Days 179 and 180: my big girl

Sasha has been refusing to sit in her highchair at meals. We're talking screaming and wailing, arms and legs flailing, tears streaming down her cheeks. And nothing I do seems to comfort her or calm her down. So last night, out of desperation, I put her on a regular chair (see, the problem is that we have a tall breakfast bar and need to work out a solution to this "I want nothing to do with this highchair anymore" problem). She loved it, she wanted to spin, but I didn't let her. But she still loved it.

She took a whopping 4 and a half hours nap today (she can nap that long, but sleeping in till 8am is unacceptable, huh?) and woke up very happy - not to say that that stopped her from throwing a fit about being in her highchair, again.

We interrupt our regular-scheduled programming...

...to (finally) bring you picture from our trip to Europe.
First four days were London - so much beer, so much sightseeing, and so much fun! We went on top of the London Eye right as the sun was setting, so it was breathtaking. We visited the Tower and the Tower Bridge (and by day two my companions - my almost tireless husband and wonderful friend Gretchen - were done with me taking pictures of them, so I had to resort to mirrors, shadows, and sneaking around to get their pictures). We visited museums, climbed atop the St. Paul's cathedral (which, I'm not gonna lie, was tiring), and had tea at Windsor. We even attempted to see the changing of the guard by the Buckingham Palace, but alas, that day the rain canceled all the happenings.

Then we were off to the fabulous romantic Paris - one of my absolute favorite places ever!We did probably a bit too much, as I tend to get really excited about going to museums (my husband would be happy chilling out by Notre Dame or in the Luxembourg Garden all day) So we did the obligatory Louvre, the magnificent Musee D'Orsay (love it!), Orangerie (mind-blowing!), climbed the Arc de Triomphe. We went to Giverny (where we biked to get to Monet's house) and visited Champagne (where we tasted delicious champagne and consequently bought some). The last day was reserved for Eiffel Tower, as we haven't properly seen in this time around till then, ahh, the beauty!

Can we go back yet?? Le sigh.

Days 175-178

On Thursday, it was so hot that the farthest I dared go out was our balcony (it really is a lifesaver in these hot humid NY summer days). I traced Sasha's and my feet. Then she did the same thing, getting chalk all over her legs.

Friday, we went out for my (belated) birthday celebration. This is just a snapshot, but it's hard to get pictures of my husband, so here you go: at a German bar in the city, drinking a whole boot of beer. And this is the before picture. I am not going to share the after picture.

Saturday, we went to my cousin's birthday party. We all had such a wonderful time! Best friends, Sasha and Emily.

It was a shoes-off-barefoot-on-the-grass kind of day. And I love those!

My sister and her boyfriend, love this picture of them, so happy!

Sunday was Kristin's bridal shower. It was so warm and happy. And yes, there was tea involved.

Day 174: attitude

We went over to grandma and grandpa's house tonight and picked some raspberries. And then Sasha gave mama some attitude... erm, posed for mama... yes, that's better, posed.

And I'm fully aware that I still owe you (all three of my faithful readers) the pictures from Europe, I do have them all sorted and edited, but I'm having a bit of a hard time picking just a few to post. They will come, I promise.

Days 168-173

Sasha stole the bubble wand and wouldn't give it back, insisting that she'd blow the bubbles - yeah, that didn't happen. She dripped a lot of soapy liquid all over herself and papa (while I hid a few steps away behind my camera!)

And I love the look she's giving me in this photo: "I'm going to draw on myself and there's nothing you can do to stop me, mama!"

Cuddling with papa on father's day

Days 166 and 167: coming back home

I know I'm skipping a few days here, but I still have to go through all our photos from our vacation. I took (not surprisingly at all) over 1,100 photos and I've already managed to get that down to about 750 (I'm actually quite proud of myself). But I have yet to edit them and pick out my favorites. So stay tuned, I will post them!
Now for the couple of days we've been back... I guess Sasha really missed us: she spends half of her day hugging or cuddling with me; the other, throwing tantrums about the smallest things and getting mama's attention that way. I'm guessing it's just a phase, her way of adjusting back to "normal", hopefully it won't last long. So yeah, this is what I've been dealing with these two days (and the thing that has been saving my sanity so far)

Days 152-155

Sasha likes doing crazy crafts that I throw at her; seriously, it's not just me (well, not always anyway)

And this is what she thinks of her doll stroller... I suppose that's better than her actually sitting in it, huh?

This little guy is Sasha's new best friend, my parents' friends from Israel sent us this little lion and the kiddo has been dragging him along with her ever since, isn't he adorable?

And this is what happens when you give your kid a crayon and a piece of paper and leave the room for two minutes to go check on laundry, sigh (it did all come off, but I had to snap a picture)
And p.s. we're leaving for Europe tonight, so I won't be posting pictures until we come back, but boy, will I be posting pictures when I come back!!

Days 149-151: long weekend edition

These three photos best describe our weekend, and while they aren't the most fantastic pictures I've ever taken (said very modestly of course) and two of them I took with our point and shoot because I didn't feel like lugging the giant Nikon around, they are what this weekend was all about: strawberry picking, random long car trips, and family.