Yesterday was one of those days that make us say with satisfaction, "This is why we live here." A sunny 60 degree beauty of a day. Around lunchtime, we walked down to Sweet Cow, where we sat on the grass eating ice cream.
(Athena decided to take a little rest on the sidewalk)
After Athena's nap, we went over to Davidson Mesa to let the dogs run around (Jen, Olivia, and puppy Tayo joined us), have a picnic, and do a little hiking.
And THEN when we got home from all of that, Mazie said she wanted to go on a bike ride, so we hopped on our bikes and did a little loop through the open space.
Tonight, as I write this, there are about 2 inches of snow on the ground and it's still coming down. This is why we live here.
Athena's vocabulary is growing in leaps and bounds. Our current list has about 75 words + signs, but I think I'm missing quite a few, and she seems to learn a few more every day. Here we are just hanging out a couple of weeks ago.
On the last episode, Ahya was leaving for Spain and Mazie had just begun her flamenco/flamingo training. Upon her return, Ahya presented Mazie with a beautiful flamenco dress, shoes, and hair accessory, and on Thanksgiving at Barb and Gpa's house (the first of 4 Thanksgivings this year), Mazie regaled us with quite the performance (on the hearth-stage that her mother performed on as a child). (A certain little sister makes an appearance at the 2:25 mark with some impressive moves of her own.)
Showing her versatility, a few weeks later Mazie performed on a bigger stage for her "Petite Nutcracker Ballet" class recital. Here she is posing before the show -- note the custom hairstyle she designed herself: "A bun on top and two ponytails on the side."
And here is the performance.
Finally, we still enjoy frequent song-and-dance performances with a more rock-pop flavor in a more intimate venue...
Act I
In which Mazie decides that she will be a witch and Athena will be a black cat.
Act II
In which Mazie decides that she and her mom must have matching beautiful princess costumes out of a catalog (for $80 each). Mom protests.
Act III
In which Mazie sees a pirate costume at Costco and declares that the whole family will be pirates. The price tag is reasonable and Mom has a pirate costume ready to go from Zack and Julie's wedding, so she concedes. Pirate costumes are subsequently purchased for Dad and Athena, and the Dickinson Pirate Family makes an appearance at the Louisville MonsterDash race on Saturday.
Act IV
In which the day of Halloween arrives and Mazie "The Diva" James suddenly decides that her pirate costume is ugly/ makes her look like a boy/ doesn't have the right shoes to go with it/ is generally and indisputably unacceptable and will not be worn. The Dickinsons thus spend Halloween as 3 pirates and a princess.
Act V
In which we conclude that, hey, at least our younger daughter still wears whatever we put on her, and makes a pretty darn cute pirate.
Ahya left on Saturday for a 3-week work trip to Spain. On Friday before she left, she showed Mazie a video of flamenco dancers (or "flamingo dancers"). Mazie told me about it when I got home, and I asked her to show me what flamingo dancers look like. Her rendition was pretty impressive (the fact that she happened to be wearing an animal print leotard adds a nice touch).
Athena's communication skills continue to grow. Our latest count puts her at about 13 words and 22 signs. Yesterday we had dinner at the aquarium and she worked on "fish" (or, in Athena-speak, "BSH!" with wiggly hands). "Bye bye," Mazie's first word, has also gotten very clear:
Along with all of her individual words, we can tell that her thought processes are becoming more complex... we can have longer conversations, like the other night when she wanted to nurse (making her sign for milk), and I explained that we were first going to have a bath, then read a book, and then have milk and go to sleep. She watched intently and then happily marched to the stairs to go up for bathtime. It's also so fun to get glimpses into her own original thoughts. A couple of weeks ago we were going to watch one of Caleb's soccer games and as we were walking across the fields toward the game I turned around and she had stopped a ways behind me -- her hands were on the ground and she was attempting a somersault. We had gone to gymnastics earlier in the day, and apparently she was just suddenly struck with the urge to practice her skills! (A day or two later she successfully pulled off her first solo somersault at Ahya's house.) Here's another game she made up on her own:
In a development that is both cute and a little troubling, she has found her "no." When offered a food she doesn't want or asked to do something else she doesn't want to do, she shakes her head and repeats, "nonononono" with perfect little o-shaped lips.
"Doggie" is another favorite word & sign, and both Wiley and Bailey (she also knows "cat" and does a pretty cute "meow") are big hits. She loves to cuddle Wiley and give him enthusiastic pats, and also enjoys holding on to his tail and following him around. He is very tolerant of her affection. Bailey is more elusive... she tends to run away when Athena comes after her, which makes her an especially exciting sight around the house. And of course, the MOST exciting family member is Mazie. Mirroring the enthusiasm that Mazie has always shown towards her, Athena now starts most days by jumping on her sister and squealing. They are quite the pair.
