Quick Photo Dump!

I'm on the verge of falling into the black hole that is law school exams, so before I slink away into the darkness... here's a few shots from Kei's last visit to Madison...

xx

A First Word?

And the first word issss.......(drumroll please)....... "kitty."

To elucidate a bit further, for the last week, I've been playing that game to which many mothers out there can probably relate.  I THINK I'm hearing Scarlet saying "kitty" pretty reliably when Simone comes around, but it's so hard to be certain (and I'd prefer not to fall into one of those delusional mommy states where I think my child is explaining the pythagorean theorem when she's really just knocking over some blocks...)

Here's what I can tell you for certain:

#1: Scarlet LOVES Simone, our cat...

Can you blame her?

(who is a big part of our daily lives...)

And the feeling is.... reciprocated?

But seriously, folks, when Simone comes up to Scarlet and does her little kitty-snuggle-head-butt-thing, I'd challenge you to find a single heart in the land that wouldn't melt.  Seriously.  

(Just not caught on video... yet)

#2: Scarlet. has. things. to. say.

And for the last several days, I've noticed that when Simone comes around, Scarlet does this throaty sound that I'm pretty sure is her way of saying "kitty." 

The beginning of the following video shows something of a precursor to what I'm talking about (Simone was right there, but off screen...).  This video is from over a week ago, and the "kitty" has gotten considerably more pronounced since...

After watching this, one (ahem - KEI) might say that "Dada" is a contender... she certainly runs around saying "dada" a lot, but since she has yet to associate it definitively with Kei, I'm less certain that it's a word instead of just a sound (because "bababa" and "gagaga" are way up there as well... Bob?  Gaga?  Arguments can be made (we do have a lot of dance parties and her mother is partial to Lady Gaga...).  But I'm pretty sure "kitty" wins the day.

Further corroboration (because I'm in law school, after all):

(a)  If you ask Scarlet, "Where's the kitty?" she will turn and definitively find and look at Simone.

(b) When GiGi was babysitting, I asked her if she saw Scarlet say "kitty," and she said yes!  

Maybe no pythagorean theorem, but I'm calling it: the first word is in!

Beauty & Changes

We have been incredibly spoiled basking in the beauty of our neighborhood this fall - so many beautiful changes.  

It looks like water color!

But the weather and leaves aren't the only changes around here...

Our little girl is getting SO BIG!

 

Budding into such a little personality (opinions, tantrums, sense of humor, and all!) 

 One thing is certain: this girl is BUSY BUSY BUSY!

Bursting with the most sunny, inquisitive, hilarious personality....

And fearlessly tackling any lurking adventure... Her fascination with this tire swing led to several bops to the head, but she never minded.  Just took it into her calculations.  :)

Just a little overwhelmed with adoration & gratitude over here. 

Love love love. xx

No Particular Place to Go (or Things We're Doing...)

Morning eyes. <3

Cowgirl with an appetite at the Chenhalls!

At this point, I have to kindly ask that you excuse (even better, try to ignore!) my narrations as well as occasional glimpses of a mother in the morning!  :)

Spatulas provide surprising amounts of entertainment. In fact, with Scarlet, the non-toy-toys are clearly preferred.  She'll take a belt, a tupperware, or a spatula any day!

Eating comprises such a large part of our time together.  :)

The two of us chilling in the morning...

Swings! Autumn! Beauty! Love!

End of Summer Photo Dump!

My oh my.  We've had so many fun things, lovely visitors, great travels, and big changes... I could probably write about ten blog posts with the content accumulated over the last few weeks of summer, but alas - we all know that just isn't in the cards.  So instead, as the temperatures plummet to straight-up winter levels and I scrounge around for jackets and hats... permit this nostalgic spread of summer moments!

A new sleeping position, assumed shortly after she was able to get herself into a sitting-up position.... apparently such a tiring task that she promptly plopped forward and fell asleep. GiGi calls this her "yoga sleep position." :)

I adore the sheer determination on her face.  C'meer plant!

Say, have you happened to see my neck recently?

Count the neck rolls!

Inaugural ocean encounter...

And EATING!  This girl loves her food and will demand it with all four limbs flailing madly. Surely a food-based post will be in the near future!

Okay, Scarlet stayed back with a babysitter for this one, but I was so excited to make my first Ulao!  Woo-hoo!

 

 

And on to our next phase... Madisonian Badger fans and beyond!

Speaking of next phases.... Game on.

(video credit: Gigi!)

The Many Faces of Scarlet Aika

Kei once commented to me that this blog and Path make it look like Scarlet does nothing but smile.  Let the record officially show my thorough, true gratitude, because Scarlet is, in fact, an amazingly smiley little girl... with a seriously amazing smile, at that.  But that's not all.

While I often find myself trying to calm, soothe, or at the very least understand her many other faces, the record (of this scantly read blog) should really also show that I love every angle of this little face with all my heart.  I love the attitude. I love the temper passion.  I love the goofy humor. And perhaps most of all, I love the curiosity I see behind those stunning eyes trying so earnestly to work everything out.  Now, because I (a) am not a gifted photographer, and/or (b) can't realistically capture even a fraction of the enormous personality inside that little girl even if I were a gifted photographer... I thought the next best thing I could do was show the blogosphere a few of the other faces of our Aika-chan.