Ceiba's 3rd Birthday

Amazingly, Ceiba turned 3 this week....even after she did this....

If you can't see well, it's crayon...ON...THE...WALL. Arg! Welcome to parenting Chapter Tres, right?

I dont' remember ever writing on the walls, but then again my memory was probably blocked out from the subsequent beatin', had it occured. Exageration. She just got a stern talk and was made to help me clean the walls. So crayons are now temporarily used with supervision only. Bless you Crayola for washable- GENIUS!

So we made through that and on to a terrific 3rd BIRTHDAY! It went a little something like this:

While sleeping, Ceiba's presents got wrapped. She woke up happy.

 

We played with friends at a new creek, got her favorite lunch and picked up goodies in the mail.

Mama attempted a cake (with 5% of her kitchen accessories) while Ceiba napped; she later tried to sneek some icing. When Papa got home, we had Ceiba's favorite dinner. Tradition in our family!

She was ready for "Fire Papa!". We (I and a near whisper male voice) sang, & cake was had by all!

Ceiba had a great time opening her birthday presents and playing! She sang and played her keyboard all night!

Now we get up everyday and have to "feed moneys to the pig, Mama!!!"

She just keeps getting more fun!

Transfer Season

It's that time of year when Foreign Service life is a buzz. Many are transferring posts, intermingled with vacations and home leave. There is so much excitement and angst in reading about all the moves, sights and craziness associated with the trek.

Today Ceiba and I went to the Immunization Clinic at FSI (Foreign Service Institute). We received round one of 4 rounds of vaccinations. Never know when a rabid monkey might chomp on your finger, but sure would rather get 3 shots now, than 30 in my stomach later (used to be right?). Four for me and one for her today, and we have another 3 appointments before we leave. My...shoulders...hurt :(

I also called the travel agency today to plan our flights. Fun for me, as I love that kind of thing, weird as it is. Due to the 18ish hour flying time, we are entitled a stopover of 24 hrs. So we'll have our first Middle East/ Near East stamp on the ole passports, in addition to Bangladesh. Unfortunately, looks like the 170k+ frequent flyer miles will not help us out to upgrade to business class, ug. I know, we are spoiled, but once you fly posh it's hard to go back. And now we have a toddler to add to the mix... and 6 carry-ons, 5 checked GIANT suitcases and likely a cooler of CHEESE and saugage (we are hoosiers!).

We're just over 2 months until wheels up and pecking lines on the notepad one by one!

Gosh, where have we been? Away for a Wonderful Week In Illinois!

We just returned to DC from a wonderful week in Illinois! It will be our last trip before heading overseas in October. Our niece's graduation party beckoned us, and we used it as an excuse to visit with friends and family. It was a really great trip!

My sister's family put us up for the week- our own little chalet in the basement, equipped with bedroom, bathroom, den and bar. (Sorry to our nephew who got kicked out of his room!). And Chris's parents had an extra vehicle, which we used all week - it even had a carseat. So THANKS to everyone for making it an inexpensive and great week!

Here are some highlights from the trip:

No trip to STL would be complete without a drive to the ZOO.
We spent a few hours at our favorite place and got to catch the
stingrays while they were in town.

Snippits from Samantha's Graduation Party.

My sister Sheila made it into town, and we got to catch up with a lot of family.

Our great friends Chris & Ann came by twice to see us, even brought us root beer floats (YUM).

Ceiba REALLY enjoyed playing with her cousins!

We had an ice cream cake for an early HAPPY 3rd BIRTHDAY!

And Mama's favorite... a quick fishing trip!

Uncle John took the day off to run us up to Carlyle lake.We SMOKED 'em!

SO much fun! He had to keep a foot on the cooler to hold them in.

Might have gone in the Guiness book, if we'd had more time!!

Even got to fry fillets up for dinner.

Our house is empty. It now smells like the materials it's built from instead of the people who lived there... us. The deer come up to the house, wasps now run the greenhouse, and owls perch on the deck, as no one's there to frighten them away. The scent of fresh linens, dinner cooking and candles burning in the house are gone. It smells lonely. I miss our land, but remind myself of the exciting future.

We have been trying very hard to stop calling Illinois "home". Occasionally, we digress, but all and all we are doing well to remap ourselves. Home is now wherever we three are living. When we pull up to our apartment, since the first day we moved in, Ceiba yells "home!". That's comforting to Chris and me... very. Who knows how many "homes" we'll have in the future, but we surely are happy to be all together, though not a day goes by that we don't miss Illinois and our loved ones.

National Botanical Garden

Well, if you are new to reading this blog, it'll be quick to see that I...LOVE...PLANTS!
If I play my cards right, maybe in my next life I can return as a botanist. Not the petri dish or laboratory kind, but the hang from the trees like Sean Connery in Medicine Man kind. That would absolutely rock!

Ceiba asks for the "choo choo train" every time we pass the metro station. A recent thunderstorm rewarded us with BEAUTIFUL weather this week, so we decided to venture downtown yesterday on the metro to see some greenery.

The National Botanical Garden is not huge, especially compared to the Missouri Botanical Garden which we are used to, but it is gorgeous... like could-stay-all-day gorgeous. And like most things D.C., it is free, which is also great.

You knew this post would surely be filled with pics, so here are some. Most were taken BEFORE my Minolta fell from the stroller to the concrete while trying to take timer photos of Ceiba and I. It is now at the shop for (hopefully not outrageously expensive) repairs... ug. And of course, not likely to return in time for DC 4th of July pics. Guess the point and shoot will get a work out!

If you are in the DC area and have time, I'd say the National Botanical Garden deserves some of your time.

The conservatory is stellar, and the grounds are immaculate.

Pretty...pretty...pretty!

Homey-ing it up

Since we'll be here another 3 months, thought it'd be fun to warm Ceiba's room up a little.

Her room back in IL was filled with colorful plants and animals. Her room here is very...WHITE.

She had a lot of fun helping decide where each animal would live.

And especially nice - they can come with us when we move, because they're just stickers.

Best pets ever!

Local craft store + $12 + 10 minutes = one entertained kid

 

Very missed... today and everyday.