a list of things before going to bed

fridge milk
water, you bring it to me in my bed
no potty
a hug
a kiss
rub my back
i think i want chicken*
mommy, mommy, i want other chicken
you forgot to say 'see you in the morning'



*Note: Chicken here is a stuffed animal and not a food, though I too was thrown off initially. Already in her bed at this point were Giraffe and Marsho (both two-and-a-half feet tall), Piggy, Oddie, the ladybug pillow, black bear, the lamb pillow, Baby, and Moose.

old news

1. A couple of weeks ago I took a week off work and we finally renovated the top half of our kitchen. I had to break it into parts since I've been paralyzed by the seeming enormity of the task (for such a small kitchen!) since we moved in 6 years ago. New wall color, bead board ceiling, open shelves, new range hood. Still not quite finished, but so much bigger and better! And huge thanks to my dad for providing extensive expertise and manual labor.
2. Shaggy started a new job in October, go Shaggy.
3. As of early October, Lucy has been sleeping in her very own big girl bed. The crib is in the attic resting while it waits for a new occupant come next Spring.
4. Today we find out if said new occupant is a boy or a girl!
5. Several months ago I took a hands-on pig slaughter class though the Portland Meat Collective, and last weekend I followed it up with pig butchery. I am curing my own bacon in the fridge this week. Next fall I think I'll butcher my own side of pig for our freezer. Exciting! And highly recommended if you want to know more about your meat.

kisses and beef stew

Yesterday was Shaggy's first full non-training day at his new job, and it was long. I had beef stew waiting when he finally got home almost 12 hours later, and Lucy and I were on our way out the door to the pool.

Lucy ran to him and he picked her up and asked her if she wanted to give him a hug or a kiss. She looked at him, then grabbed his face and gave him a big kiss on the cheek.

Then she looked him in the eyes and said, "You want more?"

Five kisses later we were off to swimming lessons.

When we came back, I asked Shaggy how the beef stew was. He said it was good, but it really couldn't hold a candle to the kisses.

one-year round up

Favorite foods: Hummus and crackers, sunbutter and rice cake, meat, cheese. Bacon. Toast. Sometimes fish, sometimes oven-roasted broccoli ("trees"), sometimes smoothies. Sometimes yogurt, or bananas. Strawberries and blueberries for biting only. Maybe licking.

Favorite books: The Backyard Birdsong Guide, Scooby Doo and the Alien Invaders (it has a character named after your dad!), The Little Engine that Could, Mother Goose, the Runaway Bunny, Baba Yaga and the Stolen Baby.

Favorite songs: Twinkle Twinkle, Baa Baa Black Sheep, Frere Jacque, Wheels on the Bus, and any of one-thousand lyrics inspired by daily minutiae set to those tunes. (Recently: "Moo sheep moo sheep that's a rainbow", "don't be scared, I love you" and "Dr. Truckee, Dr. Truck")

Favorite friends: Oddie (or Addy, or Audi, depending on who is spelling), Marsho, and any number of babies, all of whom are simply called "baby". Also Bear, Moose, Ladybug, Piggy, Chicken, and Other Chicken.

Favorite games: Pretend to sleep, change baby's diaper, and 'chase you'.

Number of Teeth/Pounds/Inches: All of them/30/almost 35.

friday cute shot

baths are back!

After four long (filthy, stinky) months, Lucy is back into baths! Not sure if we have Nana's jacuzzi, waterproof baby dolls, a swimming fish, or Scarlett's new bath strike to thank, but thank you, thank you, one and all.