The Leaning Tower of Toilet Tissue

I went grocery shopping Friday just before I picked Jia up at her Aunt LaLa's house. LaLa mentioned that she had been fussy and had not eaten all that well all day. Having that information I thought maybe it would be fun (and a distraction) for Jia to help her mom unload groceries once we got home. Well, it was a big hit. A tip to all of you who may have 32 month old children or grandchildren - just pop open a 12 pack of toilet paper and you're golden! I can't even adequately describe how much fun Jia had putting the TT (toilet tissue) away, bringing it back out and ultimately building the TT tower of fun! And check out the glee with which she most carefully tipped over the tilting tower of toilet tissue! (I'm having way too much fun with this T thing).


Anyway, all is hunky dory in Jia land. I made some breakfast for us this morning. Eggs, large, brown, cage free, grade A from vegetarian fed hens ( you tell me, is all that REALLY worth $2.50 a dozen? I didn't pop for the $3.50 organic version and feel a bit guilty about it.) A couple of these pictures are to show what a wonderful breakfast we had together. While I was cooking, Jia was working at her own kitchen and she created quite a surprise for her mom. She has these toy cupcakes which we store in a proper muffin pan in her kitchen. While I was cooking, she was preparing a special treat- she placed 4 cupcakes on specially selected dishware and explained that one was mine, one was hers, one was for her dad (who was still asleep) and one was for Nora (our dog). I love this child. We had a delightful breakfast of eggs, toast and rubber cupcakes.

p.s. I love this child.

Random Shots Around the House

Jia is talking up a storm. Full sentences! Well, modified full sentences - but you can understand what she is asking. And she is always asking! Who's that? That's the question of the month so far. She most often means "what's that" but we know what she means! We've had more snow, more snow, more snow with more snow on the way. I'll be glad when we're done with this winter. A few pictures to reflect our snowy realty and some to brighten your day!

Pack Mule BackPack at Two!

Kids go to school with massive backpacks - even at 2! I love these photos. This is Jia's backpack for school. We don't send her off with this on her back - no worries! She usually proudly carries this into her Montessori classroom but on this particular Saturday, she wanted to wear it properly on her back! She's a strong little one! It even has a special place for her phone!

All is well here. Very tired of winter - Jia routinely shouts "summer!" and I concur. She knows summer means pool, lazy days and the ever appealing trip to the beach. It will be here soon enough I suppose. Best to all.

Busy!

Once again I apologize for not getting new pics or posts up lately. We have been mind numbingly busy it seems. Where does the time go? Jia is doing wonderfully. She's in some kind of developmental/physical spurt! She is constantly "hungy" and I can't seem to get enough food into her. Her vocabulary is exploding and she is putting words together incredibly well. I have a feeling we'll have a little chatty patty on our hands in just a number of months. She's grown 1/2 an inch in the past month too. She's both charming and devilish - sweet with periods of terrible twos thrown in for fun. Whew. I'm a tired mommy. Add to all of that the fact that I think I'm getting a whopper of a cold and you'll surely understand the lack of posts!

Here a few more shots from Christmas!

Christmas - A Smashing Success

Tons of fun was had at this house this Christmas. Santa clearly understood what a wonderful little girl Jia was this past year! We visited family, played with new toys and Skyped with the Illinois cousins - not to mention the wonderful time off from work and school. Oh, to win the lottery! No alarm clocks, no schedules, no stress - ahhh - but I guess one must play the lottery to win the lottery. We still have several days yet of holiday to enjoy and we're going to make the best of it for sure! These are some pictures from Christmas Eve at my brother David and sister in law Lisa's (aka LaLa) house, fun with Terrell's mom, brother and family and, of course, at our house on Christmas morning. I love that first picture. A hammer and some lip gloss - what more does a modern day girl need, really? I'll get some more pics up tomorrow or the next day!

Happy New Year!

Our Winter Beauty

Jia is so happy - and so is her mom! We have sooo much fun hanging around each other and this winter break from work and school is heavenly. We're going to bake Christmas cookies today, do a little last minute shopping and just be a little bit lazy! These pictures were all taken within seconds of each other yesterday. She put on her hat (thanks LaLa - I believe this hat used to belong to her Mei Mei ( her cousin Melissa - but Jia calls her Mei Mei) and laughed and giggled her way through mommy's photo shoot! I have to post them - they're beautiful! (Please ignore messy shirt - but that too was achieved with lots of energy and fun while eating her morning "puffs"!)

Winter Wonderland

We really got socked by this snow - 17 inches is my best guess. Today we'll head out to build our snowman family! Jia is doing great! She's got a bit of cough and runny nose which seems to be a neverending winter state of being for her. Hoping she can kick it soon. We're almost ready for Christmas around here. I have a few things left to do and this snow certainly put a crimp in my shopping plans so I may be out on Christmas eve!

Hope all is well with all!

Great Room Re-Do

For whatever reason, holiday season, winter blues, boredom - I decided the great room in our house needed cozying up a bit. So this past weekend we did a complete on-the-cheap re-do by buying some inexpensive furniture to supplement what we already had, moving the TV, bringing in another bookcase, adding pictures, fluffing a bit with throw blankets and pillows - and WALAA - a great room re-do!

Of course I must mention the plants - they are amazing - Terrell has the most unbelievable green thumb. Each year he takes his tropical plants out doors and each winter they come inside. Well, most come inside - we can't fit them all. But this year he decided to bring in the 11 foot schefflera! I think it has found a permanent home - no way we can get this baby out after a season of heat and sun from our high windows.

We love it! We can turn on the fireplace, snuggle up and watch a good holiday show!

How to Trash a Room in 10 Minutes Flat - and Other Fun Things on a Saturday

We've been doing some work around the house - well, Terrell has been doing a few things around the house. He painted Jia's bathroom a lovely yellow and we've designated a room just for her toys (one of many really, heh). He painted the playroom lavender and it looks great! During the process we moved some of her toys into her room and you'll see from these pictures it took about 10 minutes for her to completely trash the place! She was very excited when her dad painted her bathroom and still - 2 weeks later - she always says "WOW" when we go in for bathtime!

These are just a few fun pictures of her around the house. I hope all is well with all and I wish you a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday. A special note to say happy birthday to Jia's LaLa! She's 31 again!!

Happy Anniversary Mom and Dad!!

51!!!!!!!!!! Amazing! I love you both so much - thank you for everything.

One year ago I made a post celebrating my parents 50th annivesary so I thought it might be fun to show pics of Jia from that time. The change is truly remarkable! Wow!

You will also see the baby Jia walked around our house this week. She got the mommy, daddy, and baby Dora from her Grandma and Papa's house. She was running around with what I thought was an empty baby stroller. Perplexed, I got a bit closer and saw what you see in these pictures.

Halloween - et al

Sorry for the delay in posts! All is great in the household. We had a wonderful Halloween with the in-town cousins. Jia was a duck! Some of the moms/dads said - "wow, what a cute chicken" - whatever - all I could think was - have another glass of wine! She's a duck, for heaven's sake! She thought it was amazing that you could go up to a door, ring the bell, and someone would hand her things! We've had a rough few weeks with various illnesses - but she is presently healthy and has always kept that wonderful sense of humor of hers. Kept me and her LaLa on our toes but she's a-ok now.
Jia also loves playing with her kitchen here at home. She cooks and cooks. She likes to cook with her babydoll on her hip! Wonder where she got that idea. She also loves to draw now and we often find her quietly sitting and drawing and humming and talking to herself. Pretend play is huge - she makes up elaborate scenarios with her prince and princess at their little castle. In short, she is a delight and makes us so very happy. Enjoy the pictures!