Look Mama, and a new haircut

"Look Mama" is all I hear these days. Anything and everything you do you want me to see, and if Dad is around we both have to see. You seem to be quite the performer already. Another thing you say a lot is "Mama, I want to run with you." We think this is a round-about way of expressing that you need or want more attention from us, so whenever you say it I always feel bad. I seem to also hear a lot, "play with me mama!" which also makes me feel like a terrible mother, but then I remember that I play with you ALL DAY LONG, and a few moments of free play is a good thing for you. You still tell me to "stop talking" if I have an adult conversation for more than a few minutes. We are trying to teach you more patience with this but not sure how/when to go about it- parenting gets more challenging and interesting by the day!

About a month ago, I finally cut your hair! I told myself I wouldn't, that we would wait and let your bangs grow out and see how long your hair would grow, but I finally gave in and chopped it into a little pixie. Once I did, it seemed like you had a personality shift and came out of your shell more. Although Dad is skeptical of haircuts on you, even he loves it- I think we all were relieved to have your bangs out of your eyes for a change.

If I haven't told you already, you LOVE to sing. You sing all day long, both original and popular songs. You are getting better at carrying a tune, and it amazes me how you can remember 2 or 3 different verses of lyrics, plus the chorus. You sing lots of church songs, and continue to love singing Rudolph the Red-Nose Reindeer. Lately you've started to tell us to sing one song while you start singing a totally different song. All of the sudden you say, "I can't sing that one mommy!" and you crack up and we explain that it's hard to have two different songs going on at once! Also, you started saying "Look Mommy," (big surprise) and then attempting to sing a song without moving your mouth at all. Sometimes I'll watch you as you make these little discoveries; the look on your face as you figure out you can do something or learn a new skill is priceless.

Now for a few pictures. You still love ocean animals, and we are dying to have the time and money to take you to one of the great aquariums in the area. So far we've been sticking to the New Bedford Ocean Explorium, which is still a fun place, just on a smaller scale. They are currently adding a touch tank with small sharks, but for now you are always excited to look at Nemo/Dori, a great tank with seahorses, jellyfish, and other fish and shellfish local to the area. Here you are at the touch tank about to touch a crab and a seastar (pre haircut).

They also have an adorable area to play and a craft area- look at the jellyfish we made together!

Another hair shot, before the cut! Your favorite thing to do lately is gather a grouping of your small animals together and put them in a bag, then dump them out and find a new bag or box to carry them around in, and so on. There is definitely an art to how you select the animals and when to switch bags. You still like lining the animals up, but you don't do it as often- you much prefer the bag activity, and of course you still try to hold as many in your hand as possible and get frustrated when there are just too many to hold all at once.

We had a fun day up in Boston a few weeks ago where you got a few really tiny animals. You are sporting your new cut here, but it's somewhat hard to see. You can see those tiny animals though :) Keeping track of them is a nightmare, and we've had to call our favorite maintenance man Domingos to recover one at one point, but we've managed to keep a few around since the trip!

Here you are playing with your bro, and bossing him around I can tell. You have just begun to get a bit bossy with him, and also talking in a high-pitched baby talk voice to him. Dad doesn't like it because you sound too grown up!

A classic "look at me mommy" shot:

Your new hair, from the side. I was kind of proud of myself because I am TERRIBLE at makeup, hair and anything like that. I can't even style my own hair, and now I am cutting our entire family's hair- crazy! I do get anxiety over the fact that I have to cut it again soon!

You and I made Dad a little book for his birthday in February. We had a great evening, and the weekend prior went out on our first real date since we've been in Massachusetts. You played at your friend, Dot's house and didn't miss us at all it seemed- it was good for everyone I think!

More examples of your "Look at me" attitude these days :)

It find it impossible to get good shots with your brother, but here are a few attempts:

And a few more from a photo shoot with Dad (you can always tell which pictures are his and which are mine)....

That's all for now Luthien. I am so looking forward to going to Arizona with you. You are so excited to see all of your family and old friends. I will try to keep up better with your blog so I have better things to say. You are still my sweet baby girl even when you tell me to look at you a thousand times a day!

Love,

Mama