This will have to do for now

I am so overdue in updating Nina's blog, but this is the best I can do today.

Look how long her hair is getting

Little Fashionista

I have to admit, Nina is looking a little more presentable these days.



My attempt at taking a picture of Nina twirling.



And a glimpse into what I have in store.

N - Mom, can I please help you pick out your outfit for church today?
M - Thanks Nina, but I already picked one out.
N - Oh mom, that dress is so ugly. You can't wear that one!
M - What's wrong with it?
N - It's just too ugly.
M - What do you think I should wear?
N - Well let's have a look in your closet.

Hopefully Nina will develop a fabulous sense of fashion and keep me up to date.

Cheer clinic

We registered Nina for what she believes was a piece of heaven. The chance to be smothered with attention by a whole squad of cheerleaders from Matt's school. As an added bonus, she learned some basic cheer moves, a little dance and had the chance to show off her new skills at halftime of the football game. During the whole experience she was all smiles and starry-eyed. Apparently we will be repeating this next year.

I guess I asked for it

Matt was putting new sheets on Nina's bed when all of the sudden she starts screaming. Apparently he didn't let her jump on the bed before he put new sheets on (don't worry that it was sheetless all day). I go in to help Matt finish and she is hysterical. I try all kinds of things to calm her down, but nothing worked. So finally I was frustrated and I said, "Just pee on it tonight and we'll change it again tomorrow, then you can jump on it without sheets" (don't ask me why I said that, it's a long, painful story). We finished putting her bed together and went back downstairs. Later, I read a much calmer Nina her story and kiss her goodnight when she gets this little grin on her face. I asked her what was so funny and she said, "I think there's pee on the bed, so maybe we should change the sheets." Yep, after Matt and I went downstairs, she peed on her bed so that we would have to change the sheets again. Just like I told her to do. Score one for Nina.

A tough one for me

Normally, as you all know, I have been okay letting Nina wear pretty much whatever she wants. But when she requested this hairstyle, I had a really hard time agreeing. She asked for one half to have a french braid and the other half to be in a ponytail because "we've never tried this one before". It boiled down to pride. I feel confident that nobody has ever accused me of picking out any of Nina's special outfits. That's not so obvious with this hairstyle. I thought it was possible that people would think I'd totally lost it and forgotten to finish her hair. So although it may be debatable whether or not I'm crazy - it's not because of this hairstyle. We're just trying new things over here.

A Sneak Peek

Rachelle took our family pictures on Saturday. This is a small glimpse of Nina's level of cooperation .






To be fair, she did cheer up and actually had one or two decent shots.

Yes I let her wear this to school

After all, she had a good day.

A little hint

Here is how you can tell if Nina is having a good day. Most of you know what I mean by "a good day". The difference is subtle, so pay attention:

A bad day


A great day


Bummer, another bad day. Don't let the face fool you.


Most likely a fabulous day


Another good day


Excellent day


Yeah! Another good day!


Darn, not so good


Did you catch the difference? So here's the hint. If you see Nina dressed in an outfit that you would guess she put together herself - you can bet that she is having a great day. However, when you see her dressed in something that matches, that's appropriate for the weather, that doesn't include tulle or snow boots in the summer - then please console me and offer me some type of chocolate to cope.

Our little tradition

Last year Nina and I went to the Broncos game together.


We went again last night.



I think I like this tradition and I hope we can do it again next year.

Picture this in preschool

This is what she looks like when she does her own hair.



This is what she looks like when she picks her own clothes.



This is what she looked like in the morning before we took the boys to school (Nina is in pm preschool). However, by 10:30 she was completely filthy. Day going as expected.



This is what she looked like at school with her best friend Kate. I think she will love going to preschool. Maybe almost as much as I will love it.

Creations

Nina is showing off two of her latest creations. One is a mug that she designed and painted at Color Me Mine during a girls night out with her cousins. The other is her own hair creation she calls "a lot of braids and clips to make me beautiful".




And even though it is a nice, hot summer day, Nina insisted that her mug's inauguration be celebrated with hot chocolate.

I was thinking he liked it

Yes, that's what Nina said as she continued to dump buckets of mud on Cameron's head. Just wait until he's bigger than you Nina.

Guess which butterfly Nina drew herself

Look carefully, it's a very subtle difference

Daddy's girl

Nina and Matt have always had a cute relationship, but lately she seems to be chumming up to him more than ever. She cuddles up to him on the couch, sits on his lap at church, and gives him lots of random hugs and kisses. I enjoy watching them together.

Little mommy

Not everything that Nina does gets her in trouble. Take, for instance, this moment when Nina found Cameron asleep on the couch. She rushed upstairs, got her favorite blanket and gently spread it over him. Then she proceeded to kiss him, stroke his hair and whisper things to him. It is important that we have these kinds of experiences to enjoy, they probably keep her alive.




I don't have a picture of when she woke Cameron up and he cried for 20 minutes. We'll just remember the good part of this afternoon.

Nina, did you get into my purse?

"I don't think so. I don't remember mom."

Likes and Dislikes

So I'm not so much liking the coloring on the wall/counter/lamp/dresser phase. It's lasting a little too long for my taste.






But I do like the way I find Nina sleeping sometimes

I love this girl!

Nina has given me a lot of grief in her 4 short years of existence. She has also given me loads of joy. Every once in awhile I ask myself if it could be possible that the hardest part is over, but I'm quickly brought back to reality as I clean up some kind of mess. However, no matter the mess, this girl is pretty darn awesome.

Nina + scissors + curtain =

Not so inconsequential


And she got hold of my camera. You look great in this picture Karen!

Nina + scissors + hair =

one ugly Barbie

training her apprentice

On Sunday morning I heard Nina calling down the stairs to me:
"Mom, Cameron got all into your make up. He put it all over me and then he put it on himself."
Riiight Nina, I'm sure that's exactly how it happened. Doesn't her expression just scream victim?



Then Tuesday I painted Nina's nails "like a rainbow".