EIGHTEEN

Happy Birthday Vera! Thanks for hiding from me as you went to poop in your underwear at the park. 

 2015 week eighteen

We are now the parents of a two-year old.

A pretty little fungi growing out of my raised bed. A sign that Texas has been getting plenty of rain.

While I was getting everything ready for V's little birthday party at the park I turned around to see this little face lit up at the bounty of grapes she just found. She looked me square in the eye, started nodding her head, and informed me, "I have ooooooooooone grape." And then she stuffed her cheeks with the delicious little choking hazards.

The lady at Tom Thumb gave us this free balloon. I love the way balloon shadows look.

Lunch Park Party. I brought three trays of ham and butter baguette sandwiches (with jam or mustard for condiments, both incredible), pretzels, chips and salsa, pickles, carrot salad (the best and Vera loves it) grapes, and little water bottles. It was fairly inexpensive and I loved having so many friends eat lunch with us at the park. Vera wouldn't even go play. She just wanted to eat. Thank you everyone for all the books and the fun company!

The most modest photo I could take of V while she is scooping up water in a little cup and chasing Yzma around with it. The cat hates it, but also just stays on the sidewalk, so... 

She hates it when I push her in the swing, but Matthew can push her all day long. I love the special connection she has with her Papa. It is so precious to me. This special connection extended to church yesterday. Matthew was patting her bum really fast and as he made contact on one swipe she let out a huge toot into his hand. Then later she leaned over to tell him something and burped in his face. We were laughing so hard during the sacrament. 

Two small anecdotes and a recipe.

The other day Vera was playing outside and our neighbor was weed whacking or using a leaf blower or something else equally gas powered and noisy. Vera gasps and turns to me and whispers, "I hear a dragon!" She has no idea what a dragon is and I don't even know how she knows that word. And it wasn't a mistake. She continued to say it while the neighbor was finishing up his yard work.

She has been playing a lot of make believe lately. I love it. She will sing to her babies or tell them what they're going to do, or that they have to take a nap or have to have their diaper changed. It was the most precious thing when I walked in on her rocking her baby and singing "Sweet Hour of Prayer." She has been really interested in "going to work." She'll grab a purse filled with trinkets and announce, "Bye Mama I'm going to work!" I'll tell her to have a good day and she'll reply. "Have a good day! Come RIGHT back for lunch! Bye!" Her usual workplace preferences are "work with Papa" or "work at the airport." She's been really fascinated by airplanes and airports since our trip to Arizona. She asks me periodically if we're going on an airplane after naps.



French Carrot Salad

This is a really wibbly wobbly recipe. It's very difficult to mess up.


Carrots (as many as you'd like. Start with 3 or 4 regular sized carrots)
Very small bunch of parsley
Olive oil
Vinegar
Salt
Pepper
Sugar (optional)

Wash and peel (if you're not too lazy like I usually am) your carrots. Grate into a large bowl. Finely chop up a little parsley and mix with your carrots. Add a good glug of olive oil (like maybe 1-2 tbsp) and a good splash of vinegar (maybe 1 1/2 tbsp or more, if you're like my husband and like your salad a little tart -as opposed to your women which you don't like tart at all.) Add a little salt and pepper and a sprinkle of sugar (or even honey) if you desire. Mix it up and taste it. Adjust seasonings to your taste.

Vera and Matthew can. not. get enough of this salad. Good way to use all your carrots that I only really ever use for soups usually.