"Elenisms"

::Her newest thing is posing for the camera... here, she is sporting a wig and some red lolly-pop in her lips

:: Our little girl came to our bed last night and got as close to me as she could. Upon waking up this morning and asked if she wanted pancakes for breakfast she replied: "Yes, Mami, ca-cakes... songa (snuggle) first!" And snuggle we did!

:: After breakfast Elena was on the couch saying in a very low and deep voice "Lion king fatherrrr" then she'd laugh her little head off and said "That's funny, mami". Now, this is the story behind such line: I wasn't feeling well yesterday, so Ben took care of the girls in the morning and ended up having to bring them to the office with him. He told me that in order to keep them entertained during breakfast he began telling them lines from Star Wars (if you know my husband, you don't need to ask) so he'd say in a low and deep voice "Luke, I am your father"! It is beyond me how Elena translated that into lion king father, especially because she hasn't seen that movie recently and obviously, she doesn't realize that both voices belong to the same actor!

:: We had to stay longer than usual in church after Saturday night service. Everybody was gone and we were just waiting for Ben to be done. As we waited, Elena approached me and said: "Mami, I need to play my beautiful games" I said "ok" and followed her, curiosity piked to see what she was referring to. She found the controls for some kind of video games that the youth keep there and began pushing buttons to her heart's delight. When we came home and I was putting her down, we prayed for "the usual suspects" but when I said "in Jesus' name" and was ready to close the prayer, she interjected: "No, Mami.... Jesus bess nena's beautiful games"... talk about submitting to the Lord every aspect of your life!

Mushrooms

As most of you know, I grew up in the city. Seeing mushrooms grow in your yard was a very rare occurrence. The very few times it happened, we'd find a tiny specimen that would almost require a microscope to appreciate. So I find myself quite intrigued by the appearance of these humongous monsters in our yard! Bear with me, please, as I post these pics for the amazement of my fellow city-folk!

This one was the first we saw in September.

Now this one we found a couple weeks ago and decided to leave it to see how far it grew.
The girls and I went to check on it yesterday to find that it was getting mushy and yellow, so our ideas of kicking it were quickly discouraged and we just took a couple pictures for my mom and our own amusement.

And this one I took for reference to the size... look at the size of that monster!

New day, New hair

Isn´t she just precious? I couldn´t pass on the chance to show off my little girl!

:: After well over 6 months since I last got a haircut, I went on Monday and went the practical way. I asked the lady to cut it so that I could just get out of the shower and be ready for the day. She was nice enough to spare me a shocking change, so she said she´d still leave it long enough for me to pull back on a pony tail. So 7 inches later, this is the end result. I miss my long hair but it sure feels nice to just walk out of the shower and not have to worry about what my hair will look like!

:: My Mom left yesterday. All of a sudden it feels like my work just multiplied overnight... well, it really did. In spite of my constant nagging her not to, she did so much around here that after being so spoiled I have to re-learn living with two little girls! She was a blessing to have and we sure miss her. Adriana every so often starts walking around the house chanting "Ti...ta... wha you?" over and over again. They both miss her, but I am happy to see that, so far, they´re adjusting fine to the temporary presence of my family. I definitely see the grace of the Lord in that they don´t forget them easily and when they see them again it´s almost like the just pick up where they´d left!

:: The fall hasn´t settled in fully yet and we are already dealing with the first runny noses of the season. This extension of warm weather, I admit, has made it hard to switch into full gears so I haven´t yet done anything to try and limit the "propagation" of germs. You guessed it, next thing on the list is stocking up with disinfecting supplies!

My baby needs me

I am awaken by the cry of Adriana and get out of bed in a hurry. I pick her up, take her pajamas off and bring her to bed with me, after all, this is the fifth time she has woken up tonight, it must be really, really late (or should I say, early). I settle her in bed and try to hurry before she wakes everybody else up. A quick glance at my nightstand clock... I squint a little harder to make sure I'm reading correctly. It is only 1:00 a.m. I say only because usually the "bring-her-to-bed-so-you-can-sleep-longer-part" doesn't come until about 3:00. Yeah, this is one of those nights. Every once in a while she gets into this little pattern of waking up almost every hour and this is the second night this week.

My sweet, sweet girl is 14 months old. She still nurses about every two hours at night time. I don't know if it is personality or that her little body still needs it but I truly am her pacifier and she still truly drinks when she nurses. At this age, Elena was weaned... On the one hand, I was already pregnant with Adriana, but then again, she has always been a little less attached to me than Adriana. She also nurses often during the day.

Now, I'd be lying if didn't admit to the fact that night time can be really hard. I really like to sleep, especially at night time when I've spent my day seeing to my family's need and my body is aching for a bed. So I don't particularly enjoy that since Adriana was born I don't think I've gotten more than 3 hours straight. During those lonely, dark hours I usually have this conversations with the Lord... Is she ok, Lord? Is she ever going to wean? I mean, I could really use a full night of sleep here and there, you know. Am I doing something wrong? This couldn't be bad for her, could it? and then I check to make sure she is cool enough, warm enough, comfortable enough, whatever-else-I-can-think-of enough, tuck her in her crib and go back to bed just to turn and do it again in no more than two hours.

But then, at the same time, somewhere in between my mind wanderings I stop, look at her and think: My, oh my, she still needs me. My hand touches her soft little feet, even in the darkness I can see her precious, delicate features and her little hand finds its way under my shirt looking for the warmth of skin. Those few minutes, when I finally make the voice of my mind stop complaining and appreciate what these quiet little moments can be all about, I am blessed. My baby still needs me and I can soothe her... what else can I ask for? These nights will soon be gone, she will be on to new stages of her little life and I will be missing this season...

Apple picking

A week ago, we took the girls apple picking. They loved it even though we had to cut it short due to rain. Adriana had the most fun, picking and biting them one by one and dropping them again as she kept finding more! Finally she settled for holding one in each hand, but she never let pass the opportunity to bite any other that came close to her mouth!

Where we've been

After four years of living in New York, we finally went to see the Niagara Falls! I think they're absolutely gorgeous! Here a few pics.

Getting our ponchos on for the ride on the Maid of the Mist! It was a warm and sunny day, just perfect!

Elena was really excited to see the "wafalls"

She loves boat rides! So, some of us had a better time

than others... Adriana couldn't get past the annoyance of wearing a poncho!

on of the breathtaking sights!

We had a fabulous time! We spent a couple nights with family and took a much needed break, plus we are squeezing the juice out of my mom's stay with us. We have been apple picking and we plan on going to a pumpkin patch some time this week, but more pictures of all that fun later. For now, bear with me as we swing into a new routine!