First Snow

We finally had our first, and only, snow last week. It was more of a dusting than real snow but it's all we've had all winter so we called it snow.  Rosie's favorite Christmas movie was Frosty the snow man and she really likes all snow men... or as she calls them, "Nose man." So even though it was cold and night time I wanted to make sure she got some time out side in the snow before it all melted away in the morning. William got some really great pictures of her playing in the snow. She loved it and didn't even mind that she was cold.

There's something magic about the first snow of Winter... especially when Rosie is there to smile and laugh and enjoy it.

A day in Nashville

 Last week we had to go to the airport to pick up my mom. We decided to take advantage of the drive to Nashville, so we stopped at two of our favorite place.

First we went to the zoo to see the monkeys and to have a picnic lunch. Rosie loves to sit and watch the monkeys. She also loves eating outside.

 Then we went to Trader Joe's. Our very favorite store.  It was the first time that Rosie got to push her very own cart.  She looked so adorable walking through the store shopping with her Nana.

She look very carefully at the milk and other things she thought we needed. She was definitely the cutest shopper in the whole store. 

I can't believe how big my baby girl is getting. She's growing up so fast.

First Communion 127/365

Last Sunday was First Communion at the little local Catholic Church we've been going attending.  It was the first time I've ever seen a "First Communion" service and I thought it was sweet.

Communion is something that both Protestants and Catholics do, but we do it very differently. Actually, even within the Protestant faith there are many different ways and views of taking communion. Which I've always found rather ironic since the word "communion" basically means unity.

In the Catholic faith it is taught that the bread literally becomes the body of Jesus, and the wine actually becomes the blood of Christ. Catholics take Communion every time they go to church. To them, they are literally taking into themselves the body and blessing of Jesus Christ.  They go to great lengths and pains to make sure they never drop a crumb or spill a drop.

Protestants believe a wide range of things about Communion. Some believe it's just a symbol, an act we preform at church to remind our selves of Christ sacrifice. Others believe it's more than just a symbol, that something spiritual happen when we take Communion.  Some Protestants take Communion every Sunday, some take it on the first Sunday of every month, and still other hardly take it at all (I went to one church that only took it three times a year).

When William and I were in Prague on our honeymoon we learned that for centuries the churches in that city would fight and even kill each other over how to take communion and what to believe about it.

(Picture we took in Prague of a church that changed hands several times between "we want to drink the wine" and "only the Priest takes the wine" groups)

One thing we all do agree on though, is that it's a special thing we do to honor and show our faith and love for Jesus. 

The Catholic church has a very long process of classes one must take in order be presented to the Priest for their First Communion.  These adorable second graders have been studying and learning for about a year in preparation for this special Sunday morning.

Whatever you believe about God or Communion, you have to agree that these 
kids look so sweet all dressed up in their white dresses and tiaras and veils (some even had family veils handed down through the family) and suits and ties.

First Rainbow 124/365

I don't remember ever seeing a rainbow when we lived in China. The sky was never clear enough.  Friday we saw our first rainbow in years, and baby saw her first rainbow ever. And oh my. What a beautiful rainbow it was. 

Cribs 92/365

Baby Girl doesn't sleep in a crib. She never has. From the day she was born she slept in our bed, and often in my arms. It works great for night nursing. She gets to nurse and I get to sleep.

When we decided to move back to the US my mom bought a crib and put it in our room. I think she's slept in it 3 times during nap time.  She's not a huge fan of it. Sometimes I can get to play in it for a few minutes while I brush my teeth or something, but for the most part she really doesn't like being in.  I've been trying to figure out different ways to help her like it.

Tonight I tried something a little different, and maybe a bit unorthodox...

I thought if we spent time together in the crib that maybe she would like it a little better. We cuddled and nursed and kissed the lama and I even gave her a little foot rub.

I'm not sure if this will help her like it any better, but at least she seemed to think it was fun. She even asked William to get in with us. Of course he did not and then baby wanted out. But at least we had a fun time together.

And now we know that I fit in the crib.  Even if Baby doesn't like it maybe I can use it if I want my own sleeping space when my two lovely red heads are taking up the whole bed.

Imagination moments 65/365

The yellow daffodils that you have seen pictures of on this blog grow wild in Tennessee. It's so beautiful. We have a whole hill that just blooms yellow. A sure sign that it's spring.

Yesterday, as we were driving to the store, we came across this field and it made us laugh...

Some one had taken the time to dig up all their yellow wild daffodils and painstakingly re-plant them. That's so much work!

Later that night, while we were making dinner, Baby Girl crawled into one of the cabinets we let her play in and pulled out a pot.  She proceeded to pretend she was making dinner. It was the first time she imagined something all by herself.

She is growing up so fast!

On the Road again and Monticello 36/365

It's amazing how light and free one feels after talking to some one not only who listens well but also understands where you're coming from and validates your feelings.

Our dear friends Joy and Andrew are gifted in all those areas.
Not only are they good listeners but they also know what it feels like to move back to the US after living in Asia. They know how disorientating it can be and they can laugh with us at our moments of culture shock.
But I think one of their truly amazing gifts is the gift to validate a persons feelings. They just have a way of making you feel ok about what ever it is you feel. Not in a patronizing way, but in a way that once you express a thought or feelings to them, they make you feel like it's perfectly natural and ok to feel that way. At which point it is much easier to grow and move on from that feeling.

It's very empowering to be around them.

Here's a picture of me and Joy that William took. I like this picture a lot.

Anyway, after a rejuvenating and healing 4 days with Joy and Andrew, we started our long drive home and we decided to make a quick stop on the home of Thomas Jefferson. Monticello.

 It was a great place to let Baby Girl run around, she slept a long time after we walked all over the grounds.

 Since I have pictures of bathrooms from pretty much every country we've been too I thought I should take one of the "privy" at Monticello. It looks pretty nice for being a few hundred years old.

 Another collection of pictures I have is of me nursing Baby Girl. I call the collection "nursing around the world"

 We got to hang out with Mr. Jefferson face to face. I love the look Bonnie Rose is giving him. She seems a little indignant about something.

 She did warm up to him though and even gave him a kiss on the nose.

 Almost as soon as we left Bonnie asked for a snack and then fell asleep.

It was her first time falling asleep while eating. It was such a sweet moment for me. My mom as so many pictures of me and my siblings asleep in our food. So here is the first picture of Bonnie Rose sleep with her food.

 

After she woke up we stopped for a nice dinner at O'Charlie's some where just before the border. Bonnie Rose has grown up so much this past week. Maybe it was following Joy and Andrew's baby girl around all week that helped her learn new things, but Bonnie has been so good about eating and trying new foods. For a road trip treat I ordered her own plate of mashed potatoes. She very much enjoyed having her own plate of food. 

Happy Valentine's Day 35/365

It's not quite midnight yet so I can still wish you a Happy Valentine's Day.

Ours was wonderful but it's been a long day so before I fall into bed I'll share some pictures with you...

Our Valentine's Day gifts to each other were simple but very fun and tasty.

Bonnie Rose and Anastasia decorated cup cakes. This was a first for Bonnie Rose.

They were such beautiful cup cakes and I took a ton of pictures of them. They made my heart melt. My sweet baby decorated her first cup cakes. 

Bonnie worked especially long and hard on the one with the up side down flag.

I ate that one.

 

 We had a perfect steak dinner...

 but what made it the best was the company.

 

Happy Valentine's day! And may all your days be filled with Love.

Fun in the Grocery Store31/365

We're on a road trip. I'm writing this from a hotel room while William watches bad TV and Baby Girl walks in circles and sings. We have sitting-in-a-car-too-long tiredness.

We drove for about 4 hours tonight. It may have been longer actually. We had to drive pretty slowly since it starting snowing just as we left Nashville. For a while it was a little difficult to see the road but luckily William grew up in the mountians so it was no problem. Plus there were really cool big trucks that were spray a salt like substance on the road.

Like Father like Daughter

Since it was cold and snowing we decided to make our dinner and restroom stop at a Kroger's instead of a rest stop. It was warmer and we could let baby walk around.

This was our first time going to a store with Baby girl since she's started walking on her own. It was SO much fun!





Baby was so cute walking around the store that people actually stopped to watch her. She brought a smile to everyone's face.

She had so much fun pushing the cart.

We walked up and down almost every isle, hoping to wear her out, and when we got to the Valentine's isle she squealed with delight and then ran to kiss all the stuffed animals.

We had such a hard time getting to come away from there. Every time William would walk her away she would turn and look for the isle again. At one point she ran from three isles away and found the stuffed animals again. She gave them all kisses again before we left.

It was the most fun I've ever had in a grocery store before. She's the cutest thing in the world.

It's the little things

It's the little things in life that make it so wonderful.
Especially when the "little things" are named Bonita Rose.

Last night Bonita made her Mama very happy. She got her first curl!



We took her out of the bath last night and I was drying her hair when I realized that not only had it gotten longer some time when I wasn't paying attention but it also had a slight curl to it!

I was so giddy with excitement. It seems Bonita will have curly hair like her Mama and Daddy.

Of course, even though it was bed time I couldn't resist getting out the bow in celebration of our angel's first little curl.



As you can see she was very serious about the whole thing. After all, a girl's hair is a very serious matter.