Paloma v Kristin

Dear Auntie Kristin,

Mama tells me that it is your birthday. Hooray! Happy birthday.

She has been telling me all sorts of things about you - so many things that I decided to make a list and see just how similar we are.

P: I like to go hiking.
K: You like to go bushwalking.

We hiked the Crest Trail today - I stopped along the way to do some bouldering.

P: I like to wear my party shoes.
K: You like to wear your party shoes too.

It's the rhinestones that make them party shoes.
(note how well they go with elk hair)

P. I like to slip, slop, slap because my skin is so fair.
K: You like to slip, slop, slap, but you get a tan anyway.

Slip on a shirt, slop on sunscreen and slap on a hat!

P: I like to talk a lot.
K: You like to talk a lot (your nickname at Primary School was "Grand Canyon" because your mouth was always open).

P: I have a dog named Semilla.
K: You have a dog named Bongo.

This is Semilla when she was a puppy, and about the same size that Bongo is now. 

It looks like both Bongo and Semilla like to go swimming!

P: I like to go swimming, despite living in the desert.
K: You like to go swimming, despite coming from Wickliffe.

A bath is the next best thing to going swimming. 

P: I like to dance and sing along to The Wheels on The Bus.
K: You like to dance and sing along to The Eurythmics.

P: I like to paint and draw.
K: You like to look at paintings and drawings.

A snapshot from my latest show. 

P. I am shorter than Mama.
K: You are shorter than Mama.

What's so funny?

P: I am a fussy eater. I mainly like toast and cheese.
K: You are a fussy eater. You don't eat toast or cheese.

Quesadilla!

P: My birthday is in October, which means that I'm over one year old (!).
K: Your birthday is in June, which means that you're one year older than Mama.

P: I'm looking forward to seeing you in August.
K: You are looking forward to seeing me in August.

Happy birthday, Auntie Kristin!

Love,

Paloma Lois
xxx

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P.S. Happy Father's Day, Papa! Thanks for looking out for me when I'm climbing rocks.

stylin'

Remember how we made silly hats last Christmas? How could you forget?! Paloma has certainly not forgotten - she still likes to pull out her hat occasionally, just to dress up and wear it around the house.

She just learned what to do when we say "smile!"

Apparently, this little girl likes hats.

As she was getting ready for bed tonight, she reached into the pyjama drawer and proclaimed, "my hat!"

Yep, that's a hat on her head. 

You may notice that she is wearing her snazzy Ken Done pyjamas (from Auntie Kristin and Uncle Simon). She loves these jim jams!

The hat that doubles as a pair of shorts....

And, she's pretty fascinated by the bag that the pyjamas came in. Obviously, the bag should be worn too.

About to bag Elephant's nose. 

Incidentally, this is not the first time that she has worn this hat. (No doubt, it won't be the last...)

Paloma got her hair did

It's been coming for a while.

Paloma's hair was really starting to get out of hand.

With Mama on Mother's Day.

It was getting in the way when she was arranging flowers.

Making a floral arrangement for the dining table.

And getting in hair way when she was eating chocolate crackles.

Like Missy Elliot says, it was time to get her hair did.

So, we sat her down in front of Sesame Street and I made a few snips at her fringe (bangs).

Did we mention that Paloma LOVES Sesame Street? 

And, now, she can get on with business without worrying about hair in her eyes.

There is lot's of importance business for her to do, like stuffing the pinata for Aaron's birthday.

More lollies!

 And hanging out with the guys, having a drink.

Happy birthday, Aaron. 

Even though we fixed the front of her hair, there might still be an issue with the back...

Like Papa, like daughter

 But, we kind of like the curls, so they're going to stay for a while longer.

"I want wash dishes!"

Paloma's latest thing to do is to wash the dishes. She loves splashing about in the water and pouring from a cup to a bowl and back again. I'm not sure how clean the dishes get, but it really doesn't matter. 

Happy birthday, Dad/George/Grandpa

Happy birthday! We wish we could be there to celebrate, but just couldn't make it in time. We have so much to do around here!

For example, just today we were busy in the yard with our wheat crop.

A stand of wheat in Albuquerque.

The wheat is just about ready for harvest!

Ooh! Spiky!

We all harvested it together.

"What's the yield?"

And then we had to remove the chaff from the grain. Paloma liked gently blowing on the wheat to remove the husks.

Oops, missed a bit.

We took our mighty harvest inside and ground it into flour.

When Paloma is concentrating, she sticks out her tongue (just like Grandpa).

It took a lot of grinding to get it to just the right consistency.

Looking good.....

And then we made a big loaf of bread! (Sorry, no photos - our hands were too sticky from kneading).

There's a bun in the oven (not really, it's a loaf of bread).

We stuck candles in the bread (six big ones and one little one) and sang happy birthday.

Hip hip hooray!

And then it was time to blow out the candles.

Big breath, Paloma!

We hope you enjoyed your birthday as much as we did! Happy birthday!

the parrot at the elephant house

A couple of weeks ago, Paloma and I participated in the Run for the Zoo (we walked and strolled). After the event, we stopped by the elephant exhibit.

 More details soon....

Happy birthday, Great-Grandmommy

We went down to Carlsbad last weekend to celebrate Great-Grandmommy Frances Joy's birthday.

This is my favourite photo from the whole weekend:

More details later...