Her First Boyfriend

Aleaha has been bitten by the princess bug. She says when she grows up, she will be a mom, a grandma, a teacher, and a princess. She wants to watch all the princess movies. I shudder at this, because I'm concerned about the theme in those movies....Sleeping Beauty does nothing but lay there, and the Prince comes, kisses her, and they live happily ever after. Snow White too lays in a death-like slumber until (guess what?!) the Prince comes along, kisses her, and they live happily ever after. But life just isn't like that, and I don't want this early stage of fantasy to mess with her forming mind and make her think such things (like, just lay around and wait for the right guy). I really have a problem with this, but I also know I should stay cool and not make too big a deal of it, lest she grab onto it even more willfully. So, I try to allow the princess stuff, to some degree.


But thankfully there's something even better that I can facilitate. See, Aleaha loves our horse Jake. We are in the market for a good kid-safe horse, but she insists that when we get that horse, Mom can ride Chloe, she can ride Jake, and Daddy can ride the new horse.

She's pretty confident that Jake belongs to her and that's that. Next year for Round-Up, she is planning to ride Jake to Pendleton: "I won't take the pick-up and trailer, Mom. I will ride him there. And it's really OK Mom, because I know the way."

Her dad smartly countered, "Aleaha, it would take many, many days to get there. What would you do at night?"

Her retort: "Well, we can stop and lay down and I will put a blanket over us."

There is just no arguing logically or illogically with her. She wants what she wants. (And she tells us incessantly!)

The other day we were down at the barn, just the two of us, and I was grooming Chloe a bit to get rid of the mud stuck to her. Aleaha was grooming Jake, from the safety of the inside of the barn. And she gave him pellets and carrots and cool calorie and COB. He was lovin' her too, no doubt, with all that attention.

Later that night, she says, "Mom, Jake's my one true love."

Oh, do I know her feeling. My heart belonged to a horse for many years, but I was a little more toward the teen years. It probably delayed my maturation in some ways, because I wasn't interested in boys for a while. But now that I'm a mom, I can see how good that really was. And I'm ALL OVER that!

So as far as my worries about her princess fixation, I can proudly coach her to consider herself to be the "Princess on the White (or sorrel) Horse". And she can leave the Prince in her dust, thank-you-very-much. At least until she's about, say, 28.

Summer 2008, Aleaha on Jake in mountains. She takes it seriously!

Baby Giggles

These are the moments that refresh my soul.

Tequila!

Had no idea it was so danged simple to add videos to the blog. Duuuh.

Check out Miri dancing with GrammaBon to her favorite rockin' tune. She gets a little surprised at the end.

Grandparents' Visit and More

Miss Miri's eyes are already changing from a dark blue-gray to, uh, something else. There's a little brown in the center. I think they'll be like her sisters -- hazelly-greenish.


Miri with a gob of food on her nose.


Miri with a Ritz on her face. Hmm, have we a trend here?


Playing Supergirl-Peekaboo at school with her blankie.

GrammaBon and Grandpa visited over President's Day/Valentine's weekend, so we took the opportunity to have GrammaPatty over for dinner too. They hadn't seen each other in a very long time. Was fun to have the big fam 'round the table for dinner. This is why I insisted on a big dining room table. :)

Strollin' with GrammaBon.

Good weather = grass growing.
Grass growing = mowing.
Mowing = grass clippings.


Grass clippings = happy chickens.


We had a spot of fantastic weather last weekend, so we went for the requisite Bob-stroll. Aleaha is all that in her sunglasses, and Miss Miri proved her giant brain had outgrown her sunhat. Time to look through that next-size-up totebox of goodies I stored from Aleaha.


Asleep in the Bob. Love these moments.


Just thought this was funny. This is Weensie the goat, with her head sticking through her feeder into the barn. The goats and llama are supposed to finish off the last of the hay bales from summer of 2008. The hay isn't all that great anymore, and she was letting me know it. (When the horses are done eating their hay -- which is fresher -- from their feeders on the other side of the barn, the goats and llama go over there and pick at the leavin's. The only thing they do with this old hay is pull it out and lay in it, I think.)

Finally Some February Fotos

Aleaha and Mommy at lunch together one day at Elmer's.


Aleaha's teachers made posters of some things the kids had said in response to certain questions. This particular question was "If you were a bird, what kind of bird would you be?" Some of the answers were very interesting, and a bit telling of home life. My favorite was this: "I'd be a cookie monster bird. I would go to a green bird house and eat chicken nuggets."


Bathing beauties.


I'm ready for my close-up.


Cutie Pie.


Aleaha sits on Jake and curries the mud from his mane and whithers. They both loved it.


More of that schnoogie-boogie smile.


Miss Miri has dispensed with the pureed baby food and began to ask for table foods. Oh yeah!

The Preschooler Said

Aleaha was eating pizza the other night, and suddenly cried out in pain: "Mommy, I bit my lower-case lip!"

Sheesh, we're busy

Things have been busy here, but what, really, have we been doing (besides Mommy and Daddy's regular jobs!)? Well, in the three weeks since Mommy's last post, we have...

- put away Christmas things
- shopped for groceries and other items 6 times (including one Costco trip)
- prepped, cooked, and cleaned up after 30 at-home meals
- ate out at Dairy Queen twice (woo-hoo!)
- done 19 loads of laundry, which means sorting, pre-treating, washing, re-washing, re-washing AGAIN (doggone babyfood stains!), drying, folding, and putting away
- fed the animals 43 times (Mommy & Daddy splitting this chore)
- brought in about 40 loads of wood for the stove (Daddy doing every single one of these himself -- thank you for keeping us warm!)
- gathered approximately 130 eggs, then washed and sold/gave away about half of them
- took two Bob-strolls
- changed approximately 74 diapers (I could write more about the splitting of this chore, but because I love and appreciate my husband and don't wish to pick a fight, I shall just say "THANK YOU for taking care of Aleaha so much!" :) )
- made two visits to the pediatrican
- put in several hours on the company's bookkeeping, but much more is still needed

Geez, that's all so exhausting, and it's just "maintenance" kind of stuff. Let's get onto the fun stuff -- the pictures.


Miss Miri, wearing her "Little Sister" outfit from Aunt Jeannie. Darling!!


Aleaha and Miri doing silly-face stuff.


Miri's head circumference is at the 75th percentile for her age. (Didn't have to tell Mom she has a big head - she remembers birthing her!) Here she is on the last day that the cute little red hat from Cousin Jennifer still fit her.


Aleaha loves walking on balance beams (or curbs, or just lines on the pavement). This was taken at the big barn on Bald Hill, a favorite Bob-stroll destination.


Aleaha and Miri at almost exactly the same ages.


We love strolling together.


Aleaha is so gentle with Miri. She calms her and entertains her.




Aleaha, playing hopstoch with mudpuddles. Hey, country kids learn to make-do!


Miri plays with whipped cream. (Don't tell the pediatrian, because her "dairy" is supposed to come only from Mom right now!))