Michaela @ 19 Months

(I am so far behind on blogging that I missed blogging about Michaela's latest "birthday". So, I'll backdate this, and pretend that I was on time with it. Ha!)

Drawing with Uncle Mitch at Mommy's birthday dinner.

Michaela is really not a baby anymore. She is a very busy and talkative toddler. She starts talking when she wakes up in the morning, and she oftentimes talks herself to sleep at night.  Cracks me up. She will usually tell me that she's "all done" when she wants to get out of bed. Then she will rattle off "muh" (milk), "chewy" (because she wants a "fresh" one), "show" (Thomas or Dora), and frequently "Papa" (my dad). There's a lot of baby talk in there, too, that cannot be understood. This does seem to be the age of NO. Sometimes it actually means yes, but it's kind of a go-to word for her.

She can surprise me with what she says and what it's associated with. Like tonight, she brought me a book with an abstract picture of the sun on it, and she said "sun". Then she brought me one of her Christian books, and said "Jesus". Mind you, although Michaela seems to love looking at books, she really doesn't sit still for me to read them to her. Nonetheless, she comprehends enough to remember some of these things.

She is currently wearing 18-24 months clothing, and size 6/6.5 shoes. 

Her hair is getting so long. Unfortunately, she will not keep any hairband or clip in her hair. Michael's hair grew forward, and so does Michaela's, so we have to put a clip in it to keep it out of her face. Whenever we get in the car, she removes her shoes and any hair accessories. Never fails. She's started to take her shoes off in Trader Joe's and Target, too. Keeps me on my toes.

Michaela is an amazing (and busy) little girl, and I am so blessed to be her mama.

57

Michael would have been 57 on the tenth. It's one of those days on the calendar that I kind of dread as the weeks draw near - dread mixed with love, longing, and a bit of anger. I dread that another special day will be spent without Michael. I still love him. I long for the day when I will see him again. The anger part is complicated. I'll leave it at that.

Over Thanksgiving weekend, I talked with Michael's mom about the Disneyland employee "party" (she retired after 35 years there), and we decided that we would go on Michael's birthday. It was actually a really great way to honor his memory as he had worked there many times over the years. The park looks amazing this time of year - the Christmas decorations are incredible.

As we stood on Main Street watching the fireworks show over Sleeping Beauty's castle Michaela and I were caught up in the magic (albeit Disney magic) of the moment. When the "snow" began to fall, I remembered that it had been four years ago since I'd stood there with Michael watching the same thing. It was wonderful then, but it was even more wonderful to see it again with Michaela. She was enchanted by the fireworks, the music, the lights, and the snow.

We were up much too late, but it was worth the loss of sleep to share the evening with Grandma, and Grammy and Papa.

Currently December

Listening: to all of Michaela's "noisy" toys. It will only get worse when she receives her Christmas gifts.
Loving: our new Little People advent calendar.
Thinking: about how much needs to be done in the next three weeks - report cards (ugh!), shopping, etc.
Wanting: to enjoy a simple and joyful Christmas season.
Needing: more hours in the day or a personal assistant - ha! 
Music: Christmas music! What else?