Surfboard Growth Chart

Along with the fun traditions a birthday brings I have decided to have Miah Jane's picture taken annually with her Daddy's long board.  One of my favorite ways to keep Jeremiah incorporated in our lives.  Especially during such a special time of the year when we celebrate the blessed day MJ began to heal all our hearts.

Monet Layton  you are incredible.  I had absolutely no intention to be in these shots, but Miah and Monet had other plans and I am so glad they did.  Once again Monet, THANK YOU!  Job well done!

The money shot.

Hello light at the end of the tunnel.  There's a lot of these if you can train your eye to look for them.  Undeniable (to me) someone is at the other end waiting to take your hand.

Undeniable that she looks just like our someone in this picture.

It's not the traditional family portrait, but we are all here in some capacity.

Very instinctive this little one.

Do not stand at my grave and weep,

I am not there; I do not sleep.

I am a thousand winds that blow,

I am the diamond glints on snow,

I am the sun on ripened grain,

I am the gentle autumn rain.

When you awaken in the morning’s hush

I am the swift uplifting rush

Of quiet birds in circling flight.

I am the soft starlight at night.

Do not stand at my grave and cry,

I am not there; I did not die.

-Mary Elizabeth Frye

My Uncle read this at Jeremiah's funeral per my request.  It's also the reason behind my one and only tattoo I decided to get at thirty-three years old.  Thirty-three years old.  That's how old Jeremiah was when he died.  Thirty-three birds for thirty-three years of his life.  Jeremiah would hate this.  I've contemplated tattoos with him a time or two and wow was it always shot down.  Lucky for him there was never anything I wanted on my body permanently anyway.  Permanent has a nice ring to it now.  Jeremiah is a permanent mark on my body, my heart, and my soul.  When the time is right I hope I can convey this to Miah Jane.  I'm sure it's going to be a tough one, but I've got a lot of those ahead of me.

And Babe, if you don't like it you should have been here to make sure I didn't get it.  At least that's how I justify it to myself.



Miah's 2nd Birthday Party

We celebrated Miah Jane's 2nd birthday a few days early with our closest pals in the Children's Garden at the Naples Botanical Gardens. 

As the saying goes, a picture is worth a thousand words......

Please silent the music at the bottom of the blog before playing!

"mommy i want beach"

Pause music at bottom of blog to hear video.....

A few couple turns...

Hi.  Let's pretend that it hasn't been so long.  Let's pick up where I left off and leave "concept of time" for someone else to worry about shall we?  Good.  Thank you.  Let the documenting begin...

My most favorite inside joke with my best friend, Trish, is the "a few couple turns" phrase.  It stems from a hilarious story of stopping to ask a fellow New Yorker directions to a restaurant.  He obliges in a very unintentional yet unhelpful way.  "Just go up to this light up here, take a few couple turns to the right and you'll run right into it."  Really?  Does this guy know what happens if you just keep making turns to the right?  Circles.  Does he know that few is more than a couple?  As nonsensical as these directions were I have found they are very relevant to my life now.  I've taken a few couple turns in the last few couple years and as lost as I've ended up I've managed to find my way without concern of where I think I might be going.  I'll give you one guess who is responsible for that....insert smile here.

So yes I've been lost, but a good lost this time.  Lost in the wondrous depths of quite a few and coupled moments my precious growing daughter rescues me with on a day to day basis.  Let me try to simplify what I am so cosmically trying to say......with pictures.  That's all you want to see anyway right?  I am going to do my very best to sum up our summer.

This summer we.........

Beached it A LOT.......often times with some of our favorite friends.

We brought the 4th of July in typical all American style........watermelon slice as big as our head.  CHECK!

We were a part of a very special parade........

I will not give the story justice, so please I encourage you to visit StillCrazy Resurrected to fully understand.

We love you dearly Poppa family.  You have embraced my daughter and I as a part of your own.  Something your family knows and does very well.

We gave swim lessons another try.  This time with swim teacher Ryan Porucznik and our buddies Devin and Lexi.  Not quite swimming yet, but certainly not afraid to try unlike last year.  We can't keep her out of the pool these days!!  She has no problem jumping right in thanks to Ryan and his teaching technique!  Mr. and Mrs. Schimmel we can't thank you enough for hosting our private lessons every Tuesday and Saturday!!

We developed a very nice tan.......

...which may be why she has developed a need to always want to wear hats & sunglasses..



She knows she's funny too by the way..........

(sorry for the quality of some of this pictures taken with my phone that almost always has a finger print or jelly on the lens)

See.

Never short on smiles and laughter with this one.

 

 

We checked out Busch Gardens on a whim one Saturday.

A monumental step for both Mommy and Baby.....drum roll please.....she sleeps in her own big girl bed in her own big girl room!!  I talking about Mommy and Baby here!!  THIS IS BIG!!

And yes a lot of times she insists to sleep with shoes on.  These sandals in particular are her favorite.  Wants to be ready to go once she wakes up I guess.

Girl can't get enough of music and dancing!!

We ate lots of birthday cake this summer.....which is probably why she dances with such vigor.

We discovered cake pops at Cousin Briana's bridal shower...again with the cake.

 We revisited our favorite city.......

In conclusion....

MJ knows the primary colors, first ten numbers, and 75% of the alphabet.

She licks her finger when turning pages of books only to turn the page with the finger she didn't lick.

She has developed a habit of picking her cuticles.

She likes to say "pee pee in the potty" but doesn't do it.

She still is very attached to her pacifiers which she no longer calls "dooda", but rather the color they are. 

She laughs when she poots.

She calls Auntie Tanya "Tan", Uncle Jordan "JoJo", Grandma & Grandpa "Gamma" (yep both are Gamma), Uncle Georgie "Jaj", Cousin Mike "Mike", my Baba "Baba", my friend Kara "Kah", my friend Meghan "Maig", her friends Emerson and Noelle "EmmyNoNo" (as if they are one name), and me "Mommy" or "Mommia".

She says "I Love You"

(thanks to JoJo's persistence).

3 days, 3 states

(If you want to listen to MJ's soundtrack down below while browsing you will need to scroll down and press play)

MJ and I flew to Chicago this Memorial Day weekend to spend time with my Uncle Bobby and Aunt Linda (my distraction to avoid dwelling on what would have been my fourth wedding anniversary).  As we began our decent and I could point out that oh so familar skyline I had visions of throwing pennies into Buckingham Fountain, waving to our reflections in "the bean", and running on the planks of Navy Pier.  Yeah well someone or something had different plans for us.....it rained the entire weekend.  SO we did what we have come to do best we turned lemons into lemonade with some help from our wonderful hosts!  Between the yummy restaurants and fun-filled venues we didn't have time to care about the weather!  Chi-town I will forever love you, but Indiana and Michigan had a lot of fun to offer my girl!!  Here's a couple slide shows, videos, and pics of only a FEW our adventures!

Fair Oak Farms

Demonte, Indiana

BellaBoo's

Lake Station, IN

Water Room Video 

Train Room Video

Redamak's

New Buffalo, MI

This burger joint was so yummy!  Straight out of Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives.  If you are ever in New Buffalo, MI it's well worth the stop and the calories.  I snapped this with my phone on the way out.

The sunset in Dyer, IN on our last night of the weekend.  The rain always pays off.


Auntie Wynn


Uncle BoB-eeee


Three days, three states.........one tuckered out little girl!
Could only mean one thing.....GOOD TIMES!!

Thank you, Thank you, Thank you Auntie Wynn and Uncle BoB-eeee......we love you so!!
(remember! "don't worry kitty it's okay")

Videos

Pictures can be very powerful, but thanks to modern technology so can video.....(don't forget to pause the blog music at the bottom so you can hear the video sound).

In this clip Miah mimics a few animal noises.  She's is slightly distracted by Mickey Mouse Club, but you will get the idea.

We plan to give swimming lessons a whirl again this summer.  In this quick clip I think you will see she is ready.

This "move" was generated organically when Miah would get out of the bath or the shower this past winter.  We have no idea where it came from, but she quickly realized it made everybody laugh.  Naturally she does it any time any where!!  Especially when she is getting in trouble hoping to distract me from my reprimanding.  It is called "Freeze". 

This clip is one of my favorites!!  This girl LOVES her music!!!  Especially if it is something she can move to.  This particular jam out is to The Red Hot Chili Peppers, Can't Stop from their By the Way album.

Can't stop the spirits when the need you,

This life is more than just a read through!

Hoppy Easter 2011

It's beginning to seep in.......my girl is blissfully happy and insurmountably loved.  My biggest fear the moment I learned the dreadful news that Jeremiah died was, "Is our baby going to be okay without a Dad?"  In this past year I can't count the times I've sighed in relief.....She's going to be ok.  More than ok.  The more I watch and witness minute by minute the unbelievable resilience of life through Miah Jane the more I believe to no longer have fear, but faith and hope.  Moments like Easter this year cast all my doubts aside and hold fast to my tried and true.....LOVE NEVER FAILS. 

I know I haven't been updating as often as I used to, but quite honestly life has gotten in the way and I am absolutely treasuring the feeling.  I can't explain the pleasure and healing I have found in my glorious routine or should I say routines with Miah.  I don't know that I would dare say I feel normal again, but I feel like I'm living.  She and I are living.

With all that gushiness aside.......Easter 2011 was an "eggs"travaganza!!!  My lovely parent's hosted a brunch for MJ, her besties Devin and Lexi, AND Devin and Lexi's family!!!!  I feel like I'm always saying my Mom out did herself, but I assure you when I say it I'm not exaggerating or over using the phrase.  The woman and her culinary skills NEVER cease to amaze my taste buds.  Once our bellies couldn't take anymore we headed outside to my Dad's meticulously well taken cared for yard to watch the kids find eggs loaded with money, jelly beans, and toys.  The "oohs" and "aahs" from their little mouths were incredible.......if only they knew the gifts the give with their smiles and eye twinkles.

Powerful stuff those smiles and eye twinkles aren't they?