Friday Afternoon Nature Walk

It's becoming a little bit of a tradition. At least a couple of times a month Clara falls asleep right as I arrive at school to pick up Sophie....and since she doesn't transition well, we just head off for a walk around the corporate park. There are always at least a few things to catch our attention. Here goes....

Clara wakes from her nap and ponders the wonders of the universe! Poor thing....I had the carriage covered while she was napping and she woke up so sweaty...

I love the blooms on this bush ~ they remind me of lilies....

Sophie had an awesome idea ~ let's lift the tops of the bluebird boxes to see if there are any eggs inside....

Could you die? There were five delicious little perfect bluebird eggs inside. If you'd seen my reaction, you'd have thought I'd just won the $521 million lottery! The box was too tall for me so I had to lift my camera up and just hope that the eggs were within the frame (which is why this photo is not good quality!).

I adore this photo. Sophie pointed out "It's your friend, Mommy". She says this whenever we see a red cardinal. Her comment is always followed up by, "It's Harry Winston." This is the name we've given to our resident cardinal. At age five, she must realize it's not the same one, right? This shot was taken from a very large distance, across the pond. Wish I could have been closer...

I took this photo of the lone male mallard because I wanted to see if his curly tail feathers would turn out. So glad they did....

This blooming dogwood down the hill was so beautiful!

Sophie took this photo of the lone duck. I think it's really cute ~ she did a good job!

This tree was magnificent. The blooms were to-die-for GORGEOUS. I don't remember ever seeing this before....but I'd love one in my yard!!

Sophie gives a great big smile when she spots a frog in the pond!

Soccer Love

I think the soccer love is more on my part than Sophie's. Or maybe not. She definitely loves it. My mom came to visit for two days and she was able to accompany us to soccer practice. Afterwards, she remarked that Sophie is the only girl who smiles throughout the entire practice. True. Every day when I pick her up from school, she also asks me when it's time to play soccer again. One of my new pleasures is going to practice and to games and watching her play. I love it. Most of my Mom friends love soccer practice because it's Dad's duty to take the kid(s) while they get quiet time alone at home. Um, no thanks ~ I wouldn't want to miss out on all of the fun.

I love looking at the photos.....Sophie in her uniform....well, the cuteness is unbearable! After a couple of weeks of play, it's apparent that Soph is a natural defensive player. She instinctively goes to the goal when the opposing team comes close to scoring. In the last game, she took part in blocking two shots. On occasion she's been frustrated that her teammates score more goals than she does but I'm trying to teach her that blocking the opposing team's goals is just as valuable. We all know that the offense typically gets all of the glory....but then I remind myself that my favorite player on the US team during the last World Cup was none other than Tim Howard. And I think that Sophie is my own little Tim Howard. May the soccer love continue....

Rummikub Conundrum

A couple of weeks ago we played a game of Rummikub with some houseguests. After picking up a tile at each of my turns, I was never able to put down an "initial meld" (Rummikub speak). I've played this game hundreds of times. I love it! But this has never happened before. I even doubted myself because I couldn't find a set with a value of 3o to lay down. Alain looked at my tiles as well and confirmed that I was stuck. I spent a good hour researching the directions and online to find out how to proceed but I never really found a good answer. I was in disbelief.....and I had to take a photo to prove my predicament. Crazy, huh? I would love to know the odds of this happening....and I wonder if it will ever happen to me again!!!

A Timeless Quote

“May I a small house and a large garden

have;
And a few friends,
and many books,
Both true,
Both wise and both
Delightful too!”

~ Abraham Cowley
1618-1667

I can't remember where I came across this delightful quote. But I love it. It totally describes how I feel about my life at this moment in time.

I'd never heard of Abraham Cowley so I had to do some research. Learn more about him here. I should not have been surprised to find that he was English. Will need to add this to my list of All Things English.

A photo from my garden that grows much more happiness than vegetables....:

We grew enough turnips for an army this year. Considering the lovely yellow flowers currently gracing our garden, we couldn't pick them nearly fast enough. Oh well, I'm loving the yellow and the flowers.

Suburban Field Journal

This photo, for me, encapsulates a lot of what's wrong with the suburbs. I took it back on October 28, 2008. This topic has always been on my mind, you see. The road where I took this photo used to be very rural with farm land on both sides. Nowadays, it's stale and pure cookie cutter. No character to speak of. No farm land left. No romance. Full of McMansions. Always a ghost town during the day. Yet this one photo speaks a little of what used to be. And you can just imagine a sweet little country lane where someone used to wander.....

* Notice the byline under the subdivision name: "Your New Way of Life". Um, no thanks. Personally I'd prefer to live on Wandering Way Drive....the way it used to be.

Happiness is....

....pulling into a parking space only to find this handsome face peeking out of the front window of the pickup truck parked in front of you!!

As I took this photo, I realized that the thing I love most about dogs is that they only have to BE to brighten up someone else's day.

Clara, at 7 Months

Likes: Big Sissy, crawling fast, standing (using anything & everything as support), music class, sweet potatoes, pears, bananas, Puffs, Hubbell, Peek-A-Boo, dancing, the bath, rocking with Mommy, riding in the Bjorn with Daddy, balloons, reading books, other children, chatting.

Dislikes: having her diapers changed, getting dressed, wearing a bib, anything that restrains her ~ high chair, carseat, stroller (it's not easy).

Nicknames: ClaraBelle, Lulu, Clara Lu, Clara Boo, Clara Poo Poo, Weezy, Weezer, Clara Bara, Lil' Sissy.

Recent Milestones: first tooth (March 6th), crouching on her knees, standing, walking around the furniture, standing and letting go with one hand (always accompanied by a smile), banging on things to make noise, putting pacifier in her mouth by herself, responds really well to her name, loves to pick up small, small objects with her thumb and forefinger.

Words I'd use to describe Clara: sunny, sweet, talkative, charming, engaging, curious, adventurous, ambitious, sharp, great explorer, horrible sleeper, fun, free spirited, adorably cute.

PS ~ I wish I'd had a blog when Sophie was small. Of course, I was too busy working and probably didn't even know what a blog was! But I'd love to have a record like this of my thoughts and observations, etc. on her babyhood. Oh how I wish! She was the best and easiest baby. So precious....

Signs of Love Are Everywhere!

You just have to look for them. I saw this one last Friday during our nature walk. I pointed this one out to Sophie and she yelled, "It's a heart, Mommy!". Exactly.

A First Soccer Practice

Last night the entire family went to Sophie's very first soccer practice. Both Alain and myself adore soccer and we were so excited to start the season. Both of us were hoping SO HARD that Sophie would like it....and we were not to be disappointed. The little monkey was smiling throughout the entire hour. YAY! Let's hope it continues. We took a few shots and here they are....

Sophie enjoys a water break with her teammates.

An action shot.

Clara spent the entire hour crawling around in the grass. Checking out the other parents, their bags and coolers, etc. She had a blast!

Did I mention it was about 75 degrees? In mid-March? Craziness. But so nice.

The sisters discuss the details of the first practice....

Suburban Field Journal

I took these photos while sitting at a stoplight this weekend. Not too shabby.

Friday Afternoon Nature Walk

When Clara & I picked Sophie up from school this afternoon, we took off for a walk around the corporate park. I know that sounds crazy but this particular park has a number of nice trails and there's plenty of nature to catch our attention, as captured in the above photos.

P.S. ~

This gorgeous bird certainly captured my attention. Anyone know what type of bird this is? Kay? Bueller? Bueller?

Meeting Yaron

After a long wait of just over a year and a half, we finally got to meet our nephew/cousin, Yaron. As we imagined, he was adorable, engaging and fun. With the chaos of having three children under age five in the house all week, I regret to say that I don't have many photos. Pooh. But the ones I do have are pretty darn cute....see for yourself....

All three cousins in the back of the car. So cute. (In case you were wondering, Sophie had her face painted at a birthday party!).

Yaron, with his Papa, enjoy the lake while spending an afternoon at the park.

Yaron enjoys the slide with his Mama.

Yaron leans in to plant a kiss on Baby Clara.

Yaron in his Kermit shirt. Adorable. One of my favorite things about Yaron is that he seems to love the Muppets as much as we do. Although he is the biggest fan of the "Mahna Mahna" song I've ever met.

Enjoying lunch with Yaron at Mac's Speed Shop.

We love you, Yaron ~ miss you already!!!