Light The Candle

For quite some time, Mara and Daddy have had a tradition of lighting a candle when Daddy gets home from work.

It is always super exciting for Mara! She looks forward to lighting the candle with Daddy, and we would never light the candles unless Daddy was actually here to light it. Lighting the candles was very special!

But at some point this summer, our little tradition disappeared–until last week, when Mara asked–as soon as Daniel walked in the door–if he would light a candle.

This time Micah got in on the action. And as you can imagine, he was quite taken with the flame.

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I don’t ever want to forget these special and yet so very ordinary, everyday moments!

More “Wild Backyard” Fun

A couple weeks back I promised more pictures from “My Wild Backyard” at the Zoo.

Again, my apologies to non-family, as this is another “Mom Post,” complete with Burst Photography’s 3-shots-per-second! (But to family members, especially aunts and grandmothers: you are in for a real treat! If a picture is worth a thousand words, well . . .  there are not enough words–so here are the pictures!)

The kids loved the Wild Backyard. The smiles on their faces make that abundantly clear!

Mara found pine cones.

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WildMaraPineCone2 ZooByOurselves 334

WildMaraPineCone3 ZooByOurselves 342

Micah enjoys the freedom of walking and exploring . . .

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WildMicah3 ZooByOurselves 318

Micah bracing himself for Mara’s tickles.

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Then they discovered leaves. Wow! . . . who knew leaves could be so captivating?!

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The next three shots are the “burst” kind. But it was hard to fully capture his expression  in just one picture!

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WildMicahLeaves2 ZooByOurselves 474

WildMicahLeaves3 ZooByOurselves 475

In the middle of our adventure, Micah had a nasty fall and bonked his head on the metal thingy that held the mulch back from the path. I guess it’s kind of hard to see in this picture because of the way the light is shining, but there’s a red spot on his forehead (to the left of the picture) and another on his cheek (on the right). He had quite an ugly bruise on his forehead for almost a week and a half after! Poor little guy!! He is constantly falling and bruising himself . . .

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But as you can see, he bounced back quickly! Once again, exploring the “forest.”

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I think he was “hiding” from Mara. But whenever she came around, he would laugh and laugh.

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Finally, here are two of my favorites of Mara:

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WildMarabyTree ZooByOurselves 374-1

Wish you could have been there!

For more “Wordless Wednesday” fun, hop on over to 5 Minutes for Mom.

Technology at the Table

One of my pet peeves is technology at the table.

Texting. Checking e-mail. Music on the iPhone. Even TV.

Seriously. It can wait. We’re eating dinner!

I know my mom felt that way (about TV, anyway–I mean, we’d never heard of e-mail or texting, much less iPhones when I was little!).

Is it just me? (and my mom?) or are all moms wired this way?

Dinner in my mind is family time, a chance for Mom and Dad to catch up with each other–and with the kids. How was Dad’s day at work? How was the family’s day at home? What did the kids do today? . . . And realistically, sometimes it’s just an “opportunity” for both parents to have a part in the feeding and discipline of the babies and toddlers, who are still very much works in progress . . .

So when I see this (and realize my son is only 16-months old), I’m thinking, “Wow, son!–We need to talk!”

Looks like a serious conversation

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“Hold that thought, Mom. I’m on the phone!”

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The “Farm” at the Zoo

We saw the chickens.

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They seemed happy enough walking around the barnyard.

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But Micah felt the need to free them.

Of course, he tried and tried, but he couldn’t open the gate.

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He tried to free the cow too.

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Mara learned about cows.

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She learned where milk comes from.

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But somehow she got confused, thinking the milk went from the cow to the cow.

And after she “milked” the cow, she brought the “milk” to the cow “to give her a drink”!

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Micah enjoyed watching the ducks in the “duck pond.”

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They each took a turn “driving” the tractor.

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Micah is so intense when he’s enjoying something! Neither of his parents are ever that way–soooo I don’t know where he gets it! 😉

Of course, Mara was hamming it up for the camera.

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We love the Farm at the Zoo!