The Third Prayer

When you have a blog, and people actually read it, and you write about how crappy you feel, people respond.  Thank you for all the sweet comments that you left.  I appreciate all of you.  Like Rae said, “this too shall pass.”  And I only have a month to go.  It won’t be that bad. 

But besides sweet comments on my blog…

• I had a huge slice of Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cheesecake from my dear friend Nicole C. yesterday (you know the way to my heart-through my tummy! Thanks sweetie for always listening to me and being there for me!)
• I had company for dinner and then a trip to the ice cream shop from my dear friend Nicole B. yesterday (well, you know the way to my heart too-through the tummy! Thanks for stopping by on such short notice and keeping us company while Frank was out.  Made my long day much shorter.)
• I had a lunch date with my co-worker Laurie today at the Cheesecake Factory where I indulged, again, but with Reese’s Pieces Cheesecake (Thanks Laurie for taking me out-I needed it after the work week I’ve had!  Thanks for listening to me complain-once again-about my work drama!  Only you would understand!)

But there are other ways to comfort me besides food.  Today, Mary Rene and I…

• Took a trip to Shane Co. to make my wedding band, engagement ring and Frank’s ring all nice and shiny like new (can’t wait to start wearing my ring again in a month!)
• Without an umbrella, walked slowly into Target and laughed as Mary Rene buried her head in my chest and watched her laugh away as we got wet (can’t say it enough but I love getting stuck in the rain when I’m pregnant!)
• Went to Target, browsed nearly every aisle and bought a bunch of junk.  Love me some junk.  And well, it makes it easier to checkout when you have breast pads (in preparation for nursing) and super huge, thick pads (in preparation for afterbirth) in your pile of junk.  Makes the cashier think twice about giving you and your protruding belly a strange look.

Maybe part of my reason for feeling depressed is because I haven’t been out shopping lately.  I’m not a materialistic kind of girl but getting out and about with Mary Rene is what I’m used to doing.  We are two busy bodies and this weather has kept us indoors like a bad case of winter.  So today at Target, we took our time going down the aisles.  We played some dress-up and I pulled out my handheld mirror to show Mary Rene how dazzling she looked.

If the purple flowered headband wasn’t $6.99 I would have bought it. Not a practical purchase at all when you are on a budget but seriously I would have because she looked so darn cute and for once, she didn’t pull it out of her hair.  She liked it too.

So I’m feeling better today.  The temperature is actually cool outside and I’m looking forward to getting out once my sweet little girl wakes up from her nap.  (screw the housework, it will be here when I get back.)  Maybe we’ll hit the local Goodwill and do some shopping.  Who knows where the day will take us.

Because I am lacking in the creative juice area, I contacted my friend Nicole B about a month ago and needed help figuring out a shower theme and party favors.  I asked her because (a) she is so super creative and always has great ideas and (b) I love her.  She had a great idea to do an American Baby theme since our friends were both in the military.  Turns out, they actually meet and fell in love in Texas while they were stationed there for training.  Years later, they got married and Nicole C moved here to start her life with Jim.  So the American Baby theme was fitting.

Well, the theme didn’t completely work out because I’m very picky about decorations.  The decorations that could have worked because they were red and blue, said “It’s a Boy.”  And let me tell you, that is one of my biggest pet peeves.  A person is not an it.  An it is a car or a plant or a Diet Coke.  A person is a he or she.  So I was not about to buy any decorations that referred to their precious little prince as an it.  So out when that part of the theme. 

So the plan was to make sugar cookies, decorated in red, white and blue for the party favors.  The day before the shower, Nicole B showed up with the dough she made the night before and we went to work.

And I must say they were very tasty and she did an awesome job.  We wrapped the sweet treats in clear bags with white stars, tied with red ribbons with the blue tags.  So patriotic.

That night I went to bed and couldn’t sleep because my mind was racing with what I needed to do before the shower.  I had a horrible dream that I forgot to cook the party potatoes and hang decorations.  It was a train wreck but Nicole C didn’t mind at all in the dream.  She was all smiles.  But I was still worried and when I woke up I made myself a list.

And every time something was completed it was marked off. 

After my list making, Frank’s dad showed up and helped with last minute yard work.  And then he even agreed to stick around and help, as did Mary Rene, put up our new canopy. 

What a pain, but a great end result.

Then it was time for the “Baby Boy” decorations to be placed sporadically around the yard and house.

My mom came over and took Mary Rene to the grocery store so I could get some last minute things done and well, shower. 

Hours later, guest started arriving and the party got under way.  And I was a bad, bad host and didn’t take lots of pictures like I wanted to…but the memories were so good.  The weather was pleasant, the food turned out good and the guests seemed to be enjoying themselves.  I count that as a success. 

Jim & Nicole C got a lot of awesome gifts from their friends and they are so blessed.

They seemed to be really enjoying themselves as they chatted with friends about their little man.

I love how his wedding ring is visible in the picture (at least it is when seen on my computer!) 

And I did take advice and relaxed, when I could, and got to do a lot of baby talking with my friend.  We love our little basketballs so much.

I love how she holds her little man so tenderly.

Mary Rene was in bed within 20 minutes that night so Frank and I were both able to hang out, with a baby monitor, in the backyard for a couple more hours with our friends.  It was a long day but so much fun.

On Saturday, we attended the birthday party for our good friend, Sweet Ella.  Happy 3rd Birthday!

When I first met Ella it was when she was Baptized as an infant.  Oh how much she has grown since then!

It was a Wiggles themed party and there was plenty of wiggling to go around.  Ella’s daddy, Christopher, was able to get four of his former students to act as “Wiggles” and dance and sing for everyone.

What great sports!  Ella had the biggest smile on her face as she watched her ‘idols’ perform. 

Mary Rene and I got the chance to act as ‘Wiggles’ in the life size cutouts!

My friend Emily, the creative person she is, painted all the decorations at the party!  What talent.   And then she went on to paint faces.

But Mary Rene wasn’t cooperating so I had to finish the paint job.

It was a very hot day and thankfully, the pool/water area was open to refresh the kiddos.

Mary Rene was having fun splashing around and wanted to keep bending over to drink the water that was squirting up.  But then this little boy would jump on the water and it would squirt in Mary Rene’s face.  He thought it was funny; her not so much.  She decided to stop playing by the water when he was around.

Then she saw the wagon!  Oh she loves wagons.  Kaitlynn’s daddy, Dave was a real sweetie and pushed the girls around the party over and over again.

Oh but the real sweetie was Kaitlynn who took good care of Mary Rene during the ride.

Kids are so darn cute.  It was such a great party and Emily and Christopher are great host!  Beatrice and Ella are so lucky to have such loving parents like them.  Thanks for the good time!

Mary Rene has a ton of stuffed animals that we keep in her bedroom.  For the most part, she ignores them because she has so many other cool toys.  But lately, she has been playing with Donna the Dog a lot.  She will carry Donna the Dog around the house, kiss her, talk to her and love on her.  Last week, she put Donna the Dog in her high chair, had me put a bib on Donna the Dog and started doing the eat sign and said “eat.”  So I gave her some fake french fries and Mary Rene started feeding Donna the Dog.

The next morning when I went to feed Mary Rene breakfast, Donna the Dog was still in her high chair.  I went to move Donna the Dog on the floor but Mary Rene pointed to the table and said “up.”  So Donna the Dog ate with us.

She didn’t want to share her pancake with Donna the Dog though.  But her sippy cup?  Of course.

On Thursday, I had to apply for a building permit downtown so we decided to surprise Frank at work.  Frank works at the hospital downtown so it was very convenient.  He was very surprised and so happy to see us.  When his shift ended, we headed over to the local pizza joint for dinner.  Next to the pizza joint was a dog park and to kill time we decided to head in for a visit.

Mary Rene, shows no fear, and is definately a dog person.  I mean, look at the size of this dog and she quickly went up and wanted to pet him.

She was having fun watching all the dogs play and chase balls.  Once she noticed that the adults were throwing the dogs balls to catch, she decided she wanted to join in as well.

This weekend happened to be the Valley of the Flowers festival in our area so we headed there on Saturday with our friends Nicole C & Jim.  The festival will be more fun next year when Mary Rene is old enough to ride on the amusement rides but for now, she was able to play the ducky game.

Her prize?  A really cool purple ball that she was very proud of.

She would have carried that ball with pride the whole time if we let her.

But then daddy topped the ball and won three goldfish.

Heaven in a bag.

All three fish had died by this morning.

Mary Rene got her first sample of stardom since our family was highlighted in the Mother’s Day section of the St. Louis Review.  At the grocery store somebody recognized “that beautiful little girl” and at Mass several people commented on the article.  We don’t get The Review so I’m hoping to get a copy from a relative so I can put it in Mary Rene’s scrapbook.

My mom got Mary Rene this toy magnet that attaches to the refrigerator and it sings the ABCs when you push a certain button.  Now, whenever Mary Rene plays with any of her magnets, including the farm animals, she sings her ABCs.

I was just telling someone that Mary Rene doesn’t say two works together often.  The next day, she had a language explosion and is saying two words together left and right.  Unfortunately, we don’t know what a lot of these words are but she is saying something very important.

Tuesday:
Sure Cinco de Mayo is Wednesday but we started our celebration a day early with Mexican Lasagna for dinner. 

Yum.  If anyone wants the recipe, leave me a comment and I’ll post the recipe in the comment section.

Frank didn’t like it the first time I made it.  I don’t think he liked it the third time either.  But last night, it was a winner.  And Mary Rene, she demolished her plate, and even had some for lunch on Wednesday.

Wednesday:

On a normal Wednesday, we have dinner with our friends Emily, Chris and their beautiful daughters, Ella and Beatrice.  Since the holiday fell on a Wednesday we wanted to stick with our dinner tradition.  But we also decided to invite our friends Nicole C & Jim and my parents.  Everyone offered to bring a dish, which is so helpful since I planned on cooking the main course.  I found a recipe online for crockpot chicken fajitas so around 10 a.m. I got the crockpot started.  About an hour later, we left to go to the store and when we returned…the smell filled the house.  Love it.  I wanted to stay outside all day so I could keep walking in and out to smell the good food.  Can’t wait to try it.

Frank had the brilliant idea to get a pinata to make this a real party.  My mom offered to buy a pinata as her contribution to the party.  So around 11 a.m., she showed up with the larger than life pinata.

Not at all what I pictured when she said she got a ‘duck pinata’ but it is freaking awesome.  Mary Rene was fascinated with it at first but quickly got scared.  We tried to get her to hug or kiss it but she refused.  Finally she gave it a far away wave.

I grabbed a knife and made a hole in the back of the head to start stuffing it with candy and toys.  Mary Rene became interested again and wanted to help.

When I had stuffed all the candy and toys, which probably only filled the foot of this enormous duck, Mary Rene wanted ‘more more more’ things to put in it.  I didn’t have anything else to add and she started to pick up some random toys laying around the house.  I’m not sure if she put anything extra in the pinata or not.  I guess we’ll find out in a few hours.

A few hours passed and the guest started to arrive.  Ella was a sweet little dear and brought Mary Rene her very own bug catching kit!

Mary Rene may be a girlie girl through and through but I’m sure she’ll be finding bugs to put in her new bug house.

It happened to be Ella’s sweet momma’s birthday!  Happy 34th Birthday Emily!

WOW!  I can’t believe Beatrice is getting so big and is already six months!  How time has flown by.

Unlike Mary Rene, Ella instantly fell in love with the pinata and was ready to give it a big hug!

What a little cutie!

After our nice Mexican meal of chicken fajitas, tacos, beans, rice and layered taco dip, it was time to crack away at the monsterly huge pinata.

Ella’s daddy, Chris, showed her how to swing the bat just right.

It only took her one practice swing and she was ready to go.

It was so cute to see the girls hitting the pinata because it would barely move but you could tell they were swinging their best.

Next, Frank showed Mary Rene how to hit the pinata.

And just like Ella, she quickly learned and gave the pinata some good love taps.

I don’t think the girls would ever have been able to open that monster so the boys took some hilarious swings at it.  Eventually, Frank and Nicole C ended up tipping the pinata over so the prizes would spill out.

Ella had fun with her new toys and Mary Rene was enjoying collecting the candy.  She didn’t try to eat any of it but instead, she was helping me clean up.  Smart little girl.

Happy Cinco de Mayo!

What a busy week for Mary Rene.  I’ll do this a little different and do a daily rundown.

Wednesday morning:  We had a two hour play date at St. Ferdinand Park with her buddies, Elaine and Isaac.  It was such a beautiful day and the kiddos were having so much fun playing that time escaped us.  She got cranky quick though and we left for a quick bite to each at McDonald’s before heading home for a nap.

This started the bad nap cycle.  For three days straight I could only get her to take a 30-45 minute nap.  She is back to a 1.5 hour nap but those were some hard days.  But the bad nap cycle could have more to do with her cold.  On Friday she started to get a runny nose, Saturday it was running really bad and she barely slept that night.  Sunday she was feeling better after her 1.5 hour nap.  The nap was early, around 10:30 a.m., so she was ready for bed at 7 p.m. Sweet!  Baby girl ended up sleeping from 7 p.m. until 7:25 a.m. the next morning.  Glorious.  But then she woke up with diarrhea, not so glorious.

Wednesday afternoon: Since about the second trimester, I’ve been on an ice cream kick.  And I’m really lucky that my friend Nicole C. has been on one too.  We’ve been taking weekly trips to the local ice cream shop and Mary Rene has not seemed to mind at all.  Nicole C. has become her BFF and she looks forward to when I say, “Nicole is coming over today.”  She knows that means something good.  Besides ice cream, she loves Nicole C.’s soft touch.  Nicole C. was rubbing her back at the ice cream shop and Mary Rene was so happy to sit still and be rubbed.  On another occasion, Nicole C. was rubbing her arm so softly and Mary Rene was in heaven.  Now, she wants us to rub her arm when we put her to bed.  Frank eats it up because he loves to rub her arm, just like he used to rub mine in the early days.  When he stops rubbing her arm, Mary Rene will softly say and sign “More.”  So darling.  Thanks Nicole C. for helping create this precious daddy & daughter time!

Thursday afternoon: Play date with Ava & Evan at Conway Park.  We were the only people at the park so it was really nice to have the place to ourselves.  Even though it was a small playground, it was in the shade.  Bonus.

Friday: I had to run into the office for a conference call so Mary Rene went to my parent’s house.  While there, my mom and sister took her on a mini shopping spree.  She got a new swimsuit, shorts and a few pair of shoes.  They said she was having a lot of fun in the store and as soon as I came home she wanted to show me everything she got.  Shopping diva already!

Saturday: We attended the Parents as Teacher event, Fun on the Farm.

She was watching the sheep and politely waving hi and liking them so very much until…one BAAA-ed very loud in her ear.  She was so scared and started to cry.  I felt so bad for my poor baby girl.  Grandma tried to reassure her that all was okay.

But Mary Rene wasn’t buying it.  We moved on next to the crazy pig…

I thought the sheep was loud but this little oinker, named Sausage, was really loud.  Mary Rene didn’t seem to mind though.  I took this opportunity to take a picture of daddy and Mary Rene and found the picture very amusing because…

if Frank had a ponytail, they would be twins!

After the animals we moved on to other parts of the farm and Mary Rene was having fun playing with beans and balls.

She loved rolling on top of the ball, which reminds me to bring my birthing ball back upstairs.  I can start doing my workouts on it and Mary Rene can roll on the top!

What a busy week!

Thursday, December 17th:

I had been extremely tired all week and really wanted to go home and take a nap.  My co-worker, Laurie, asked if I wanted to go on a walk and I quickly said yes because I was close to crashing at my desk.  We were only walking for about two minutes when I blurted out, “I think I’m pregnant.”  She got very excited and hugged me.  I told her how I had been out of the ordinary tired all week and I remember feeling like this the week I found out I was pregnant with Mary Rene.  I went on to explain that I should be starting my period that weekend but I really didn’t know if that was an accurate guess since this would be my first normal cycle since getting it back.  Yes, I said it.  It was my first real menstrual cycle since….2005.  I just couldn’t believe that I got pregnant my first try with Mary Rene and here I was again, my first real, true cycle since then and I’m pregnant again.  Am I that lucky?

At that time I hadn’t even mentioned to Frank that I might be pregnant because I didn’t want to freak him out.  We weren’t necessarily planning on trying but really, when you do it, you do it and you know there is a chance.  But honestly we didn’t really put it into consideration since I hadn’t had a regular cycle since 2005.  So the conversation never came up.  In addition to freaking him out, I was afraid to admit it out loud that I might be pregnant, and then find out I wasn’t.  I would have been devastated because honestly, I had already started to fall in love with the thought of being pregnant again.

So I asked her not to say anything until I took the pregnancy test that weekend.

Friday, December 18th:

I was emailing back and forth with my friend Katie and told her that I might be pregnant.  She convinced me to go buy a pregnancy test that day at the Dollar Store.  But they didn’t have any.  And neither did Dollar General.  So I took it as a sign that I should wait one more day.

Saturday, December 19th:

I still had no signs of starting my period and at that point, I knew I was pregnant.  I could just feel it.  But I wanted to take a test to make sure.  I still haven’t told Frank and I decided I would take the test and then tell him.  The only problem was that he was going to a concert that night and would be out with his friends.  I didn’t want to take the test before the concert and not be able to celebrate with him.  And I didn’t want him to worry about it the whole night because I knew he was looking forward to going to the concert.  So that afternoon while Frank stayed home with Mary Rene, I ran to the grocery store to pick up some odds and ends, including a pregnancy test.  Later that night when he left, I ran to the bathroom and took the test.

And there it was, clear as day, a positive pregnancy test.  I really wanted to share the news with Frank but knew it wasn’t the right time.  So instead I told Mary Rene that she was going to be a big sister and she swore to keep the secret.  We immediately left the house and ran to Babies R Us to buy a “Big Sister” shirt.  They didn’t have any.  So once she went to bed, I started to sew my own.  Well, I didn’t like it so instead I took a silver marker and wrote “Big Sister” on one of her pink shirts.   

Sunday, December 20th:

I woke up before Frank and went to the Christmas tree to pull off a link from our Advent prayer chain.  I pulled off “pregnant women” which meant we were to spend the day praying for pregnant women.  My heart just stopped and knew that it was God’s will.  Interesting enough, I blogged about pulling this particular link off the chain.  Frank was still in bed when I went to Mass and Mary Rene and I continued to keep our secret.

By the time we came home from Mass, Frank was up and getting ready to walk out the door for church.  Directly after Mass he was going to his hockey game.  So again, I kept the secret.

Finally, finally, hours later when he returned and it was just the three of us, finally, I was able to tell him the news.  He talked about his game, blah, blah, blah and when he was done…

I handed him the link from the tree.

My hand was shaking when I said, “Today we are praying for pregnant women.”

He just stares back and me and doesn’t know where I am going with this.

“We have a very special pregnant woman to pray for today.”

I started to cry.

And he knew.

And he was happy, so extremely happy.  He began to cry and we hugged.  And all my concerns were washed away.

Since our church decided not to have their Fat Tuesday celebration we decided to host our own.  My friend Emily, with her beautiful daughters, Ella and Beatrice, and Frank’s friend Jim came over to help celebrate. 

It was completely last minute and I found myself at the grocery store three hours before our guest arrived.  But hey, isn’t that part of the fun.  Frank sent me a text message with everything to consider buying at the store: king cake, dirty rice, jambalaya, oysters, creole chicken, red beans and rice, shrimp creole crawfish and hurricanes.  I looked for every item and was only able to find jambalaya, shrimp and red beans and rice.  So I decided I would also buy gumbo soup, mozzarella sticks, chicken fingers,

mini tacos and potato wedges.  Oh, and pudding for dessert. 

Yeah, a lot of good junk food.

As you can see, Mary Rene also took full advantage of the beads and had to wear every single pair that her friend Ella brought over. 

Even Beatrice got to play with some beads!

The girls were having fun playing while we enjoyed some much needed adult conversation.

Beatrice was happily handed off from person to person so Emily could enjoy her food in peace.  Oh I remember those days!

Isn’t she a sweetie?

At the end of the night I told Mary Rene to hug Ella good-bye and she clearly misunderstood me and started to mount her instead.

Mary Rene was bummed when her little friends left so Jim provided her entertainment and let her do flips on the couch.

He was a good sport tossing her around but I think she equally wore him out.

Overall, our private Fat Tuesday celebration was much better than the one we used to have at church.  I think we might be doing this again next year.

Tomorrow I celebrate my one year anniversary of learning to sew.  Mary Rene was just four months young, so helpless, and needed me so much.  But Frank agreed to watch our little princess while my mom spent the day over our house teaching me how to cut fabric, pin pieces together and final, sew.  Mary Rene cried for me to hold her, and I would stop occasionally to do so, and then get back to learning.  Frank did a good job of keeping his baby girl happy so his wife could learn from her mom all the tricks and trades of sewing.

And it paid off.  My mom helped me complete my first sewing project which was a pair of pants and a hat for Mary Rene.

Later my mom finished the outfit by making a matching shirt.

Slowly, but surely, I learned to sew by myself.  At first it would take me weeks to finish a project.  I had a make shift area in our front room and my sewing machine was on a tv tray.  I would sew while Mary Rene napped or when she was doing tummy time.

But soon, Mary Rene was getting mobile and it was too dangerous to keep my sewing machine upstairs.  So I carved out a nice little section of the basement and made it my own.

I have two sewing machines now and most of the time they both sit on the floor.  When I decide to sew, I pull the machine up on a tv tray.  My sewing inspiration?  A beautiful picture of my mom from her senior year of high school.

In one year I have sewn Mary Rene:

• Two pairs of pants
• Three hats
• One jacket
• Two pairs of leg warmers
• Five dresses (although most of them my mom had to finish because I ran out of time)
• One Halloween costume
• Assisted my mom in making a diaper bag (she did most of the work)
• One shopping cart cover
• One stuffed animal toy chest

Here are just a few samples from that collection:

I’ve sewn my mom:

• a purse
• a heart shaped cushion to hold her sewing pins
• a sewing organizer that fits under her machine and holds various items

For myself:

• a shirt (it will be a maternity top and I will show it off when I get bigger!)

For other people:

• One pair of baby shoes
• One baby cube
• Two shopping cart covers
• Countless taggie blankets

In one year, I’ve done a lot of sewing.  And I’m looking forward to sewing much, much more this coming year.  To celebrate my one year anniversary, my mom will be teaching my friend Nicole C how to sew.  And if I’m lucky, I’ll do a little sewing too.

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My sister got a new puppy, she had to put her dog to sleep a few weeks ago, and he is absolutely adorable.  I wish I could post a picture because you would be in love with him.

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This morning, Mary Rene and I are going to the Little Gym for an intro class.  I saw a commercial on Channel 9 and thought it looked like fun.  The class takes place every Friday morning and next semester starts at the end of January.  Depending on how we like the free class, we might sign up.

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My pick for Frank’s SPICE jar this week was: pizza picnic dinner listening to Pink Floyd.  So last night, I lit every candle I could find, played Pink Floyd at a level that Frank enjoys and I was wearing a Pink Floyd shirt I just bought at the store.  Oh, and I made buffalo chicken dip from scratch (yum) and guacamole dip for appetizers.  Double yum.

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Mary Rene had her 15 month check-up on Wednesday and here are her stats:

Height: 30″ (25-50%)

Weight: 22.8 lbs. (25-50%)

So she is symmetrical for weight and height.  She had to get her second flot shot, ugh, and two other shots, double ugh, which annoyed me.  (Next baby, I am spreading out the shots.) Luckily they offered her a popsicle afterwards and she was very, very, happy.  Her first popsicle and I’m sure it won’t be her last.

The appointment went well except the doctor thinks Mary Rene’s left pupil is a bit larger than her right.  This is something important to know if she is ever in an accident.  She suggested that we see a pediatric eye doctor to confirm.  But I just took her to the eye doctor back in September.  I hate to take her again because wouldn’t her pupil have been a different size then as well?

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Tomorrow I am going to purchase a toddler bed that I saw on craigslist for Mary Rene.  I’ll post a picture in my Tuesday post.  Our plan is starting Sunday evening, no matter what, I will not allow Mary Rene to nurse in the middle of the night.  She is starting to wake up a few times again, regardless of my caffeine intake, and she is relying on nursing to put her back to sleep.  (She is teething so I know she is in pain but baby girl really needs to learn to put herself back to sleep.)  I am exhausted, exhausted, I tell you and just need to put an end to it.  We plan on sticking to our guns and no matter how many nights it takes, she will stop nursing in the middle of the night.  Next step, will be getting her to sleep through the night.  Final step, getting her to go to bed without rocking.  One of my clients ended up taking his 18 month old son to a sleep specialist because they were having the same issues.  The sleep specialist has a three month waiting list so my client gave me copies of all the pamphlets to help us out.  Frank and I have devicted our own little plan.  Please say prayers it works.  Momma is tired.

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Tomorrow, my mom, maybe my little sister Jasmine, Mary Rene and I are going to the St. Louis Zoo for the Wild Lights display.  I became a Zoo Friend and will be able to get a discount and free parking.  I hope it is warm enough so Mary Rene will only need to wear her snowsuit!

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When Mary Rene was helping me go through old Christmas cards last week, she found a picture of her friend, Ella.  We have the picture of Ella hanging on the refrigerator.

When I tell Mary Rene to give Ella a kiss…

We can be sitting in the front room and I’ll ask her, “where is Ella?”  And she will walk in the kitchen and get her, bring her to me, and then kiss her.  It is the cutest little thing.