*tres momentitos

Three moments from the last week or so that I'd like to remember:

Watching my baby sleep.  I am overcome lately by her babyness, by her enormous peachy cheeks, by the little sounds she makes, her happy disposition, her little thigh rolls and dainty fingers.  I want to see who she'll become, but I also want her to stay like this for-ever : (

I was thinking recently how I used to love having Vera help me in the kitchen - measuring, mixing, dumping, etc. We always had so much fun together and I thought it was so neat to see a little person gaining knowledge and independence like that. However, it seems like it was a neat toddler or preschool thing to do and she rarely helps me anymore! I seem to cook mostly when they are out of the way.  Sad. So the other day I expressed this to Vera and said maybe she could even make the mac n cheese on her own next time. I was already making dinner here and really almost done, but she ran to get her little chef hat and mitten and helped me finish the sauce. Really, she added some dried herbs, salt+pepper and stirred. That's all. But she was so excited, saying she had made dinner. I was upstairs giving Ruth a bath and came down to find she'd set the table all fancy with candles and served all our pasta. It was incredibly cute and I am determined now to get her really making things!

This picture of Edie just makes my heart ache (in a sweet way).  One night a little while ago, we had our neighbors over for dinner.  The kids were on the floor coloring and she kept coming up to me at the table with little cards she'd made - randomly cut pieces of cardstock with hearts and flowers. That night she happened to have a huge swollen mosquito bite under one eye and another on her nose. She had drawn a beard with face paint earlier in the day - basically she had a little face that only a mother could love.  She made about five cards and every time she'd give me a new one, she would jump up and down and clap her hands in excitement at the gift she was giving me.  Her sweet expression of love combined with her adorably beat up face just made my heart swell.