September Apple picking 2014

Two new posts today! I just saw that a post from a few weeks ago didn't get published, but it should be up now if you scroll down :)
We went apple picking a couple of weeks ago. Teta Annie came down to join us! I'll do a separate post with those pictures. Here are some from Fishkill Farms where we picked apples, corn, peppers, kale, and flowers. (And in case anyone is wondering, Millie's french braid was done by Mama, but her extreme banana curls are au natural!)

From today

((Oops! Looks like this post from my phone didn't get published. Well here it is now!))

Notes from my phone, 9/8/14

Sweetheart things my baby said and did today:

While Millie was looking through the mail, she found a picture of a little girl with her mama, and was pointing out that I am her mama. I said "do you know that being your mama is the happiest thing in the world?" and she said " oh, thank you mama" and gave me a big hug.

While I was cooking dinner, Millie was going back and forth between helping me and playing in the other room. She found a new package of chalk and took that out and was drawing on her big paper- even using the cardboard from the box to color on it and make prints (all her own idea). Then she came into the kitchen, pulled the stool up to the sink to wash her hands, and then washed all the dishes in the sink for me! She would hold up each piece after she washed it and say "here you go mama!"

We had cornbread and chili for dinner using Nana's recipe from her mom. Millie was skeptical at first because it didn't look so pretty, but I told her it was from Nana and that Nana says it's called "Millie's chili"- she thought that was great! I told her if she at least tried it that she could call Nana later and tell her about it, and she ended up loving it and ate the whole thing. While she was eating I said "do you remember what the name of this is?" She smiled and said "Minnow Beatrix yum yum yum".

At dinner I hurt my tooth while I was eating and I put my hand on my cheek and said "ow!". Millie said "oh no no no...", climbed down off her high chair, climbed up into my lap, and told me to open my mouth. She pretended to grab something off my tooth and said "hurrah!" and then pretended to throw it on the ground. Then of course she asked me to pull her food over so she could finish eating while sitting in my lap.

~making rosemary-Parmesan crackers for our first day of toddlergarten (at home) tomorrow~

August Peach Picking 2014

Lazy Days

 

1+2 looking through Mama's jewelry box
3 painting and drawing in the new upstairs studio room
4 Thursday is breakfast-for-dinner night: waffles with maple cream cheese and fresh berries
5 Millie and Emma: hours and hours spent with our good friends (picture by Casey!)
6-9 digging
10 relaxing at the edge of her fort
11 painting
12 kale chips on the couch

All pictures are from last Thursday and Friday. (As usual, blogger is giving me trouble about formatting and going back to edit- sorry!)

Portrait of a Two-Year-Old

I don't know where this child came from. Or what I did or could ever do to deserve her.
Every day I tell her... "you are my
 absolute beauty"

ab·so·lute

1. not qualified or diminished in any way; total. synonyms: complete, total, utter, outright, entire, perfect, pure, decided beau·ty  1. the quality present in a thing or person that gives intense pleasure or deep satisfaction to the mind,  whether arising from sensory manifestations (as shape, color, sound, etc.) ... or something else (as a personality in which high spiritual qualities are manifest). synonyms: loveliness  She calls herself "Minnow Bea-twix". She calls the dog her "puppy-pup". Yesterday she asked me if she is the cat's Mama. She is bursting with happiness and affection and compassion and curiosity. To me, she is everything.

A new interest

Tying knots:

Other ongoing interests (in the same vein of "figuring things out" about the world and herself) include:

• jumping off of things

• shadows changing throughout the day

• snail movement

• the moon

• independently dressing and undressing (shirts are still a challenge)

• repeating words

• making up songs (original melody and mostly made up words)

Wildlife Sanctuary

Inspired by our wonderful visit with Grandma to one of Cape Cod's Audubon Sanctuaries, we looked up our closest location and found out it's right in Cold Spring! It turned out to be quite a hike, walking along bumpy trails with tree roots, rocks, and drop-offs to the water, then climbing up and down rock covered hills. The trail follows along the water at the edge of the woods. At the end is a giant boardwalk into Constitution Marsh. You can see it here: satellite map

We are so happy to have found this gem! It is absolutely beautiful and we had a great time. We didn't see any birds in the marsh (although we found water chestnut seeds, cattails, spiders, water bugs, and lots more), but in the woods we saw a bright red cardinal, woodpeckers, tufted titmice, and warblers.  Millie really wants to take her Daddy there soon. I tried to get her to say that she is a "nature baby", but she just kept correcting me, "no Mama, beach baby."