My niece Cecelia is not at all afraid of slimy things. I am impressed by this. Well, as impressed as one can be by a handful of slimy slugs.
“ooh, look!” she says, “more slugs!”
Family
27
Aug 10
Playing in Friday Harbor
Took the ferry out to Friday Harbor today which made for a long but entertaining day with all three girls. They have had so much fun together–it makes me so happy to think that we are laying down these memories for them, times spent together adventuring and playing and even just hanging out. That’s what family is for. I just adore all three of these kids!
18
Aug 10
Kisses for Daddy
Anna is a girl who likes to do things of her own free will, of her own choosing only. She is fond of shrieking, as we kiss her, “NO KISSES! WIPE IT OFF!!!!” (as she frantically swipes at her cheek). We tease her by telling her that we come into her room while she is sleeping and kiss her and that those kisses stay on so long (all night long) that they simply cannot be wiped off (Oh, the horror!).
But…every once in a while….if you are patient, if the timing and the circumstance and the mood are all exactly right, she can be the sweetest, most sentimental, most loving child imaginable. As she was when saying goodbye to her Daddy recently as he departed for yet another work trip.
Sometimes kisses are okay. In fact, sometimes they are downright awesome.
Some days Anna gives Adam a hard time. She tells him that Mama is her favorite (ouch), that she doesn’t want him to make her breakfast (MAMA ONLY), she tells him to GO AWAY. But I know that there is something special there. From the first moment he saw her, I saw Adam soften in a new way, a way that is special for Daddies and their daughters. A way that protects, that nourishes, that spoils, that loves more deeply than any man thought it possible to love. A way that envisions all the future of that little girl: from tiniest baby fingers and toes to big kid swinging from his neck to grown woman walking down the aisle on his arm. It’s a form of hero worship and it’s darned sweet to watch.
9
Aug 10
Blink of an eye
Time is so fleeting. Every little thing seems to be over before I know it–and that includes the little stuff (Fiesta) and the big stuff (Anna’s babyhood). I love it and I hate it. There’s always something else out there ahead, something awesome to look forward to, but it is so hard to leave those other things behind.
Anna refused to say goodbye to Carol and Steve (her Grandma and Grandpa) last night, not because she was angry at them or doesn’t love them (on the contrary), but because she didn’t want it to end, all that fun time together.
Who can blame her? I’m already counting down the days until we are all together again.
7
Aug 10
Fiesta until we drop, or how many churros is too many churros?
Less talk and more pictures because I am too gosh darned tired to write. Today: children’s parade, farmers market, beach, carnival, tamales and churros at Our Lady of Guadalupe, CRASH. (Anna’s most impressive sugar high courtesy of Grandpa Steve, who bought her just ONE more churro…one more churro too many perhaps). Excellent day.
4
Aug 10
Viva La Fiesta 2010 Edition
I love Fiesta (okay, more properly called “Old Spanish Days” but known by locals simply as “La Fiesta” or just “Fiesta”). Not just because it is a week-long excuse for the entire city of Santa Barbara to shut down and party, but because it is a tradition. Oh, how I love and live for traditions!
Tonight, as we walked back to our car from the Mission, confetti in our hair, sounds of Mariachi drifting alongside us, the crush of humanity all around, smells of tacos and churros in the air, I thought this thought, “This will be years and years of happy memories for Anna! THIS!” I love that: to know that we are creating something that she can turn over in her mind’s eye. The sights, smells, foods that she will remember with nostalgia. The activities and events and places that she will carry on forever in her heart.
Good friends, as there always are.
The sun shining down on us as we chow on Mexican food, as always.
And the fog drifted in, as it always does and we turned for home, tired and content, knowing that this is just the beginning.
Viva La Fiesta!
3
Aug 10
Lucky
Once upon a time, Adam and I decided to get a dog. Adam ran into a poster of someone who had some Akita puppies. We looked them up (in my admittedly shaky memory of this, it was at a bookstore, thumbing through books about various dog breeds) and were hooked. Gloriously beautiful dog with showy looks? Check. Big, huggable “real” dog (sorry to all those purse sized dog owners out there, but I prefer a dog I can really get my arms around and squeeze. Also, less yippiness). Check. Loyal? Check. Excellent intruder prevention? Double check.
She came home with us when she was just eight weeks old. She has been a constant in our lives ever since.
Not only does she have all those qualities that we were hoping for, she also does this crazy Akita dance when she is really happy or excited (runs in circles and chases her tail like a puppy). She gets crazy eyes when she is feeling mischevious. She has certain people that she adores beyond reason and won’t leave alone (luckily, most of them adore her, too). She is just as big and cuddly and beautiful as ever, even at 11 years old.
As much as I complain about the bad stuff (and she certainly had had her fair share of annoying, messy, loud, obnoxious, and otherwise terrible dog behavior), we sure do love this big ol’ Teddy bear. It wouldn’t be the same without her around, underfoot in the kitchen or snoring in the hallway.
That’s our Lucky Girl!
31
Jul 10
The downside
I tagged this as “funny” even though I don’t find it entirely amusing because if I didn’t keep a sense of humor about it I would be a wreck.
This right here is the downside of being married to an obsessed fisherman who loves his dog. I just opened the fridge up and was overpowered by smells of the sea. Smells that were permeating all the other foods in the fridge. Smells that were emanating from the bowl (unwrapped) of fish skin (saved from today’s catch to dole out to the dog as treats over the next couple of days) placed on the bottom shelf of the fridge. I love fish. I love my husband. I even love my dog. But this? This I do not love.
It is now contained.
27
Jul 10
Happy 34th
This is the fifteenth (15??!!!??!?!) birthday of yours that we have celebrated together and, damn Babe!, you keep getting finer every year. Like a fine wine, you are. I love you, my younger man. Here’s to many more: many more years, many more tears, and, most definitely and beyond a doubt, many more laughs!
P.S. Nice hat.
house of waffles.