Talking to birds and sharing about dreams.....

Hello! This blog post is long overdue. AMARA IS A TWO-YEAR-OLD! In fact she has been 2 for 2 months now. Wow, how time flies! We have been extra busy since December 19th (her birthday) which was the day we moved into our new house in Bay Park. We are home owners now and enjoying the joys and challenges of this! The holidays flew by-- Christmas, New Year's, and Valentine's Day. Amara thoroughly enjoyed herself. At Christmas she liked learning about Santa and "Santa's sleigh", seeing lights and Christmas trees everywhere. One of her favorite activities at Christmas was opening the advent calendar that Mom has had since childhood when she lived in Switzerland. Yes-- a Swiss advent calendar. No chocolate, just a neat images of chalets in the snow and surprises behind their doors and windows. What other things have been going on? Regular visits from Grandpa Patty and Grandpa Hamid, a visit from Poppa and Janny in January, play dates with Charlotte (yoga at the library is a favorite), and time at "Kids Club" while Mom exercises at the 24 hour Fitness. One of the staff told Mom that is Amara is "awesome". They are amazed at how much she talks for a 2 year old and how outgoing she is-- "Hi guys! How you doing?" is her typical greeting. Here are two stories before I post photos: Yesterday when Amara and Mom were in the backyard we spotted a large crow in our neighbor's tall pine tree. For fun Mom started talking to the crow. Amara joined in and said, "Hi, how you doing up there?" I suggested that perhaps the crow is looking for dinner. After this she exclaimed, "Oh! Birdie, there it is! Your dinner, apple-- right there!" (as she pointed to our apple tree). Then today upon waking up from a car nap Amara began to chat about "Um nom" (a cartoon character) --how he has a pumpkin and then she began talking about a dog drinking water. I am pretty sure she had been dreaming about these things and then sharing what she saw! These moments are so precious. There are too many stories to tell. Our little girl is full of enthusiasm and a sense of humor. She loves playing hide and seek, singing, playing on the playground, meeting new kids ("Hi girl!") and "helping" in the kitchen by pulling out and using Mom's salad spinner.