Up's and Down's

Well living on a beautiful island has it's ups and downs. The beauty is unmatched. It is awesome to see a clear emerald ocean every single day and to walk by the most beautiful smelling flowers (all "ups"). Mia loves to play outside, especially when I'm hanging the laundry (kind of a down). Now I know that a lot of the world doesn't have dryers, but to be honest, I'm kind of missing it. Hanging laundry isn't all that bad...it smells fresh and lovely, and it's kind of fun hanging it. Until it starts pouring outside and you have clothes on the line. The first time it happened, I thought crap, and thought I'd just leave them out there and let them dry again. Here's a tip...that doesn't work. The clothes end up smelling like wet then dried puppy. So laundry is dictated by the rain/humidity which is unpredictable, which makes me miss my dryer sometimes. Mia loves to romp around in the yard while I'm hanging laundry and gets ticked when it's time to come inside. She also likes to sit on the other side of the porch that I can't see when I'm hanging laundry. Why is that? She can sit over by me, and we can both be happy...but alas, she must sit out of my vision...which leads to many more moments like this...


And huge "up" about living here is all the friend's we're making. We have met people from all over the world, and we are absolutely loving it. Dave loves school and has made some incredible friends in class. The other night I was cooking in the kitchen, and I hear Mia wildly yell in the family room. Then she starts giggling with delight and clapping her hands. I peer around the corner, and she and the little boy that lives upstairs are talking and laughing through the door. It was so great to watch. He is 2 years old, and they were waving and laughing, banging on the door, and clapping. It was like they had just discovered each other were there for the first time. I feel lucky to be experiencing all of this, and even more happy that Mia is able to experience this too. Taking her to the beach, to church, around town, all of these things are so priceless that I feel lucky that we can be here with Mia. I don't know what I'd do without her.

She swiftly turned into a little girl in the last month. Everything from no more breastfeeding (I was ready to be done at 12 months, but she held on until last week), her face isn't a baby face anymore, and she's obsessed with necklaces, purses, and anything that she can hold on her shoulder for a "phone." Oh ya, she loves sunglasses too. She is my bestest little buddy, we have so much fun everyday dancing, laughing, reading, and just hanging out. Life would be a fraction of the fun here if it weren't for her.