Happy, er, Fat Tuesday. My mom is giving up her waistline for Lent.

(P.S. This is the 25 week profile. Hard to believe there are 15 more weeks of growing left, but c'est vrai).

Do fairies really exist? I put together an expedition team to find out.

Josey led the adventure, Orion made sure we hung together and I kept my eyes peeled from the back to make sure we didn't miss anything.
Any Fairies in the creek?
Fairies like to live in trees, so this is a good place to look.
We decided, over pears, hot cocoa and pb and j that yes, there are such things as fairies. Absolutely.

My LA peeps are in town, so I'm showing off what I got. My research prior to Miguel's arrival clued me into his appreciation of all things punk rock, so I performed accordingly. Seemed to work.

This weekend, we made sushi (fishless, due to mercury levels not conducive to a growing fetus--or kiddo or mom and dad, for that matter...)

and Valentine Cards.

Then went to a women's basketball game, which I found utterly boring--I'm cheering for the band here. I had zero interest in the whole running, ball, dribble, toss aspect of the evening,
but forgave my mom the bad date idea when she took me out for hot chocolate.


A valentine for every kiddo in my pre-school class... here's the naming of just a few.

This will be very unexciting to most of you, but for those of you who remember the terrible cupboards hanging down (right about where Nona's hands and head are pictured here), you'll noticed that they are GONE! Actually, the best part is that they, and their necessary storage space, are not gone, but now found on the other side of the island (on right of picture). Our house feels so much bigger without this obtrusive disturbance of sight line...a minor change with massive results.


And, we've been painting... Here are some pics that give you an idea of our color themes, if the term can be used so loosely.

My New Room!

A few fun moments, quirks and antics of Winona Lou these days, Or, A Word is Worth a Thousand Pictures:

Let's just start with the confession and get it out of the way: I have a swear word. When I get frustrated, I say "My Dangit!" I repeat it over and over until I get a rise out of mom or dad, but it usually takes awhile because they are trying to hide their amusement and it takes them a bit to compose themselves.

I have a new room! It's purple and green and twice the size of my last one. I am feeling quite proud and have decided that it's such a big girl room that I'm simply not going to wet the bed, anymore. One cannot sleep in a big girl room and maintain such toddler-like habits.

Telling stories is a great way to captivate mom and dad for long periods of time. I've learned to give them a choice, so they feel empowered and in conrol of the situation. It goes a little something like this: "Do you want to hear about the happy little girl, the duck in the pond or the piano?" They make a choice and I launch into a terrific tale.

At the moment, I'm sick. Nasty cough and a little fever. I'm keeping my spirits up and finding that being sick isn't so bad. I got to watch a lot of Sesame Street. It inspired me to lovingly
declare, "Mommy and Daddy, it's a beautiful day in the new TV room."

Spelling is not nearly as hard as everyone makes it out to be. I like to give mom and dad pop quizzes such as "Q-R-C-T-S-O, what's that spell?" (Mom answers with silly things that sound like "qrctso" and so I have to break it to her that "No, mom. That's not it.")

I'm getting very good at my (unsolicited!) Pleases and Thank Yous these days. Excuse Me's have to wait until my laughing fit is over because I find burps and "fluffs" incredibly funny. So does Dad. Mom gets this "look," so I just focus on Dad.

Snuggle time is still my favorite time of day and I ask for it morning, noon and night. I nestle into the nooks and crannies of any body who will sit with me (I'm partial to Mom and Dad, but Bodhi or Lucy will do in a pinch). Mom's nooks and crannies are getting a little difficult to navigate these days, but I'm still pretty excited about this little brother or sister. (When asked "brother or sister" I almost always answer "brother," when the choice is "boy or girl," I am sure it's a girl... so I've narrowed it down as much as anyone!)

That's all for now. Bedtime! Love to everyone...

What's better than ONE singing three year old? TWENTY singing three year olds!
"Bubble Bubble POP!"
"Alice the camel has TWO humps!"
"UP goes the drawbridge, UP goes the drawbridge"

And just to give you a glimpse into my musical versatility (you'll notice that here I sing about FROGS, whereas my piano composition was largely DUCK in theme). Forgive the unbrushed hair and room in a state of rearrangement and painting. Creativity strikes when it strikes.

I'd also like to state that I took some artistic liberties in my lyrics here, and urge you not to read into how "mommy" makes an appearance only to take the Green Frog Away. She's really quite prudent in her decisions about what she giveth and taketh away.

Sorry it's been awhile since I've been in touch here. I've been composing, which takes a bit of concerted focus. Here is a sampling of what I'm about to release to my public.

We heard a heartbeat tonight! 18 wks and a few days into this thing and it's true: a little brother or sister is on the way! I'm very fond of telling mommy that she is HUUUUUUGE(and she is very fond of replying that I ain't seen nothing, yet.)

We just returned from a fabulous coastal getaway with Grammy and Grampa. Our house was perfectly situated ON the beach, so we could watch all the storms roll in (and out and in again) and watch the tides do the same. I learned about High Tide and Low Tide-the former keeps you from playing on the beach. Here I am checking out the view with Grampa and Lucy.

Went into town to get groceries and check out the sites.

Grammy and Grampa took us to the Aquarium, which was pretty much the coolest thing. Ever. Highlight (unpictured) was the feeding of the seals, although being inside of a fishtank with papa was up there.

Mom's favorite:

Walk through tunnels--fish and sharks and scuba divers above and below.

But mostly, we did art,

played games,

read books (thank you Gramma and KooKoo and Aunt Jenny!)

listened to music,

played music,

enjoyed the spectacular view,

took some walks on the beach,

and played in the backyard (while mom climbed a tree).

It would have been an altogether perfect vacation if Grammy and Grampa hadn't been eaten by a shark.

Happy Hanukkah!

I helped make potato latkes.

Here I am in my new canopy tent!

We went to a Solstice Party last night at a club downtown (that's right--I went clubbing). Instead of a mosh pit, however, we did a spiral dance and invoked the good spirits of winter. Earth my body, water my blood, air my breath and fire my spirit. Now, before any of you get on a plane to come and rescue me from a Wiccan coven, you should know that I sang Jingle Bells all the way home. December is full of fun, as it turns out.

Mom and I getting ready for a night on the town. Good thing it's one of the longest nights of the year: I'm ready to PARTY!

Some holiday tunes for you. (Sorry it's so dark. For some reason we always do these videos right before bedtime when the lights are all turned down).

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The snow did arrive, after all; one day later than expected to everyone's delight. Monday snowdays are MUCH more fun than Sunday snowdays.

As you can see by the look on our faces, my friend Maya and I needed a little bit of convincing that this was going to be fun. If anyone could rally us, though, it was our moms, whose enthusiasm was almost embarassing.

It didn't take long. Turns out, if you sit down on one of these sleds, gravity and ice work their magic to create some serious fun.

I got a litte cocky...

..and paid the price. (I'm actually about to laugh here, not cry. Just to set the record straight).

This stuff is not only fun to play in, it's fun to eat! (Yes, my fingers are numb, but before anyone gets too hard on my mom, know that I was being quite obstinate about not wearing gloves to the point where I believe my mom's words were something along the lines of, "Alright fine. They're your fingers." Funny how it takes adults so long to figure out the most basic of things).

After this, we went over to another friend's house for pumpkin muffins, hot apple cider and a thrilling round of Kiddos In Hot Pursuit of Poor Old Cat Who Really Wishes We'd Go Back Outside.

Snow days are very good for the soul.