Mermaids

Howard has a new surface for painting...

Self portrait of the artist as a young girl

Portrait of the artist as a young man

Imme Viv is turning two

Tonight, I tucked my little one-year old girl into bed for the last time. It's hard to believe that when she wakes up in the morning, we will be celebrating her second birthday.

It doesn't seem so long ago that she looked like this:

And then this:

And who could forget this:

And now she's running around and bossing us all about. And talking up a storm! She has gone from saying, "Mine!", "Self!", and "I did it!" to really making conversations and telling us such interesting things. Just the other day, she looked in the tissue after blowing her nose, looked up at me and exclaimed, "Oh my Yod! Mama, look!" 

It's interesting to look back through some of the archives and see how much she has changed, how much she has done, and how much she is still the same silly little thing that makes us smile. 

Here's a quick synopsis......... 

She learned to drive. 

She ate. A lot. And often.

She started to get interested in art work.

She explored the mountains. 

She got interested in experimental art.

She helped out gathering firewood. 

She got dressed up.

She played peek-a-boo. 

She explored the San Juan.

She decorated the Christmas tree. 

She rugged up for an adventure in the Sandias.

She enjoyed a trip to Bandelier with Grandma and Grandpa.

She checked out the ducks at the zoo.

She played dressups (while Mama was at work!).

She (almost) saw the big blue vastness of Lake Michigan. 

She napped...

She enjoyed some sunshine (and snacks) down by the Rio Grande. 

And she did so so so much more!

Happy birthday, sweet little girl!

Same, same (only different)

Sometimes, people ask me if Paloma and Imogen are similar. I think they are very different - Paloma is more serious whereas Imogen is a little goofball.

But, sometimes they are very much alike.

Yes, they both like to eat melon. And, yes, they are wearing matching clothes. And they love it! It was Paloma's great idea and Imogen thought it was just fine.

But in reality, these two girls are very different...

Is Chicago

Last weekend, we headed north to the Windy City. The flight went well; our girls are great travelers (and we had some candy-shaped bribes to help).

Paloma loved the ride into the city and looked out the train window the whole way.

Imogen didn't have quite the same stamina....

We enjoyed deep dish pizza, a visit to the Australian Consulate and some new passports!
And then we took the opportunity to take in some of the sites, including the snow.

And the Chicago Art Museum...

And Lake Michigan...

(You may have guessed that it was a little cool.)
And then it was off to Lisle to visit the Hackers! Hooray!

It was pretty darn cold out, so we headed inside...
To the DuPage Children's Museum!

Ahoy sailor!

Bubbles o' fun!

Science in action...

Our three princesses (with cousin Sophie).

More than anything, we enjoyed being at home and hanging out. Paloma and Sophie hit it off (and Imogen hit it off with Whizzy).

Thanks Caz, Brian, Mason and Sophie! Oh, and Whizzy!

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Stylish

Paloma has been really enjoying dressing herself in the morning. Sometimes we help choose, sometimes Imogen helps choose, and sometimes she does it all on her own.
This morning, she went to school with her shirt on backwards and her pants on backwards. She claims it makes it much easier to put things in the pockets. I suggested that she should walk backwards, but she didn't go for that.
Last weekend, we went to Charlotte's birthday party so Paloma grabbed the opportunity to really dress up.

You may notice that she is wearing not one, but two skirts. They were both so pretty and she couldn't resist combining them.

You may also notice that she is wearing not one, but two pairs of pants. She put on her black leggings with stars then decided that they needed to sparkle more, so put on her sparkly tights over the top. Gorgeous.
The next week, I pulled out some clothes for her to wear to school and then she finished off the look.

Skirt, leggings, black boots and a chunky jumper (= sweater). Howard and Paloma were giggling when I came out to see her all dressed, and then Paloma gleefully said, "I look like Mama!!"

What a clever little girl.

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