"Baba & Gruyere"

That is what Miriam calls Grandpa & Grandma after a visit from my parents a couple of weeks ago. She connects names with people more solidly now, and says them without prompting. She also transferred the name "Baba" to her other Grandpa, Jason's dad.

Miriam enjoyed solo spoiling time with my parents, and Jason and I got to spend the day enjoying our 6th Anniversary as just a pair.  It was so refreshing.  Here are my pics (in order of the day):

Stop #1: Coffee at a new coffee shop down the road, Cedar House

Stop #2: Sedona hike

Stop #3: Beers & snacks @ Tinderbox Annex

Stop #4: More beers @ Pay-n-Take

Stop #5: Dinner @ Criollo

During their visit, we went downtown, out for lunches, took walks, and cooked meals and drank wine at home.  Because our Anniversary and my Birthday are only 3 days apart, we also got to celebrate my birthday with my parents, which is always a nice treat when you live so far apart.  My mom and dad treated me to one of my favorites: chocolate tofu cheesecake with whipped cream and raspberries, very decadent indeed.

Shopping is exhausting

It's been a little calm before the storm of travel picks up again.  We have been working around the house, planning for our trips, and enjoying the spring weather.

Elmo needed bum cream.  M also likes to change her "baby", and put her in clean diapers.

A fun Friday out with mt best girl.

My favorite picture as of late.  Miriam "Ginsberg" Hemmer.

NAU Hawaiian Club Luau.  Miriam was fascinated by the dancers.  She danced, clapped, and tried to follow the performers on stage for the finale.  In true Miriam form, she ended up on stage for their photos.

Baby Selfie

Life Lately

I've finally got Miriam to SMILE when I take pictures...in this one she even said "cheese" while I took it!

We have been so busy, although I'm not sure what we've accomplished.  Between projects at home, projects at work, Miriam entering the terrible two's a smidge early (holy tantrums, batman), and travel, we have been going, going, going.  Throw a few colds and a couple molars in there and that was February!

We are working on updating our bathroom and redecorating our bedroom.  Eventually we want to retile the bathroom, and I have a pipe dream to add wood beams to the ceiling, but for now it's a cosmetic face lift.  My parents come next week and dad will help Jason finish framing the mirror.  I'll post pictures when it's done.  For now, there are lots of these visits...

Our spring / summer of travel has begun!  Last weekend I went to a bachelorette party in Las Vegas, and we have 3 weddings, 2 showers, and 1 bachelor party all before July 4, not to mention Jason's frequent work travel.  Also, mid-February we went to Phoenix to buy clothes for the wedding, hit up IKEA, and take M swimming.  Do you think I could get Miriam in an IKEA ad?

We also took Miriam to a train park with some friends who live in Phoenix.  She LOVED it!  "Choo-choo!"  She even got to ride her first train.  She was so serious while riding the train that the guy in front of us said she looked like she wasn't having fun.  We explained she's just like that, cautious and quite serious.  But, when the train stopped she said "More, More!"  Thomas the Tank Engine is still a favorite friend (along with James, Percy, Harold, Emily, and Gordon...she can say them all now!).  Her other favorite is still George and "Hat" (aka the man with the yellow hat).

She's still showing signs of a silly sense of humor too like her mom and dad.  laughing at "Choo Choo".

We had Valentine's Day.  Here is Miriam hard at work coloring her Valentine's box... (note the face here).

Being silly...

Miriam decided a black crayon mustache was the best accessory for the day.  I love this face.  Kills me.

Blueberries are still one of her favorite foods.  I stock up on the freeze dried blueberries at Sprouts Grocery, her favorite.  I think there are 8 bags in the garage right now.  Her other favorite foods right now are macaroni and cheese, smoothies, and raisins, and cheerios.

Hugging her baby.  Miriam shows such a natural empathy and care.  She likes to push baby in the baby stroller, pat her back, and feed her cheerios.

She *has* to put on her own shoes.  Mary Jane's are her favorite.  Note her feet in the picture below.

Wearing her squeaky shoes. One of the first gifts we received for M. 

"Wheeeee!"

Reading is still one of her favorite activities.  In her reading "nook" in the living room.

Well, I think that about sums up our life lately!

Deep Un-Freeze

While the rest of the country is buried in snow, ice, and a "Polar Vortex" of cold, we have been dry, sunny, and unseasonably warm!  I'm certainly not complaining, but it has made for a very different winter around here.  Our ground is brown rather than covered in its usual mounds of white, and we have been out walking every day, playing in the park, and I don't think my winter coats have left the closet since mid-December.

Saturday mornings I've been going to an 8:00 am yoga class and then I pick Jason and Miriam up for a big brunch @ Brandy's.  This weekend, Miriam decorated daddy's jacket with stickers.

Two weekends ago, day of AFC Championship. Apparently Jason really likes this sweatshirt / vest combo.

M officially turned 18 months old and she is still a long, lean, fighting machine.  Her hair is taking on a mind of its own.  I'm learning to manage the mane...

She LOVES climbing.  Slides, chairs, tables, piles of laundry, her stroller...the list goes on.  If its there, Miriam will attempt to climb it.  Keeps me on my toes.

This one is my favorite: climbed *into* the book basket and proceeded to read in there for 20 minutes.

The girl likes to talk.  Everyday she has a new word, and she's stringing together 2-3 words to make short questions (and commands!).  "More George, Ok?", "Oh, Boy!", "Pretty", "Bird...cheep cheep!"  Every time she sees a car, truck, bus, she says "Beep Beep" and can point out her eyes, nose, mouth, teeth, hair, ears, belly.  Just the other day she started chasing Maddie around the house yelling "Maddie (Na-E), No, No No!" at anything the cat did.  I could go on, but I will stop myself.  It's just so fun to see what new words or phrases she comes up with.

Photo shoot with Maddie.  She is such a silly girl!

Happy "Winter" 2014!

Christmas 2014

I  always loved Christmas.  The food, gift giving, food, sweets...it's pretty fantastic. However, with Miriam, Christmas is not just great, but amazing again.  The preparation; baking, grocery shopping, gift wrapping, was so much fun with my little sparkly helper along.

"M, let's get a picture with the tree"

Rocking the Target cart.  "Wheeee"

Wrapping gifts is easy.  Do we have more tape, mom?

Christmas Eve had a whole new focus.  Although M has no idea who Santa is yet, we followed him online all day, put out cookies, wrote him a letter for her stocking, and Jason and I got to play Santa for the first time...i.e. we drank egg nog and put toys together all night.

Christmas Eve breakfast at La Bellavia

Christmas Eve walk in the park

Opening our Christmas Eve gifts, new pajamas all around!

Cooking Christmas Eve dinner.

"Santa...I tasted all our cookies!"

The image I will forever have in my head of this Christmas is Miriam on Christmas Day, in her fleece night gown, tights, slippers, sticky-out-ponytail, chocolate and biscuits all over her face, bouncing from one edge of the house to the other with her new toys.  Play with kitchen, color on table, push dolly, put dolly in other pushy thing, push dolly again, back to the kitchen...repeat, repeat, repeat until you collapse in an exhausted pile of tears!  It was brilliant.  She is not really crazy about opening presents yet (our last gifts weren't opened until about 3:00 that afternoon), and when she does finish meticulously, carefully opening each package, she would break again from opening to play with the toys all over again.

Baby!!

Santa's all ready!

New kitchen!

Breakfast.  Yes, that's all 3 bows in her hair.  They were stocking stuffers and she wanted all three:)

Wow!  A new table!

Going, going going!

Daddy's gifts:)

We ate, drank, and were very merry. I loved every second of it, and cannot wait until next year!  A few other pictures from the past few weeks...

Recovering from a time change is tough.

New trick: teeth brushing.  Miriam brushes her teeth at least 3x a day!

Her new "Choo Choo" blanket.  A napping must.

Other new obsession: cuties.  She eats at least 4 a day.  Highest count was 5 in one sitting.

Her hair is so long she rocks the spiky pony daily.  I love giant bows!

Because Maddie never gets any blog love...here she is getting a drink.

Sporting one of her Christmas gifts, a "Choo Choo" t-shirt.

Still a favorite: hummus & celery

Thank you cards in the works.