Pregnant, love, airplanes

Ha.  Stop freaking out mom.  It's our GARDEN that's pregnant - just ready to burst!  Love this time of the year. (this photo is a week old, it's totally filled in now... will update when I get home)

Got some "missing kids" computer time while traveling, so thought I'd do an actual keyboard update.

Our favorite walk at the ranch last weekend with our little girl (R gets to stay with nan now).  Oh I just LOVE this age, this time with her.  She's become such a little person, so many words, so great to finally see and understand what she's thinking.

Isn't this such an awesome hike under the rocks.

 My baby is all grown up, and no more of that stage.  Sad, yet glad to get to know our little girl...  To friends with newborns, I will come over and hold your baby and you can get out of the house/have a shower/sleep.  Seriously.

 Flying with daddy!

Riley is doing great, and both kids are getting along beautifully with our new (in Jan) nanny Echo.  Echo speaks Chinese with them and I'm so glad we finally went through with this, she's a treat and such a helper, great with the kids.  Especially now that Riley gets more comfortable, he'll sometimes say random words to vani in chinese and loves the songs.  He's definitely still more in listening mode than talking (he can just say the "high value" phrases like "please may I have an orange" or "can I go on my bike"), but its exciting to see progress.

Riley is also in preschool just for 2.5 hrs a few times a week and is thriving.  He's balancing being 'outgoing' without being obnoxious, and is still sensitive but not as extremely so as before.  We get great feedback from his teachers, and I'm so proud to have such a lovely boy.   Now touch wood!  (remind me to read this when he's a teenager)

I've had a lot of b2b weeks of travel and things are pretty hectic, too many planes, automobiles and emails.  I'm in portland right now and missing my buddies.  The actual job I'm doing is good and I'm starting to get some real results and exciting opportunities going...so now to ("just"... ha!) scale it back a bit and say "no" more often.

The cutest thing?  Vani knows when I go away as I tell her "tomorrow mamas going on an airplane for a few days".  Except she thinks that the whole time I'm gone, I'm on the airplane.  So if someone asks where mama is, "mama on airpwane!".  And when a plane flies overhead, Si says she always points and says "mama on airpwane?".

Me?  I'm loving our family.  So thankful for our health and our joy in our kids, surety in each other.  I've settled into my skin as a mother and started to forgive myself more, quit comparing to other mothers and just appreciate the role I fill, and Simon's help in balancing our family.  Thankful.