punkins

Out of Nana & Pawpaws' garden this year, came two ginormous pumpkins! Perfect for what I had in mind :) A few years ago, a super friend, Sara, stuck her little girl in a hollowed out pumpkin...I saw that picture too late to stick Mia in one. This year, we've got a little babe. She got the honors.

this one HAS to be my best shot! :)

click on over to Tracey's for more bests

Diwali

Anika, Mia's friend, brought her whole family to school last week to share how they celebrated Diwali. Many of us wore our Indian party wear....it was sooo festive. The kids painted their diyas, ran and danced to the fun Indian music. It was a fun celebration....we are so very thankful Anika and her family shared something so special with us.

patiently waiting to apply glitter

Krista, a very shy teaching guide...and fabulous friend

what Lily did most of the celebration

Anika's loving Nani...embracing my Mia

that radiant woman looking at the camera is Anjalika..Anika's mama...and a lovely friend

She's beaming because her whole family was there...from California and Bombay!

baby Arjun, in Terra Luz style...donning glitter and a bit of metallic paint on his hand

Anjalika wrote all the children's names in Hindi

Mia dancing with wild abandon

they ran out of bindis, so Kellyann gave the kids dino stickers to wear

from left: Andrea, Mala, me, Priya (photo taken by Anja)

Mala and Priya are Anjalika's sisters...she calls us her Western sisters

Anika

Tanya masi

The day after her son, Arjun was born, Anjalika turned my camera on me. I'm so grateful she did. This photo of me with darling Arjun is now my fav. It may seem very ordinary to Anja when she refers to me as 'Tanya masi' to her children, but this means the world to me and makes me feel so incredibly special and a part of her loving family. In Hindi, masi means mother-sister...kind of like our 'aunt'. I answer to 'Tanya, honey, mama, comadre and Tanya masi' :)

what's in a name?

On a rainy Friday afternoon, Mia and I made Mind Jars...meditation jars with sparkles. Shake up all your worries, anger, frustration, sadness...breathe and watch it all settle down. We had the most fun making these together and I'll post all about it later, but today I'm in awe of my 3 1/2 year old daughter...she can write her NAME! Where did my baby go? Mia was beaming when she said, 'I can write my name just like you, Mama'. Then she pushed our two jars together and smiled. My best shot is of one of the most beautiful names in the world written by an extraordinary child...she even dotted her 'i'...the little details :)

for more little details, visit Tracey

sleep pretty darling, do not cry

more Wordless Wednesday pretties Here & Here

mama & her baby

My husband picked up my camera!!!!...and I'm thrilled to actually be in some shots with my babe. LOVE that he caught us at play. I just cropped and added a touch of sepia to help focus on the super sweet moment.

fiddleheads

Years ago, my mother gave me a few starters from her own garden. Since I've been renting pretty much my adult life, the ferns have been stuck in pots. What's special about these ferns besides being from my mom, is that for some reason, I just can't kill them. Not that I've been trying! I just forget them out in the icy winters...don't remember to water them in the droughts of summers. I end up having to cut them back to almost nothing. They keep coming back..more beautiful and lush than before. This past summer was one of the hardest, but they survived and are now thriving again, because we've been getting rain, rain, RAIN! There's been a LOT going on in my life lately, and like these ferns, I seem to be able to weather it all and keep thriving.

Mia went catching!

Some folks go fishing. We go catching ;) Mia's been going on Pawpaw's boat since she was little. We tool around checking out the birds, water, dolphin.... This was, however, her first trip out with the purpose of fishing. After a LOOOOONG rough 5 hr car ride, she jumped into her new fishing short, donned her fishing cap, grabbed her shades and life jacket and was set. "come on Pawpaw! let's go catchin!"

Pawpaw had her little pink rod & reel all ready. They hooked up some bait (frozen shrimp) and cast into the bay. A few little nuggets she threw out as well were: 'i wanna catcha KEEPER', 'here fishy fishy fishy', 'fishy, get on my hook', 'fishy fishy come get your bait' It was cute and worked! Mia caught 4 fish! A piggy perch and 3 hard heads..all perfect and just about her size. She fished with her Pawpaw, daddy and mama...we all helped her get those fish off her line and threw them back in the water to finish growing up. It was the most perfect fishing trip ever!

This morning, Pawpaw, Daryl & I went out to some rough waters, so Mia stayed home with Nana and Lily. We missed out good luck charm...the HUGE red snapper I hooked ran under the boat and broke free before we could get it in the net. The rest of our catch were small. I did get a few moments to just chillax and enjoy being out on the water.

Both shots taken by Daryl via cell phone camera.

For more posts of our fun at Nana's & Pawpaw's place in Port O'Connor go Here, Here, Here & Here

mac n cheese, please

Totally love this series of Mia fiending for mac n cheese. She got the fridge open by saying, 'Quick mama, grab around my waist and PULL'...I did...it worked. Then using an ice cream scoop from her play kitchen....perfection :)

What's been going on in her world:

She's outgrown all of her clothes, which is fine b/c winter is coming up...and she LOVES shopping ;)

She's being trying to narrow her halloween costume choices down. Last week she asked if she could be a squirrel, a cracker, a house, a horse, a set of chop sticks, a blanket....for halloween :)

We're heading for the coast today, and all she talks about is going fishing. A new thing, b/c all she's cared about before was "driving Pawpaw's boat...FAST"

About a month ago she transitioned from her big girl toddler bed into her big big girl bed...a queen on a platform. LOVES it...sleeps diagonally and has chosen to skip the pull-ups and go to sleep in her undies. She even gets up out of bed to 'go'.

Mia started her dance class last month...ballet & tap combo and she just loves her Miss Michelle to pieces...almost as much as her leotard and ballet skirt. She spins and jetés all around the house for her daddy.

On our walks, she picks up EVERYTHING...we have a nice collection of acorns, twigs and leaves.

Yesterday, Mia dubbed me Mama Duck, she was Big Girl Duck and Lily was Baby Duck...we stayed in character all day.

She's also very into her babies. She didn't really dig them before Lily was born. Since then, she nurses them, feeds them, hugs them and loves them....then leaves them on the floor for days :)