Baby Love

My babies love each other. Soren has loved Dahlia since she was born.  He wants to go see if she is awake as soon as he wakes up every morning and to kiss her good night before going to bed each night. And, Dahlia loves Soren just as much. Cammie and I can make Dahlia laugh (she is such a happy little girl), but Soren has single-handedly made her laugh more than everyone else put together. They are really sweet to each other, and I often walk past a room and see Soren laying on the floor in front of her so they can look at each other and laugh.

This is Soren making Dahlia laugh in her swing:



And, this one is Dahlia and I shooting Soren with his foam rocket gun:

This little dreamboat had the Pox too . . . the Chicken Pox!  Oatmeal baths saved us again.  She's all better now and here's a photo of the dress I bought her just after we moved and just before the outbreak.  It makes me smile seeing this picture.  I love her little hand.

We've started a bit of solid food as well--steamed pears, apples, plums, sweet potatoes, butternut squash and fresh avocados, bananas, and oat porridge.  I thoroughly enjoy cooking and preparing all of her new foods as I did with Soren. 

In the last 2 weeks we have made it through a move to our new flat and the Chicken Pox. I'm so glad that both are finished. Soren had Chicken Pox in his mouth and one in the middle of his tongue! When he first got them it wasn't bad at all and we thought it was going to be easy. . .little did we know they come in batches and more kept coming.  Two or three of the days were rough (especially at night).  Oatmeal baths were a real help with the itching and by the end of the week we had cabin fever and were dying to get out of the house.

The windows in my kitchen makes me happy. A few days ago I made a vegan Coconut Lemon Cake that my sister Charla recommended. It's amazing. I think it's my new favorite cake and I'm anxious to make it again.  I can hear the birds churping outside my window right now and although it's grey again I can't help but feel peaceful with all the green leaves layering the trees. The birds are probably building their nests that we usually only get to see in the winter when all the leaves are gone.  Nest spotting is one Soren's favorite pasttimes.   Strawberries are abundant in town again too.  Two days ago Soren was convinced that we needed to make strawberry muffins.  I've never done that and I just prefer fresh strawberries but with some serious persuading on Soren's behalf we made strawberry bannana muffins (I used a chocolate bannana muffin recipe and substituted the chocolate with strawberries).   They were actually quite nice.

Dahlia having a zen moment

The modern day hand cart--Soren's got it rough

The front of our new flat

Soren under the weather a few weeks ago--my beautiful boy.

The Coconut Lemon Cake

Me and my Honey

We're in the process of moving and moving with a 5 month old and a 4 year old makes things take A LOT longer that you think. But, we are getting it done and I'm SO happy with our new flat!! Did someone say botanic gardens, transport links, university, nursery school, shops galore. . .Oh yes, it was me and we're next to all of those things that are a part of our life.

Fact of the day: my husband has the strength of an ox. This is very handy when moving to a new flat.

Moving stinks (and sometimes literally when you find icky stuff in a cupboard that you didn't know was there).

I love my little darling baby Dahlia. Her smile makes me smile all the time. Love, hearts, hearts, love.

Where is my mind?

So I've been wanting skinny jeans FOREVER and was just thinking about it. Then, I remembered that I DO have some! Here's the story: right when I got pregnant with Dahlia I took some jeans to the tailor to be made into skinny jeans and it took forever for her to finish them (and the other stuff I brought for that matter) and by the time I got them back I was a big lady. Anyway, they went in a dresser and I forgot about them. I thought about them right before Dahlia was born but then forgot again. Well, yesterday I remembered I had them and it was like Christmas. I tried them on and they were perfect. I felt like a new woman!. . .but, umm, how do you forget you already have jeans that you've always wanted?

Moving on. . .

At night Jason and I take turns putting Dahlia to bed and singing to her. Jason sings Tom Waits and the Avette Brothers and she's a happy clam. Some of my songs and noises include Twinkle Twinkle Little Star (it was her favorite for about a month), Italian hymns, train sounds and saying mama and random things in a sweet high voice. Yesterday . . .the song that came out was even a shocker to me. And no, it wasn't "where is my mind" by the Pixies. The title was referring to the first half of the post but I'll give you a hint: "Shot through the heart and you're to blame. . . " Yep, Il John Francis Bongiovi, the Jovster, The Great Bon Jovi! He's Rad with a Capital R. So, stay cool. Have an awesome summer. It was fun talking with you in Science class. K.I.T.

Love,

Cammie

PS. I love your senior picture!

PPS. Words of Wisdom by Soren: "Mom, when I eat a sweetie it makes me feel like eating another sweetie. . .Mom, can I have another sweetie?"--I love the honesty.

Flowers, Family, Feet and Food

Last Saturday we went to the Botanic Gardens and then took a short walk to our new flat! It's so close to everything and I think my life as a walking everywhere mom has just improved. When I go to the gardens I feel so happy. All the colors, petals and lush green give me serenity and the warmth in the greenhouses is mmmmm, yummy. And just to keep it real, we had a couple of kinks at the start of the day. I stopped to look in my favorite charity shop and got separated from Jason and the kiddos. I thought he was walking ahead to the gardens and he was waiting nearby on a side road. We eventually found each other. . .

Red Angel Trumpets

Little Dahlias-- (I had bright red dahlias in my wedding bouquet which became the inspiration for our sweet Dahlia's name). There are so many beautiful kinds of Dahlias and I love how the petals are overflowing and bursting with life. Below are some other Dahlias I found online. The first one has an amazing design.

Camellias --The flowers that I was named after

We also spent some time in the children's garden where they grow fruits and vegetables that the kids can pick at. Soren is always drawn to the fresh chives that are growing. He's love to eat them and come home with chive breath!

Soren took this of me while I as standing on my head. He's getting pretty good with his photo skills.

One time Jason and I were at a whole foods market and they were selling roasted vegetables so we tried them. Jason decided he could make them and make them better. Well, he did and his recipe is AMAZING! If you'd like it just let me know. I've since learned how to make them and they're actually easy!

I made this cake for Soren's nursery school. It's a vanilla cake and instead of using regular milk I used vanilla rice dream. I think it made it even tastier. I have this obsession with bunt cakes and was lost without mine when we moved here. Last October Bridget got me this one for my Birthday!

Finally, here is Soren doing his iceskating move on his buggy board. Such a great invention. He can hop on and off whenever he wants to.

Love

Dahlia DAW-ling

She has her Daddy's blue eyes and weighs 14 lbs and 14 ounces.

At the beginning of this month I had a 3 month old and a 3 year old. Now I have a 4 month old and a 4 year old!!!

To see the inspiration for my mushroom cake and cupcakes go here . . .Soren thought it was pretty neat.

We had a great time with family and Soren's aunt Bridget taught him how to play "Froggy's in the Milk Pan and Can't Get Out". . . and we ate way too much cake! Note to self: Don't plan a Birthday party for a 4 year old in the evening. By the end of the party it was HIS party and he could cry if he wanted to. A little too much sugar goes a long way!

He got a superman pajama outfit from his Grandma Pat and when he put it on he asked "now can I save the day?" I told him "yes" and he said, "for real?"--it was so funny.

Peace, love and happiness. . . peace out.

This morning I taught a children's creative dance class. Before leaving I fed Dahlia and then was back again in about two and a half hours to feed her. (Breath a sigh of relief). . . All was smooth and it was a good feeling to come home and see dad and the kids all happy and doing their thing: enjoying life. I was able to get payed for my taxi to and from work which is a must when I'm on a tight schedule feeding my princess. Which brings me to my reason for this post titled "Ode to Women". I had just finished class and was standing in the grey with bits of rain falling on my head and coat. A mother with two children came out the door and because of the rain the mother was trying to put her youngest in the stroller with the rain cover while her other daughter walked ahead. The little one was not having it. She slid herself out of the stroller onto the pavement. The mother, obviously stressed, said something and then picked her daughter up in one arm and pushed the stroller with the other arm and off they went. I've so been there. I felt I knew her in that moment. I was, at that particular time, without my children and free from the extra worry and stress yet I felt her battle of gathering her chicks and getting where she needed to go. She was a warrior woman in that moment and an example to me that I can do this and women all over the world do. Regardless of diverse cultures and anything that may separate us we are bound as women. Women. This is a powerful word to me. And human. we are bound as humans. I was brought back to the book I read recently-- Siddhartha by Herman Hess. I love this book. The message is so powerful and beautiful and I wont say anymore because I hope you read it. At the Maryhill Integration Network the women wrote a song that was performed in their last piece "Songs of Home, Songs of Hope" that contained a similar message. The chorus, written by Rema (an amazing woman) sings "no matter race, no matter faith, we're all human, we are the same" and it touches me each time the women sing it. For me, the purpose in life is to become one, to feel together and to gain such an awareness and understanding for all people in the world with all the rich uniqueness surrounding us that it becomes my nature to love each person and thing around me. I realize how unhappy I am when I become consumed with myself and things that don't bring true happiness. I'm at peace with my life and the world when I remember we are all humans and we can be one. I feel so blessed and connected when I am aware of this truth. . . connection--that's a whole other topic that I'll explore later . . .

On a funny note. . .the other day Soren told me I couldn't do something by saying "No humans, just kids". . .