Odds & Ends

1. Maya is obsessed with shoes. She still doesn't really wear them on any sort of regular basis, but boy does she like to play with them! She will crawl around the house, find a shoe (usually not her own), then sit there and attempt to make her foot go inside said shoe. The other day, she found a pair of her own shoes, crawled over to me, and held out one shoe and one foot-- as if to say, "Hey lady, I need this shoe on my foot, stat!" It really is SO cute. Especially when she goes into Nikos' closet and emerges with several pairs to "try on." :) Funny kid!

2.Nikos has started saying "awwwwww" when he finds something tiny and cute. For example: "Awwwwwww!! Look, Mommy, a little baby puppy, awwwwww! It's so cute!" or "Awwww, look at the little baby dolphin! I NEED one!" He cracks me up! He's also started doing this when Maya is crying, or someone is crying on TV/in a book/etc. It is just the sweetest thing! Well, especially when it's aimed at his sister. Because he then asks her what's wrong, and will usually follow up with a hug or a kiss. Honestly, he is a pretty awesome big brother, 99% of the time. Gus and I really lucked out!

3. Nikos' Word of the Week: "Jacaranda." The way he says it makes me giggle every time, because he is so precise about saying every single sound. This started when we were driving home from the supermarket, and he pointed out a tree with pretty purple flowers. So I told him it was a Jacaranda tree, and now he sees them EVERYWHERE. He also told Gus that he wanted a Jacaranda tree in the front yard. But when Gus asked him if he was going to clean up the mess that the tree makes, he got a big smile on his face and said, "Nope!" At least he's honest!

4. Nikos and I made homemade whole wheat blueberry waffles this morning, using some of the blueberries we picked last weekend. Maya supervised from her highchair. But oh my goodness, they were so good!!! I may, after 32 years, be becoming a blueberry junkie. Now to figure out if there is a way to grow them in our yard, hmmm... I don't think our climate is very blueberry-friendly, but there must be a way! I will find one! :)