During

I forgot to take "before" pix, but here are a couple of pix of Roger's new office being built.

New Religion

Roger just walked into the girls' room and found them both under a comforter on the floor...
Roger: Where are the girls?!
Maggie: Here I am Daddy. I'm God!
R: You're God?!
M: Yeah, and this is heaven.
Zofia: Come die with us, Daddy! We're dead and this is heaven!

BTW - I just found out that the cause of death was being eaten by a lion. Apparently, at first he didn't eat their heads, but then he did.

Why?

Zofia: Mommy, why did God make us with footprints?
Me: Why do you think, Zofia?
Zofia: Mayyyyybeeeeeeee, so that we don't get lost?

and then....

Maggie: Mommy, why did God make "God's bandaids"? (scabs)

song

Zofia is playing with legos, and I just overheard her singing...
Always remember about meeee!
Forget about your friends and familyyyyyy,
Just always remember about meeeeeeee!

what?!

Decisive

Me: Maggie, what do you want to eat?
M: I haven't decided.
Me: Well, you need to decide.
M: I was already deciding until you disturbed me!

Zofia's Fifth Year

Zofia's Fifth Year from agi graham on Vimeo.

Early Fourth of July video

Definitions

Zofia: Mommy, a woman and a lady are not the same thing.
Me: Really, Zofia? What is the difference between a woman and a lady?
Zofia: A woman is a fat lady and a lady is a skinny lady.

Piggie tails

This is the first time that Maggie kept her pigtails in longer than a couple of minutes. Usually, she takes them out as soon as she gets in the car, but today she kept them in all day! Happy Mothers' Day to me!

OMG OMG OMG - the cuteness is KILLING me!

After and then later after

another kind of garden

Harvest time

Patience

We were at a restaurant last week and ordered Maggie a lemonade. About a second after the waiter left, Maggie said, "Where is my lemonade? I waited as hard as I could and I can't wait any longer!"

ps. when you read her quote, remember that she does not say her Rs yet, so they come out like Ws...

Springtime is here!

Hurrah! The girls and I planted our spring garden over spring break. We've got lots of different herbs, tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, squash and beans. Here are some photos of the garden when we first planted it almost three weeks ago, and some taken this morning. We've been getting a nice bit of rain and it is so gratifying to see the plants thriving. We also planted a lemon tree and a Satsumo orange tree which already have some little fruit on them!

Maggie is Three!

Maggie's Third Year from agi graham on Vimeo.

My genius of a daughter!

new for you!

A video and a funny...

First the funny:
Me: How did I get so lucky to have two such wonderful girls for my daughters?
Maggie: Because we're just kids and we can't leave.

God love 'er!


Playing from agi graham on Vimeo.

Anatomy

Roger accidentally scratched Maggie on the leg when he was putting on her jammies tonight; and Maggie said, "Daddy, you hurt my skeleton!"

Wierd science

Zofia asked me today, "Mommy, why does cheese melt, but chicken doesn't?"

Future architect?

Zofia came downstairs at Babcia & Dziadzio's house yesterday and said, "Mommy, did you know that the floor upstairs is the ceiling downstairs?"

Hay fever

Maggie explained to me today that Uncle Andre's pool turned green because it had "an allergy", but then he fixed it.

a long time coming...

Here are a couple of recent funnies.

Zofia: I don't wanna go to sleep. I'm not tired.
Mommy: I know, Honey, but you need sleep to be rested and healthy.
Zofia: I don't need sleep. I never sleep.
Mommy: You don't?! What do you do all night with you your eyes closed?
Zofia: That's not sleep, that's a really long blink.


Zofia: Mommy, why can't we go to the library first?
Mommy: Because Grandma and Grandpa are waiting for us, and it would take us too long to get to the library and then we wouldn't have very much time to look for books...
Zofia: Yada, yada, yada.

Author

Zofia wrote a book...that is she dictated and illustrated a book. Here it is. Forgive the sometimes sloppy penmanship, I had to write really fast to keep up with the flow.






"They found another rainbow and they found their friends Hoodie and Hawdie. They found tater tots. They all drew a picture and painted a picture"

"They drove away in their van and saw a tiger. The tiger roared! It didn't eat them because they put it in a cage. They drove to a school and did lots of work and lived happily ever after."

Maggie's Yay God

Yay God for ears to hear with and nose to smell with and mouth to eat with and eyes to see with and hair to rub with (rubs Daddy's head).

Busy lady

When Zofia grows up, she is going to be:
a doctor
a teacher
a pilot
a mommy

Yard work

I just remembered last week when Maggie saw Roger using the riding mower she said: Daddy is mow-lawnin'!

funny

I overheard Maggie talking in the back seat. I didn't hear what she was actually talking about, but at one point I heard, "I crack myself out!"

Dear Diary

I was reading a book to the girls at dinner...
Zofia: what is a diary?
Daddy: it's a book where you write your own personal things.
Maggie: No! It's poo poo! Stinky, nasty, poo poo!

Yay God!

Maggie's last one of the night..."Yay God for Zofia and Mommy and Daddy! I love you!" And then she leaned over and planted a kiss on Zofia's forehead! I can't describe the feeling I have at moments like these; when one of my girls displays her affection for the other. Just makes me feel great about being their mommy.

Prayers

Recently, we began a new routine regarding our bedtime prayers. We still say the Our Father prayer first, but after that, we ask each of the girls if they would like to say their own prayer, and after that we do "Yay God". "yay God" is a tradition at Mustang Island Family Camp, which we attended last weekend. It's basically a list of what you are thankful for followed by "Yaaaaaay God!" We usually do three rounds of Yay God
Since we started this a few days ago, we have been consistently amazed and impressed by the girls level of understanding and depth. I plan to start recording them, but for tonight, I'll try to remember as much as I can...
Zofia's prayer tonight was something along the lines of; God is good and straight and loves us all.
Maggie's prayer tonight was something like; God makes all the plants and flowers grow and come down.
Zofia's Yay Gods were: Yay God for food (i think), Yay God for all of the tissues in the world, and Yay God for all of the tissue boxes in all the world of San Antonio
Maggie's Yay Gods were: Yay God for plants, can't remember the second one, and the last was Yay God for Mommy and Daddy and Zofia.
We melted.
You can see some photos from our Mustang Island trip as well as Zofia's birthday party and Roger's nieces' visit on the Flick site.

Zofia - Fourth year video

Milestones

Just a couple things to report here in the land of Graham...
We switched Maggie's crib to a "big girl bed" today. Both girls were very excited about it and helped me with the transformation. Of course, by "helped" I mean jumped all over the bed while I was assembling it, but you get the idea.
Also, Zofia can READ! A few days ago she told Roger, "Daddy, I wish I could read." So yesterday, Roger sat with her for over an hour and she totally got it. B-A-T...bat! We were all over the moon!

Soccer Mom

Tonight was Zofia's first full soccer practice; and I was inspired:

Working Girl

By Special Request

My Aunt Connie has been hassling me (rightly so) about my lack of blogging lately. So, here is a little something until I can get my act together...
Zofia on the bed watching a tv show and Roger was sitting next to her.
Roger: Do you want me to go get Mommy?
Zofia: No, that's ok Daddy, you are enough for me.

Maggie's Second Year video

Maggie's Second Year from agi graham on Vimeo.

Do you know what your eyebrows are for?

Eyebrows 2-1-2008 from agi graham on Vimeo.

Reading is fundamental

Untitled from agi graham on Vimeo.


Zofia reading 1-20-08 from agi graham on Vimeo.

Apprentice

Maggie, during dinner tonight, climbed down from her seat and when I asked here where she was going, she said, "I'm going to collect rent (went). I'll be right (wight) back."

Oops.

Zofia dropped a bowl of dried cranberries and Maggie said, "Oh my gosh, Oh my Lord, Oh my Heavens! Zofia dropped her cranberries!"

They're getting cuter

Zofia to Daddy: Daddy, you are a very clever boyyyyyyyy!

Maggie to Zofia (while being rolled upon): Zofia, don't do that. It's not nice, you're my friend!

At long last - a new video!

Chestnuts 2007 from agi graham on Vimeo.

Why DO we say that?

In the car yesterday on the way to school, we pulled up next to a schoolbus.
I said, "Look girls, there's a schoolbus, and there are children on it." To which Maggie replied, "Not ON in Mommy, IN it!"

School post

One for Maggie, one for Zofia...

Maggie's teacher was bragging on her yesterday. She was working with a puzzle, which is kept on a tray, with the pieces in a little basket. For about 15 minutes, she tried to carry the tray to her table to work, but the basket kept falling off. During the whole time, she didn't get frustrated, cry, or quit. Finally, she asked Ms. Vivian for help, saying, "Please can you help me with the puzzle?" Her teacher showed her how to carry the basket first, then go back for the tray. After finishing her work a few minutes later, Maggie remembered how to get the whole thing back on the shelf!

Zofia's teacher told me that today, on their way up to a "motor skills" class, Zofia said to her, "My mommy is going to have a baby. It's going to be a boy, but she has to talk to my daddy first." Hmmmm.

Stinky and Snow White

Figment

Me: Maggie, are you for real?
Maggie: No, I'm pretend!

Zofia's Opera

Huge!

Roger: Zofia, that bite (of oatmeal) is ginormous!
Z: No, Daddy. This bite is big. It's not ginormous, like your head.

Pooped

This is Zofia & Maggie getting charged up for a sleepover at Grandma and Grandpa's house (who moved here about a month ago for those who may not know yet), yipee!!

The first of a billion times

Last week at the Whole Foods pizza counter:
Zofia: Hi, I'm Zofia!
Pizza Guy: Hi, Sofia!
Z: No, not Sofia, ZOFIA! Z-O-F-I-A!

coupla cute things

At PeiWei (Chinese resaurant) a couple of weeks ago we were all eating edamame and after a while Maggie said, "No, not eating edaMommy, eating edaMaggie!" 1st joke, people! At 17 months old!

A few days ago in the car Zofia said, "Look mommy they are driving in their sports car. They must be going to go play sports cause they have their sports bras."

Today in the car, Zofia was comparing two little twin girls in her dance class with a little girl in her class at school (they all have a similarly dark skin tone). I said that isn't it nice how people are all different and have different color hair and eyes and skin, and Zofia said that it was good because if people looked all alike, we wouldn't know who anyone was! Exactly!

2, count 'em, 2 new videos!

The Cutest thing

Poland video!

I made this vid private, so if you can't see it, and want to, let me know...

Check my sister's blog!

I mean it. Go now!

A funny thing

So, not much time to blog. Maggi (sister) and I are just here in Warszawa for a few hours to see the doctor and so I will tell y'all a quick funny while I am uploading photos onto Flickr (click on the link to the right and choose 2007-07 to see the gigantic quantity of photos we have been taking).
Maggi was hanging out in the kitchen with Maggie and Zofia and they were talking about things they want. At one point Maggi said, "I want to go to a deserted island with Zofia". A few minutes later, Zofia asked Maggi, "when are we going to have dessert in Ireland?"
XOXO

Where does the time go?

So....holy cow, it's been a while since I put anything new in here (fill in your favorite excuse here). I just uploaded a whole truckload of new photos to Flickr over there -------------------------------------->
Also, here is Zofia's third year video. Enjoy! In case any of you didn't know, the three girls are leaving for Poland on Tuesday. Daddy will join us toward the end of the month, and we will all return on July 31st. See you when we get back.

Reality Check

in the car on the way to school listening to a song... "Do you know the muffin man?"
Roger: Zofia, do you know the muffin man?
Z: It's only a song, daddy!

Flip-flop

So, you may have heard that Yahoo! Photos is shutting down later this summer. They will be transferring any photos to another photo site of my choosing, which I guess will be Flickr since I already have an account there. I decided to save myself a step and go ahead and start using Flickr again now. So, I have added a link to the Flickr site up there on the right. It now has all of the May photos on it, of which there are an inordinate amount. I've been going a bit nutty with the camera lately. Enjoy!

Finance 101

Zofia was whining about something yesterday...
Z: But I waaaaaant it. Mommy, I waaaaaaannnnnttttt it.
Me: Well, Zofia, I want a million dollars.
Z (after a long pause): Well, Mommy, that's a lot of money.

Consider yourself at home

Meet Oliver, who within 5 minutes of arriving in our kitchen had found the doggy bed, and put it to good use.

Stuff and Cuteness

Ok, first the stuff... These photos are for my sister, who was somewhat incredulous when I told her that some of the plants in my garden are dying from too much water. I suppose it is a bit hard to believe given the fact that the majority of plants that do die in my custody do so from lack of water rather than overabundance. Also, it seems that she found it hard to conceive of rain that came down so hard, so fast, that the ground is unable to absorb it in the 24-48 hours before the next storm. So, proof:



These pix were taken about an hour after a rain storm. Before the storm, the ground was damp, but not totally wet.






























And now, the cutenes:

Oh the cuteness is killing me!

Tonight the girls and I went to dinner with some friends at Chik-fil-a. They have a kids eat free deal on Tuesdays, with people making balloon animals and all kinds of chaos. First of all, never again. Way too many kids hopped up on high fructose corn syrup for my taste.
The girls had a whopping good time, however, despite the fact that they were only hopped up on milk and adrenaline. One of the attractions is a gigantic cow. That is, a man in a gigantic cow suit. Zofia was so excited about "Mr. Cow". She yelled "Mr. Cow, Mr. Cow!!!" every time he passed by our table, high-fived him and waved til her arms fell off. At one point after she had eaten all her chicken and we got her some more, Mr. Cow passes by and she yelled ecstatically, "Mr. Cow, Mr. Cow, I'm eating chicken!"
Here is a video from the last couple of weeks. You want cuteness? You can't handle the cuteness!

Our Girls

Maggie...


Zofia...

POOL!

also...new pix on Yahoo!

A Few Words

I just put Maggie in her crib, and she is screaming her head off. I thought I would keep myself occupied to help me resist the urge to go get her and let her fall asleep in my arms. She has gotten a little spoiled in that regard for the last few nights because of a particularly awful bout of teething. There is a very large, very stubborn tooth way back on her lower gum that is just refusing to come out.
So, let me fill you all in on Maggie's vocabulary when she is not screaming. Here is a list of words Maggie currently says. Though many of these are not easily recognizable by anyone but the closest few, she is consistent in how and when she uses them. There are many more words she repeats, but these are the ones she uses spontaneously, in the order in which I remember them...
Mama
Dada
Zofia (sounds like Fvfvfvaaa)
Boobie
Kitty-kitty-kitty (kdlrlrlr)
LaLa
Up (ap, and if ignored the first time AAAAAAAPPPP)
Down (da)
Baby
Book (Brrr)
Balloon (boon)
Um-um
Ball
Hi (haaaaiiiiii)
Bye-bye
More (ma)
Broom (broo) - she just said this one today for the first time
Bread (bre)
Please (peee)
Teeth (teee) - today I ordered tea at Whole Foods and she started smiling and pointing to her teeth while saying "TEEEE!"
Bath (baaa)
Birdy (biby)
That is all I can think of for now. Bye-bye!

Flower

Here is Zofia last night around midnight. I told her to bundle up if she got cold...

Zofia "reading" to Daddy

Q&A

Here are some questions Zofia has asked us over the last few days. Please feel free to leave your answers under comments.
1. Is relish a liquid or a solid?
2. How about mustard?
3. How about ketchup?
4. How do you pour more milk back into your boobies?


Also, a couple of cute mis-pronunciations I hope to remember long after she learns the correct ways...
Picnit (picnic)
Prentzel (pretzel)

Trick or Treat

yesterday, after dinner, Zofia and Roger were talking. Roger told Zofia that he loves her...
Z: No you don't
R: Yes I do
Z: You can't love me. You can love Maggie and Mommy, but you can't love me.
R: I can't?
Z: If you smell my toes, then you can love me.
????????

Mama said there'd be days like this...

Which, coincidentally, was the song Roger was just singing as I passed by the living room on my way from my bedroom, where I left (read, abandoned) my baby girl, who is even at this moment screaming bloody murder, amazingly in chorus with my older girl, who is in her own big girl bed in her own room screaming perhaps not-quite-as-bloody murder.
All you mommies who survived, please tell me it gets easier soon! Zofia did not take a nap today, and instead spent the hour and a half of "naptime" shredding two of her favorite books. In the few hours since I got her out of her room at 3pm, she has been exhausted and more than a little cranky, willful, floppy, and difficult. Up until recently Zofia didn't seem to realize that she could open her bedroom door at will. Thankfully, even now she doesn't come out, but stands at her door wailing for Mommy. She did this a few minutes after lights out, and when I put her back in bed she kept howling how, "I'mmmmmm not tiiiiiredddddddd!!!!!!!!!!" Right. Meanwhile, Maggie did take a lovely afternoon nap, but is teething and not responding seemingly at all to the orajel.
Yep, still tandem screaming. Cover me, I'm going in.

Snippet

Maggie

Maggie's First Year from agi graham on Vimeo.

Strange Taste

Just now I was eating a bowl of ramen noodles; which I like to cook without the "flavor packet" and stir-fry with veggies; and Zofia asked me, "Mommy, are you eating rubber bands?"
Yummy!

Possible future career choices?

The journey of a thousand miles...

Maggie is officialy walking. On at least five separate occasions today, she took four, five, even six steps at a time! Look out world, here she comes.

Things I Haven't Blogged

1. Riding in the car, Zofia was telling us about how Agatha's Mommy helped her class do yoga. "Mommy, we beat the dog today" ?????? Why are the children abusing animals at school?!?!?!? Oh, I get it, you "be'd" the dog today. Apparently the kids were practicing a yoga posture known as "downward facing dog"


2. Zofia has an imaginary friend. Does anyone know if it's usual for a two and a half year old to have an imaginary friend? The friend's name is Baca. Here is what we know about Baca. Baca lives in her own house with her family, which is alternately her mommy and daddy, or her children (sometimes named Eskin and SoWo). Baca is apparenly reeeeeaaaaalllly small, and Zofia sometimes carries her around in her hand. Baca has a friend named Teeshi. Baca often does whatever Zofia is doing, but in a parallel universe. For example one afternoon last week during "the freeze" Roger, the girls and I had a dance party, and Baca was simultaneously having her own dance party at "her house". Also, Baca often gets to decide what Zofia wears: "Zofia, do you want to wear a diaper, or a pull-up?" "A diaper, cuz Baca says no pull-up".

3. Apropos pull-ups, still no progress on the potty training front. Yesterday, Zofia sat on all three of the potties in her bathroom alternately for about 45 minutes after having drank two full sippy cups of juice. After deciding she was done, she stood on her stool to wash her hands and guess what happened.

4. Maggie is almost, but still not quite, walking. She can push her hippo walker around with no problem and has taken a step or two between people and/or furniture. She still has no hair. Send Rogaine.

5. While counting money at the church the other day, the lady helping me count (Miss Elvina) told Zofia that she was beautiful and Zofia said, "You are beautiful, too."

That is all I can think of for now. I resolve to blog more often.

Toes

Plus....lots of new pix on Yahoo!

News you can use

well...not really, but news of a sort. Samantha says (and she has witnesses) that Maggie walked on Sunday. I say that taking 1 (one) single solitary step does not count as walking, and besides, it obviously doesn't count as walking if the Mommy is not there to see it, right? So, stay tuned...it could happen at any moment. In the meantime, here is December, or at least a small snippet.

new vid - old clips

Zofia's new 'do

We had such a wonderful time over Thanksgiving and we took tons and tons of photos. Unfortunately, the internet connection on my computer is down and that is where all of the photos are currently stored. So, until the internet gets fixed or I have time to copy all of the pix onto Roger's 'puter, y'all will just have to be patient. For now, I just want to say that I love my family. For Thanksgiving dinner we had my parents, my Aunt Connie, Uncle Richard, Cousins Sarah, Julia Soccerball, and Jesse, and of course my sister Maggi, her husband Jacek and his mother. It was an amazing group of people and I am so thankful for all of them.
In the meantime, here are some pix of Zofia's new haircut...cut fresh this afternoon. (click on the word "here" and see the photos)

Video du jour

Jam Packed Social Calendar

Yesterday was such a busy day. We started out by having a family pancake breakfast. This is getting to be a Saturday ritual. Pancakes with berries, bacon and scrambled eggs. Yummy! After breakfast we all went to the Golf Club of Texas for Roger's golf lesson. Maggie napped during the lesson and Zofia and I played on the rocking chairs and the rocks. After Roger's lesson, he and Zofia did a little putting on the green with Zofia's new golf club.
After Golf, we drove to New Braunfels to meet Julia Soccerball at Wurstfest (which is pretty much like Oktoberfest) After eating plenty of sausages, potato pancakes and no beer, we danced to some oompah music and went on the merry-go-round. Soon it was time to go home, and we were hoping both girls would nap in the car on the one hour drive home. No such luck. I guess the day had been way too exciting. Once we arrived home it was time for the girls to get dressed up for Lala's "pretty in pink" girls only 25th birthday bash. We got in the car and Maggie fell asleep almost instantly, but Zofia waited until we were about 2 blocks away from the restaurant. I tried to transfer her, still sleeping, into the stroller, but of course she woke up the instant I laid her down. Both girls had a good time at the restaurant, although Maggie ate more than Zofia, who couldn't quite wrap her brain around the concept of fondue. Maggie sucked the cheese off of about 6 or 8 pieces of bread and ate a couple of pieces of chicken to boot. I had never been to a fondue restaurant before and I will definitely go again. What with the dipping and the long fondue forks, it was a hoot. And then they brought out the chocolate!! Next time I have to remember to eat less dinner and save more room for the chocolate. Actually, I think that is about all Zofia ate: 6 or 7 strawberries and a bite of chocolate sauce with pecans. Needless to say, both girls feel asleep the instant we pulled out of the parking lot at about 8:30pm, and Zofia barely stirred as I changed her into jammies and put her to bed.

This morning on the way to church Roger was asking Zofia all about the party. Here is part of the conversation:
Roger: Did Daddy go to the party?
Zofia: No, only the girls went to the party, you couldn't go, cuz you're a boy!
R: Oh, next time can I go the the birthday party?
Z: Yes Daddy, maybe next time you will be a girl.

And of course now Zofia has a fever and is feeling so pitiful. Many more photos on the yahoo page.

I got to Boogie

Daddy: Zofia do you have boogies in your nose?
Zofia: No Daddy, I don't have boogies in my nose. I have nostrils in my nose.

My Maggie the Car

Full Schedule

In the car today...
Me: How many toes do you have on that foot?
Zofia: I'm not availabus (available) to count them now. I'm busy.

Maggie Moo

This is, I think, the first time I ever took, edited, and uploaded a vid all in one day!

video of the girls

it's been a while... Here is a new vid. I made this video "private" on YouTube, since the girls are "naked-nudie" in part of it, and there are some whackos out there. If you aren't on the list to view it (you might have to log in) let me know and I will add you.

Maggie stars

...in her own video. All Maggie, all the time!

Parental Concern

Today in the car:
"Mommy, I got some strawberry on my knee. But you don't have to worry. I will wipe it up."
"So I don't have to worry?"
"No. If you worry I will have to tickle you."

Miss Manners

Tonight at dinner Zofia said to me, "Finish chewing and then we can talk about that, Mommy."
!!!!!!!

Video from a while back

Toothful

Maggie got her first tooth yesterday, and this we know because she bit Lala. Actually, I thought I had felt something on Saturday when she nursed, but it was on the wrong side, so I didn't think to check. I thought that babies always got their first teeth on the bottom, but Maggie has thrown convention to the wind and grown her first tooth on the top left. Yay, Maggie!

California Girls

Well, we got back from California at one in the morning on Wednesday, and we're almost back to our normal Texas routine. The girls and I had so much fun with Babcia and Dziadzio. It was a regular love fest. Zofia got giddy with happiness every time one of them entered the room, even if they were just returning from the bathroom! We packed alot into our one week visit. A rundown:
Tuesday: left Texas on an 8pm flight. genius on my part. put the girls in jammies when we got to the terminal (thankfully they let Roger go all the way to the gate with us to help me wrangle all the paraphenalia) and after the initial excitement of airplane, takeoff, people sitting around us, etc. wore off both girls fell asleep for the duration of the flight. got in to California around 11pm
Wednesday: much hanging around house relaxing with Babcia & Dziadzio.
First experience with "crunchy meat" (pork cutlet) at Babcia's restaurant.

Thursday: went shopping with Dziadzio, went to see Great Grandma in Oakland and more crunchy meat.
Friday: Shabbatt dinner at Aunt Denise's. Lots of family was there...Cousins Isaac, Shoshi and Sarah with boyfriend Trevor. Uncle Lenny and Aunt Linda. Great Grandma. Babcia & Dziadzio. While Denise and cousins were lighting candles for the blessing, I explained to Zofia that this is how Aunt Denise and her family say blessing, to which she replied, "yeah, so they can sing happy birthday!". She was a bit shy at first with so many new (as far as she remembers) people, but by the end of the evening, she remembered most people's names and even gave everyone kisses goodbye.
Saturday: went to San Rafael to see Kayleen & Chris's new house. Had brunch and took a walk to get ice cream. Both girls got little Star Wars keychains from Kayleen. Zofia got Dziadzio to put a key on hers and now runs around "locking" doors all over the place, including restaurants! In the evening I left both girls with Dziadzio, brave man, and went to dinner with Kristin in Oakland. Ethiopian food!! I've missed it so! Got home after midnight. Babcia and Dziadzio did an awesome job.

Sunday: went to church with Dziadio, who got lots of compliments on his gorgeous grandbabies and soaked it all up happily. After nap-time we went to see my friend Dudy and Peter's new house that they are renovating and then dinner at Babcia's restaurant. More crunchy meat...and bread for Maggie.
Monday: went to brunch with Great Grandma and then the zoo with Babcia. much exhausting fun. That evening Wujek (uncle) Andrzej and Gina and Peter came over to have chinese food for our last night in town. Crispy honey shrimp!
Tuesday: Packing, lunch, more packing, sadness, drive to airport. Thankfully again, they let Babcia & Dziadzio all the way to the gate with me. Flew to Las Vegas where a crew guy helped me get all the paraphenalia to the next gate for the flight to S.A. Got Zofia in jammies and she slept the whole way home.
More photos at yahoo.

Storytime

This video is a couple of weeks old, and I have some other video backlogged which I'll hopefully have time to work on soon. BTW, this seven or so minutes of video is a tiny fraction of the hour and a half I had on tape!


Also, we went to Dallas for a couple of days on Sunday, and there are a few pictures from our trip here. We had a great time. Zofia didn't sleep for the entire four plus hour drive there or back, plus she got to sleep after 10:30pm both Sunday and Monday nights, so her sleep schedule is totally wonky. Roger had some work to do during the days, so the girls and I walked all over downtown Dallas. I got the vibe that Dallas wants to be New York; it had a very "big city" feel. On Monday we walked to the Dallas World Aquarium, about a mile away from our hotel. It was fantastic. Not just fish, but a whole lot of random, different animals, birds, reptiles, etc. After that we went to lunch at the Spaghetti Warehouse a couple of blocks away. By the time we finished lunch it was about 103 degrees outside. When we got to the hotel, we took a nice cool shower and then all the girls got a nap. When Roger got back we all went to dinner at an amazing steakhouse called Trulucks.
On Tuesday the girls and I went for another walk in the morning, and then Roger picked us up around noon and we drove back to S.A. We stopped off in Austin to see Julia at work. We got to see the new Hillel building where she works, which is a really cool space.
We are all a little worn out, and of course Zofia didn't nap again today, so hopefully she will go to bed a little early tonight.
Enjoy the video!

Sisterly Love

Maggie almost never cries. The exception is when she is really tired and can't fall asleep. I have spoiled her to the point where she can't easily fall asleep except when nursing, so sometimes in the car she really gets upset because she's tired and can't figure out how to get to sleep. This was the case tonight on the way home from dinner. During the 20 minute drive, Maggie cried or screamed for about 18 minutes. Even more heartbreaking than hearing Maggie cry, was hearing Zofia try to console her. Here is a list of things Zofia said the whole way home.

Don't cry Maggie.
It's ok Maggie.
I think Maggie is hungry Mommy.
Mommy will feed you when we get home Maggie.
Maggie is hungry in the car Mommy.
It's gonna be ok Maggie.
Maggie is just screaming Mommy.
What are you screaming about Maggie?
Stop Maggie.
You have to feed Maggie when we get home Mommy.

Some of these things she said more than once in rotation. While reading the list, keep in mind that Zofia can't really say her R's, so cry sounds like cwy; and she can't really pronounce TH, so think sounds like sink.

Then after we got home Lala took Maggie while I got Zofia ready for bed. She found Maggie's teething ring and ran to give it to her, but Lala and Maggie were not on the couch where I told her they'd be. She ran back to the bedroom and said, "I can't find them Mommy! Help me find them!"

Also in this category, the other day Zofia was playing with a Pocahontas doll that she got from our friend Lemira. Pocahontas is somewhat anatomically correct, at least on top, and Zofia had stripped her "naked-nudie". After a few minutes she said, "Can I have my sister? I want to feed my sister."
I brought Maggie over, not really getting where she was going with this. I put Maggie down in Zofia's lap (Lala was sitting right next to Zof) and Zofia put Pocahontas' boobie in Maggie's mouth!!! Then she said, "Is that good Maggie? Yeah, that's good!" Meanwhile, Maggie giggled as if she got the joke.

The last two weeks

Here is some video from the last couple of weeks...just random bits of daily life.