ginger slice

So, obviously it's been forever & a day since I was last on here. I have two words to describe why: Wedding Season. 

This time of year always sucks the life out of me. I'd say that I'm more ahead than I was this time last year, and so I'm not panicking the way I was last year, yet work now consumes (practically) all my thoughts and zaps my energy and knocks me down then picks me up and keeps me going yet keeps me dragging. 
I totally love my job, and realize that, in retrospect, it's really not that stressful. So many others have it so much harder. 
So I'm not complaining. Just explaining. At the end of the day, I'm able to do the dishes, take a shower, and get into bed. 

I've missed blogging, and feel like we've done so many fun things lately and Mila's really growing up before our eyes and I'm really realizing that this is....easy. 
(I should get that in writing, huh?) ;)
Now, tonight didn't feel easy, but that's probably because we were both tired and there were messes to take care of and dinner to make and then new messes to take care of and toys being thrown into the litter box (ugh) and dinner to be cleaned up and bath time (and oh crap she didn't drink any water with dinner. damn, I just realized that & now she's asleep). 

Anyway, if that's a 'hard' night, I think I can handle this. 

What's feeling 'easy' is her ability to communicate. The sign language that she knows, for 'more' and 'all done' allow her to express so much, even if she can't do so verbally. I can tell her that it's time to put the ball away and go inside, and she does just that. I can tell her it's time for dinner and she walks over to her high chair. Tonight she unpacked the groceries and stacked (and restacked, and stacked, and restacked) the yogurt cups into a tower. It was so cute. 

So yes, there's the throwing toys into the litter box thing. And the crying in defiance when I put her in her pack n play so that I can get dishes done (Greg's at work tonight, obviously). There's throwing chapstick under the stove, and throwing peas onto the floor. But you know what else there is? Standing in the kitchen together, after dinner, peeling orange segments off the peel and letting the juice drip down our hands and Mila knowing that when all she has left is the peel, she needs to lift the lid of the trash can and throw it away. 

And that makes for a really sweet, and rad moment.