To all my friends

TWO FRIENDS WERE WALKING
THROUGH THE DESERT .
DURING SOME POINT OF THE
JOURNEY, THEY HAD AN
ARGUMENT; AND ONE FRIEND
SLAPPED THE OTHER ONE
IN THE FACE

THE ONE WHO GOT SLAPPED
WAS HURT, BUT WITHOUT
SAYING ANYTHING,
WROTE IN THE SAND ,

TODAY MY BEST FRIEND
SLAPPED ME IN THE FACE .

THEY KEPT ON WALKING,
UNTIL THEY FOUND AN OASIS,
WHERE THEY DECIDED
TO TAKE A BATH

THE ONE WHO HAD BEEN
SLAPPED GOT STUCK IN THE
MIRE AND STARTED DROWNING,
BUT THE FRIEND SAVED HIM.

AFTER HE RECOVERED FROM
THE NEAR DROWNING,
HE WROTE ON A STONE:

'TODAY MY BEST FRIEND
SAVED MY LIFE'

THE FRIEND WHO HAD SLAPPED
AND SAVED HIS BEST FRIEND
ASKED HIM, 'AFTER I HURT YOU,
YOU WROTE IN THE SAND AND NOW, YOU WRITE ON A STONE, WHY?'

THE FRIEND REPLIED
'WHEN SOMEONE HURTS US
WE SHOULD WRITE IT DOWN
IN SAND, WHERE WINDS OF
FORGIVENESS CAN ERASE IT AWAY.

BUT, WHEN SOMEONE DOES
SOMETHING GOOD FOR US,
WE MUST ENGRAVE IT IN STONE
WHERE NO WIND
CAN EVER ERASE IT'

LEARN TO WRITE
YOUR HURTS IN
THE SAND AND TO
CARVE YOUR
BENEFITS IN STONE.

THEY SAY IT TAKES A
MINUTE TO FIND A SPECIAL
PERSON,

AN HOUR TO
APPRECIATE THEM,

A DAY
TO LOVE THEM,

BUT THEN ,

AN ENTIRE LIFE
TO FORGET THEM.

My BIG girl!

I was clicking away the other day taking pictures of Irina as usual when I realized that she's started losing her "baby look". You know, that gummy smile, chubby cheeks, and chunky arms & legs...she has gotten so big so fast! This was further confirmed when she weighed enough to be forward facing in her car seat. She has always been leaner than most kids and is just now making it to the 22lb mark...we waited to be sure she stayed at 20lbs for a while since it fluctuated in the past. She is running around all day mimicking all the things I say and do. She is starting to talk more and more, she understand so many things and I am totally loving this stage right now. I just cant believe she is turning into a little girl so soon...I'm a little sad. I miss my baby girl laying in my arms "cooing" at me, then again; I can't get enough of my big girl pretending to read an upside book. Motherhood is all its cracked up to be.

girls dont do that..

Since September 12, 2007 after my sonogram revealed I was expecting a girl; everyone had had something to say about little girls. "girls sit quietly and play so nice", "girls don't poop as much as boys", "girls don't climb on furniture", girls this, girls that! I just listened and thought they were right, I mean after all I'd never had a baby boy or girl. Nearly 17months later I can say that they were all full of crap. My little girl is a tom boy, loud, cant sit still and does stunt devil type jumps of the couch! She does have a sweet side, she loves to kiss people and now gives tight hugs- makes my heart melt! The other day she was playing quietly in a corner, (which is a warning signal to any mom) so I eased over to where she was. She turns and looks up at me with a huge smile, says "bzzzzz", opens her hand and shows me a dead june bug. It was still half alive and semi crawling with its head cut off...poor thing didn't stand a chance, Irina did a number on it. Girls aren't supposed to do that! She is supposed to pick flowers and put them in her hair! Craig and I joke around that she is a little monster..she is our kissing & hugging, bug decapitating baby monster. I love her no matter what she is "supposed" to be. She is the best Irina we could ever ask for. I just hope this is the last bug she kills...

Trip to Aggieland

It had been a while since we visited College Station so a last minute trip was long overdue. Craig doesn't have any friends in CS since they have all graduated and moved but I worked there for 2 1/2yrs so most of my buddies are still there. We took a trip to the Bonfire Memorial, one of the pics says "KELLER, TX" that is where Chad Powell was from..Craig knew him from high school; so tragic. We had a moment of silence for the fallen aggies. We then decided to walk around campus and visit the engineering buildings and of course went to lunch at Freebirds. For those of you who don't know, Freebirds is only the best place to get burritos. It was super yummy!!! We met up with some of my old co-workers and then did some shopping. We mostly just bought some A&M t-shirts for Irina...as if she needs anymore. Over all it was a great little last minute trip! WHOOP!

FATHER'S DAY 2009

He is an incredible father.

She is his "sweet pea" and he is her one and only "Datty".

They put her in his arms and she slipped into his heart.

She loves him.

-Happy Father's Day "Datty"

pics by: vodom

The Girls

For those of you who don't know, I have to 2 nieces that were my babies before my baby. Abbie is 4 1/2 and Kimmie is 3 1/2...I have to add the 1/2 , they insist! My brother and his wife share custody of the girls and I make it a point for Irina to see them as much as possible. I have too many cousins to count (really, too many bout 45) and we grew up seeing each other on a daily or atleast weekly basis. I have so many fond memories of us at the park playing on the swings...I also recall my sister and my cousins pushing me off the swing and breaking my arm; but thats a another blog. This week the girls stayed in due to the weather and after much arguing, they finally decided on movie to watch. Toy Story II was in the DVD player, pillows were on the floor and they each had a cup of popcorn in hand, everything was ready to go. About 2 minutes into the movie Irina gets up and starts climbing all over the girls, stepping on toes, pulling on hair and eating snacks that she can't have yet (popcorn). Abbie watched the entire movie, Kimmie watched about 30 minutes and Irina caught a few seconds of a preview. Irina went to kiss all the stuffed animals her Tia has collected over the years. They sat still long enough for a photo and thats about it.

Sharing

Earlier this week at playgroup I was talking to some friends about my jogger stroller and how it jiggles too much for Irina's comfort while running in the mornings. My stroller is mainly meant to be used as a bike trailer so I really need to get one intended for runs. Our friend Chrissy generously offered to let us borrow her jogging stroller that was taking up space in her garage, she has a double jogger that she uses with her little girls and doesn't use the single anymore. Later that week I took a walk with Irina strapped to my back with my beco baby carrier (love it!) and we headed to Chrissy's house. Chrissy and I were chatting about cloth diapers while Elliott, Berkley and Irina gobbled up some orange push pops. On the way home we sported the stroller fully equipped with a toy steering wheel and cool sound effects; Irina loved it. In fact, we got home and she refused to get out! I took advantage of the whole situation; parked her in front of the tv with her sippy cup and she watched Baby Einstein for about 45 minutes! I was able to clean up the kitchen and have an uninterrupted bathroom break. It is a daily, if not hourly ritual that we talk to our kids about sharing their toys and other belongings, it was so great to see that quality in my friend. Thank Chrissy, E and B for sharing!