What Max and Aviva have been up to...

Max

• Max asked Keely for something the other day.  When she said no, he starting counting in a threatening voice, "ooooone, twooooooo, ..........
• I was watching Ellen while I was working out and Max said, "Why they do that mama?"  I was confused and asked, "Why do they do what?"  He responded with this really funny fake laugh and I realized he meant the audience.  I told him that they thought she was funny.  I don't think he agreed.  
• Keely got out her tea set and set the table for her and Max.  After a long lecture on what is "proper,"  she poured the tea (water).  Max raised his cup and out of no where said, "Cheers Kee, cheers!"  

Aviva

• We know when Aviva gets excited about something because she starts gasping for breath.  I definitely need to get it on video.
• The other day Aviva was laying on her tummy, looking away from me.  Periodically she would pop up on her arms, look at me and start cracking up.  At first I didn't realize it, but she was playing peek-a-boo with me!
• As much as Max is a daddy's boy, Aviva is a mama's girl.  And I have to say, it's really nice.  As soon as I walk in the room she grins and stares me down until I come pick her up.  
• She also knows her daddy.  When he comes home from work Max jumps up on him and she starts flapping her legs and arms up and down waiting for her turn.  
• She sticks her tongue out when she's concentrating.  This is maybe my favorite thing because it came straight from me.  Wether it's genetic or she learned it just watching me (sometimes it takes a lot of concentration to change a diaper...), either way I love that she's like her mama. 

Beat to Death

If you're walking through Briarwood mall and you get the urge to pay for a massage from the guys in the middle of the sitting area staring you down with their massage chairs.... don't do it.  

It was 15 minutes of pure pain.  I asked him twice to be softer, but nothin'.  Abram kept assuring me I would feel great the next day.  Nope.  Nothing.  Don't do it.  

A Good Date

Abram and I went a the best date night last night.  

Part 1

We started at Prickly Pear, one of my favorite places to eat in Ann Arbor.  It's a funky little southwestern restaurant with covered outdoor seating in the garden in the back.  My favorite items on the menu are:

• pesto pizza (navajo fry bread topped with pesto, tomatoes, chicken and cheese)
  
• pecan chicken salad
• chicken sope (a chicken dish with this ridiculously good pumpkin sauce)
• spinach and cheese or sweet potato enchiladas
• fajitas

Let me just say one thing about the fajitas.  There is nothing, I repeat, nothing I hate more than ordering fajitas and when they come out they're not sizzling.  Send them back!  I am not interested in fajitas that don't sizzle.  

At Prickly Pear, they always sizzle. 

Oh, and apparently they have the best margaritas in town.  If you're interested.  

Part 2

I never remember to use my retail gift cards or store credit.  So I have a stack that I carry around with me everywhere, just in case by some miracle I remember to use them the next time I'm at the store.  

So Abram and I went through the cards and chose the ones that we could use at the mall (which happened to be Sears, J Crew and Williams Sonoma).  After dinner we headed over to Briarwood and set out to spend the money.  Not on anything that we need.  Just pure, irresponsible spending.  Here's what we came home with:

• Sears: 3 bags of wood chips for our smoker and a new grill brush/cleaner thingy.  
• J Crew: a small wallet keychain for me.  Just big enough to fit my license, my credit card, and a little cash. 
• Williams Sonoma: a set of happy red mixing bowls, The New Steak cookbook, and a pie crust mix

Part 3

There's a new Borders down the street from our house.  So we spent an hour browsing. 

Doesn't that sound like fun?  Well it was.  All of you should move to Ann Arbor so you can live by such fun people like us.  

Did I mention my blog will slowly be evolving into a series of persuasive posts on why to move to Ann Arbor?  Economy shmeconomy. 

 

Sister Hipster

Check out Brandi's new Biz:  Sister Hipster

For the Ladies of Melville Manor

Last night Keely and Ben came over for a sleepover.  We popped popcorn and watched a movie. We got in our PJs and Keely wanted to watch another show, but it was getting a little too close to bed time.  So instead, I turned on the soundtrack to the Little Mermaid and we acted out the movie while we sang along at the top of our lungs.  

P.S. Max is a chip off the old block.  Wish you could have seen it.  

At the Car Wash

Abram was a mad man today.  He was all over the place: washing the car, changing the hard to reach light bulbs...  apparently this is what happens when he works 9 hours a day instead of 12-14.  And Max loved it.  He spent a good hour on the task and was bursting with pride about how hard he worked.  Who knew chores would ever bring such a big smile to my face?

Slowly But Surely

Abram decided a couple years ago that he wants all of his girls to go into the math and sciences.  He loves to have phrases he can preface with "I always say..." and this falls into that category.

Recently he found out that kids that skip crawling are generally not so coordinated and not so good at math.  Max barely crawled, maybe for two weeks before he started walking.  And he never did quite get that you could lift your head up and look around as you crawl.  So to this day, on the rare occasion that he crawls, he pushes his head along the carpet, plowing the way for his hands and knees.

Here he is with his signature head plow crawl:

Now imagine Abram's horror when he saw that Aviva is just as disdainful of tummy time as Max was.  I don't have the drive to force it on her, but he has been coaching Aviva on crawling every chance he gets.  Today he proudly walked into the room where I was and asked if I noticed that when Aviva is sitting, she now goes up on one knee to reach the toys she wants.  

So I went in the living room to document it and sure enough,  she reached right over and went on both knees to get what she wanted.  Nobel prize, here we come.  

I Haven't Forgotten You Dear Blog

Lisa and Aviva

Okay, okay.  I'm still here.  I just haven't been able to bring myself to post anything amidst the chaos that has been this house.  Not to mention I just didn't have the time.  However, we helped Shawn and Lisa paint and move into their new house (seen here) last week and I have almost all of our things organized and put away.  So let the play dates begin!  

On of the great things about moving back to Ann Arbor is reconnecting with old friends.  My senior year of high school I was BFF with Ryan and she is one of the few people I have kept in touch with over the years.  She has kids the same age as mine and on Wednesday we had the first of what we have decided will be weekly play dates.  

Then I took Max and Aviva to the play place at the mall today and I ran into another friend from high school who has a little girl Aviva's age.  We made plans to get together next week. It's so crazy to me that I ended up in Ann Arbor, it just was never in my head that I'd ever settle down here, so sometimes I feel like I can't quite wrap my head around it.  

On Thursday I went with Elizabeth and Jill to pick strawberries with our kids.  And Keely and Gavin (Lisa's nephew), who consequently Max has decided to call Collin.  

They kept eating the strawberries out of my box until I got wise and told them they could only eat what they picked.  They didn't last long after that and ended up playing in the car.  Which resulted in a big strawberry stain in the back of our new car.  Sorry you had to read that here Abram, I forgot to mention it.    

P.S. did I mention that we bought a Honda Pilot? Love it. 

So while we didn't spend lots of time there, it was quite alright with me.  I picked just enough for Strawberry Shortcake that night, and to make freezer jam with the rest.  (Which by the way, is a first for me, so I'll let you know how that goes). 

So yes, I'm still here and recommitting myself to you, gentle readers.  Thank you for your patience.