G: a retrospect, 2010 - part 2

This is one of my all-time favorite photos.

He looks, to me, as though he's staring down his opponent in an eating contest.  "Check out these cheeks!  Like you have a chance!"

"Top of the morning to you."

Exploring the Getty

I bet that I'll be able to post a very similar photo in, say, ten years.

Happy birthday! Happy birthday! (yesterday)

Again with the time warp.  Yikes!  A friend, upon learning how old the twins turned yesterday, asked me where the time had gone.  I just looked at her, kind of blankly, and repeated a few times "I really don't know."  -a big sigh-

Mita and Ty are three!  They can almost hold up the correct amount of fingers, both choosing to use their thumb, and index and middle fingers to do so.

Mita.  My Mita.  Mita is almost always a happy, easy-going girl.  She is so forgiving.  She is very loving, wanting to be close to me, kiss me, hug me, softly tickle my arm.  Mita loves to pretend to go all around town with her brothers in their sweet rides.  Mita repeats, repeats, repeats, repeats, repeats, repeats, repeats.  Do you get the idea?  I actually don't think that you do, but we'll leave it there.  Mita likes to sit in her little chair in the garden and just hang out... unless a butterfly has been spotted!  Mita is always asking me, "QuE haces tU," with the cutest inflection in her voice.  Mita loves to dance!  Mita loves to sing. 

Ty.  Big-eyed Ty.  He is energy.  Run!  Jump!  Crash land!  Zig!  Zag!  The only time that he seems to calm down is when he pretends to be a cat or a baby bird, which is often, thankfully.  He likes me to be the mama bird and feed him chewed up worms.  Ty likes to eat herbs and dandelion greens out of the garden.  He loves to be tickled.  Oh!  He has asked me to talk to Maddie's mom about his marrying her.  He seriously asked me to do that the other day!  Ty wakes up so happy with each new day!  I wish I were more like him.

To celebrate, we had birthday pancakes, as usual.  I then took them to Alterra for a mid-morning snack, because BubU had requested a "muffin man."  :) 

Here are some photos of birthday fun:

an early bubble celebration with Mita's Madrina Boo

"Happy Birthday" at 6 something in the morning

Dancing to Bayeti, once again! 

The kids

So, the other day G decided not to nap.  He came out while I was eating my pancake lunch and he suggested that we share.  Sure!  He ended up eating the majority of it and when I pointed out his full, round belly, he said, "What a night!"  "What?"  "What a night," he repeated with the same gusto as the first time.  I asked him what he was talking about and he said, "Stuart Little."  I thought back to that horrible book...

-Some friends were talking about how they read chapter books to their kids already and I freaked out because I hadn't done that yet.  So I started immediately, but the only two that we had in the house were Charlotte's Web, which we read first, and then Stuart Little.-

... and I couldn't remember anything like that.  But then... oh, yes... Charlotte's Web.  After Templeton goes on an all night binge of carny food, he comes back to the pig pen, flops down, his belly bulging, and says, "What a night!"  HA!  And I hadn't thought that the children remembered anything from those long-ish readings.

Now, on to Mita... so, we were out in the garden the other day and I spied a butterfly, a small, white, very energetic butterfly.  I pointed it out and we all watched it flit, fly, flit, fly, closer and closer.  Flit, flit, fly... attack of the hyper butterfly!  It flitted right into Mita's face.  The child SCREAMED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! and jumped at me, with Bubu following her lead.  Between sobs, she kept saying, "MamA, not in my face.  In the air.  Why face, MamA?  In the air!  In the air!"

Finally, G is at summer camp (VBS) this week and he loves it!  Do you remember when he was a baby that couldn't even crawl?  Wasn't that yesterday?  Beware of the time warp, everyone! 

God's garden glory!

Do you see what I see?

Harvesting tiny, tiny, oh-so-good strawberries.  Yes, the hens are stalking me.  They love red fruit!

After all of these years of waiting, finally!  Cherries!  They, however, aren't my dream cherries; but we'll find a way to enjoy them.

This lily is called Tiny Todd, after my dad.  (And no, I did not name it.  And yes, that really is its name.)

Check out those crazy, curly garlic scapes.

Although this plant is poisonous, I must have it... to remind me of Ethiopia and Mexico and all of the other warm and wonderful places that I love so much.

A big day for G

Hm?

Ohhhh...

Um... uh... I think I can!  I think I can!

So, this is how you ride a bike.  Do you understand? 

Momentary success

Due to the result of G's oh-so-short-lived success, PapA decides to show him that everything is fine and that he should try again.

Uh...

PapA!

Seriously?

Done for the day... is that a bike wedgie?

I am an unashamed "garlic-guzzler."

"Do not eat either garlic or onions, lest the stench of your breath betray your humble birth."  - don Quixote

Perspective

Oy!  When will I finish Don Quixote?  It is a good thing that I enjoy it so much.  Anyways...

"Take care, Sancho," said the duchess, "for we do not see the whole of what we look at from one little corner."

Out of the mouths of babes

G to Mita: "You are a shining star."

Ty to no one in particular: "I can't DO this anymore!" (His frustrated tone sounded oh-too-familiar.  Yikes!)

Mita to G: "You are beautiful, Girumy."

G: a retrospect, 2010 - part 1

In a Mexican jail at 9 months!  It was for his own safety: The marble floor wasn't very friendly to a wobbly toddler.

He did not like this. 

On his first mission's trip, clearly exhausted from all of his hard work... God really used his cute little self for me to talk with a lot of the older kids at Esperanza Viva about family, adoption, God, etc. 

Cooking falafel

A Russian tale is that kids come from the cabbage patch... clearly ours did!

Seriously sleeping

The cutest chubby face ever!

Welcome to the family, voiced "th."

We have nearly eradicated the following from G's wheelhouse (a word that I would like to abolish) of mispronunciation: dey, dat, dese, dere, de, dis, etc.

G: a retrospect, 2009

So, between when I ended our first blog and began our current activity, our baby G grew up significantly.  And considering we have a digital camera, whose photos will most likely never be printed (Ah!), I am going to do a photo retrospective of that time here.  He is so grown now that it is easy to imagine him as a teenager, which makes me want to reminisce...

Such a strong just-four-month old!

I really appreciate how easy car travel is with children in less regulated countries.

my favorite outfit

post first and very traumatic hair cut

He reminds me of a playful lion cub, trying to be fierce.

Almost-Dr. Jenks, studying his subject at an appropriate level.

See those little teeth?

He still makes this very face and the accompanying sound that he was most likely making here.

From oh-so-thin to oh-so-full!