joy-full

I just can't get enough of the way Oscar moves his body right now.



Waverjumper from Amber Broughton on Vimeo.

buried, part 1

at the beach

How these months as a mother of three go by! We went to the beach with my parents back in October. It was really relaxing, especially because there was no tsunami, but had there been we were relieved to see that evacuation instructions suggested everyone come to our floor on the hotel, so we would have been as safe as it gets.

While we were there Fife started consolidating her naps, and also falling asleep at 7:30 for the whole night. I think Nana is some kind of baby whisperer, but fortunately, for the most part, the schedule has stuck.

Here are some pictures from the trip:

Anyone who knows Lucy knows she scatters art everywhere she goes, like some sort of glitter monster; this was a drawing I found hanging up on the deck railing at Nana and Papa's room. She sid it was an invitation to the spiders to come and build their webs there.

come on in, the rain is fine

We went to Kauai a couple weeks ago with Nana and Papa. It rained the first day, as it is apparently wont to do in the Garden Isle (like Portland, the rain is the secret to how it stays so lush). Lucy came out once again as a true Oregonian, not even noticing that some people might think the weather was less than perfect. (Later in the week when the sun came out Lucy was HOT.)

We spent the day trying to find a beach we could actually go on, because the surf was way up on the North Shore, and most of the beaches had disappeared for the day (the ocean ate the sand) or were temporarily closed.

But we finally found the lovely Lumahai, with a stream to splash in and a sand shelf for jumping, and though we couldn't swim, the waves were lovely to watch. Also, Oscar got to chase all kinds of fowl (ducks, birds, chickens) and discover the joys of throwing sand, both of which turned out to be the things he loved doing most for the rest of the vacation.

We ended the day by the pool back at the hotel, where Lucy made friends, and when trying to coax Oscar into the shallow beach side, said, "Come on in, the rain is fine!"

kidnapped

After our last successful beach weekend my parents mentioned that they were thinking about taking Lucy with them to the next one alone for a Nana-Papa-Lucy adventure. My mom mentioned it to Lucy last week, and she was immediately excited, asking every day after when she was going on an adventure with Nana and Papa.

They planned to get pick her up on Thursday and bring her back on Sunday, for three nights of fun, her longest stretch away from us and vice versa. This was our conversation Thursday morning as soon as she woke up:

L: Where am I going today?

M: Do you remember?

L: To Nana and Papa’s house!

M: That’s right!

L: And where am I going with Nana and Papa?

M: Do you remember?

L: To the BEACH!!!

M: That’s right.

*pause*

M: I am going to miss you this weekend, but I’m glad you are going to have fun with Nana and Papa and Titi.

L: I don’t want you to miss me! I love you. You should not miss me.

M: I will only miss you a little then.

L: No! you should not miss me a little, I always come back. I will leave Oddie and Piggy here and you can pretend that they are Lucy.

M: I think you might miss them.

L: No, I won’t miss them. *pause* I AM going to take them with me!

*pause*

Mommy, I don’t want you to miss me.

So we sent our costumed bumblebee off to play with Nana, and Shaggy and I have had a relatively quiet house for the last three days, except that we kept Arlo for ransom. Whereas Lucy punches keys on my computer if I'm working when I should be playing, Arlo just jumps right on top of the thing.

Yesterday I made hash for breakfast and there was no one to steal our bits of bacon.

beach weekend, part 2

Long weekend highlights:

::  Toddler slumber party in Nana and Papa's room every night, which meant that by the end of the
    trip I was sleeping in until almost 7:30.

:: Tacos for dinner the first night, then Lucy requesting tacos for breakfast and/or lunch every day
    after that until she had eaten all the leftovers.

:: Dirty hands from Bo Ssam pork shoulder the second night, wrapping shredded pork and condiments
   in lettuce leaves.

:: Singing teapot dance parties.

:: Water beads all over the table and all over the bathroom floor.

:: Watching Titi and Lulu chase and laugh and play and steal toys from each other and fall over and
   kiss it out.

beach weekend, part 1