Reminders ...

The AZ Gautreaux group hasn't been the picture of health lately. Ada and I even got a stomach bug. Ada has never thrown up before so I think she was quite surprised and understandably upset about it. I don't think she understood why I was as upset about it -- there is nothing that makes you feel more like a pathetic mom com flick than sitting in bed at 3 a.m. covered in your child's vomit while they snore away on your shoulder and you uncomfortably lay there with your pillow never quite in the right place. Fifty million loads of laundry later ...

We're feeling better -- well, Ada and I are. Jeffrey has finally succumbed to the cold part. Happy Birthaversary my love!

While she's been sick, Ada has been waking up cheerful and full of energy. She sings, dances, destroys, and generally makes the cute.

I knew she was feeling better today, albeit a little tired, when she woke up as her normal jerky self.

"Do you want milk?"
"No milka!"
"How about water?"
"NO WADAHR!"
(I poke her in her belly just to annoy her)
"Uh UH! CARRY ME!"
Then I pick her up and carry her around while I make coffee and she does about 10 minutes of nerve-grating wingeing noises that make me want to tie her to a hill top.

The fun part this morning was when she mimicked me saying, with great feeling, "I HATE THIS!" it even came with a trademark Kat Foot Stomp and a little fist shaking.

Sometimes when things aren't going particularly well between us, I like to look at pictures of her when she is being adorable. It keeps me from selling her for big bucks. Here are a few recent ones.

From the other day: Ada doesn't always refer to painting as painting, but frequently as "I make dots!"

Getting ready to go to school Thursday... before the pestilence hit.

These are from this morning after we'd taken a shower, gotten dressed, and the wingeing had stopped. She's making tea. Ada loves a little cuppa of English breakfast with lots of sugar and milk. She makes the tea bag, "Jump! Jump!" and drinks it out of her little porcelain Beatrix Potter mug with the "Bunyays!"

Her legs kill me. Even when she's being an asshat, I still want to grab her and munch her legs.

Pumpkin Bread Baking with Ada

Baking with Ada is always a good way to mess up the kitchen.

She's getting much better at dumping the ingredients into the bowl and can even crack the eggs (we're still working on where they go AFTER the cracking...). She also counts, "One, two ... one, two ... one, two ..."

Today we Skyped NC while we worked. My dad snapped these via Skype so they aren't super quality, but you get an idea of what it was like.

Watson Lake Hike

Today was sunny, a little chilly, but since the last few days have been windy, cold, and drizzly we needed to get out and stretch our legs in the sunshine.

Our buddy Coral and her mom, Allison, accompanied Ada and I out for a hike.

Enjoying a little break on one of the benches. 

Views of the creek below from the bridge. (Dad, there was NO WAY for her to climb over and drown, stop worrying.)

Peeking!

Friends on a log admiring their sticks.

Coral and Allison had to go, but we lingered a bit longer, enjoying our shadows. Ada, at one point, experimented with getting her shadow to dance with her. It was awesome. I didn't get video. Maybe next time!

First Day of Toddler School

Today was Ada's first day at Cedar Tree Montessori. She's signed up to go three days a week at the baby-toddler school.

She came with me to check it out the other day and she blended right in so I wasn't too worried about her freaking out. (She sidled right up to the breakfast table and asked to eat.)

These are pictures of her getting ready to go this morning.

Jeffrey dropped her off. She spent the day through breakfast, lunch, naps, and snack. I picked her up at 3:30 p.m. and I had spent the whole day wondering what she was doing, what she was up to, how she was feeling ... it made me anxious.

Apparently she spent the whole day just happy as a clam. She even napped with everyone! I'm amazed!

When I picked her up, Ada didn't even really look up ... just waved and kept right on doing what she was doing.

The ladies told me what a great kid she was, what impeccable manners she has (I'm not really sure what that means in regards to a 1.5 year old) and what a good dancer she was. She even sat in circle.

I can't believe it: we, so far, have created a nice human capable of going to school for the day and not only having a good time, but not driving everyone around her insane.

Ada, you are just the greatest!