Sugar and Spice and All Things Nice

Irene, Sylvie, Cheyenne (and Lyla on the way)...

Right now, the bond consists of bananas and balls but what fun it will be when they are a little older and can really play like little girls should.  You know - the princess dresses, fairy wands, purses filled with candy, the forts and no-boys-allowed signs.  Holidays will always be filled with great memories for these girls.  Cheyenne was so enamored by Irene and Sylvie this weekend.  She just watched them and tried to do what they were doing.  It was darling.  I can't wait for sweet Lyla to join the crew in a couple months.  They need to start thinking of a band name!

Both Chris and I were lucky enough to grow up with cousins around our same age and it is so wonderful that this next generation will get the same opportunity.  Four girls within 18 months is quite a rarity.  Maybe the next round will opt for boys.  The family could use a little balance.  Either way, these girls will be leading the charge - a force to be reckoned with.

Best of friends...

It is really quite fun watching this baby/dog relationship develop.  Cheyenne has just recently learned about feeding Strider from the table and how that somehow it always works to get him in grabbing distance.  And Strider is just figuring out that she is a great resource for free and easy treats.  They really are very respectful of each other and you can see that they are becoming good friends.

Make way for tears!

WARNING (especially if you are a mother... or have a mother... actually ALL be warned): 

Do not watch in a public place where you may be embarrassed by your tears and sniffles.  It is too sweet...

To watch bigger on youtube:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ehkB1UQPrA

Last night Chris and I were a wreck watching this.  We got the giggles because we couldn't control the tears even a little bit.  Lip quivering, tears welling, voice cracking, sniffles - the whole caboodle.
Don't try to be tough - it is too sweet to prevent the tears (not that you will be able to anyway)..

a good dream.

There truly is nothing greater than being a witness to a child's imagination and exploration.

What did we do before Cheyenne arrived? 

How did we exist in a world where she didn't?
Who were we?

It's like a shadow of a dream that I can't quite remember. It was a good dream though.  I do remember that.

Baby in the Bathwater

Cheyenne's very first bath was given by a very nice nurse.  Cheyenne and I had just had that moment where we look at each other and overwhelmed with emotion, think, "I know I love you... and yet... who are you?"

Her second bath was much more enjoyable.  So much fun in fact, she immediately fell asleep. 

After that, bath time has been one of the most fun parts of our evening routine.  She giggles and splashes and swims the best she can in the shallow water.  Chris makes up new bath songs each week and I always wonder if one will stick as THE bath song, but he has yet to find one that stays consistent.  

I hope that this means a true love for the ocean and for puddles as well (my two favorite bodies of water).

California Girl

Twenty six bottles of years on the wall...

My dear brother turns 26 today...

T h e   G r a y s o n   2 6   
1.  his welcomed sleeplessness
2.  willingness to surrender to sillyness
3.  his unintentional style
4.  he is both an early bird and a night owl.
5. how undenyably hard he works and how he somehow makes things look effortless
6.  the way he makes fun of the intonation of my words, even in serious conversations
7.  when you wake him up, he answers you before he is awake which makes for a nonsensical conversation that lasts too long before you realize he is still sleeping
8.  his dreams - both night and day
9. he gives great spontaneous toasts
10.  his love affair with coffee and wiskey
11.  he sees beauty in quirkiness
12.  the way he loves Cheyenne
13.  his comfort with awkwardness
14.  his discretion in dramatic situations
15.  the way he can make fun of himself and others in a way that somehow builds people up
16.  his ability to turn the smallest moment of his day into a story with characters and a plot and climax and resolution, when someone else might have just said "Someone on the street bumped me and made me spill my coffee"
17.  the way we can talk on the phone for two and a half hours or 5 minutes and he is still sincere and it always makes a difference in my day
18.  his singing in the car and everywhere else really
19.  how he romanticizes everything and yet has a very firm grasp on relaity
20.  his simple charm
21.  his complex character
22.  the way that he carefully plans things so that spontanuity can exist without making him irresponsible
23.  oh his laugh...
24.  he makes me feel like I am always doing the right thing.  I don't know how, but he does.
25.  his Strider face and his relationships with animals
26.  the connection that we have when we're sitting in the car or across the country or late at night or on vacation or on the phone or in the darkest place or the most important moment but mostly in the times that would otherwise just pass by.

Getting out of town (and time)

 We traveled up to Chris' family cabin last week.  It was a first cabin trip for both Cheyenne and Strider.  It is almost as if Bodega Bay has it's own time zone.  You settle into it quickly but it truly causes a certain jet lag when you leave.  It is the epitome of "getting out of town."  Perhaps the most special part about it is the history and the magic of tradition that it holds for Chris' family.  Being an addition to the family, it is only something that I can taste on the tip of my tongue, but I know that for Chris, it is a warmth that fills him to the brim.    

Balancing the Bubble

I'm discovering that life as a mama is a constant ebb and flow of holding on and letting go; tucking in and urging forward; letting fall and letting fly.  The tide comes in and I want to hold on to every finger and cradle every bone, then the tide goes out and I want to open doors and set free. 

To hold on or to hold up

I seem to get caught on one side or the other.  I am either worried that I am keeping her

i n    a    b u b b l e

hindering her vision and confidence, or letting her

b e    a    b u b b l e

giving her to the mercy of the wind.

Balancing that bubble each day, every day.  And every day more is at stake - the vision and confidence is more important and the wind grows less merciful.

Retro Romance

Chris and I pride ourselves in being avid film buffs and movie dates have always been a big part of our relationship.  Sadly, our movie-viewing has started to limit itself to netflix and hulu which is just not the same.  As a tiny baby, we took Cheyenne to the movies, but as she matures, this is becoming a bit more of a risky move.  She has more of an opinion about things these days.  So a couple of weeks ago, we had the brilliant idea of searching out a drive-in movie theater.  We could go and relax and Cheyenne could sleep the night away in her cozy carseat and we still all get to be together. 

We came to find out that these so called "drive-in movie theaters" are high on the endangered list and we feared that they may have become a thing of a different era.  And then... we found a stray lurking in the City of Industry - which sounds like a fictional place as it is.  In fact, when Cheyenne is 14, we'll tell her all about when she was a baby and we used to drive an hour in traffic to the "City of Industry" to the "drive in movie theater" and she'll roll her eyes and smile and say "oh Dad, you are sooo old..." (Notice how in my story, it is Dad who is old.  Mommy will always be young and hip. -- Also note that only old people use the word "hip" to describe themselves).  Anyway - it's true - we drove an hour in traffic to see if this "drive - in movie theater" was as retro-romantic as it is in my mind.

and oh how it was...



We hope to make this a regular family date night.  It is always a double feature (ha! as if we can stay awake past 10pm) and you get the comfort and privacy of your car.  You can bring pillows and blankets and snacks. The sound comes through on a designated radio station and the theater updates their showing list weekly.  http://www.vinelanddriveintheater.com/

(We saw Hunger Games and really enjoyed it - although like in most cases, it is naturally hard to be totally impressed by the movie after reading the book.) 

Sunday Morning Blues & Pinks

Coffee, chocolate covered pretzels, a crisp Sunday morning and... a never ending pile of grading.  I must say the first three pave a much smoother alternative to the pile existing on its own.  Busy day of work.

Cheyenne is busy doing work of her own...

Aching for Summertime when my "work" will look more like Cheyenne's.  Until then, coffee, chocolate and a cute baby will help me cope with my piles of grading.



and I've missed you...

In the midst of Cheyenne blooming, I have neglected the reflection and connection that this space gives.  I say goodnight in hopes we will meet again soon and often.