Four

Four is happy.  Four is silly.  Four is playful.  Four is opinionated.  Four is stubborn, but she comes by it naturally.  Four likes to be independent.  Four still refuses to eat veggies.  Four like Brave, and Tiana, and Tangled.  Four declares a difference between "boy colors" and "girl colors".  Four writes her name.  Four draws pictures of herself and her family.  Four loves her dog.  Four loves you "as high as a giant" or "all the way to the moon and the stars." Four cannot be contained. Four is already planning her next birthday party.  Four likes Care Bears, My Little Pony, Strawberry Shortcake and other things from my youth. Four puts on puppet shows in the bathtub.  Four makes up songs about almost anything.  Four enjoys both Rufus Wainwright and Jeff Buckley's version of "Hallelujah". Four knows almost all the words to "Changes." Four is giggly. Four is sweet. Four is speeding by faster than I imagined.

Trick or Treat

"I'm not really Olivia, I'm just pretending..."

Making Cookies

I think it was more about the outfit than the cookies, but the cookies did taste pretty good.

Ten Years Later...

I first saw the Twin Towers from an airplane. My sister and I were returning from a trip to Italy. As we flew over New York City, several British men behind us spotted the towers, and excitedly pointed it out, "Look, there they are! There are the Twin Towers!" From my aisle seat, I leaned over to get a look, truthfully, I didn't look that closely. I figured there would be another trip to that city some day, or another flight, and I would see them again. Little did I know how wrong that assumption would be.

The date was September 9, 2001.

I returned home, and went back to my life. I had two jobs I was working, a wedding to plan. I was asleep when the events of 9/11 began to unfold, later awoken by a phone call from Luke, who asked if I was watching TV. My reply was "no, which channel?" He simply said "it doesn't matter, just turn it on."

I couldn't help but think, "I just saw them," as if somehow that meant it couldn't be real. But it was real, it was really happening.

Ten years later, rewatching that footage, it's still surreal. Even though I know what will happen, I catch my breath when the second plane hits, or first tower starts to collapse. When I hear stories about the passengers on Flight 93, I can't help but hope maybe this time they will be met with a different outcome. But, I can't change what is done, I can't rewrite history.

But, I can remember.

Busy

We have been busy...

We planted a "green, green garden..."
We mastered the drums...
We have made maps to our cousin's house (or rather, we told Mommy what to draw on the map- and yes, it does include Target)...

We try to catch balls...

We skip...

We play baseball, in a dress...

We play mommy to our "baby"...

Yes, we have been busy, but we sure do have fun.

No words, no caption...

Three

Three is goofy. Three is adventurous. Three is opinionated. Three likes to play board games, but not by the rules. Three wants to do everything herself, even though she can't quite manage it all. Three would eat cereal for every meal if allowed. Three is imaginative. Three is lovable. Three is learning to count past twelve. Three loves to sing the alphabet. Three thinks babies are "so cute." Three likes to help cook, particularly chocolate chip pancakes. Three is stubborn. Three things vegetables are "gross". Three is silly. Three will cheer for you after you do something and shout "you did it!". Three loves to play with Gomez, even when Gomez isn't in the mood. Three has an infectious giggle. Three wants to invite everyone to her birthday party. Three can't wait for baseball season to start. Three has big plans for a garden when it's warm out. Three knows her eyes are blue, like Daddy's. If what others tell me is true, three can be a handful, but so far, three is wonderful.