sycamore springs with my friends (carly, hanna and pacha) after a hike up ontario ridge. Ziah did great on the hike and just chilling by the spa on a blanket looking at the trees up above.
oh happy, sweet baby!
Morro Bay kite festival! So pretty!
Avi's favorite thing to write "I love you so bad" (adorable!). That's daddy flying his kite behind.
little Mila.
Mila loves constructing things!
Ziah's first bath with just Avi holding her.
too tired to make it into bed, huh Mila?…
rain drop on a nasturtium leaf. we have wonderful flora in our hood.
we had to order their rain jackets on amazon since the 5 local stores I called did not carry rain jackets! Crazy!
almost holding hands in their sleep.
sometimes the best conversations happen in the strangest places.
Ziah can poop! She once pooped through her diaper, pants, car seat liner, car seat foam pad, car seat plastic base and onto the leather car seat itself. That should get an award! And of course, pooping in the car is her favorite place to poop. Oh, and she gives to sign (no grunting or even much smell) so I'll pick her up and put her on my hip and realize I have poop on my clothes and forearm. She's so worth it though! Oh, I love her!
sleeping with her hamburger gummy. I gave this to her but said she couldn't eat it until we went to the chiropractor. She held on to it for 2 days straight - through sleeping and pooping and playing. She finally got to eat it (after she washed her hands)!
Thanks to Sitti for the horse riding lessons. Avi is so good and has so much fun!
my three girls - they have my heart.
thanks, Avi, for the picture!
everywhere we set Ziah, Mila makes sure an instant baby altar is erected. see how Mila even put dolls in Ziah's pockets?!?
trader joe's shenanigans
library bounty!
auntie Aryn sent Avi a $2 bill for saying "Mahalo" while in Hawaii.
Reading a book on unschooling while having a shot of espresso to ward off the headache.
{{Since I've been breastfeeding Ziah and Mila (since Ziah was about 6 months old) I get really bad hangovers (even when I don't drink) - just by going to the mineral hot springs, hiking and not drinking enough water. So I woke up with a bad headache and normally on Monday mornings I drop off the older girls at Candia's and Z and I hike. Today I didn't feel up to it, so we had a lovely date with some classic baby moments!}}
Then I went to get a glass of kombucha. I was holding Z in the ergo with one hand on her naked back so I could be skin to skin and one hand on my drink. While I was holding her she pooped onto my hand - yes - it squirted up out of her diaper and onto her back! I was so surprised I put my other hand there to release my one hand and got poop on both my hands. So now picture me, outside at a nice cafe, drink on the table, and poop on both hands. I had to get a key to use the downstairs bathroom and had no wipes. This was not one of my mothering highlights. But it makes for a funny story!
Now, what follows may be one of my favorite mothering moments. I immediately went (after the poo on both hands incident) to a foot massage pallor and got massaged in the darkened room while Z breastfed contently. Oh, that was heaven - snuggling with your content baby while being massaged!
Still nursing and happy!
She loves her sisters' attention!
tie-dyed feet!
isn't God good? we don't deserve any kindness for the darkness we have in our hearts. karma should/would give us much negativity. but God is so much greater than tit-for-tat. He gives us what we don't deserve: life, love, beauty, grace…
daddy changing Ziah
Avi picked out this iguana stuffed animal with money that Grampy Alan gave her for Christmas. I thought she wouldn't like it at all (I thought it was just an impulse buy) but she's loved it for over a year now!
Mila putting a baby to bed, ever so sweetly!
she loves this ribbon and the dances she does with it are so fun to watch!
nature gang at Avila Barn after our Charlotte's Web party
Halle and Avi
TN hike to Oso Flaco. (Melissa, Richard, Eric, Xanat)
see the real baby on the bed?
iPhone learnin'
Avi drawing her home.
seeing baby chick at parent participation
fiona and mila
Ziah fell asleep on Cassie. For a minute I forgot who was holding Z! I had been holding Mila and was thinking it was Ziah, so I started yelling "Mila? Has anyone seen Mila?" (while I was holding Mila!) And did Mila say, I'm right here, Mommy. Nope. Didn't say a word. Oh my. Well, once I realized Mila was in my arms, I freaked out: Where's my baby?!, I thought! Then I saw Cassie walk around the corner from the bushes holding her. Another embarrassing mom moment - and another funny story!
cute twisty buns! If we call them Juniper buns, she wants to wear them more. The other pigtails we call "Fifi buns"!
That time I braved the social security office with 3 kids for 2 hours. All because they never sent Ziah's first card! And guess what? About a month after this, I was going through my sorely neglected "in basket" and realized they DID send her card, I just never saw it! All that time wasted in vain! Oh, it must be the sleep deprivation. Geez.
