Mrrreooowwww!

You would think Addie was imitating the lions at the zoo but the ones we saw on Sunday were napping on their backs. Or maybe she's pretending to be Didi. Oh, wait, Didi is also napping on her back most of the time.

Addie absolutely loves Didi. While she can be gentle, petting her or hugging her, she is just as likely to be pulling her tail or using the ball of fluff as a punching bag. Foolish Deeds just hangs around protesting in her typical raspy voice but rarely gets up to leave. Feeling sorry for our abused pet, I've now incorporated Addie into Didi's treat time thinking that Didi might learn to love Addie more if there was some sort of reward. I bought these horrifically expensive freeze dried treats from the pet bakery at the Farmer's Market. Addie holds out her hand and Didi will eat the treat delicately from her fingers. This sends Addie into hysterics clapping and saying "Mmmmmm." "More, more more," she demands. If we get the treats out and Didi is nowhere to be found, Addie will lift up the dust ruffle on the crib and peek underneath shouting "Hello Didi!" We've had to limit the ritual to 2 treats otherwise we'd be in the poor house (okay, sometimes 2 in the morning and 2 at night). The box must also be hidden, not from the cat, but from Addie. Sure, it's sorta cat bribery, but it's also win-win, right?

Conversations

Addie and Me:

Me: "Addie, can Mama have a bite?"
Addie: "Mine"
Me: "Please can Mama have a bite?"
Addie: "No"
Then she gives me a bite.

Matt and Max*:

Matt: "Max, can I have a bite?"
Max: "Yes."
Matt leans in to take a bite.

Max pulls it away and yells, "PSYCH!"


(* This Max, age 19 months, lives in Seattle and wants to be a trumpet for Halloween.)

U

This post has been brought to you by the letter U.

morning at the aquarium

9 am on a Sunday is definitely the best time to go to the usually packed Long Beach Aquarium. We finally joined so we can pop in whenever we want and not feel obliged to see every fish, puffin and otter on exhibit. Now we head straight upstairs to the South Pacific where we can watch the brightly colored tropical fish, stingrays and the giant sea turtle play.


How cute are these little guys poking their heads of their cozy, barnacle homes?!

smitten

There is a boy named Max.
Max is 18 months old.
Max and Addie are friends.
Max's Daddy told Addie's Daddy that Addie is Max's favorite person in the world.
Max's Mommy told Addie's Daddy that Max says "Good-night Addie" before he goes to sleep.
This story makes Addie's Mommy want to cry and hug Max and hug Addie.

Good-night Max.
Good-night Addie.
Good-night Mommies and Daddies everywhere.

self portrait

Has it really been an entire week since my last post? And to make it worse, I've been spending all of my time in front of the lens in an attempt to take a few decent shots of myself in different light situations for my first homework assignment. Sadly, my thighs hurt from the strain of jumping up every 10 seconds to check the focus and reset the self-timer. Of course I waited until the last minute and then went berserk Saturday and Sunday shooting photos of myself and neglecting my motherly duty to snap shots of Addie's adorable mug instead.

labor day par-tay

Thanks Stathis Clan for throwing an awesome labor day party.

LA is H-O-T this weekend. scorching really. Cap bought us an air conditioner for our bedroom but we can't sequester ourselves in there all day so we've been taking refuge with family. It was so bad that I brought Addie's highchair into our bedroom and fed her dinner in there. I've also been recovering from tonsillitis. blech.