Aurelia woke up from her nap in a particularly funny mood today. I generally find her to be humorous, but today her choice of words tickled me. Here are a couple of our conversations:
Momma (M): Reli, there's a fly on the window screen!
Reli (R): Shoo fly! (waving arm as if shoo-ing a fly away)
M: What's he doing inside our house?
R: He's working.
M: Working at what?
R: Tummy time. . . Bug flew away.
(5 minutes later)
R: Where is the "shoo-fly"? Working in the studio.
We were in the kitchen and Reli was hungry (as usual).
R: Want some kitty cat beans.
M: Kidney beans?
R: Yeah.
M: What color are kidney beans?
R: Red!
M: What color are black beans?
R: Black! (said sarcastically)
M: What color are garbanzo beans?
R: Kind of . . . airplane.
These days are funny, even when they are not always fun.
Jonathan went to California last weekend to see his family and Jeri Lynn and Marvel went to visit Honey. That left Ian and I here in Austin with the girls for the weekend. We decided to team up on Saturday afternoon for a sleepover, the girls' first.
We had a lovely time together. We baked banana bread, at snacks and the girls got to watch a video - something rare and special in Reli's world. She has seen one of Koruna's videos a few times at the Ingram's house and she LOVES one song on it in particular. In fact, she will randomly yell out "Old MacDonald!!!! Playing the guitar!!!!" days or weeks after seeing this one video.
Here is Aurelia in her own personal heaven, watching the video she so dearly loves:
For Halloween, I took the girls trick-or-treating at my office. We could not, of course, have gone without our dear cousins, Koruna and Marvel. They were sporting enough to come along. Aunties Whitney and Ivy came along as well. We had a blast and the kiddos were unbelievably cute! Proof follows:
It has been lovely getting to spend so much time with these two new sisters. They are already good at being sisters. We are very fortunate that Aurelia loves Vivianna. She asks to hold her and kiss her many times a day. It melts my heart every single time. I am in love with my family.
Aurelia loves to hold Vivianna and now she asks for a burp cloth. So cute!
Hanging out in Aunt Whitney's favorite outfit
A walk at the lake with cousin Marvel
Pajama time!
Peeking into the stroller
Story time
Date night!
Pure joy
(Don't worry. Dada was right behind her.)
Little sister, passed out while Reli played on the playground
Dada reading to his girls
Mutual admiration
Smiles
Very happy momma-daughter time
These girls love to "dance". I think Reli may have had a bit too much juice just prior to shooting this video. She's obviously a little wound up. What fun to watch her spin.
We are still reveling in the novelty of this new life that has joined Team Kaplan. She is breathtakingly sweet and soft. She can melt your heart from across the room. Look out world.
We welcomed our newest addition to Team Kaplan on Thursday,October 6, 2011 at 3:05 pm. She came into this world weighing 8 lbs, 1 oz and measuring 20.5 inches long. Her birth was relatively quick and just about the best experience we could have hoped for. She is a dream come true.
We came home yesterday to introduce Vivianna to Aurelia and are enjoying settling into our new life as a family of four. What wonderful moments these are.
I am about to be 33 weeks pregnant with our second daughter. It is hard to truly understand all that comes along with being the mother of two girls. The day we found out that our next child would be a girl, it hit me like a ton of bricks that I would be the role model for two women. They would look to me as their example for so many things for the rest of their lives. That is an immense amount of pressure and an amazing opportunity at the same time.
I have had the wonderful fortune of being one of three sisters and of having an incredible mother who raised us all to be kind, generous, loving, forgiving and happy women. Aurelia has not known a single day of life without the influence of one or more of us. I am so grateful that she gets to see me live my life with my sisters, and hopefully one day she will understand what an amazing gift it is to have women in your life, so close, so real, so honest.
I hope that we can all provide these little girls with the strength and confidence they will need to face this world. I have to believe that we can inoculate them somewhat from the fears that stand ready to erode their self-esteem, the pressures that will build and chip away at their will power. Surely every day we spend loving them and teaching them is insurance against that world of uncertainty I know they will face one day soon. I know for certain that a sister is one of the most amazing gifts a girl can get and one of the best resources when those uncertain times hit. These girls are going to go far in life. I just hope they realize that they can go farther together than they could ever get on their own. I owe so much of who I am today, and what I am able to do today, to my sisters who I rely on every single day.
Thank you, Whitney, for your constant daily efforts with Aurelia. Without your willingness to be here for Aurelia every day, I could not enjoy the career that I have worked so hard for. I do not worry because I know that Aurelia is in the hands of an amazing, caring woman, who loves her dearly. You cannot comprehend what that means to me or what an impact it will have on my daughters' lives. Thank you.
Thank you, Jeri Lynn, for always sharing the beauty and wisdom of your experiences. You have been the first to experience so many of life's big challenges and I have always had the benefit of your experience. Sharing pregnancy with you has been such a comfort. Watching you birth and then raise Koruna showed the way for me with Reli. There have been countless days since we returned to Austin that I didn't think I would get through until I talked to you. You will always be my touchstone. Thank you.
SIGH.
Now, for some comic relief.
A video of Aurelia at the dinner table tonight. All afternoon she would say rhyming phrases and then say "Koruna says that". It made my heart laugh. This video made my eyes water.
The other night Reli took her first bubble bath. I can still remember what bubbles feel like on my face and what it feels like to try to blow them away.
