Midnight Musings and A Brief Catch-up

Well now my tiny (but not so tiny anymore) human!! You've officially passed the 2 1/2 year mark and you are growing into such an amazing young girl. You're so smart for your age, and you're only going to get smarter. Any day now you're going to surpass me and dada, Lol... ;-)

I was trying to think of what to write to you since I haven't written you a letter in quite a while, and I had some good stuff going on in my brain, but of course, now that I FINALLY have my computer up and running, I can't think of most of what I wanted to say. Regardless, you are still and will always remain my little peanut. You have a fantastic personality, though sometimes you run my patience well almost dry, but hey, you're 2 and it's to be expected. You have such a desire to live and explore that I have no doubt you are going to live life to the fullest the older you get! After visiting Auntie Shaeanna and Mimma in Montana last week, you've shown me how excited you can get about trying new things and your eagerness to do them yourself. Take 4-wheeling for instance... It's your first time being on a piece of machinery that is completely exposed to the wind and dust and it only took you roughly 5 minutes to decide that you loved it and wanted momi to "go faster"! Then, it only took you about 10 minutes to want to drive the ATV, trying to push my hands off the handle bars so you could steer it all by yourself. You are the brightest light that shines in my heart, and your exuberance for life makes me so proud and happy to be your mom.

Laying next to you, waiting for you to fall asleep, I was thinking about life. Just life in general and I came up with this (with your help, though indirectly): "Life is not a gentle ride down a well manicured road, it's more like riding a bull who has just been branded on his behind. It will buck and kick and try to knock you down, and sometimes it will succeed. But, instead of laying down, you stand up, brush off the dirt, climb back on the bull of life, grab the reins and keep riding." I have no doubt that when the bull of life knocks you off, your feet will barely touch the ground before you're grabbing at the reins and pulling yourself back on. And if you do land on your back, catch your breath and then get back on :-)

Well my moon, until the next time I write, which may be soon, or it may be later, but whenever it is, always remember that I love you from now, through infinity and beyond. Keep being you and never lose your love of life.

I love you peanut!
Love,
Momi <3

Oh My Goo!! You're Two (and then some)

     Well my beautiful baby girl, you made it to two! It was a remarkable year with so much learned and so much growth happening. You're so busy all the time, even if you're on your tablet. You love to learn, sing, dance and play. I've had to join a gym and start working out and exercising so I can keep up with you! I don't mind being your personal playground, mostly :-)

OMG, Can It Be?! You're Almost 2

Oh Hello Sweet Pea! It's been a while since I've written to you. You definitely keep me busy and I forget to leave you notes and messages. You're coming up on your second year of womb-free living! Woo hoo! I hope you're enjoying it so far. I know I am :-) Some days I enjoy it more than others, but that's all part of the gig. I have been thinking of a friend of mine, one whom you've met, and she's about to have a tiny human of her own. But unlike you, her little boy already had an angel brother. And I think about how precious of a gift you are to have in my life. Even on days when you seem to cry for no known reason and I'm at a loss for how to help, I wouldn't trade it for anything else. You and the rest of the tiny humans are blessings, and as for our family, I'm glad you choose us ♡

On a more positive and happy note, you are absolutly the smartest almost 2 year old I know. Smartest and cutest ♡ Some of your favorites in life so far include:
☆ Singing - ABC song, Twinkle Twinkle, The Owl Song and The More We Sing Together (both by Raffi)
☆ Dancing - Head Shoulders Knees and Toes, If You're Happy and You Know It, and being the little back up dancer at Auntie Awesome's Shows
☆ Coloring, but not always on paper...
☆ Milk - chocolate, strawberry, vanilla and coffee flavored
☆ YouTube Kids, SpongeBob Square Pants, Peppa Pig and ChuChu TV
☆ Climbing!!! bouncing, jumping, running and well, being an active little bean

Some of your favorite people to hang out with are your family, Momi & Daddi, Mimaw, Zizi & Sage, Auntie Awesome & Uncle Frank. And when we're on the Easy coast Grami, Memeŕe, Pepeŕe, Grampa John, Riley & Damien and Auntie Jill, Uncle Daniel and Uncle Justin.

You love making new friends when we go to the play ground and you show so much compassion if you see another kid that's hurt or crying. You are a special little girl and I know you will (as you already do) make a difference in people's lives as you grow and blossom into your beautiful self.

I love you, my little moon beam - from here to infinity ♡♡♡

Love,
Momi

7:30 pm Ramblings - from Momi to Moon

Good evening my little moon!

I thought I'd just tell you that I love you. You're taking a well deserved nap right now, and I'm so grateful for that! You've had a pretty busy week this past week. Momi and Daddy are searching for a new house to raise you in, something a little more spacious and safer. Not to say that our house right now isn't safe, but there are definitely some things we could do to make it more baby friendly. Actually, more human friendly ;-p    Mostly, we just need to replace the carpet in every room, remove the insulation in the attic and replace that with something that isn't covered in mouse poop, and re-insulate the underside of the house. Not to mention fixing the bathroom floor where all the holes are that let in the cold air while we're trying to take nice hot baths and showers... Ugg, this list could go on! Lol.. hehehe (by the way, LOL is a acronym for Laugh Out Loud). Momi really just wants some more space to enjoy with you, like running around! Especially space outside! We want to let Arry and Dobby be dogs and run around in the grass with you. It will happen, we know it will. God is good, the Universe delivers!

Well my little moon-beam, I just wanted to write you a quick little update. I love you from now through infinity, from there and back again, and everywhere in between. You are the light and warmth in my heart, and you make me so happy it's unbelievable, but believe it! I love you, peanut!

Love,
Momi <3

2015: A Years Review

My Dear little Luna,

This will be my fourth attempt to update your website. Hopefully it's late enough at night and you are out for the night, the power doesn't fail, the page automatically saves what I've typed you so far... you know...the everyday occurrences that cause delays. Jeeze!

So, it has been a while since I've had a chance to write to you (minus the previous attempts) and so much has happened! You've celebrated your first Christmas, your first birthday came and went, and you had your first real sickness, which is not as fun as the first two, but a milestone non-the-less. So lets get into the goods, shall we?

Luna's First Christmas:     December 25th 2015 - Christmas morning. Merry Christmas!!! Oh how fun, you get to try your hand at opening your first presents! Luckily most of them are just in bags with pretty paper, but there was one that you actually had to slip your little hand in and tear apart. You didn't really know what to do, and I think you might have been a little afraid, so Momi helped you a bit. I can't remember exactly what it was but it was a nice gift. You received so many new things, some clothes, toys and stuffed animals. On Christmas morning we had a delicious breakfast made by your sister, Jade, then Auntie Allison came over for Christmas dinner, and then you went to sleep, unaware of how exciting the next week and a half of your life was going to become. Christmas night Grami, Memere, Auntie Jilly and your cousins Riley and Damien arrived at the airport from Massachusetts! You were asleep, and thank God, because they got to our house around 1am the following day. But you woke up in the morning, all smiles, a little shy and ready to play with your cousins. Then, we had more presents to open :-) All in all, it was a great first Christmas!

Luna's 1st Birthday (part 1):     December 29th 2015 - Happy Birthday, Beautiful!!! Oh my gosh, I can hardly believe you are one year old! Gah! You've grown so much over this last year, it's incredible. I am so blessed to have been able to watch you grow from my little 6 lb 9oz peanut to my 22 lb "little engine that can". Here are some milestones you reached on your journey to your first birthday:

• recognizing your family members, momi, daddi, grama, grami, memere and your aunties
• holding your head up by yourself
• rolling over for the first time
• sitting up on your own
• discovering your voice
• pulling yourself up to standing, and "walking" along the couch
• standing alone, then walking, then running!
• saying your own words and repeating words used
• laughing, dancing and climbing

I have indeed had a blast playing with you now that you are up and running around. You love it when I chase you down the hallway, wither I'm standing on my feet, or fast-crawling and making loads of noise trying to catch you. We've been experimenting with music to see who you like to dance to the most. So far the winners are Taylor Swift, The Corrs and Katy Perry. You love to laugh and if you hear a baby laughing on the TV you shift your attention away from whatever you were doing to investigate, usually ending up with a big smile on yourself, and laughing along with the baby. Sometimes I will YouTube "laughing babies" just to hear you laugh. It's adorable. You also like books, though aren't quite ready to sit still and listen to momi or daddi read them to you just yet. Mostly, you like flipping the pages back and forth the way you see us doing. I love your little voice and listening to the stories you tell. Sometimes we will have our own conversations either while you're playing or when you're in your car seat. One of these days, you will have actual words you speak and our conversations will make more sense. 

Well, on your BIG DAY we celebrated by making chocolate cupcakes and Grami's homemade frosting. Riley and I colored the frostings together so we could do pretty designs on your cupcakes. I may have used way to much on your particular cupcake, not thinking that you would eat it (I was assuming you'd smash it and smear the frosting all over your high chair). Well my sweet little girl, you ate almost every bite of frosting off the top of your cake before momi had to intervene and scrape the last little bit off. I swear, I could see the moment the sugar hit your little system. You'd never been exposed to that much sugar at once and you took off! It was worth it, though. You had fun. Riley and Damien had fun running around with you trying to get their sugar high under control, and for an hour or two there were just three over-sugared children running around the house. Then it was bath and bed time. So much fun!

Photography by: Chery @ Cheryphoto.com

Luna's 1st Birthday (part 2):     January 2nd 2016 - Happy birthday, again, my sweet! Although your official birthday has come and gone, now we celebrate with Grampa John and Grama Karen from Utah. They just got in last night, so today we get to have another birthday celebration with them. This time instead of being in the house, we went to one of Auntie Allison's friends condominium complexes. More accurately, we went to her cabana so everyone could fit and sit comfortable, if they wanted. There really wasn't much sitting involved since mingling usually requires people to stand, either by refreshments or food. :-)    This time momi's photographer friend was there to help document this momentous occasion and you smashing your second 1st birthday cake. This time Momi made you your own personal sponge-moon-cake with not as much frosting. Still, you got a sugar high, ran around like a crazy baby, and crashed. After your birthday party, Grampa John and Karen took everyone out for dinner to continue celebrating and spend time with the family. We had Mexican food, and I found out that you like avocado. Bleck! Not momi's favorite, but if you like it, then I will incorporate it into either your lunch time or dinner time meals.

Photography by: Chery @ Cheryphoto.com

Thursday, January 28th, 2016:     My sweet little Luna Bell. You are one year and one month old (tomorrow - less than 24 hours) and you amaze me every day with how much you've grown. I will always love, cherish, miss and remember you as a tiny little peanut, snuggled so tightly in my arms, but I look forward to every day watching you grow. You are so smart, and so sweet and at times so stubborn that you make my heart swell with pride. As you grow and learn, I am growing and learning right along side of you. I learn patience and understanding from you, while you learn all that the world has to offer from me and your experiences everyday. I love the time we get to spend together, and I want you to know, that even though sometimes I might get mad at or frustrated with you, it's not for lack of love. I know you just want to explore, but it is my job to make sure that what you explore is safe. Falling off of things you climb like boxes and the couch is one thing, but trying to chew on wires and poke things that could hurt you is another. So when you get older, I hope we can teach each other understanding, compassion and empathy (you know, all those things you learn from Daniel Tiger!). I'm doing the best I can with what I know and just want you to grow up with a sense of adventure and a side of caution. I love you, my little moon-beam, with my whole heart.

Love,
Momi <3

Photography by: Chery @ Cheryphoto.com

November 29th, 2015

My Sweet Luna-Moon, 

Oh my gosh! You're 11 months young today! Where does the time go? It seems like just the other day we were bundling you up to come home from the hospital, a tiny, fragile peanut, and now you're little miss independent. It really is unfair how fast you go from totally depending on momi and daddi, to only needing us when you're hungry, tired or need a diaper change. If course you need us more then that, it just feels that way sometimes. :-)  

So, you've been here for 11 months. How do you like it? I've been watching you grow and seeing how you learn things. You love to dance, walk and play. You're great walking around the house, but aren't quite sure when you have shoes on. Not to worry. The more you practice, the better you'll get. Oh, and you have to keep your shoes on when walking outside! Especially now, since it's so cold. Brrrr! 

Daddi is teaching you colors and numbers with your blocks. It's so cute seeing the two of you together. He is teaching you the fundamental things, like colors, numbers, and names of things, while momi teaches you the fun things like running, singing and dancing. :-) It's good though. You'll learn everything in your own time. So far you know kitty, dog, baby, thank you, and, of course batman. You like to point, though not to anything particular yet. You love water like your momi, drinking it, playing in it. And you love to laugh and be happy, which makes me happy. 

I love you, so soooo much! It's been a great 11 months, and I can't wait to experience more and keep exploring this world together with you. Your my beautiful little moon-beam, and I love you from here, to there and everywhere! 

Love, 

Momi <3

The Adventures of Luna & Celeste: The Taco Truck Challenge

Water Tower - Volunteer Park, Seattle WA
Photography by J. Buist

            It was a beautiful Saturday afternoon. The flowers were all in bloom and the trees were covered in beautiful green leaves. It was a perfect day for a stroll. My mum heard about an event going on in the city; something called the "Taco Truck Challenge" and she gathered everybody up for a trip into Seattle. Daddy and big sister, Jade, came, and even Auntie Ali! Of course, we couldn't go on this adventure without Celeste. She's my princess dolly that comes with me everywhere I go. We all fit in one car, perfectly snug and happy as a Pug in an Ugg!

            I fell asleep on the drive into the city. After all, I needed my rest for such an adventurous day. When we finally got there, Celeste nudged me awake just as momi was parking. I awoke with a big yawn and an even bigger smile. After a quick dieppe change and a check to make sure everyone had all their stuff, I was locked into my stroller, Celeste under one arm and Hootie, my owl blankie, under the other. The stroll to the park was really pretty. We walked under big trees, by giant bushes and I saw a lot of beautiful houses. Auntie kept stopping to take pictures of all the things she saw. Celeste and I just lounged in our stroller, taking everything in, one pretty thing after another.

            When we finally got to the park, I heard momi and auntie talking about how they had never been to this place before, and how gorgeous they thought it was. Celeste noticed a tower in the distance and she asked if it was a princess tower, but I had to tell her I didn't know, because it was my first time at this park, too! The park we usually go to has lots of doggies and smells like wood. I tried asking momi what it was, but I don't think she understood what I was saying. She just looked at me and smiled, told me I was cute, and we kept walking.

            There were so many new people around, but none of them stopped to talk to momi or daddy or any of us. They just kept walking and talking with other people. Some of them had strings coming out of their ears! Those people didn't talk to anyone. A lot of the people we saw had on the same shirt. It was a pretty color green, like my green stars that hang in my crib. Maybe all those people knew each other and came to the park together; maybe one big family! We didn't have on a pretty green shirt. I was wearing a new outfit with pink hearts and a blue bow and my cute blue pants. Momi likes them because they have ruffles on the butt. She calls me "ruffle-butt" when I wear them, and I don't mind because it makes her smile so big.

            As we came closer to the park, I started to hear music being played. It didn't sound like the music momi plays on the music machine, or when we're in the car. It was more loud and jumbled together. I couldn't decide if I liked it or not, and before I could, we were entering a really big building. I heard momi exclaiming how beautiful the building was, but it didn't look very pretty to me, not until we got inside. On the inside there were these pretty dishes and other dining items, but they were all behind an invisible force field. We couldn't touch them, but at least we could see them. Celeste told me she liked the ones that looked like they could hold our food. I liked those ones too, and I wondered if any of them had food in them. We didn't stay in the building very long. Momi, daddy and auntie "Oo'd and Aw'd" over the dishes for a bit, but then I heard momi talking about getting tacos.

         

5th Annual Taco Truck Challenge
Photo by Ali B - 2015

   I didn't know what a taco was, but I did remember momi saying that we were going to a "taco truck challenge", so I figured maybe it's a new kind of car, or truck. We left the building and went back outside where the music was. Then I saw all the trucks! None of them were like daddy's truck. They were all loud, had one big window that someone was standing at handing out food, and they were all smoking! Not only that, but there were so many other new people, dogs, smells and sounds that before long, I didn't know where I should look and I think I got a little overwhelmed because I started to cry. Celeste was right there with me, crying and saying how noisy and smelly it was. We wanted to get out of there!

            Momi must have heard us because before I knew it, I was lifting through the air and being hugged closely to her. She told me everything was "ok" and not to be scared, so Celeste and I stopped crying and just looked at everything over momi' shoulder. I liked it better this way. I could see more, and it didn't feel as loud being so close to momi. We ended up going to sit on the grass and momi gave me some food. I guess daddy, big sis and auntie went to go get momi food, because they came back with these saucer things with really yummy smelling foods on them. I finally learned what a taco was. Apparently they are delicious! And you can have them with rice and this mushy looking stuff daddy called beans. Momi ate her food so quick! I guess we were both hungry. Celeste didn't eat anything, but she usually doesn't. I think she eats the air, or maybe what floats around in the air. I've tried to share my bottles with her, but momi usually puts her in my swing while I eat, but this time, since we were outside, she just put her in the stroller until we were all done.

            After we all ate, we went for a walk. Momi put me in the pouch thing she sometimes attaches to her. I like it because I can just hang there and look out. And sometimes I even pretend I am the one walking. Daddy and big sis went up the hill, while auntie, momi and I went down. We walked around this big, big bowl thing. It had very little water in it, so it couldn't have been a bath. Momi and auntie were talking about what they thought it might be, reading these boards that were attached to the wall keeping people out. I guess the bowl was not for people to use. There was another tower at the further end of the bowl, not the same tower Celeste and I saw when we first got to the park. This one was smaller and a lighter color. I heard auntie say something about "don't feed the birds...keep drinking water clean". I didn't know what it meant and neither did Celeste, but it sounded like momi and auntie knew. Maybe the bowl was just for the birds. I didn't mind not knowing what the bowl was for, I was happy being with momi and auntie under the sun and big trees, walking around the bowl.

Daddy, Momi, Sis and I
Photo by Ali B - 2015

            We circled the bowl and walked up to where daddy and big sis were waiting. There were lots of other people around, but they weren't talking to daddy or sis. They were taking pictures of each other by this big round thing. Momi said it was a piece of art, but it sounded like auntie didn't think so. Still, daddy, momi, big sis and I stood in front of it while auntie took a picture of all of us. After that, we started walking back to the car. We came upon the big tower that Celeste and I saw at the very beginning of the park and saw that it really did look like a princess tower! But all we did was stop so momi could take a picture, then kept on walking. I was so tired from our little adventure that I fell asleep as we walked back to the car, happy to be snuggled up with momi, and dreams of the day when I would be able to try tacos for myself. 

Photo by Ali B - 2015