Apple picking with Bodhi and Porter

Fall Festival

 
 
 

Helping Mommy in the Kitchen

The kitchen is one big adventure land! My favorite thing is emptying the dishwasher and playing drums with the wooden spoons. Sometimes I even crawl up on the door and get to look all around. I also love emptying the cupboards, especially the corner one with all the bottles. Once, I dumped a half bottle of soy sauce out all over me. Mama says she was going to eat me like a little piece of sushi. But what I REALLY love about the kitchen is Bella's dishes. When she is eating, she shares her food with me. Once I had a whole mouth full and Mommy made me spit it out! I also like splashing in her water dish. Our freezer is on the bottom so sometimes I get to crawl in and make all the bags go crinkle-crinkle. I love the rush of the cold air. And my cousins gave me a really fun magnet game for the fridge. PLUS there are stairs in the kitchen and I learned how to climb up them. Whew, I love the kitchen. And whenever I need Mom I just look for her legs and pull on her pants, once I pulled them clear down! Good thing no one else was around!

Washing our new car with Daddy!

Halloween

YES, she had two costumes!!

Holidays

Halloween has lead me to consider how I want to celebrate holidays with Nori. I love the idea of establishing family traditions that not only she will remember but will cause us all to learn and grow. The past several years I have celebrated Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead.) This is a Latin American tradition that blends from teh catholic holiday of All Saints Day, which is November 1, and Halloween which also somehow originated from All Saints Day as well. The Day of the Dead is a time to celebrate those that have passed. This is done in the home by making a small altar with candles, the favorite foods of those passed, photos, flowers, and whatever you want to put on it! In Guatemala it was also celebrated by partying in the cemetery! People would bring favorite foods of the dead and drinks to the graves of family. Then there would be dancing and partying for several days.
For the first time this year we made an altar in our home, namely honoring Pete and I's grandparents as well as our late cat Lily.
I also made Pan de Muertos, Bread of the Dead, this year which we ate at a Day of the Dead celebration on Monday.
I have never loved autumn but my efforts to embrace it this year have been encouraged by these celebrations. As the leaves are falling and underfoot I have been thinking of the intimacy of God with the closeness of the leaves. Although I love the splendor of spring and blossoms, they are so far away high up in the trees! Now we can touch, feel and hear God in the crunch of the leaves. And with what splendor they die! It reminds me that as people die they also surrender to deep beauty before passing. Day of the Dead softens the "evilness" or fear and darkness that sometimes is connotated with Halloween.
I hope that we are able to teach Nori about the beauty of dying, of remembering loved ones in this time of year as well as to have fun dressing up and eating candy!!

The Spot Fairy Visit

Hi Everyone! I am home from my day at the hospital! I had a lot of fun in the beginning- they had lots of cool toys and sparkly things to look at. AND lots of cords, which I love. Then I began to get a little hungry and tired. So my nurse walked around with me and I hammed it up to everyone. They usually give kids my age medication when they leave their parents, but heck- I didn't need that- I love new people! When they put me on the stretcher to go to the OR it reminded me of riding in the grocery cart and I got a real kick out of it.
Then I got REALLY sleepy and had some wonderful dreams about the Spot Fairy coming to take away my spot and give it to another baby. When I woke up I had a sore throat and lots of things stuck in me, but I couldn't stay awake and kept falling back asleep.
Then I got to see Mommy and Daddy and take naps as they held me. I had on very special Fairy pajamas from my cousins. My nurses were super nice and mommy only cried a little bit. I don't feel much pain yet, but when we got home Mommy tried to give me some pain medicine and I threw up all over Mommy and Daddy. Now Daddy and I are going to take a looooooooooooong nap together.
Thanks for all your prayers and thoughts- I could feel them. But especially thanks for praying for parents, they needed it more than I did!
Love,
Nori (minus one spot)
ps attached are some photos I took for you!