*la mochila

I was so excited to give Vera her Christmas present!! She can spot a pink backpack from a mile away and had often told me she would get a pink one someday to walk to school with. Anyway, I made this one from a pattern that Julie [via Emily] told me about from here. It did take me a while, mostly because after buying the fabric [easy part] I procrastinated a few weeks and then when I did get started, made several very silly and costly mistakes. If you decide to make it, email me and I will tell you what I did wrong! She loves it as much as I thought she would. It was so cute - and helpful! - on our plane rides as she could carry all her little goodies herself feeling like such a big girl. Another great handmade [not by me] thing for the plane was a roll-up crayon holder. She literally colored the whole time on every flight.

bunny did some coloring too...

*

I've been having a rough couple weeks struggling with a lot of impatience and anger towards Vera and her fits and stubborness [yes yes I know what my parents are probably saying]. I haven't been sleeping well - mostly because she wakes up to sleep with us most nights and crowds me down into the lower quarter of the bed, grr. The 2 biggest reasons though I've been having such a tough time are 1) my selfishness and 2) lack of any sort of devotional or Bible reading/praying.

So I finally picked up a book the other night - an old one by Elisabeth Elliot called Keeping a Quiet Heart. I didn't plan on writing this just now, and so the book and its amazing opening quote are upstairs... Basically she wrote how little inconveniences in our days, those things that interupt our plan are really the opportunities we have to serve God and others. When Vera whines and frantically cries for the 10th time for one more [(*&#ing] song at night or insists on me putting a [*(&*ing] diaper on for her to go poop I should take those opportunites to show her patience, kindness, understanding, love. Let go of my selfish want for everything to go HOW I WANT. I want you to go to bed now so I can go sit at the computer or watch tv or just be by myself!! I want you to grow up and go on the potty so I don't have to deal with it! I've felt real tangible anger surging up at these moments and I don't like it and I don't want my daughter to experience it either. I have made it a point then to get back into starting my day with reading and prayer - specifically prayer for forgiveness and for patience and help. and guess what? Today I was able to calmly hold her for about an hour during a crying fit, I didn't bribe or mention poopoo on the potty even once and calmly sang her another song at bedtime, and then another [with Ben. thank you, Ben]. and what a good day it was!

[usual apology here for a long personal post... really helps to put it in writing.]

*más

A few more snapshots from our trip...

At Ben Beauchaine's brother's family's house. You probably can't tell from the pictures but Vera was rather anti-social the whole first week - with a bad cold and overwhelmed by so many people. I wish she would have been more outgoing - everyone was having so much fun!



We went to Pasadena on the 2nd to see the floats from the Rose Parade. They are so much more textured/interesting/beautiful in person! It was also like 80 degrees; I was tempted to complain about being too hot and then remembered it's JANUARY.

We went to the beach so many times this year!! Ben even got to surf a couple times and we were both left with a huge longing to live in California again....

tippy toes

It's so great seeing relationships develop with family!

Liz and Vera watching ballet videos on YouTube. Now she dances around the house yelling I'm balle-RIIII-na!! I'm balle-RIIII-na!

*drawrings

First family portrait:

I think it's so fun to watch the way Vera's scribbles have progressed. Over the break she started drawing happy/sad/angry faces and then figured out she could draw arms and legs protruding from the heads - the first being Mommy, Daddy and Vera. It was so exciting and she was so pleased with what she could do! She also loves making balloons still and more recently spiders - with 30 or so legs. I also think it was interesting how a couple months ago she wouldn't color in coloring books. I think she didn't know quite what to do and would just make me or Ben do it for her. One day though she just sat down began coloring [mostly] in the lines! It just clicked. This is probably really boring stuff for anyone else, I just love seeing her little brain making connections and like to jot down just when it happened :)

*amiguitos

We got see lots of friends over these last 3 weeks!! Of course I didn't get many pictures of grown-up friends, but definitely lots of the little ones:

Heather and Nate:

Chad and Melissa and Grant:

[she still remembers him as the one who tried to grab her quesadilla]

Megan and sweet smiley Eden:

[couldn't get a regular expression from either]

Not pictured: Kyle [Melissa's cute blue-eyed baby], Jilly [Jana's adorable spunky little girl :)], Vann [Lance + Jenni's cute little bruiser] and Eva who we almost got to hang out with :(

*los perritos

We're in Nevada now with Liz and the puppies:

*puesto de sol

...from my walk today - sighhhhhhhhhh

*more pink

No doubts as to whether or not we have a girly girl. She layered the pink skirts and tights and sweats and jewelry as it was opened, wearing it all right up to bedtime. She regularly announces that she's beau-ful and a princess :)

*feliz navidad

a sampling of some favorite moments:

[being here!]

[short-lived but very cute red Christmas ribbons]

[3 little munchkins watching Cinderella]

[so proud of her new backpack. goin' to s(ch)ool.]

[Christmas night: a vat of horchata] [silly brothers: click to see b.beauchaine's amazing expression]
[so so much family!]
[Christmas Eve - ultimate fusion dinner: stuffed tofu, green curry vegetables, chicken adobo, tabouleh, pear pie... so delicious] [c'mon vera, you can do it - 2 more bites!]

moments not captured on camera:

when Castro the cat caught a bird in the house which we disposed of outside. an hour or so after the ordeal I overheard Vera talking to him in the hall: "hurt him?" I peeked in on her and she was crouched next to the cat and the poor little dead bird.

when Vera would open an especially pretty or pink present and she would try her hardest to hide a huge smile

before our Christmas dinner with 25 gathered around - little Jakey's sweet prayer of thanks

*que lio!

Tearing out a bathroom, babysitting a good portion of my time, having a flood, a broken dryer and a sore throat/headache, writing Christmas cards, wrapping presents, grocery shopping and then trying to cook a turkey, pies, stuffing etc. all with a little friend to take care of results in this:

 

Can you imagine the rest of the house?  It makes me feel very ... overwhelmed.  Please also imagine the musty smell of drying carpets creeping through it all and the street-sized garbage can in the hall on the way to my room.  The easiest thing to do in this situation is to eat another piece of pie, take pictures and then make it all look a little better on picnik.com.  

*el barrio

You probably know that we love our neighbors.  We had a delicious Thanksgiving-like dinner tonight and it was so much fun - as any dinner with these guys is.  I made turkey and gravy for the first time by myself and I think it turned out pretty well?  It's crazy how much our 2 kids have grown in the last year. I remember holding Graham at last year's Christmas party: teeny tiny!   

*busy afternoon

I got a new charger for the camera and can take pictures!  I was feeling so lost without it.  

Vera helped me make a couple pumpkin pies this afternoon.  I let her use the little plastic egg beater from her kitchen and she was so serious and proud about it - very important she said.  I remember my mom letting me make scrambled eggs once with a little plastic blender and I still swear they were the best eggs I've ever had.

In addition to the plumbing crisis you might have heard about, our dryer is broken.  This is Vera peeking through the many clothes hanging around the basement:

Ben working hard in the bathroom. Can't you just hear the blaring Aerosmith?  He was so happy.  I wish his tool belt showed up in the picture.. pretty hot :)

[new window and framing]

*la artista

Vera got some new crayons [thank you friends!] today and actually drew something that looks like something on purpose!  She was so happy and proud and excited to show me: "Look Mom made balloons!!!" and then proceeded to draw some in every color.  I love watching this child develop :)

*2 horas

Vera, Jenny and I went on a fun, quick IKEA trip this afternoon.  Before we left the bathroom looked like this:

and now it looks like this:

bye bye yucky bathroom!