special moments caught on film

It seems I have taken a bit of a break from blogging, but I haven't intentionally neglected my blog. We've had all sorts of random happenings here lately. For example, on saturday our hot water heater went out and was only fixed yesterday. So, since none of you need help with simple arithmetic, you can deduce that was FOUR days with no showers or baths or shaving or washing faces in this house. We were all heralding the entrance of the repairman.

Last weekend, we took emma to a local park to run around and play. Generally, there are very few play areas for kids here; even those that charge you to enter are few and far between. this one that we went to isnt' even really a playground, just a park with flowers and trees and a natural spring. We aren't too amazed with the bubbling spring that is the major tourist attraction of the city, but it gives emma a nice break from the dusty streets outside. It also gave emma a good chance to practice her newly learned colors! We had fun picking out the pink, white, yellow and red flowers. Gosh, she's smart!


My friend Rachel also decided to start potty-training her daughter (emma's best friend, clara) this week. Emma got to hear all about clara's potty training experience via mom, and I think emma secretly wishes she could be potty trained too. But, alas...her mother has decided that, due to unexpected difficulties, I will wait until rachel has all the secrets to share with me. Perhaps then Emma can begin her journey into higher bathroom functioning.


For now, though, Emma seems content to try putting on her own clothes. As you can see, she is having a bit of difficulty figuring out exactly how this shirt business works. I'm sure she'll get it after a while!


Maybe she hasn't figured out how to fully get dressed, but she sure knows how to entertain her sister! And, more recently, she has taken quite the nurturing approach with samantha! One morning, sure that samantha must be as thirsty as she was, emma even decided to share her precious milk (after emma had already drunk it dry!) with samantha!


Samantha is staying busy, too...her most recent feat includes rolling over and over and over. She's getting quite mobile, which means I should probably quit leaving her on top of the changing table now... this picture was taken yesterday as she was scoping out the camera during a "roll-over" session.


This amazing picture of my two favorite people was taken today as we were walking to mcdonalds for lunch. Granted, we usually do not eat at McD's, but today I had made no other plans for lunch and I certainly wasn't in the mood to cook anything. So, Emma shared her stroller with samantha in exchange for riding on daddy's shoulders. The street that leads to mcD's is not such a beautiful street, but the side walks are lined with huge leafy trees, spreading out, canopied, above your head. As the sunlight bounced through the leaves, I caught the moment - emma truly happy with her sky-high perch, daddy truly happy to be with emma on a unseasonably warm winter day.

On a final note, I will end this very rambling post by saying that I read online - but from a reputable source!! - that eating a little chocolate a day has been proven by researchers to help your blod clot, therefore bringing additional health benefits to the "fix" we all feel when we scarf it down! Long live the good stuff!