around here...

Just a random smattering of photos... of tiny little memories... of our blissfully lazy summer days! :-)

Not many water puddles to be found in our hilly area, but Maria still makes the most of the "dripping" (rain) with her umbrella and cow boots!

We spent a few days welcoming Dada home by hiding and awaiting his response to our booby-traps... made from the loops used in one of her "projects"! (This one was a bit staged!)

Our sanity: a fabulous blow up pool and friends!!

A couple of weeks back, I went to a party for "mommies". Maria was not the least deterred that she wasn't invited. She went right to work collecting supplies and making decorations for her party - no people, just animals invited!

(A mommy and baby bird she created for her animal-party. A party which btw, went on for days and days! lol)

Every so often Dada takes Maria to the donut shop to pick out her very own donut for breakfast. The result is always the same - pink with sprinkles. She goes right for it. The best part? She never takes a bit of it! Instead she eats my donut holes and occasionally licks the frosting off of hers!

We love our trees, and we do our best to attract birds and squirrels to them. They didn't much enjoy our first bird feeder (problem has been solved with a new one), so we had taken to sprinkling seed on the ground. A job Ria very much enjoyed!

We spend lots and lots and LOTS of time here - in her sandbox... in her own little make-believe world of castles and tunnels and trains and all sorts of other things I hear about while she chatters. :-)

And I spend lots of time here - that relative place of moving from one project to another depending on where she's playing and which house chores can be put off for a bit longer!

(And don't miss that growing tummy -bottom center- where quite a rambunctious little one resides!)

Sweet dreams for a sweet wee child... or should I say sneaky? While living through our Virginia winter, Maria (and Audrey. and Mookey. and did I mention both JD and I?) generally cuddled all together in this bed. How we all fit, I haven't a clue! Since moving and having a big girl bed of her own (and Audrey having a chair of her own in our room), we've managed to spend many a peaceful blissful night in our own bed... alone. Yet, sometimes, little Miss Sneaky, wanders quietly to our room and makes herself at home. :-) (I record this long winded story with photo b/c otherwise I might not remember that we actually all fit in this little bed of ours!)