So you know you haven't posted in a while when even your forget-to-take-pictures self takes a look at her collection of pictures and there are about a bazillion and a half to post. So I will post some portion of the bazillion and a half. (Yes, I really am a math teacher.)
Life has been fun lately, although we are finally feeling the perpetual illness that you hear about in the home of a toddler. I don't think I was sick at all for something like two years, and then we have had a series of three illnesses in a row sweep through our house in the last month. First it was a very snotty cold (sorry for the graphic description), then it was a particularly horrendous, but thankfully very short, stomach flu, and now back to another very snotty cold. I look approximately like Rudolph at the moment. I'll spare you pictures of that.
We've also been very aware in this house lately of the uni-directional nature of time. This is the month of birthdays for the more mature members of the family, and the less mature member is gaining maturity at lightning speeds. We are all getting older. They say that's how it goes.
Now on to some photos.
A few weeks ago, Aria and I ventured up to Sonoma to join Mischa and Tara for a picnic in the park. It was the vintage festival, parade and all, but we really just wanted to sit outside and eat food and visit.
Aria ate quite a bit of good picnic food, including her very first fig, which was purchased from some cute kids walking around selling bags from their very own tree. Oh, small towns...
After some visiting at a respectful distance (check out Mischa's face),
and some not-so-cooperative picture posing,
Aria decided it was time for hugs.
...and more hugs...
...and even more hugs...
And then we had some nice Mommy cuddles.
What a great day!
And now for some around the home photos.
One day many, many months back, Nana bought Aria a funny little pink sunhat in a valiant attempt to shield her delicate little baby skin from the then-early-summer sun. Aria would have none of it. But then a few weeks ago, she found the hat in her hat basket and couldn't get enough of it. I just had to document the occasion.
As her papa would say, Aria, your mama dresses you funny. (As I recall it would have been even funnier if the photo had included the shoes. Oh, well.)
About a month ago, Little Stella was too sick to play (This was right at the beginning of the month of illnes. I am trying not to hold a grudge.), so Aria got her wonderful nanny, Chikin (Yes, Chikin. Really.) all to herself. I came home to find them playing together in the back yard. I took the opportunity to take some photos Paparazzi style. (It's incredibly hard to take photos of Aria when she knows you're doing it, because they all end up looking the same - baby with slightly fussy, demanding face lunging toward the camera with her "gimme" hand out.) Anyway, You can see that playing can be very serious business for Aria.
But not quite so serious for Chikin.
The other day Aria came across an old sweatshirt of mine in a pile (I don't know how that happened, I promise. I ALWAYS pick up after myself. Hee hee.) She picked it up and immediately began trying to insert her arms into it anywhere she could. She wouldn't rest until she could wear it. Unfortunely, it didn't last long, as it's so long she couldn't walk very well.
And an Aria and Mama self portrait. Is this our good side?
And a very sweet picture of Aria. I have a feeling this one will turn out to be a classic.
Have I mentioned that I'm really bad at remembering to take pictures? For example, we went to the
academy of sciences the other day. Saw (and kissed) many beautiful fish, as well as a puma, an owl, a California condor, jelly fish and an albino crocodile. Well, we didn't kiss all of them, but more of them than are kissed by most respectable humans. We also had a great time sitting in beautiful red plastic chairs and dancing to soundtracks of informational videos. And we kissed some strangers, young and old alike. It was a good day. But did I get any photos? Did I even remember to bring my camera? I'll let the absence of visual evidence answer that question.
Well, I got smart on Thursday and pointed the camera out to Chikin on a day when she and Stella were over here playing with Aria. I came home to find these. Clearly a great collaboration is taking place. Watch out Gilbert and Sullivan, John and Olivia, Fred and Ginger...
Our budding genius.
One of her very favorite activities is studying all of the goings on on our little section of Ney Street. Chikin caught her in the act. I'm sure she was either spying on neighbors or watching the garbage truck.
That's all for now.
No, wait, I think I owe a mention to Leslie, my ex-student. Or I guess my student. (Once my student, always my student, yada yada yada...) She is a loyal blog follower (or so she leads me to believe) and wanted a mention. So I will brag about her a little. She is currently in the act of mastering her college Calculus class, even after being woefully underprepared by a high school precalculus class that spent most of the year with substitutes. Go, Leslie!
Now I think that's really all.
