Marian

2009-08-22T20:02:00.001-07:00

This morning we woke up to a beautiful, warm, and bright morning. Amira dressed in her leotard and tutu and I my green and purple shirt and white capris went off to Lil Gym
http://www.thelittlegym.com/Pages/default.aspx

The one off of Murray and Teal.

As expected, she was super thrilled to be at the class. Made friends immediately by saying hi and asking their ages right off the bat.

What I didn't expect was how well she listened, followed directions, and participated.
First, they went in with a set of rules. "Put on your listening ears, and let's have fun"

"I'll be right back!" Amira told me as she went into the class, while holding hands with another girl.

Then, they sat in a circle and asked to share their names and something else, I couldn't hear.Then, they danced and kicked around soccer balls all the while listening to directions from the Cd or the teacher. They played on the beams, sang, and danced.

There were talkative parents around but I just couldn't take my eyes off of the class and Amira. It was a little hard to be just observing and not participating and at some point, she did stop and ask me to join her. I comforted her and encouraged her to go back in.

Later, we went to the park nearby and enjoyed a breezy, bright evening. We slathered on sunscreen of course. It's been a fun, busy saturday and laundry awaits me still. Tomorrow, we just rest and get organized for the business week.

For Fall, I signed her up for a morning pre-ballet class. It's 45 mins long and just about right for her attention span and it's at tualatin hills so it's considerably cheaper and a bit closer to home.

A ballerina...

2009-08-21T13:43:00.000-07:00

Amira is 3 years old now.... And, I have to say, the 3rd year is even more exciting and challenging, if that's possible. We celebrated her birthday last weekend with a cake and a new beginning, a new wish, that we have to try and fulfill. She is coming into her personality, expanding her vocabulary, and her imagination is fiercely fantastic. She skips around the living room and has even incorporated such words as "plie" and "dancing like a ballerina with my hair like a teacher" into her ever-expanding vocabulary. Critical, invisible, imitate, are the new words of the week.

She wants to be a ballerina. So, off I went to Target, and snatched up a couple of leotards, tutus, ballet slippers and a few other dress up outfits. She is elated! But the present is yet not complete. I signed her up for pre-ballet classes for this fall. and tomorrow, we go to check out a fun gym class. Updates on how these activities go, shall be posted immediately. For now, we wait and hold our breath in excitement.

recent-ish photos

2009-08-09T10:57:00.000-07:00

she's almost 3! Loves to dance..

not sure if that's a blue jay..

grandma and Amira..

This pic is from a while back. remember the snow?

dad and amira hanging out. She came up with the outfit all on her own! She's a little fashionista already!

practicing a plie?

just looking cute..

That's all for now. More to come soon, for sure. Have been AWOL from the blog lately but will try to update more frequently.

thanks to Amy for capturing this moment

2008-11-22T12:40:00.000-08:00

and this...

the dad/husband

2008-11-22T12:29:00.000-08:00

Per popular request, here's a pic of the dad/husband. J particularly dislikes having his picture put up on the internet. The only reason, he agreed to it, this time, was due to family noticing that he was conspicuously absent on the marianjamesandamira blog. haha! so there he is.. and hopefully, there will be many more pictures to come.

gorgeous sunday in the backyard and OOTW pics..

2008-05-05T23:12:00.000-07:00

It was a beautiful day on sunday.. We came home from a trip to the coast visiting family members. It was fun but there's nothing like coming back home to make me wish we never left. Here are a few pics of my princess. enjoy!

Awww.. she is so beautiful. I can't believe she is my daughter sometimes! I know, I can't help but shamelessly brag about my kid.

OOTW. These pics were taken on friday.. We went to Out of this world pizza and play for and LOVED it! It's huge with tons of play structures for kids of all ages.

Gardening... It's not too late

2008-04-24T16:06:00.000-07:00

So it's really not to late to start working on our garden. We are going to recycle some of the junk in our yard and donate the other stuff. In its place, by the grape vines and behind our huge tree, we'll have a garden. We plan on doing it by May by the latest. Some of the veggies like sugar snap pea, squash, tomatoes, bell pepper, corn, and an assortment of herbs. I love herbs. hopefully, the weather will be nicer. yay! I'm stoked.

crazy, busy, hectic weekend..with not much gardening done cuz of the weather! argh!

2008-04-21T02:02:00.000-07:00

It's been a crazy weekend for sure. We tried to do some gardening on saturday morning but it hailed! can you believe it? It feels like January. We really got spoiled by the few sunny days of the beginning of spring. Anyway, so james just tended to the grapes we have growing and they look promising.

We had a get together yesterday and right before that we had James' s dad come over. It was a hectic day between cleaning up, getting us all dressed, running errands and getting ready for dinner. I made some fried rice with veggies and fried chicken. The chicken turned out fabulous but the rice was chewy. I guess I made so much of it that I was afraid it was going to get too soft with more water. so, not a total disaster but not quite a hit either. It was too spicy for a few people. I don't mind spiciness, neither does my family so I got carried away.

Anyway, It was nice. We had a wonderful, rich, delicious cake made by my friend's husband. It was divine. Amira was bouncing off the walls by the end of the night. I think she had a little too much cake. but she hadn't had one since Easter so I figured it would be a nice treat. but it wasn't such a great idea right before bed time. she definately had a hard time settling down to go to sleep.

James turned 30 the day before on April 18th, 2008. It was definately a mile stone birthday and he made the comment that he was now 3 decades old. I asked him how he felt about that. He said he definately felt older and that he knew himself and his goals in life. I figured that's a good thing cuz that's exactly how I feel.

I drank one too many margaritas last night though. I'm kicking myself cuz I wanted to pass out by 11. It had been a long day. I wish my guests weren't able to tell that. It was great having people over though. We need to do it more often. I certainly had a blast. Amira got her first Barbie. Amira tried getting her clothes off and yanked her hair with a brush. I thought she would be a little too young to know how to play with a Barbie. but no, it was her word of the day today too. "Bahbie" all day long.

alright, well good night for now. It's 2 in the morning and I have got to get some sleep.

A must-read

2008-04-08T23:58:00.000-07:00

I just finished reading the Knitting Circle. As I read the book, all kinds of emotions overwhelmed me. I mean, I was in tears within the first chapter!

Here's a video of Ann Hood reading an excerpt from her book and just giving a background of her awesome novel.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JNM7y1uT0V4

some pics of Amira

2008-04-07T17:56:00.000-07:00

some pictures I took today on our lazy, cloudy afternoon...in between laundry folding

I asked her to say cheese..so I got a smile.. kind of

I think her molars are coming in...

don't know what's up with the nose pickin'..

Poop, poop, everywhere

2008-04-02T00:30:00.000-07:00

Such is the life of a mama with a toddler.

Yes, there was poop everywhere on the carpet this morning. see, that adorable baby on the right..
uh-huh, it was her. she did it. and she feels no guilt about it. she was just a little bothered that she stepped on it because mama freaked out. that's all.

This was the 2nd time in the past couple of days that Amira has taken off her diaper to poop. y'know, she just might

be ready to get on the potty.

Here she is, during her bath, after the incident..completely engrossed in play.

A few changes

2008-03-31T23:58:00.000-07:00

So, I'm really not that new of a mom anymore. Amira is 19 months old. full of energy and growing like a weed. she is incredibly tall, talented, and absolutely loves to have fun. Here is a picture of her laying on the floor after a lil' game of wrestling with daddy.

I love that look on her face..

So, I started going to the play dates regularly, cuz I now drive. best.thing.to happen since Amira's birth. I don't feel so isolated anymore and Amira gets to play with other kids, get exhausted, and want to take a really good nap. Life is funner when we get out of the house and do something. every trip is an adventurous one around here.

so anyway...

I started school, too. Amira and Dad get to spend quality time, hanging out after dinner and getting ready for bed time. It's turned me into quite the night owl. It allows me time to come home at night to work on a blog, or just chill. I love my program. Medical billing and coding. I finally picked the right career for me. I enjoy coding and the benefits would just be awesome for us.

In other news, I cut my hair. It was getting really long. In hindsight, I prefer it that way, but oh well, hair grows. here's the before picture.

and here's the after:

See.. it just seems so much thicker..which in my case is not a good thing since I already have a lot of hair.

Well, we all need change right?
I guess it all starts with myself, and my perspective on life... I'm insanely in love with my princess and the love of my life, my partner, has actively been working with me on a lot of things. The more we work as a team, the more things change for the better...