still waiting for any hint of summer

Seems my high-school and parallell-moving friend (we've followed each other from Canada to Taiwan to Europe and next very possibly to China) has a knack for choosing the worst time to visit the arctic. Not only did she not get to see the northern lights - since it doesn't get dark any more, but neither did she get to see the midnight sun, as for the past four it's just been gray upon white - snow, slush and hail, accompanied by lots of wind. So instead of enjoying the beautiful arctic nature, we got to spend a cozy three days inside. Not that I feel too bad for her, as she's been enjoying alps and other European goodness these past few years ;)

(Arctic) spring is totally here though - we're on the cusp of a green explosion with almost a visible hour-by-hour difference in the number of budding trees. And today when I walked home from work there were only a very few meters of soft snow to walk through - that and lots of meters of marshy mud of course. But most of the path is just awesome goodness. Oh how good it feels!

And in Leona news: She is now 13 months old. I realized a while ago that she actually said her first word a few months ago: hot - or rather: 'a. She says it when she touches the heater, when the water is hot when I wash her bum, and when she eats something a bit too hot.

She has also been saying 'Leona Lion' for a while...not quite sure when she started actually, but realized it a little while ago: Nana. And then there's the every-so-sweet 'mama' and 'mamma'.

I heard her practicing papa too the other night as she was talking herself to sleep (practicing her p's:  'p' 'p'). But still whenever anyone says 'papa' for her to repeat she comes back with 'mama' heheh.

On the ECing front, we're back on track again, to a certain extent. She still says she has to go to the bathroom way often - she really totally *loves* sitting on the potty by the sink and opening the cupboard to find her bath toys lined up on the shelf. First the expectant look at me in the mirror before she reaches for the cupboard door, then the pure joy when seeing those little plastic toys. Utter cuteness.

But at the same time she actually goes a lot more often on the potty as well, again, rather than just in her diaper. It was actually after reading this and making sure I not only relax myself, but also visualizing her going, that there's been more consistency. Interesting, no?

Then there's her signing, of course. Her big ones now, besides the usual suspects, are 'sleepy time' - she will sign this when she feels its about time to go to bed or take a nap, 'where is it?' when she can't find something she's looking for, and 'finished' (this one still a bit unclear, but has cropped up more and more lately).

And to round it all off, a few pics from our national day (17th of May):

[Knitted 'bunad' knitted by mom's coworker for her grand daughter who outgrew it after one wear]

[Hurra!]

[And a side-note: the snow is *seriously* coming down right now. Like big, fluffy flakes kind. The kind I tend to love, though not feeling the joy right now :P ]



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