Ten on Tuesday.

1. I realize I let yesterday go by without a 23-month post. So here it is. On the way to school for Picture Day (that lady did NOT know what she was doing!) in her polka dot dress that Catie gave her for her first birthday. Except that it cuts into her chubby little shoulder fat, I'd say it still fits. She picked it out. Kept signing 'dress,' then after thirty minutes of school she wanted it off.

2. I love that our bulbs are pushing up.

3. And blooms on the tree.

4. We're making the cuban flank steak in the crockpot tonight, Mom!

5. Guess who else is excited about spring weather?

6. Well yesterday it was downright summer. 80 degrees.

7. This week we've had strawberries, pineapple, and, today, cantaloupe. Love it.

8. You gotta love those little toes in flip flops from Andrea from her turning one that really don't fit anymore but she still gets a kick out of them. She'd wear those on the way to swimming last year when she was first learning to walk.

9. The red wagon is a fine place to have a snack on a spring day.

10. With a friend.

Puddles.

Big mountains of snow leave big puddles for little girls with cute kitty rainboots to play in while waiting for Daddy to come home.

Ten on Tuesday.

1. Last year we were here in the 3rd week of April and spring had sprung: green grass and flowers. So, the grass is just going to turn green in the next month?


2. Alla is already excited for her second birthday party. She talks about Nana Pappi come visit you everyday.


3. And she sings Happy Birthday to Alla pretty much everyday, too.

4. Today it was 20 when we woke up. Tomorrow's the first full day of spring, so surely there will be spring-y weather.

5. Try Mirassou Pinot Noir.

6. Also try Ikea's 99-cent breakfast and 75-cent coffee. Can't beat $4.23 for breakfast for the three of us. In case you can't figure out the math, Ron splurged and got the $1.99 plate. And couldn't eat it all. Next time I'm trying the lingonberry Swedish pancakes and the Swedish applecake.

7. Just placed a huge order for prints, including three new ones for the walls, and I have frames awaiting their arrival. Love new stuff on the walls. Love Ikea's frames.

8. Took this one over the weekend of Ron & his sisters with Miss Alla. She ate up all their attention.

9. Alla wore this outfit today, but she also wore it on December 1, 2005. Isn't that hilarious? Except for the length in the sleeves and pants, I'd say the outfit was actually tighter at seven months. Thanks again for this, Tara! As an aside, Mom, I don't think this is what you intended when giving Alla this kitchen for Christmas. But it's her favorite thing to do with it at the moment. I guess it's her own private spot.
10. Lastly, I will leave you with Alla's ramblings after her nap today. I had to hurry and grab a pen so I could write it down as she said it, it was so darn cute & poetic:

Moon come down for night-night.
Sit right by the sky.
See it?
Right there.
Sing dream song.

Twelve on Tuesday: Things She Said Today.

1. Let's see the big one.
2. Blow Daddy kisses.
3. Daddy's so beautiful.
4. Mommy turn up very loud! Translation: Mommy turn up the music very loud [right now].
5. Ring-a rosey, pocketful-a posey, ashes, ashes, all fall down!
6. I lub you Mommy.
7. I lub you Daddy.
8. Whasamatter, Jelly?
9. Fum Translation: thumb
10. Don't make a mess, Mommy.
11. Not workin'.
12. Careful, Mommy, don't hurt yourself.

*And a bonus for Megan because she's less than two weeks from having baby number three...I gave her the red handmade blanket for her nap and she said, Megan! Megan make for Alla. So nice.

Cheers everyone! We have upper 50s today so we're literally sweating. Hope you all have sunshine where you are.

Random Saturday Thoughts.

Took the girl sledding today. I am awful, always ending up going down backwards holding onto her for dear life (hers and mine). Awful she must think is good, because when Daddy took her down she shouted good job Alla, Alla's awful!

I had my socks off for a time today. We had the window down halfway in the car. It's 40. Balmy.

Love when she says, Alla got an ouch. And indeed she did somehow get one on her nose at school this week. So we slather it with Mederma and she says, Good stuff for nose. Make feel better. Only that last part sounds like make fuhl betterrrrr. Which is adorable.

Looking forward to Salsa a la Salsa with Matt & Shelly tonight. Alla is, too. See Matt Shelly.

Costco has all their outdoor stuff in. We trudged through the melting snow to find huge hammocks and outdoor seating right next to grills and gardening soil. Must get a table for the deck this year. Going to live up the short warmth we have here. Now I understand when my favorite food magazines start becoming grill magazines, that there you have the beginnings of summer, which we will surely celebrate this year.

Clocks ahead tonight. Looking forward to a longer day tomorrow. Must get Alla out and tired with that extra hour messing up bedtime.

Hope you are all having as lovely a weekend as we are!

Ten on Tuesday.

1. I'm too tired to edit ten pictures to make this a true picture edition of Ten on Tuesday.

2. Alla had an amazing time with her grandparents in Pennsylvania.

3. We came home to this...14-17 inches of snow depending on where you put your foot into it.4. Alla gets airsick like I do. Chewable Drammamine is my new best friend. If anyone has any great suggestions for getting her to take it, feel free to leave a comment. I will send you my life savings if it works. Putting it in a french fry worked well enough this time, but I think she's onto us.

5. Alla came home on Sunday and told Jelly, I missed you Jelly!

6. I missed American Idol last week but have it recorded...is it worth watching?

7. Our neighbors shoveled/snowblowed (snowblew?) our driveway while we were gone. How amazing is that.

8. Alla slept in a twin bed at Grandma's house. In Aunt Renee's bed.

9. Aunt Renee and Aunt Ronna are coming to visit next week!

10. Is tomorrow Wednesday already? Must think of something to do.

Ten on Tuesday.

1. We now have a gallery of Alla's art hung by clothespins on a length of yarn between two bannisters. Sometimes she walks by and says oh wow.

2. We have reached the point of actually needing at least ten items at Costco. Might be a scary trip. And yes, dried cranberries and a whole box of mangos for myself are absolute needs.

3. I desperately need a manicure.

4. Tomorrow will be the first trip with Alla where we've actually purchased a seat for her on the plane.

5. You should see the trees here, all covered with thick blankets of snow. So so pretty. Hard to remember green grass.

6. I am sucking at my New Year's resolution of going to bed earlier. Seriously not enough free time in a day for vegging out, working out, blogging, editing, scrapbooking, spending a few minutes with my husband, and reading.

7. Speaking of which, Andrea, I am also sucking at Saving Fish From Drowning. But I'm plugging away. At this rate I might be finished in time for the new Harry Potter.

8. Wishing we were with Catie and Randy on a sandy beach right now.

9. On Sunday the big dig-out was a neighborhood effort. Everyone helped everyone with extra shovels and snowblowers, and our next-door neighbor suppled everyone with homemade chai. Our neighborhood is awesome. I think there's a need for a block party. When it warms up.

10. Anyone else super excited that spring forward happens way early this year?

Twenty-two months.

I remember this date last year, being kind of overwhelmed that in two months she'd be one. In some ways it's no different this year, and now I would guess that every year you kind of sit back and say where has the time gone and how is she this old and on and on.

I remember walking with her to the park that Sunday for her ten month pictures, her carried on my hip in the sling, how she went with me everywhere, and now, one year later, I have a child with whom I converse all day long. It's hard to remember what I said all those long days before she said things back. It's hard to imagine she wasn't always telling me I lub you Mommy and Mommy kiss it and Mommy pick-a up you.

And what's even harder is to imagine where she'll be next year when I won't believe she'll be, well, another year older. I really can't say it just yet.

The Big Snow Weekend.

The weekend starts on Friday, does it not? And how do you make a little girl's Friday? It's really very simple:

Go to Leigha's for breakfast.

Go with Leigha and her mommy to the Children's Museum where you can paint your face.

Come home to find a heart bunny card from Gramma and Grampa.

Pizza Friday.

Add to that a weekend of fingerpainting, play-doh, a fun dinner at friends who have a cute dog, dressing up in her swimsuit, and tons of snow today, and you really get one super happy girl.

Visits from Nana & Pappi are always FUN.

Honestly the world is a cruel place when you don't live near any of your three sets of parents, meaning Alla has no grandparents even remotely close to us. Well I suppose that just makes visits from them all the more special. I have never seen this girl leap out of bed for anyone or anything, but when Pappi came up the stairs Saturday morning you'd have thought I was chopped liver, cause she just could not scoot past me fast enough! That made me very happy - every time they come to visit she 'gets it' more and more and the true nature of grandparenting comes out for them, all the spoiling, all the attention. She loves it. Can't you see it here?

I mean that is most definitely a what-all-can-I-get-away-with face, isn't it?

She gets away with plenty. But most of all she gets all the love and squeezes and attention she deserves all weekend long. Lots of play toys and play trains and read books and play blocks and draw happy face right there, draw big one happy face right here!

Here's my favorite thing she said all weekend: Careful, Nana, don't hurt yourself on the grapefruit. Oh. My. I could have made a whole Ten on Tuesday with all the new little sayings she came up with this weekend (and repeated once she discovered how cute we thought they all were).

A new one today when I was cutting grapes for her lunch: Too sharp knife, only for grown-ups. How is it that she's almost two, when two years ago seems so short, two years ago I was still months away from holding her? The reality of two is setting in, and I am indeed starting to get sentimental about it.

Why?

Because of those curls. A wonderfully perfect curlies day always warrants a quick photo shoot.

Happy Friday!

Cockadoodledoo.

Twelve on Tuesday: The Tagged Edition.

I'm using Erin's game of tag to squeeze in two more blurbs today.

6 Things That Make Me Weird:

1. I don't like Oreos.

2. When I make Alla pasta (mac n cheese), I like to go through the pot and eat all the shells that have gathered all that cheesey goodness in their holes.

3. Thanks to Ron (who is also weird), I now tuck my socks into my pajama pants at night to keep warm. (Thanks to Ron in two ways - it is he who keeps the heat so low, and he who taught me about this valuable but weird little method.)

4. Have I mentioned my marshmallow obsession?

5. I've resorted to working out twice a day, mostly for the warmth factor.

6. Ron caught me under the table in the last sun patch of the day on Saturday afternoon. Who am I, the cat?

6 Things That Make Me Happy:

1. All things morning: her in bed with me, exercise, coffee, long breakfast, my red bowl full of yogurt a la granola, sunshine.

2. The sound of Ron opening the door in the evening.

3. Grey's. Is there anyone left not watching this show?

4. Elizabeth Mitchell, John Mayer, & Jack Johnson.

5. A new issue of Real Simple.

6. Looking forward to date night this weekend.

**I tag Megan and Aaron!

Just Monday.

We didn't go to school today cause Alla is still battling a cold. I like to think of myself as a relatively respectful parent who doesn't want other parents worrying like I was yesterday about their sick, completely out-of-it child. So we stayed in. Alla has gotten a ton of sleep lately, so I think she's on the mend. Good thing, cause I miss her spunk.

Don't you love when you turn the camera around and you get what you felt right there in that lovely warm afternoon sun shining in your window while Alla shielded her eyes and repeated too bright over and over?

Here's the thing about Baby: we got her at Target over the summer, in response to how much she loved Ashby's baby. Baby has been her favorite ever since, with or without clothing. We have now and again asked her what Baby's name is, and she'll just say, Alla, to which we respond, No, that's your name. But recently the conversation changed.

What is Baby's name?

[Alla puts on her most pensive face.]

Rolla

Rolla. That's Baby's name. Rolla and Baby are interchangeable, but still. We have a name. And the name sticks. For a few days now. So there you have it, Baby Rolla.

And Valentine's began today when Nana & Pappi's valentine arrived. Yay stickers! They later ended up on her belly...

Ten on Tuesday.

1. Just caught up last night on Grey's from last week. Holy jeez I'm so happy that Kristina has become a human and decided to marry Burke.

2. I am completely obsessed with dark chocolate chips (thanks Tara) and marshmallows. This is a divine combination. We got a new bag on Saturday, and I'm finishing it tonight. With very little help from Alla.

3. My super husband has me hooked up with a wireless workstation now.

4. Alla's art project today: shaving cream all over the bathroom mirror. 5. IT warmed up to 4 degrees today. Above zero.

6. Have you visited 3191? Serious beauty happening over there. I check in once daily. Ok, I check in a few times, just to get my fill. I hope those ladies are considering a book of these beautiful photographic musings at year's end. I'm in for a copy.

7. Another cool website: kiddley, for all things kids + crafts.

8. Monday nights are big TV nights here with 24 and Heroes. Ron catches Prison Break, too. Well, we record them all and watch them at our leisure:)

9. The good thing about it being 4 degrees is that the milk in our outside fridge get so nice and slushy, just the way I like it.

10. Every now and then, Ron gets extra credit for capturing things like this.

Just so you know.

It's 5 below. And that's a warm up from the 19 below it was when we woke up this morning. Yes, we Californians are freezing our you-know-whats off, but we're out and about like normal. No hibernating for us! The sun is shining and we are trying to absorb as much vitamin D as we can! We do have loads of fun indoor things to do, though. Take, for example, Alla's first experience with fingerpainting. I have to thank Amanda for posting her pics of Grace's mess - they encouraged me to get Alla into her own mess!

Ten on Tuesday: continued.

More.