Return / Attack

I've been out on the road pushing my product; I came back to face this assault:

Tacos!

Yeah! Maggie made tacos last night! Ida and Baby Matthew were on the scene!



Elsie was stirring up all kinds of trouble! She's one of those people who always acts like they're from Brooklyn and down with some hipster east coast vibe! But if you want to turn anything on or off, she's your girl!



Mama Ella cracked an egg onto Baby Matthew! OH no!



Fortunately, Uncle Arthur was there to read a book!



(Even though he kept falling asleep! Because he was out all night drinking beer and consorting with Bonnie Prince Billy!)



Bye-bye!

Ida vs. Another Weird Tendency

We are trying mighty hard to get Ida to stop saying "Oh, my Jesus!" and "Oh, my God!" Any advice?

Lately when we get back from shopping or something, Ida can be quite reluctant to leave the car; so we just abandon her there and she plays happily for ten minutes or so like she's getting away with something.




I check on her every five minutes or so to see if she wants to come inside,



and eventually (so far) she says yes, and returns triumphantly.

Saved by Tumbleweeds--photo extravaganza full of emotion

I'm out on the road promoting my book; I miss Ida and Mama Ella a lot. (The feeling I have is similar to what one feels when hearing Peter Criss sing "Beth.") It's tough. So I was very happy to check in today and see that our friends at Tumbleweed Infant House had updated their photos. Check it out!

Ida vs. Growth Spurt Temper Tantrums?

Whoa, Ida has been in a terrible temper! "No," "I don't want that," "Move back, Mama...to the kitchen"and much slumping on the floor--some think it's the remnants of the Vining-Bradford fever illness, some think it's an ear thing, some the terrible twos, but I am in favor of Briana's (famous via Tumbleweeds) theory, which is that Ida's going through a growth spurt which has brought on some "regression" (though Ida was never like this before); anyway, if that's true, Ida is growing like crazy and will soon tower over both Elsie and Theo.

Look at how big she is (all that said, above, she was pretty friendly this morning):




A few thoughts on movie-making:

FEVER

Ida caught the fever from Elsie and Theodotia and got sent home from Tumbleweeds today. Before this sad event, she was feeling good, crushing Ichi this morning.

More Background w/r/t the Crime

WE've been keeping that video from Ida in hopes that she won't repeat her devious ways...


...but look how proud she was!

DESTRUCTION

It's gotten to the point where Ida can often entertain herself for periods of time; often she's just hanging out in her closet, pooping, or moving all the pharmaceuticals from the closet into our bed. Last night we were having an adult conversation in the kitchen and left her alone for a while. I decided to check on her, but it was too late.

Some Photos that Amy says are like her favorites of Ida

Isn't that nice? Amy is nice, and so is Briana.



Lately, Ida thinks she's cool.



When she reads "G is for Goat" she has to kiss every goat in the book, so it takes a long time. Beware!

FIRE

While Dad was knocking on the gates of American Literature today, Ida and Ida Mama lit up a big fire and went Rut Vining. Instead of wieners, though, they had some meatballs and marshmallows...



How about that DKV, ya pyro? Some say Ida preferred the marshmallows to the fire.



These two ladies (and baby) were showing off their bellies the other day, but the camera wouldn't recharge fast enough to catch the skin.



As Ella said, "Well, you know, some moments aren't meant to be photographed, and sometimes people don't like to be photographed."

Ida Cries and Laughs at Tumbleweeds!

Sometimes at daycare they just like to make Ida cry and take pictures of it!



Aw!



Just kidding, Tumbleweeders!



And thanks for the photos!



And the worms, Briana! Thanks!

Ida vs. Stripes

Pretty slow, round here. Lots of work. Not like anyone is making anyone else drink Dr. Bonner's Soap or anything. But Ida has strong feelings about choosing her clothing these days.



(She's pro-stripes.)



and likes to sit on her Mama's ever-diminishing lap:



Here's her friend:

Full Fit + Further Wisdoms of Elsie

It was really hard trying to fit these three car seats into the Honda Fit. But I did it, and got these three girls to school. It's nice; Ida and Elsie like to hold Baby Theo's hands while they ride along. Elsie has been downright revelatory lately; this is another in a series of conversations (where I'm driving and the girls are sitting behind me):

[This conversation has been redacted because someone on-line labeled it "inappropriate"; that's Elsie, for ya.]

(In a conversation yesterday Ida asserted that she was a tiger; Elsie stated that she was a boy, then changed her mind and decided to be a tiger. Ida said, "No, no, no, no." Eventually they compromised: Ida was a big tiger, Elsie was a little tiger.)

All Action at Tumbleweeds

Actually it's just "Tumbleweed," but Elsie has ruint us all. It's a nice place (evidently even Baby Theo goes there, now?) and I stole these pictures from them:





(Nice to know that Elsie makes this "Bradford hide your upper lip" kind of face when at school.)

the famous slumber party.

The aforementioned sickness laid out Mama so hard she missed her first day of work EVER. Meanwhile, Dad was also ridiculously ill and flew away to Utah to talk about himself. Who leapt in to helP? Uncle Arthur, Aunt Maggie, and those friendly cousins Elsie and Theo:



It was the first slumber party ever! Much lobbied for by the Vining-Bradfords, who took full advantage of this moment...

iPhoto from Arthur's iPhone