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[monday's list: five random things]

#1. eliza can’t crawl, but she can scoot really quickly across the room, backwards. she keeps backing into walls (or in one instance, under the couch) and getting stuck.

#2. i am bound+determined to take the cover-picture of our christmas card in the lobby of The Mark hotel. hoping that if i get the girls dressed up and just take them there tomorrow afternoon we won’t get kicked out or reprimanded before i get the perfect shot.

#3. in addition to christmas cards, i’ve also been obsessing about where to have the girls’ birthday party (parties?). i’d like to invite our favorite adults as well as emma’s school chums, but paying $30+ per kid (and adult), although inexplicably common here, isn’t a reasonable option for us. i wonder how many people we could fit happily into our place? (i like to think that if the music and the company are good enough, the space doesn’t matter so much…)

#4. oh! but first, for my birthday + all my december birthday friends, i do believe a festive get-together is in order.

#5. our 10-year-old desktop computer in the bedroom (the one with all the sketchy non-itunes music downloads) isn’t working. not sure at what point we just give up and throw the darn thing out. also not sure if this further justifies getting an ipad.

#6. emma has her early-childhood “prayer service” (really, it’s a program with singing, cuteness, and breakfast) this morning. the kindergarteners are reciting a poem.

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happy monday, my friends. hope your week is short on work and moves quickly toward rest and relaxation. xo
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[she's working on her blank abercrombie-catalog stare]

[emma and ellie, neighbors and schoolmates]

her big sister loves apples. eliza really wanted to try some, too.

when big sister sat down, eliza pounced on that apple.

within a minute or two, eliza had grabbed the apple on her own, alternating between holding it in her hands and putting it on the floor and trying to just dive into it face-first.

she takes real bites, too, working hard with all five of those little teeth.

bonus: afterwards, it doubles as a ball.

hooray for sweetness, little joys, and feeling so big.

giggles abound.

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there’s just such an easy comfort about being around my mom.
even if we’re just curled up on the couch together, watching news and lamenting current events, it’s nice.
even if i’m just standing back watching her play with the girls, it’s wonderful.

thanks for visiting, ma. we miss you already.
see you at the Rockettes!

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pssst: my mom is visiting this week, and we’re spending lots of time doing grandmotherly/visitor-ish things with the girls.

be back shortly.
xoxo

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