*Yawn*

So life in the fast lane is for losers. lol I guess I just mean , boy am I tired! Norah got two teeth this past week, is working on more, learned to crawl and is trying to walk. So between excruciating mouth pain extending into her ears and crawling herself into waking every couple hours dear old mom has been losing sleep. Couple that with Abby having swim class at 9 am each morning and I am a goner. I just woke up from napping ( unintentionally) from 7pm to 9pm and I feel like... well not so great.

And waiting sucks... pretty much all waiting sucks, I mean except things like waiting for ... um... there has to be something... well back to my problem waiting for things in the mail. The mail is a much coveted happening in our daily life, we love it, can't wait for it, fight each other for the privilege of being able to walk down our oh so long drive and check the box. Even when we lived in Texas it was my favorite part of the day, I used to surreptitiously sit on the couch half turned toward the T.V. with lunch in my lap and the other eye turned on the road... waiting.

Yup that is the view, waiting for Old Sourpuss the mailman to come speeding down the road with cigarette in hand, sweatband on his arm, chain dangling from his wallet, with mail, FOR ME. Oh god help me I love the mail, and good mail days that contain an actual letter, maybe a magazine or really good store advertisement can just really make the day that much more exciting. The only thing better is getting a package; oh packages packages how I love thee, I compare thee to a summer's day but thou art more lovely and more temperate. That lovely brown corrugated cardboard usually scuffed a bit and covered with all that post office jargon is positively charming. And there is always ALWAYS way more tape involved than you can sufficiently rip off with your bare hands so inevitably after beginning with ineffective fingernails ( that you always cut the night before) you have to rummage in the kitchen for a pair of scissors. Which can never be found and so you settle for a steak knife and a prayer that your impromptu surgery will of course completely maim the vessel but hopefully leave the contents intact.

Now, add the purely intoxicating rush of purchasing items off the internet with or without an estimated delivery date and mail time is even more fun! who knows what goodies await within the morning post!

However if you are waiting, for something very important, like perhaps a big old box of yarn from Interweave knits so you can knit a pattern for their Spring 2010 issue then.... well... waiting sucks. And the mail is disappointing... so far anyways.... because I am too damn excited.

I'm here I'm here!

Ha! bet you wondered where we had gotten to? well it has been a busy couple of weeks around here: first we horsed around on the couch

Then Papa and Grandma came to visit

And Grandma made Norah this cute cute sweater
Then we all drove to Scotch Creek B.C.


Some of us drew in the back seat

And of course there were potty breaks

Scenic potty breaks

And then the Beach, and eating sand, rocks, sticks, and leaves

Swimming with Papa

Cuddling with mom

Being scared of Dad's silly face

Horsing around with Papa

Bad 80's throwback headgear

And then back home to bake a very special birthday cake

check the deck for birthday cake eating monsters

Mmmmm cake... worms... dirt... rocks... cake

And of course all our friends for a very special party

And even a few new friends!

And after homeade macaroni and cheese, veggies and cake there were... presents!

All that fun tired us out some and so we had a cuddle in bed

And to cap off the weeks Granny came to visit too!

And so there you have it folks our life in a nutshell.. busy busy busy :)

Oh and I guess I'll end with this

Yes we really are in SO MUCH TROUBLE

And soon to be all grown up

It is Abby's birthday this week, she is turning three and I can hardly believe it. It seems so cliche to say that it was only yesterday that I held her in my arms for the first time, but really it feels like it was. Ultimately Seth got to hold her first as I was being stitched up but after what seemed like 10 mintutes I was avidly saying over and over " can I hold my baby now?" and then there she was. All wrinkled and cone headed and angry, oh boy was she every angry, she cried for almost an hour.

Abby ; I had no idea what to do with you, it all seemed so surreal, one day I was alone, then you were here. I can still remember how hot it was that summer when you were born, we spent a lot of time out on the patio at mom and dad's house. And then after four months with mom and dad we were finally cleared to immigrate to the US and see dad again. Finally our family could begin again and mend itself after being separated for so long. You wore your blue sleepers with your pink sweater and pink shoes to see Daddy at the airport, and we cried and cried and cried.

I had no idea that one little munchkin could completely change my life so much, and that I was missing so much in my life before I had you! Everyday whe I look at your face I remember all the good things I've ever done in my life, all the joys and satisfaction of being your mom. Granted we've had our differences and even though it makes me mad I still laugh on the inside when you use mad mommy voice on me lol. And you are getting so big now, you can get your own water, 'read' your own books, use scissors and glue, use hte bathroom all by yourself. And now we have little Norah, and having her made me realize how big and grown up you are.

Watching you grow up has been the sinlge most amazing thing I've ever witnessed, and here are a few things that i absolutely totally adore about you:

• your undying love of all bugs, snakes, sharks, reptiles, and amphibians
• watching you treat your sister with love and respect
• your love of doing makeup with mommy
• your love of cooking and helping to cook and bake anything
• watching you eat, and eat and eat, and that you are willing to try a bite of anything at least once
• that you can constantly surprise me by making completely astounding connections between spiders and dogs, or water and bugs or anything really
• your love of animals in general, that petting zoos put you into a spasmodic stupor and visiting a zoo will cause loss of sleep for weeks before hand
• that you could eat an entire watermelon if allowed
• you are independant and brave, oh so very brave and fearless my darling
• you love swimming and baths and any kind of anything with water
• you'll try more then once or twice or three times to get it the way you want it
• your love of small and or shiny, beads, coins, bits of shiny paper, nut shells, rocks, leaves
• the toy du jour, always small and most times shiny
• That you can hold your own with boys and girls, that you love tanks and knitting, robots and makeup, dragons and dressup, star wars and shoes
• That I can see myself and your father and then something even more special inside of you, you are yourself, confident and beautiful and amazing

Thank you for being my hunny bunny, my love, my darling, my baby pookie and most importantly my abby dabby, my baby forever.

I'll love you forever

I'll like you for always

As long as I'm living

my baby you'll be

-Robert Munsch