with our best buddies! Pretty much every night when I ask what Vera wants to pray for, she says "Mimi, Sam, their mama Jenny and their daddy [and their slide/new house/Grandma etc.]" and she is always wanting to call them on the phone. The 3 little amigos are getting cuter and cuter in their play and quasi-conversations together:

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[not a real street!]

*la cotidiana

We seem to do a lot of traveling, which of course I love and am so thankful to be able to do [thanks in part to parents' who help pay our way home and free flights thru our United and now Southwest Visa!]. On the other hand, it's so refreshing to get back home and into our daily routine. A litte vida cotidiana:

spending time with tio+tia next door

coloring with daddy

playing in "bunny's house"

reading the mail

making a pie!

*la viajera

Vera is definitely quite the little traveler. I was completely amazed at how well she behaved on the way there and back with all the flights, long layovers and hour+ drives. She didn't nap at all, and literally only had one bad moment. I didn't blame her after an hour drive, a 4 hour flight and a 3 hour layover she started to cry saying she was too tiiiired and that she wanted Daaaaaaaaaaddy [who was on a different flight, long story].

I always strategize for plane trips and this time around I had an AWESOME big Sesame Street sticker book, new markers from Ikea and a pack of blank cards, a couple Babybug books, and some good snacks - the best being a lolly-pop ring from her Auntie which kept her happy for a LONG time. I had some DVDs which we didn't even have to use on the way there, and just a little on the way back! She used up one entire flight making cards for Grandparents, friends, etc! I had been uncertain what to do about her going to the bathroom, but I followed the advice of a friend: I bought some pull-ups and told her they were "airplane underwear." That way she could use the lavatory if she needed, but we avoided any accidents during takeoff or landing when we weren't allowed to get up. It worked perfectly!

I wish I could say she was dreamy perfect the whole trip. However, she seemed to use up most of her *goodness* during the traveling and was rather grumpy and clingy, probably from being overtired and a bit sick. There were lots of stubborn moments like this:

okay Vera it's time to go now.

"no, stay this."

Vera LETS GO.

*la ciudad

The other major highlight for me was spending the day in New York City. I seriously want to live there. Really, seriously, we have to make it work someday somehow. Ben + J took us on a perfect little overview tour of both sights and places to eat. I wish I took a picture of each little bite: rice cakes in Chinatown, pork sandwiches [I want another right now], cupcakes, Venezuelan arepas, lobster sandwich, good coffee [the guy made me a cortado, Liz! he knew!] and some amazing thin crust margherita pizza. We stopped in Chinatown, went over the Brooklyn bridge, rode the subway, took the bus down 5th Avenue, walked and played in Central Park and ran back to the car through the rain - and I didn't feel rushed or tired at all. Even Vera was a little trooper subsisting on milk, cupcake frosting, reeses pieces and pirate's booty all day. Of course she LOVED the subway and the bus. It was Halloween too, which made for a fun day with people in costume [sometimes you couldn't tell if it was a costume or not] all over the place. What a great day - thank you Ben and Jessie!

[walking on the promenade in Brooklyn]

[Chinatown: all the little ladies admired our butterfly/tinkerbell]

[the bus]

[the subway]

[a bit of traffic]

[the park]

[perhaps my favorite picture: both of them :)]

*auntie J and uncle Ben

We really had a wonderful time out visiting Ben's sister + brother-in-law. We often comment on how we wish we lived closer and could eat dinner together regularly and just spend time getting to know them as friends [which we obviously do, but to live in the same place would just be fun and obviously better than seeing each other once or twice a year]. The trip wasn't filled with tons of sightseeing or exciting adventures or anything, but we mostly did just what I had wanted to do: spend time together :) They live out in the countryside in an amazing old farmhouse that -of course- Jessie has decorated like it belongs in your favorite magazine. So beautiful and relaxing. They also have a fish pond about 30 yards from the front door - seriously it couldn't get any better for a little one. Here's a few pictures from around the house:

[fishing]

[nail polish and lipstick makeovers]

[flying!]

[games - easier played after bedtime]

[carving the pumpkin. she couldn't handle the actual carving]

[making grumpy faces: new favorite thing to do]

*el este

..a bit overwhelmed by all the photos from our trip to NJ: still sorting..

*cachorritos!!!!

We're in New Jersey visiting Ben's sister+husband right now, but I had to interrupt our trip to share the news! Boone is a daddy!!!!!!! We got an email last night that the first one had arrived and the 3 others were born throughout the night. My parents' dog, Sadie, is the mommy, so the little ones are 1/2 purebred American lab and 1/2 purebred Springer Spaniel [there was a bit of an illicit romance this summer]. We get to see them at Thanksgiving!!! SO CUTE!!!! I love puppies.

*the truck

Another picture from our neighbors - 4-wheel-drivin-it in the Uintas this summer. If Ben had his own blog, this would be on it:

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Our neighbors sent over some pictures they had taken of us all over the last year or so. It was a nice little surprise to see myself in a picture that doesn't involve a timer or reaching my arm out to take it myself. And of course my little girl's smile - I LOVE IT.

*sundance

[she randomly sat on the ground and cuddled up to Grandpop like a little puppy]

*elefantecita

Ben's parents and I took Vera and Stella to the zoo. It was a perfectly beautiful day: cool, not-crowded and full of fall colors. It was no ordinary zoo trip because there was a brand new baby elephant - I seriously could have watched it all day, SO STINKIN CUTE. [I'm not normally a big zoo-lover, but the baby animals, the feeling of Fall + the girls' excitement made it a wonderfully fun time ] Other highlights were the train, seeing the baby giraffe and the papa tiger which was ominously close, huge and a bit scary.