STOP THE CLOCK! I think?

I was just looking at these pictures of Flynn from April and May of last year. That's 8 months ago. She's so little! So smushy!

I can still practically smell her : )

Ahhh. Well, today she may be bigger, but she's much more awesome. She talked happily in her crib last night for almost an hour before yelling, "Baba! Baba!"

Sometimes, it's a pain in the ass to get up in the middle of the night. And she should we WAY past this. But I can't help thinking that there's only so much time for me to hold her that way -- half asleep, quiet, the turtle's orange stars on the ceiling, her hand resting on my chest and then going back to her forehead as if she's a dainty Southern lady about to faint -- and it's a blessing and an honor to be the one who gets to do it.

Today she knows how to say at least these words: Baba (easily her favorite word), Banana, Ball, Man, Indie, Nana (Roxana), Dada, Mama, All done, This, No, Mas. And she can sing! In perfect melody! Happy Birthday, Ba-Ba Blacksheep.

Lovely things for my girls

"Mommy, nobody else has fabrics toys. I love them." -- Indie during our goodnight snuggle last night.

On Sunday, we made a dinosaur together -- the pink one. Indie picked out the fabric all by herself. After we were done, she carried it all around and told me that the pink girl wanted a boy dinosaur to marry. So, yesterday during her nap, I quickly sewed up the brown one. We were having a snack in the kitchen when she woke up and we heard a knock on the door (a sly knock from me). When we went to the door to see who it was, the little brown guy was waiting for her. He came to visit all by himself!

I love making lovely things for my kids!

I finally finished this:

Flynn has begun to remember and sing tunes! Right now it's Baa-baa Black Sheep and last night at dinner, she stood up in her high chair and clearly sang... "Happy Birthday to you!" I swear. James and I almost spit out our salad!

.

Strolling around Berkeley yesterday. There were donuts and Totland.

Pictures = 1,000,000 Words

What an incredible few months since I fell off the blogging wagon.

First, our trip to Santa Ynez with the Fanueles, Rosses and Gamarras for Thanksgiving. Started off with a bang, or rather a sputter, as we ran out of gas on the highway (see, James, it DOES happen!) Indie thought it was great, though, since everybody got unbuckled and huddled together into the front seat.

The house had a pool and horses in the neighboring yard, the conversation was sparkling, there was yummy wine and great food... We had a lovely, lovely time.

Then, a crazy non-stop December, with flights for James and I everywhere all over the country -- NYC, Phoenix, Mexico City, LA (x a bunch), Seattle, etc. We were constantly sending kisses home and looking forward to our weeks together in Steamboat!

Speaking of which, we made it! Amazing, amazing times in Colorado! Fun with Nonni and Grumps and all the cousins! Grandma Crazy and Uncle Jeffrey coming! Indie learned to ski without the tether! We were so proud of her, we all waited at the bottom of the hill and cheered!

Hot tub!

Flynn is so beautiful, huh? I love her.

Look at this princess.

2011 ended tremendously. So much love, so many good moments. Thank you to the people reading this, because you are the ones who helped make it so great. James, Indie, Flynn and myself are truly fortunate human beings. Even if we never had anything else, we have each other. And for that, I am so grateful.

Hooray, here comes 2012!!!!!!

How amazing is my child?

So, I know I have to do a catch up post! It's been a crazy few weeks, with 9 days in LA (yuck!), 5 days with friends at a fabulous house for Thanksgiving (yay!), a whirlwind trip for James to Mexico City and me to NYC (ok, that's cool!), Grandma Crazy coming in for a strike babysitting visit, and 18 hour work days. Please expect highlights to come shortly.

But in the meantime, I must get this down before I forget:

Tonight, I had come back from work, late -- and it's Friday, so I'm not even supposed to be going in the office. But, needs must when the devil drives, eh? But it was one of those crazy days, where you are running from one thing to the next. And I was 20 minutes late for the nanny/girls, and therefore feeling pretty low about my abilities to be a competent caretaker/mother/employer of nanny. This led to a bit of a meltdown on the way out of the edit house. Kinda think people heard me mutter "rassa-frassa-rassa-frassa" under my breath.

Long and short of it: I was having an "is this even possible???" moment, though I hadn't uttered it aloud. And Indie could sense something was wrong. And she said, "Would you like a hug?" And when I went in for one, she gave me a big hug, then pulled back and looked me in the eyes and said, "Mommy, you are special. And you can do anything you want to do. Anything!"

Yep, that's what she said.

Thank you, my little love. That's just what I needed to hear. I don't know how you knew, but it was perfect. For a 3 year old, you are utterly, completely AMAZING.

Viv's Playmat.... finished, shipped and received!

I finished it last week, but wanted to wait to post pics until Jess had received it. Because I just KNOW that she's reading this blog a lot. And, well, I didn't want to ruin the surprise.

So, here it is! Only 2 months late :)

More glamour shots of Miss Indie

Taken by my co-worker, Moses. Doesn't she look so great?

Away : (

Ugh. Away from the girls and James this week. Actually, for 9 days in total. But I'm on Day 3 already, at least. This part of the job is really tough.

I find myself reaching for pics on my phone of the babies pretty much constantly. So, this week will be a "greatest hits" of sorts.

I took this this video this past weekend. Can you believe she's only 3????