Friday, February 12, 2010

Stella's favorite things

I thought I would take a moment to share with you what we get to enjoy everyday. Stella is now 11 months and a week old and very opinionated about what she does and certainly does NOT like! We are enjoying parenthood way too much and love each phase she is going through as we anticipate what she surprises us with next!
Her favorite things this month are...
Her puppies.

She loves their ears, tails, and noses. They also love her! Bosley likes to lick her after I put her lotion on and Betty thinks she's the designated nanny.

Laughing

She loves to laugh at me when I blow my nose, at Seth when he tickles her, and at anything else her little mind finds comical.

Bananas

Every morning.

The Ziplock bag drawer

When I am working in the kitchen or laundry room, Stella follows me in and promptly finds her way to the Ziplock bag drawer which is conveniently located at the bottom. She sits down, opens the drawer and begins pulling baggies out one-by-one. She isn't interested in each individual baggie, but more in the sound and feeling of them coming out of the box. Before one bag has landed on the tile, another is in the air. Then, when she is content with the pile of wrinkled bags on the floor, she uses two as slippers for her hands and shuffles/scoots her way back to the livingroom, leaving a trail of orphaned sandwich bags behind her.

Live

Live. And Live Well.BREATHE. Breathe in and Breathe deeply. Be PRESENT. Do not be past. Do not be future. Be now.On a crystal clear, breezy 70 degree day, roll down the windows and FEEL the wind against your skin. Feel the warmth of the sun.If you run, then allow those first few breaths on a cool Autumn day to FREEZE your lungs and do not just be alarmed, be ALIVE.Get knee-deep in a novel and LOSE track of time.If you bike, pedal HARD… and if you crash then crash well.Feel the SATISFACTION of a job well done—a paper well-written, a project thoroughly completed, a play well-performed.If you must wipe the snot from your 3-year old’s nose, don’t be disgusted if the Kleenex didn’t catch it all… because soon he’ll be wiping his own.If you’ve recently experienced loss, then GRIEVE. And Grieve well.At the table with friends and family, LAUGH. If you’re eating and laughing at the same time, then might as well laugh until you puke. And if you eat, then SMELL. The aromas are not impediments to your day. Steak on the grill, coffee beans freshly ground, cookies in the oven. And TASTE. Taste every ounce of flavor. Taste every ounce of friendship. Taste every ounce of Life. Because-it-is-most-definitely-a-Gift. -Kyle Lake-