Photos & Update

I don't have a lot of time today, but I know it's been a few weeks since I posted. We have all been busy as usual! We had great (separate) Thanksgivings, and are currently huddled in the house during a cold, rainy day. (It was 80 degrees this morning, down to 50 now, with lots of wind and rain.)

We are still doing well, everybody growing up. Emi is still not walking, but has the control to squat, pick something up, and stand back up! I doubt we'll make it to Christmas before she walks. Camila is becoming a very dramatic storyteller. She saw the beginning of the Disney movie Tarzan yesterday, and as soon as her mom came home, she ran up to tell her about the leopard trying to get the baby, but the gorilla saved him and took him to her family, but then the big gorilla was really loud and scared the baby, but the other gorilla sang to him and he was okay. Her mother, having never seen the movie, just stared at her until I explained it.

I took them to church again Sunday and they both made it through the service, awake this time! Emi made a little noise a couple times, but my church is very laidback in that way. There were 3 or 4 babies under a year in the service, although a couple had to be taken to the nursery. We sat in the very back and she didn't disturb anybody. Camila did AMAZING, looking at the books I had brought and coloring quietly with her crayons.

She finally is getting to where she remembers my parents in between seeing them, so she will talk to them more now, which they LOVE. These people can not wait for grandchildren; neither can my brothers. My 15-year-old brother informed me that he was disappointed: he wanted to be an uncle by 16. I'm NOT going to make the deadline!

Here are a few pictures:

Thanksgiving picture


All dressed up for church


This is the same picture...but I can't figure out how to delete it.


Emi ready for church

Memory Lane

Work is pretty much work this week. Two 11-hour days in a row, but I have to say it's not all that bad except for I come home too tired to do much in my own life. Me and the girls have a good time, though. The one thing that saddens me is that they may not ever remember these days. But I will.
This weekend started me on the subject of memories. Friday night my family received a last-minute invitation to a Harvest Fun Night at the home of some old friends.
When I say "old friends", I mean I was 15 months when we met them. Until we moved when I was 7 years old, we were practically family in many ways. They had 6 children as well (though we only had 4 when we moved), 5 boys and 1 girl. The girl is about 6 years older than me; I played with the boys. They have a large piece of land in the country and as small children we could roam and play in a safe environment. We went to church together, played together, and grew up together for a time. I even had one all picked out to marry when I was 6! (Although supposedly, according to our mothers, he and his brother fought over me. Too bad they never asked me!)
We moved when I was seven, and didn't come back until I was nearly 16. We didn't see each other for a few years after that. Over the passing of time, our families had grown apart. But in the last year or two, things have changed a bit. Our parents have reconnected in a lot of ways, and one of the sons and I have talked at church a few times. (Note: he's not the one I planned to marry; he's older than us, so wasn't interested at that point in time.)
I was so excited when my mom told me we were going. They have been doing Harvest Fun Night since before I was born. Some of my earliest memories consist of bobbing for apples, the hayride (always my favorite), and the bonfire. I even remember sitting in my carseat on the way home, sneaking a pack of Smarties from my goodie bag without my mom hearing me.
In so many ways, it was just the same that night. It was almost magical. It was the perfect fall night, complete with clear sky and twinkling stars. The moon wasn't full, but at just over half, it kept the night from ever being dark. The games were the same ones I remembered playing, the parents treated me as one of their own, just like they always have.
But the differences were astounding in their own way. I had seen them all at church one time months back, but seeing them there, where I remembered them as children, it hit me all over again. We've all grown up. Since none of them read this blog, I feel safe saying I had excellent taste as a child: my designated husband grew into a good looking man. I do have to say I didn't feel half as interested as I did back then. (His natural bossiness isn't a good mix with my personality.) But to see him driving the tractor for the hayride when I remember sitting on that trailer next to him at 3, 4, 5 years old...it was surreal.
His sister and I played together as children, but since she was so much older, she was more like a babysitter. Not so anymore; we chatted and laughed as friends, on an equal level. The baby of the family, only 2 when we left, also drove a tractor for the hayride. Their oldest brother doesn't even live here anymore, he is a missionary in Honduras with his wife and 2 children of his own.
In so many ways, it was a comforting thing. In the midst of all the craziness in the world, here are two families with a combined total of 12 children, together after 14 years of separation, and we are all okay. Have we had rough waters in life? Yes. But the parents have stayed committed to raising their children for God, even when the going gets tough. The children, aged 29 to 11, are all serving God in their lives, and no one has succumbed to drugs or alcohol, or even the simple lure of the world. And most amazingly, after 14 years, we can still all come together and love and support each other and share memories. It was almost like a miniature miracle.

Life Goes On

So we are all back from vacation this week, and we've all had some trouble getting back to real life. However, it has been an easier transition than it could have been. I was back at work on Monday but their parents were off all day Monday and their dad was off most of the day Tuesday (their mother only worked half a day) so my days were slightly shorter and the girls got to see them off and on throughout the day.
Camila wasn't happy about going back to "school" on Tuesday, but lucky for both of us, it's closed today for Veteran's Day. We went on a Petsmart/Booksamillion trip this morning.

It's almost scary how quickly they're growing up. Emi has 3 teeth and is desperately trying to cut 2 or 3 more at once. She can stand on her own for probably a good 30 seconds, but is suddenly hesitant to take steps. (She does NOT like to fall.) She tries to sing in the car and waves "hi" more than "goodbye". She even says "Hiiiiii" sometimes, always long and drawn out like that.

Camila's vocabulary continues to explode. She called me on vacation and told me in clear, full sentences all about her trip and what she was seeing and doing. She sounded like an older child, no longer the tiny baby-voice I heard on vacations past.

When we got back we talked about our trips. She told me she fed cows. "Cool." I decided to insert an educational moment. "Did you know milk comes from cows?"

She laughed. "No!" She thought I was joking with her!

"No, it really does, I'm serious."

She laughed and shook her head. "Silly Baba!"

Then we talked about my trip. "Baba, you saw your friend Emily?"

"Yes, I did."

"And your grandma?"

"Yep."

Our new obsession is names: "What's your grandma's name?"

"Oh, I just call her Grandma."

(Sigh) "No. What's your grandma's NAME?"

Too smart for her own good. I think I was 7 or 8 years old before I realized grandmas have names too.

Yesterday we made brownies. She took the box from me and studied the back. "Hmmm. We need one egg!" Sure enough, we needed one egg! She had "read" the picture with the instructions.

Later, I asked if she had to go to the bathroom. She said no. "Are you sure?"

Her annoyed expression said it all, but she added, "I'm positive."

I cracked up. She probably picked it up from her dad, but I had never heard her say it before.
Her mother has slowly loosened up and let my friends be a little more involved with her. (Mainly after she discovered some of them babysit and it may therefore be beneficial for the girls to be familiar with them.) So Rachel came over yesterday because she had a Toy Story poster for them to paint.

They had a BLAST. Camila was hamming it up all over the place, making faces and noises and giggling. They painted the poster, built a puzzle, ate brownies, and Rachel taught her "What does the elephant say? Roll Tide!" Camila has no idea why this is funny but likes the reaction it gets so she has been saying it for people. (I am not a football fan in the least, so I have no preference.)

So overall, we have had a good week so far!

The only time they're both smiling in a picture is when they're looking at each other. It's annoying, but sweet at the same time.

The girl LOVES chocolate!

Blessed with Friends

I am on vacation yet again! I know it seems like I just did that, but remember that I get very few days off in between. This time I am on a Wisconsin-Savannah-Atlanta trip, visiting friends and family.
My girls are all well, though I haven't heard much from them this week. Their mother gets poor reception at their grandparents' house. That's why I'm on vacation; I had a week off work anyway, and I do try to do my traveling when they do theirs.
So far it has turned out to be a good time of year for it, though. Wisconsin wasn't very cold at all, nowhere near the Arctic I was kind of expecting. :) Savannah, though overcast, greeted me with pleasant temperatures as well. At least it feels like fall!
One thing that has been on my mind lately has only been confirmed on this trip. I have some amazing friends! I complain because they all live in different places or don't go to my church, or whatever I feel like complaining about on that day, but I really shouldn't. I am blessed with a wide variety of friends, each playing a different role in my life. I have old friends, young friends, married friends, single friends, mommy friends, Christian friends, Jewish friends, northern friends, southern friends, friends that like to travel, friends that don't, friends that write, friends that don't...the list goes on and on. I have varying degrees of closeness with these friends, but I would count them friends nonetheless.
I'm not trying to brag or be like "look at me, I'm so popular!" But it has been pointed out to me that not everyone has these resources. And that's really what they are: I learn so much from these different people. Even the ones I know that aren't Christians make me think and stay on top of knowing what I believe. And if my parents only knew the stupid arguments a certain friend has talked me out of when I was throwing an attitude. I think God placed her in my life to save me from an early death! (Just kidding by the way...as much as they may want to, my parents would never kill me.)
Thanksgiving is coming up, so thanking God will soon be on everyone's minds. But I think I owe God several years of thanks for all His blessings of friends. And to all my friends, everywhere, THANK YOU! I shall try to be a better friend to many of you!

Whoa that's crazy, dude!

When that exact sentence left Camila's mouth last week, I stared at her. Then I laughed. I have no idea where she picked it up, possibly at school (since her father insists it was not him).

She has been doing all kinds of crazy things lately, but they make me laugh. Last week I laid her down for her nap but a few minutes later heard her calling me. I went to go see what's wrong, only to be solemnly informed, "My toes aren't working."

I repeated it to be sure I heard correctly. "Uh-huh! Baba, you fix it?"

They looked okay to me. "Can you wiggle them?" She did. So she could move them. I inspected each individual toe, wiggling them and feeling for any abnormalities. I found one little spot on her big toe that looked like maybe an ant had bitten her. I pressed it lightly. "Does that hurt?"

She thought a minute. "Yes." I pressed it again. She said "Ow" but it was in a monotone. She was just stalling.

"There, I fixed it. Go ahead and go to sleep." She rolled over and snuggled with her cow, the problem apparently solved.

She has also discovered what is is to LOVE something. We're reading a book and mention chocolate cake: "Yum yum, I LOVE chocolate cake!" We're walking and we see some clouds: "CLOUDS! I LOVE clouds!" We're in the store and we walk by the balloons. "Oooh I LOVE balloons!"

Her imagination cracks me up. Monday on the way home from the grocery store, she was cradling her Clifford cup of juice and saying, "Aw, it's okay!"

"Is Clifford scared?"

She nodded, then tacked on an emphatic "YES."

"What's Clifford scared of?"

She sighed. "CATS."

I laughed. Where does she come up with this stuff? "Doesn't Clifford know he's a big red dog and the cats are probably afraid of him?"

She laughed too, and shook her head. "Silly Clifford!"

Such a mess, but so cute!

Emi will be 8 months on Monday and has not only figured out how to crawl on all fours (as opposed to her lunge/scoot method), but is trying to take steps! It seems so unfair that she be walking for her first Christmas, but I'm pretty sure it will be that way. We have to drop the crib down a few pegs today. I heard a noise when she was supposed to be taking a nap, so I tried to peek in the door. I came face to face with her, standing at the end of the bed and grinning ear to ear. I don't think I'm ready for this!

Swinging in the backyard with a friend last month.

One of our first cool mornings! We had a cardigan and tights!

Fall is here!

WE NEEDED JACKETS TODAY! Seriously, do you know how nice that was? By the afternoon it warmed up to high 70s, maybe 80, but this morning was windy and a little nippy! Maybe fall is coming after all.
October and I have a love/hate relationship. It seems like everything goes wrong in October, and traditionally it has not been a good month in my family. It often feels like the air is heavy and depression runs high. I hate October 31 and I know a lot of people will think I'm crazy, but I feel like a lot of the emotional issues are more due to spiritual oppression. It has been documented that there is increased demonic activity around that day.
Yet...I love October. I love the way the air finally cools, the fair comes to town, we are rapidly moving toward the holiday season. It was October when I quit the daycare and started being a nanny, so it now brings memories of going on my interviews on cool fall days with my windows open. I remember meeting Camila for the first time when she was 6 weeks old. I remember getting the call that I got the job. There are a lot of good memories in October too!
I have had a very busy couple of weeks, but not all bad. I got to go to the beach for a whole weekend with girlfriends a couple weeks ago, and apparently I have needed a tan all summer. So many people have commented on how flattering a little color is on me. This past week was WILD, a lot of hours, but we had fun! However, I am trying to find ways to get my own life a little more under control. Saturday I had agreed to babysit for a friend who had to cancel, so instead I got my car under control. I got the oil changed (it was only 2000 miles overdue), went to the car wash, vaccuumed it out. It was like a whole new car!
I still want to get my room cleaned and rearranged, and would like to have it done before my vacation at the end of the month. Can I do it? Maybe. I'm going to try. It would be reallllly nice to have a cozy little living space to come home to, even if I just fall into bed and go to sleep. It would lower my stress levels, that's for sure.
We shall see!

They Make Me Smile

We have made it through another week! This one was somewhat traumatic at times. The dog was on the brink of death for a couple days. This dog has been a part of the family since even before Mommy met Daddy; he was the first child. He is now the cantankerous fixture of the house that both girls ADORE. Everyone's heart broke to think of him going.

When they found out he had a bowel obstruction (second time this has happened, by the way), they opted to have surgery and while he is not home yet, he IS recovering nicely.

Monday was our first day trying the "big girl" gymnastics class. I am probably bragging but I was SO proud of how well Camila did. She is behind in skill level, obviously since she has only been taking it six weeks and in the baby class they don't do a lot of actual tumbling. The teacher had to remind her to sit down and wait her turn a couple times since she is used to more free play than "class", but she obeyed well and paid attention. She listened better than some of the children that were close to four! Since she liked it and the teacher voted to keep her in it, we are officially signed up for that class.

Mom's Day Out is going quite a bit better. She insists on wearing these hideous bright orange sunglasses that came in a pack of swimmy diapers forever ago. They SAY "Little Swimmers" on the bridge of the nose. But for two weeks now she has to find them before we leave and she wears them all the way into the classroom. She also takes Pluto along as a comfort object and now we are down to barely-there tears at drop off. (More than I would like, but I just have to deal with it.) She is bonding with her teachers more, which is helping, and I am also getting to know them better which helps my comfort level. They seem very hands-on and kind, and the older one assured me that she (unlike a LOT of daycare providers) would tell me if Camila was not adjusting and should maybe wait a little longer because she doesn't like to see the kids unhappy. But she said that Camila is opening up a lot and actually playing with the other kids and participating in music classes and not crying during the day. The last three times they said she has done very well.

Emi is still determined to learn to walk, but has not quite made it yet. I dreamed last night that she just got up off the floor and walked past me before I knew what was happening. There is a scary-real chance that it just might happen that way! She is talking more and more...there are a few times I was certain she said "yeah" and "hi" this week, as well as continuing her "Baba baba" practices. She babbles constantly and is in love with her sippy cup/the water inside the sippy cup.

I heard a song during Camila's gymnastics class (there was a radio playing softly in the background). I don't know anything really about the song or the artist, so I can't promote it, but a few phrases caught my ear. It sounded like more of a love song but was talking about "you make me smile", and all the crazy things the guy would do for this girl, but it reminded me more of children and how they make us smile and all the crazy things we do for them (dance like a fool, for instance). They really do. I'd do more for those girls than probably anyone else in the world. Even on the roughest of rough days, they do silly, funny, cute little things to make me smile.

And other times, they don't have to do anything. Yesterday after MDO I gave Camila a shower and dressed her in comfy clothes for nap then the three of us settled on the couch with a book. I read story after story and in between Camila would just snuggle in my lap. I'd ask her, "Ready to lay down?" She snuggled closer and would say, "No! One more?" Emi alternated between cuddling on the other side of me and playing happily on the floor. We read for over half an hour, the perfect quiet time. It was the very definition of contentment. (I did finally force myself to put them to bed but it was hard. I miss her SOOO much when she's gone all morning.)

I can't wait till I have my own kids that I don't have to send away for 8 hours a week at such a young age! I know I wouldn't be able to stand it. (Although I manage to keep Camila down closer to 6 hours a week by dropping her off a little later and picking her up a little early.)

Here are a few good pictures I got this week:

One of my favorite sister pictures yet. I just wish you could see a little more of Camila's face.

Camila is getting better at smiling on demand. It's a little "grimace-y" still but coming along.

A spontaneous hug from Camila. I think Emi was worried something was up!