Just singing along, side by side!

Ivy is apparently becoming a prodigy of Paula Abdul. By that I mean that she's preparing for her future as a singer/ American Idol judge...

This week Ivy has started singing her favorites, out of the blue. We'll be in the kitchen cooking and she'll burst out with "Jesus love me, bible tell so" or playing in the bath she'll sing "Twinkle Twinkle Star so high". She also has the motions for "Itsy Bitsy pider, rain down, wash pider out!" down pat, along with "Wheel Bus! Round, Round!" I'm sure that a record deal is imminent.

And fickle, Lordy yes, she is as fickle as the judges on our favorite singing competition (although she's never seen it, it comes on too late)! Riding to Aunt Shirley's one morning this week she said, "Mr. Sun! Mr. Sun!" This is my cue to provide a rendition topping Raffi's famous version of the song... actually I was listening to something on the radio and didn't want to turn it off, so I figured I'd sing Mr. Sun and listen to the bit the DJs had going. So I begin (with one handed motions) "Mr. Sun, Sun, Mr. Golden Sun! Please shine down...." Ivy interrupted with a tone of disgust, "No, Momma! Mr. Sun radio! Radio!" Ah, well, so much for my ticket to Hollywood!

A Busy Weekend!

This weekend was a busy time around the Alfaro home! Last week, my sister decided to set her wedding date... for this weekend! Friday night we went on a riverboat dinner cruise at a local lake (many, many thanks to Madrina for keeping Ivy on such short notice). That was a very nice evening, and it was great to see my favorite nephew and his girlfriend, whom we don't see nearly enough!

Saturday I spent the morning cleaning the house (and trying to keep it clean from tornado Ivy) and Alex really helped to occupy the little one. Before we blinked, 12:30 was here and we were off to our dear friend Annie's first birthday party! It's the first party Ivy's been to where she realized that something fun was going on! Her party this year will be so much fun!

Then we were back home by 3:00 getting ready for Sissy's wedding. I had planned to get ready while Ivy took a nap, but she learned to open her door on Thursday and hasn't had a nap since. It stinks!! I don't know what proper protocol is in this area... do I keep putting her back in her room and closing the door for the allotted amount of "rest" time (she doesn't rest... she destroys everything she can reach, and even something beyond her reach) or do I accept her independence and let her come out when she does? Any suggestions here would be great!

Then we were off to the wedding at 4:45. It was at a beautiful spot on my nephew's college campus, and it was just the perfect place for the simple ceremony my sister wanted. Here are a couple of pics...

On another note, you may have noticed that I've been feeling very apathetic about updating the blog lately. I don't know why... it is CERTAINLY not because of any lack of adorableness on Ivy's part! She is cuter and more amazing every day! Her personality is really showing... her impatience, her compassion, her wild-streak. She's going to be quite a handful for the next 20 years, and then someone will cross her path and their life will be completed by all the joy and wonder she brings... ah, it's so much fun to think of the future (as I look ahead, I am just as young as I currently am... no aging, graying, wrinkling....)

And now for a look at the past...

One thing Ivy and her mommy have in common is how they love their lovies...So, here's to an Autumn week full of love!

Happy to You, Papa!

That's how Ivy greeted Alex this morning (she leaves out birthday). Today we celebrated his birthday in our own very low-key way. Ivy allowed him a peck on the cheek, and she stole his chair. Just the right kind of present!

We've had a wonderful week, with everyone being well. Ivy started back to school, and they assure me that she is the smartest kid they've ever seen! (Of course, they probably say that to all the parents, but I believe it anyway!) Ivy's adding more sentences to her repertoire, and she counted to six yesterday which shocked Alex and I, both! She doesn't quite have the one-to-one counting down yet, but she points when she counts and then says, "Yea! Ivy!" I think she's the cutest thing ever! Hey, that's my job!

We spent Saturday evening with some dear friends and some of Ivy's favorite people. Jayme and Chef Los had us over for dinner and games. That was A LOT of fun! Ivy enjoyed some fun and games, too. One of the only "girl" friends she sees outside of school is Annie. Annie will be one in just a couple of weeks, and it's so fun to see the way that she and Ivy play together (or squeal together). I know that in another year their play will have continued to evolve, but it so much fun to wonder what life would be like if Ivy had a sibling!

We're counting our blessings (Yea! Ivy!) for this wonderful week in our lives (Yea! Jesus!)!

Strep and Tweetsie

I guess the two things in our title are about as close to indirect opposites as one can come, and yet, that's what our week and weekend were about.

Tuesday evening Ivy's fever jumped to 102.6 and it stayed all through the night and into the next day. When Wednesday afternoon rolled around, Ivy was very drooly... and I thought, "Great! I missed a day of work for teeth! How silly I am!" By Wednesday evening, though, it seemed that Ivy was so drooly because she wasn't swallowing. The one thing that keeps me from swallowing is strep throat. She had soft foods like soup, yogurt and pudding (her first) until Thursday morning's visit to the doctor confirmed my fear. They gave her a shot and by Friday afternoon she was feeling great and was no longer contagious...but I was, so I was in the doctor's office myself. Luckily, because she had it first and I knew what it was, I didn't put off going to the doctor the way that I normally do. You see, eventhough I've had strep plenty of times, I never really think it's strep until it's taken over my body. I got on meds quickly so besides tender tonsils, I've felt fine. My contagiousness lifted Saturday afternoon and we made our first venture out of the house.

Sunday was a typical day with church in the morning and sports in the afternoon, but since we had an extra long weekend (made even longer by being out of work 3 days last week) we decided to take Ivy on her first trip up the mountain to Tweetsie Railroad in Blowing Rock. She's been really excited about trains for the last month, so we thought it might be a good time to try out the Tweetsie adventure. It SO was!! We had a wonderful day! God smiled on us every step of the way... from the superb parking, to no lines anywhere, to the mild weather. The train was too noisy, but the airplanes were fun, the boats were requested a second time, the animals were the too cute, and the chair lift (Alex's first) was the BEST! It was an absolutely wonderful way to spend an extra weekend day with the little family that I love!