Rain on Grass & The Universe

Here are a few photos of Paprika painting this evening. I am so grateful that we never remodeled our kitchen because if we had, I probably would be too nervous to let her paint.



Slowly but surely, our home is beginning to look like an art studio. That's okay, though. We're having fun. And it cleans up- mostly! ;-)



Paprika's paintings may look abstract, but to her they represent people, places, ideas, and adventures we've had.

I asked her what this painting was of and she told me:

Rain on Grass

(in case you're wondering, those are rain clouds at the top and the big green part is the grass)




I asked her what this painting was of and she told me:

The Universe

(when asked to elaborate, she said, "you know, stars, the sun, planets..." good to know!)



After painting, she had to have a bath, of course...which always seems to go in phases now...this was the "Phase One" of the bath! Two more phases followed... :-)

Park Exploration

Paprika is an independent explorer. She loves being in nature and finding things on her own. When we go to the park now, she seldom wants anything to do with any of the other kids, or the playground equipment. She wants to run off in her own direction, and you'd better follow because she's not stopping for anyone!



She is completely fearless. She also likes to laugh a lot. I had a hard time taking pictures of her today because she was running so fast!

Cute Disneyland!

Mr. Mustard, Paprika, and I made a day trip today to the Happiest Place on Earth, aka Disneyland! Devon happened to be there for the day with her daughter, Riley, and her mom! So we caught up with them and rode a few rides mid-way through the day. Paprika loves spending time with Riley, so it was a real treat for her- and of course, we loved seeing Devon and her mom!


On The Teacups:




Four girls on the Carousel: Riley, Devon, Paprika, and Me!

Soccer and Snow!

Had a beautiful time at the park today. We've recently discovered that Paprika LOVES playing soccer. She can do it for hours. She loves running, kicking the ball, and can't stop laughing and exclaiming with joy the whole time she's playing. Who knew a soccer ball could bring so much fun into our lives?

Here are a few out-takes from today's park romp:





















While at the park, we discovered a small patch of SNOW! It was brought down from the mountains last weekend so the kids could sled (in 70 degree weather). We're guessing it was brought down on Saturday, and this is what was left of it today (Tuesday). Paprika was mesmerized by it- and couldn't stop looking at her feet the whole time she walked on it! It's not everyday that you see snow in our neck of the woods, so she made sure to really study it while she had the chance!

Fun Zoo Day!

We had quite a fun weekend- lots of running around, seeing friends, and even a birthday party! Of course, in all the excitement, I neglected to take ANY photos!

Today the weather was gorgeous, so we decided to take a family trip to the zoo. Paprika really enjoyed it, and we had the whole place to ourselves!



One of her favorites was the Gorilla exhibit. It's a wonderful new exhibit and she very much enjoyed "watching the big monkeys!"



Walking up and down the hills at the zoo is exhausting! Sometimes you just have to stop, sit, and have a snack:



Paprika's FAVORITE exhibit was the sea lions. I think she could have stayed in this one spot all day long. She was fascinated by them:

Rainy Day!

I woke up today feeling better than I have in days, and yet it was raining! So, we had to improvise with our activities today since doing anything outside was out of the question.

We started out the day with lunch at Rubio's, and then we went to the pet store to say hi to all the animals. Paprika particularly loves their fish tanks, so we spent a long time saying hi to all the fish, learning about the differences between freshwater fish and saltwater fish, and learning the names of each type.








Then we came home, and it was time for Mr. Mustard to go to work. Paprika loves to paint, so we got out her easel and I let her go to town. She had a great time filling page after page with her artwork.






Then, she decided that her body was a lovely canvas, too- and she painted herself red!






I let her have fun, but when she started to attack me (and the camera) with her wet, painted hands- that was the end of today's painting session!





As you might imagine, a nice warm bubble bath was next on the list for Paprika. The water was bright pink- and she didn't seem to mind one bit!

Little Updates

I'm blogging from my laptop up in bed, and don't have access to pictures from this computer, so this will be a photo-free day. The reason I'm up here blogging instead of downstairs is because the past 24 hours have hit me hard with some physical pain, and so I'm resting up (or at least trying to).

Yesterday it was intense abdominal cramping, and today it's severe back, neck and shoulder pain. I wish I could go see my Grandpa to sort out my neck and back pain - he's the world's greatest chiropractor and lives in Indianapolis. I think I must have a slipped disc or a pinched nerve or something! The abdominal pain has thankfully subsided...very thankfully.

Anyway, here are a few updates:

1) My new book: I met up with Jessica, my co-author, over the weekend and got some review copies of our book to send out. Have I mentioned how GREAT it turned out?! I am really really impressed with it. It's really exceeded my expectations, and I am just thrilled with it. The publisher has been great to work with, and overall, I'm just so pleased. I'm so proud to have my name on it.

2)The new baby: Things are plodding along. I set up my next ultrasound for February and we'll be seeing a perinatologist instead of our regular OB. It will be our 6th ultrasound for this pregnancy. We've had ultrasounds at weeks: 6, 9, 12, 14, and 17 so far.

This will be my first visit with the perinatologist (peri) this pregnancy. A perinatologist is basically a doctor who specializes in high risk pregnancies. Understandably, I am having a lot of anxiety about it. It was at the peri's office that we found out our twins had passed away in utero, so trips to the peri aren't my favorite activity. To remedy this, we've found a new peri- because, even though it wasn't his fault, I really never want to step into his office and relive that scenario all over again. So, we're off to see the new peri in February, and I'm working on my anxiety about it.

3) Our new toy: I finally ordered a doppler, which is a device you can use at home to listen to the baby's heartbeat. I have never had one before in any of my previous pregnancies, but I decided to get one this time and we are loving it. Anytime I start to wonder, "is the baby's heart still beating?" - I listen with the doppler. I've only had to use it a few times, but those few times it really paid for itself!

I think that's it for now.

Creative Girl

Paprika loves drawing, especially on herself! She would cover her whole body in markers if she could- thank goodness these are washable!

MLK Day 2009

Just a few pics from today...it was a nice day! We spent most of the day at the park and then Paprika wanted to see the fish, turtles, snakes, and spiders at the pet store, so we stopped by there on our way home...

Me and Paprika:








Paprika says hi to some turtles:




Paprika climbs the baseball back-stop:









Daddy and Paprika: