One year ago today

Nothing like having a toddling Thunderball afoot to make it impossible to keep up with a blog. It's been one year since the quiet, solemn little Aliya was placed in my arms for the first time, wearing a little bonnet and sweater. I am as a teary at the memory as I was at the time. I sure do love my little baby girl, who insists on being less and less of a baby with each passing day.

And now for some catch-up photos.

The week at the beach with the Keisters in August:

At a Delphin House reunion at Sam & Julie's:

Showing off Big Girl skills and attitude (not to mention sign language), since starting preschool in September:

On a recent visit to Pittsburgh to meet Uncle Charlie and Aunt Claudia, who are returned from living in Rome:

Her first halloween:

And braving the freezing rain to see her first Obama rally last week:

And last of all, compliments of Sal..... it's Aliya-Cam!

Dog Days of Summer

This morning Sal left at 7AM to take the girls to the beach for a weekend rendezvous with their cousins (I will join them via train after work tonight). I have been alone in my home for a solid 2 hours, and still another 1.5 hours to myself before I head to work. After 5.5 months of craving and not getting a moment of solitude, would you believe I already miss them? I can't believe it either, but I do. So here I am, putting off the long overdue garden-maintenance, bathroom cleaning, and so forth that I had scheduled for this morning, and instead I'm updating the blog.

So what's new? Aliya is everywhere at once these days, truly a toddler now. And boy am I exhausted.

Summer is in full swing, so we've been spending most of our time outdoors, of which she never tires. She loves the pool, the playground (where she will plunge headfirst down the slide without a pause) and playing with the neighbors (young and old). Her recoiling-with-shyness phase has ended, and she is now flirting with the public wherever we go. But she's still a mama's girl :-) She is trying to mimic alot of words (and songs -too cute!), but Mama, Papa, Vava (Ava) and Baba (bottle) are the only ones we can consistently understand.

As for Ava, she has lost 2 teeth in the last month, and loves showing off her new smile. She graduated from preschool in June, and had her dance recital the same day, and is about to start kindergarten in September. She's spending her summer days playing out back with her best friend, and while their activities are largely Top Secret, I have gleaned that they are catching bugs and making mud potions and riding their scooters and plotting to beat up Sal in new, creative ways. She's even helping me in the garden from time to time. In true Ava style, she does it all while dressed to the nines and somehow keeps her dresses clean. Truly a modern woman in the making. She seems so grown up at times that it's hard to grasp.




We visited Aunt Ginger in NYC last weekend, thus beginning a mutual love affair between the citizens of Lower Manhattan and Aliya. In particular the gay population of SoHo was completely enamored of her, and fauned over her wherever we went. It seems there's just something about the girl.

And lastly, I enrolled Aliya in 3-day-a-week preschool, to start in September, so that Sal can begin working more of a normal schedule. It made my heart break a little, though all the kids in her room seemed to be having a great time, and Aliya was quite interested in what they were up to. I've never seen a group of 18-month-old kids behave so calmly. Wonder what will happen once the ThunderBall is in their midst!

Home three months

And it feels like she's been with us forever. Today Aliya and I sat down and looked at pictures and videos from the past 3 months, and I could not believe how much she's grown and changed already. She seemed impressed too, lots of oooohs, aaaaaahs, and pointing. She took her first solo steps a month ago, but only in the last week has she actually started toddling about with purpose. Sometimes when she's fallen, and is pushing herself back to standing, she pauses in a long, protracted downward dog pose, grinning from ear to ear. Love that grin so much!

But enough text, on to the graphics:

Aliya's first birthday party:

Ice skating, where Sal pushes her in a chair, while Ava skates along side them. She loves speed:

At the circus. We expected her to nap in the stroller outside the arena with grandma, while Ava watched the circus - but she was totally engaged in the whole show! She could not get enough of the animals, in particular.

Chuck-e-cheese with her cousins this past weekend. I could not believe it when I hoisted Aliya into the dark tube maze suspended from the ceiling, and before I could even follow her up she was off and crawling, and waving happily to the crowds below. The girl has no fear.

And some miscellaneous, around the house: