Making a Necklace

I want you to please notice what is going on here.  First off, she spent nearly an hour cutting apart old hair rubber bands, the kind that has a metal clip in the middle and a bead on either side of the resulting "8."  This is her 2nd necklace of the day.  The first one ended up being too short- it fit nicely on top of her head, and she decided it was a halo.  She needed ANOTHER necklace to dress up like an angel.

Please notice that she has sorted all the beads by type, and then strung them in pairs.  They were NOT in pairs when she started, it was a huge pile of beads on the floor.

What was Mimi doing while all this was happening?  Running around singing at the top of her lungs, playing with a string she found.  Happy as a lark.

My goodness.  I think we can end part of the nature vs. nurture discussion right there!

Ernie in 2010

One picture a month for 2010...look how this girl is growing!

Don't Listen, Mom!

"Ernie, are you playing a nice game with your dolls?"

"....no.  I'm just playing the story the way I want it.  Just make sure you don't listen, 'kay Mom?"

(Her dolls aren't being very kind to each other right now.  Oh dear.)

The temperature's rising....

"Why are you vacuuming now, Mom"
"Because it didn't happen in the morning."
"Oh, yeah.  Mom, this morning you really lost your temperature, didn't you?"
"...yeah."

Ernie: Year in Review

If You Give a Girl A Camera

Well, actually I didn't give it to her...but I DID find it on the camera after my shower!  (Along with 30 pictures of my bedroom ceiling, her knees, and something very orange.)


Untitled from Myrnie Twin on Vimeo.

Fourth of July Morning

Ernie ran her first race on Independence Day- the neighborhood hosted a small (1/4 mile) fun run for the kids, then a longer 3-mile run for adults. Ernie was so excited! She woke up early, suited up in her running clothes (just like Mommy and Daddy) and had me braid her hair tight.

Here she is, waiting on the stairs for us.

She's not excited at all!

Big stretches to get ready for the race!

"Is it time to go yet?"

Here she is, at the starting line

And...Mimi is NOT impressed.

Recovery after the race- it was a long 1/4 mile!

Her trusty "support" staff- he ran with her, and encourage her to keep going ("Yes, that's a daisy. Yes, that car is red. No, let's not walk- keep going!")

And finally, her triumphant finish!

Birthday Portraits

In what I hope is a tradition, we had some portraits taken of Ernie for her birthday- these were taken by our good friend "The Berninger" at the local zoo. Isn't Ernie a ham?! These are a few of my favorites.

Was it worth it?

I gained a half hour to make dinner...but what have I lost??

Princess for a Day

Ernie's very FIRST birthday party! We had a blast- thank you EVERYONE who called and wrote today to wish her a happy birthday. For the last few weeks, every time she's seen a "24" she stops and exclaims "Mom! That's my BIRTHDAY!" So no, she wasn't excited at all.

Here are the party kids, in their "princess" and "King" hats.

With every iteration of our plans for today, Ernie would pipe up "and Duck Duck Goose!" It's a favorite game of hers, and VERY hard to play during the day with just Mommy for a companion.

It's been a LONG time since I've seen Ernie have so much fun! All the kids were such a joy to have here, and a HUGE thank you to T and "the Berninger" for coming to help. (Well, The Berninger was especially invited- she's one of E's special friends. But she WAS a huge help.

We finished the day by going as a family to see the Pixar movie "Up", then a quiet family dinner, presents, cake, and a well-deserved bed time. (And yes, we found out the movie was a little scary for Ernie- she ended up in Wonder Daddy's lap. The parts that most concerned her weren't what I was expecting-- the house catching fire, the house finally floating away-- along with the ones you'd expect --any chase scene, and any time someone was "dangling." Probably not a movie she'd choose to watch again any time soon, but Wonder Daddy and I really enjoyed it.