Oh, That's Why

Today I woke up with a bad, bad cold, congested head, and swollen throat. Sadly, Eva has had the same cold the last few days - probably from our various outings in the cold-ish weather, since we can't quite give up the park visits, pumpkin patches, and walks to the fruit market just yet.  However, I have been diligently wiping her nose, washing her hands and mine, using wipes and soap and all kinds of stuff to curtail the start of the sickie season with a toddler. I was surprised to get her cold so soon, and so strongly.

Then this morning I saw Eva sucking on my toothbrush - the whole head of the brush in her sticky, germ-filled mouth. Ok, so that explains it.    

Stateside!

We got back into town Wednesday after a full two weeks of traveling. Whew! It was great and so much fun and full of so many different experiences... and we are still unpacking, cleaning, finding our "normal life" stuff around the house, and getting our sleeping clocks back in order!


My favorite phrase from Eva since our return home has been, "Momma home! Momma home!", closely followed by her newest expression of excitement, "Oh my!" (pronounced 'oh maui.') She did splendidly with the Mosbo grandparents while we were away and transitioned back home really well (so far), which of course helps us transition too. It was great to have a break from parenting and all the daily 'normal life' stresses, and I have to say it's also great to return to our normal life and to our little girl who is growing and changing and expressing herself more every day. I like that balance - enjoy time away, and enjoy the returning.


We have SO MANY great photos from our time in Thailand, and so many great stories! It has been fun to share some tidbits of our travels with others, but it is hard to sum up all we did - and it is surprising that it already seems so far away and long ago. We were lucky to have Tim and Megs show us all over and plan out our itinerary; looking back, it balanced out into a fantastic tour of seeing the country's various regions, doing touristy and every-day Thai stuff, and having a great balance of both fun and down time with our crew of friends, too.


I hope to get more pictures and stories online from our travels soon, but for now, the three of us are all getting used to life back in Chi-town. I feel very lucky that we got to celebrate ten years of marriage, having awesome siblings/siblings-in-law, and having great friends this way - yeah for "Toyland!"

Leaving on a Jet Plane...

We're off to Thailand for TWO WHOLE WEEKS tomorrow morning... and it feels surreal! I already miss our little girl more then I thought I would, and got teary-eyed making a little calendar for her that shows the days we'll be gone and ends with a picture of us holding her. Sigh.

I also cannot WAIT to see my brother and sister in law in just 24 hours, and have them show us around their world over there. We have such a fun group of people we will be traveling with, and I think it will be a perfect mix of adventure, relaxing, seeing sites and chilling on the beach - it all sounds so great... once we get going and on the plane all the running around the past week or so will fade away.

Here is the cute girl we are leaving behind (with loving grandparents!)

Below is a great recent video of Eva dancing and giggling with me. ( I also have a stellar clip of Eva reading with daddy, but it's not loading properly tonight... I'll try another time.) This clip is for her - and us - to have online while we are out galavanting around Thailand! I know Eva will have a fantastic time with her grandparents in MN, probably learning new skills, words, and songs every day - but I know I will miss her and will now have to work to remember how to be without her. She's at the age where she is a total information sponge and so fun to watch learn; my parents have planned so many activities for her visit that I wonder if she'll even notice we're gone? :) How blessed we are to have people who love our daughter so much and help keep her safe and supported while we are gone - and we are also grateful for the financial ways my parents also helped make this trip possible. Big thanks grammie and gramps! And thanks Tim and Megs for being our in-country guides! As Eva would say, "wow!" What an adventure we get to embark on! :) See you in two weeks.

Spilled Milk

It's been a hectic day full of prepping for leaving town for awhile, and Eva has been slowing me down (even more than usual). I am realizing, though, that I often forget how aware of things and how smart this kiddo is getting. Here is my favorite example:

This afternoon Eva was eating a snack on the floor in the kitchen (peanut butter, milk and popcorn, her new favorites.) I looked over to see her accidentally spill some "mick" on the floor after putting the cup up to her mouth to drink, and just as I was starting to whisk her up to put her in the high chair, where messes would be easier to control, she ran away from me. Purposefully ran away, carrying a dripping cup. More than a little perturbed, I firmly said, "Eva, come back, you need to sit in your chair now and not spill the milk." She wandered back next to me, and as I looked down, noticed she was holding our kitchen towel. Before I could pick her up to save future messes, she started to wipe up the milk from the floor!!! She looked at me and smiled as she cleaned up her own mess, and said, "ah-dow" (all done.) I broke into a huge grin and gushed, "You were helping momma clean weren't you? THANK you Eva, that was so nice! What a smart girl."

After I gave her a BIG hug for acting so grown up and helping, but before I got her up into her chair, she deliberately turned her same cup of milk fully upside down and made a HUGE mess of spilled milk on the floor. Then she handed me the towel. Sigh.