Smarty Shoes

In my limited experience in parenting (only 16 months), there have been times where I have been able to hit "pause" in the moment and simply admire the brilliance/cuteness/ innocence/beauty of my child. These moments have smacked me in the face, so to speak, more than any other moments in my life. They are smackable twofold. First, they are so sweet and pure that my heart soars from happiness and love when they happen. Second, I couldn't have imagined parenthood being this great.

Today, I experienced one of those moments of genius.

The Moment: At around 10:30 this morning, Mae started to getting antsy and it coincided with about the time that I was getting things ready to drop Mae off at Johanna's. I said to Mae, "Mae, if you want to go to Grandma's you need to get your shoes on." She looked at me with understanding. I then followed up with, "Your shoes are on the stairs." Off Mae waddled. In my mind, I didn't really expect her to fully register what I said and thought that she was off to play some more with her toys. Two seconds later Mae is standing in front of me with her shoes in her hand and says, "shoes." I then said to her, "You need to sit down to get your shoes on." At that point I sat down on the kitchen floor to put them on. Mae - far smarter than me - didn't want to sit on the floor and instead waddled over to her little chair and sat down and put her feet out.

I, of course, put the shoes on not knowing what to say but thinking to myself that my girl is one smarty pants, or smarty shoes, as in this case.

Sniffle, Blow, Sneeze, Cough

Ughhh! The Cummings house has all come down with colds (well, everyone except Ditka). Pre-Mae: Getting the common cold was an annoyance while being a great excuse to call in sick to work, lay on the couch, watch crappy tv all day, and catch up on projects and sleep. Post-Mae: When she has been sick and I am healthy, the sleepless nights, the more frequent bouts of crying, and the snotty, runny nose require a little bit more stretch in my patience, parenting skills (if I have any), and energy. However, I feel so bad for her when she is under weather. I know she feels so crummy and despite her feeling crummy she is generally quite a trooper.

This is the first time that I have been sick at the same time as Mae. I will admit that I am not "out for the count" sick but I have definitely been slowed down by a sore throat (that has made it difficult to sleep), a cloudy head, and a runny nose. Alas, today was a slap in the face that I am at the job where there is never a day off...rain or shine, happy or sad, sick or healthy, uninspired or inspired, weather conditions unsuitable for travel, federal holiday or not. Obviously, I wouldn't change "my job" for any other but today I would have been happy to "call in sick."

Here is to us getting healthy quickly. Or at least me so that I am only up when Mae can't sleep and not when I can't sleep and she can't sleep.

Highlight of 2010

I can't believe how late these photos are in making it to the blog. Here are the beautiful pictures from Julie and Matt's wedding -- one of the highlights of 2010 for us. Their wedding, most especially the bride, was absolutely beautiful.

We look forward to being able to share and watch their love story with them in 2011 and for many, many more years to come.

Dance Party

Luke showing off his dance moves.

The Sannes

Toasting the happy couple.

My mom and IThe Original Five

Oldest Friends

Scenes from The Weekend - Many Days Late

This past weekend brought glorious amounts of sun to the Pacific NW. Despite it being cold for Seattle (in the 20's), we got out to enjoy some of the sunshine. However, some of the best moments were spent enjoying the lazy mornings.

Some Things Change Yet They Remain the Same

When Mae was around six months we would sit in a chair in our bedroom and look out the window onto Union Street. We would talk about all the cars, buses, people, and dogs passing by. She was always entertained and it was a nice, quiet way to spend some time together while observing the coming and goings of our community.

Now, Mae sits in the chair all by herself and tells me what is coming and going. She will exclaim, "car" or "bu" [bus]. Glad to see she is still entertained by the comings and goings of the things outside our window.

Hawaii - Part II (Our Place)

Having a 15 month year old while vactioning requires a base camp (unless you want a really cranky toddler on your hands) to eat meals, take naps, have some downtime and get a good nights rest. Johanna rented us the most amazing condo while in Hawaii. We thoroughly enjoyed being able to get away from Seattle and be able to stay in this super modern and chic place. Mae especially loved being able to stare at the boats, birds, and sunsets.

Pearson going surfing. Me taking this photo from our place.

The view from our bedroom window (Diamond Head).

Happy New Year Resolutions

At the stroke of midnight of the New Year, most Americans come up with a litany of resolutions. The resolutions mostly focus around being a better person, whether that be physically, emotionally, spiritually, or psychologically. We make promises to ourselves and to others that we are going to "lose weight," quit smoking," "exercise more," - to name just a few. Since I am pregnant this new year and I can't really control my hormones, as well as usual, I am not declaring that I want to improve upon myself. Also, losing weight and working out vigorously is completely out of the question, I unfortunately get to go the opposite way when it comes to those two goals.

Even though it sounds like I am dogging new year's resolutions, I secretly like them. A new year presents itself with what kinda feels like a clean slate. AND don't we all need to improve upon something?

In no particular order of importance, here is my list of resolutions.

• Menu plan. - One of Pearson's biggest annoyances with me is that I go to the grocery store every other day, if not every day. Reason he is annoyed is that I end up spending a lot more money a week then I should at the store. There are many impulse buys. In order to help the Cummings family save money and to not annoy Pearson as much, I have vowed to visit the grocery store once a week (two if absolutely necessary). This requires some advance planning.


• Bring Bags to Store - This was my resolution and I failed miserably at it. This year I am putting it back on my list. I need to bring my reusable bags to the grocery.


• Write on the Blog More Frequently - I started off with a bang last May and have faded a little in the last couple of months. With number 2 on the way and many "Mae moments," I need to be better about documenting the family.
  
• Be Better at Writing Thank You Notes - 'Nuff said.


• Volunteer - Prior to moving to Seattle, I was pretty good about volunteering on a consistent basis. In fact, I tutored an older man that couldn't read every week right before moving here for a year. Since I moved here and had Mae I have been inconsistent at volunteering. I have definitely done some community/neighborhood stuff, such as the PPatch and organizing playgroups, however, I need to get back to giving back to those far more needy.

There you go. I hereby resolve to be better at the above mentioned and of course, be a better person overall (don't judge, be kind to all, don't harbor jealous feelings, be patient, etc).