a mother's day to remember ???

it's hard to believe that just a few days ago it was above 80 degrees. now, it's windy & cold. argh. & amelia has a double ear infection, most likely a sinus infection, & is STILL FREAKIN' cutting three of her cuspid teeth. as i type she's in her crib sobbing away. it doesn't matter what we do at this point; crying is her destiny tonight. i mean, i understand...all that together has *got* to hurt. we have been holding her for 40 minutes already & she will still not give in...yes, poor girlie.

AND it's mother's day. sometimes holidays like these seem like such a threat to live up to, you know, the perfect day or whatever. & to say our lives have been perfect recently is just plain moronic. i wasn't able to be home most of today so i could travel to southern ohio to attend calling hours for my great uncle, which i wanted to be there. but that, among other things (like kid illnesses & such), created an a-typical mother's day this year. thus, we seemed to have more strife & conflict than relaxation & enjoying my kids & my mothering of them. but wes made (gf!)cinnamon rolls this morning & that makes any day a good one, right?

so yes, today i went to calling hours for my great uncle clarence. he was the kind of man who always had a joke to tell & i especially loved that b/c he took brotherly & somehow, kind, joy in teasing my grandma hazel (she is 20 months older than him). he & his wife visited my grandma who lived further away from the rest of her family, came to our weddings & other events. i don't think i have a memory of him when he wasn't smiling or laughing or telling a very serious story that somehow turned into a joke. he was a loved & good man & is obviously missed. he passed away from lung cancer, so the illness progressed quickly but my grandma was able to visit him last sunday. she was able to hold his hand & share some time with him in between cat naps. every time i heard that today i wanted to bawl my eyes out b/c it's just so bittersweet. all of it. life. toddlers crying, illness, warm sunny days that are spent in the sun, having hilarious memories to share with the next generation.

anyway. adeline woke me up today by bursting into my room & checking to 'see if your eyes working yet, mommy?' & then a few minutes later bombarded me with an exuberant HAPPY MUDDER'S DAY, MAMA! & amelia even gave me a happy grunt of 'mamamamamamMA!'

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drumroll, please:

 introducing the two newest members of the gerbick clan: kiki & al gerbick (i think the names have something to do with an alien dora episode).

worms. 

worms that adeline dug out. & quickly became close friends with. seriously folks, she was chatting away with them, telling stories, laughing with them in a dirt-filled pot off to the side of her swing. she asked me to take a picture of them! trust me, they're in there...

& this was the morning that our hot water heater was being replaced & i kept yelling out to adeline as she tried to smuggle her worm friends into the house: adeline, DON'T BRING YOUR WORMS INTO THE HOUSE! the looks those 'working hard men' (per adeline) gave me after those comments...

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a day at the lakeside, our style

so i told adeline to go get her bathing suit on. she took her clothes off on the spot, ran up to her bedroom, rummaged around in her dresser, then came back down 5 minutes later naked. then she proceeded to streak by me & began playing at the water table. as i grabbed the camera to get a shot for her scrapbook she stood there & peed in the grass. yep, got that in a picture. what do they say? priceless.

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belle amelia

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amelia: fiesty. adeline: dramatic

boy, are we in for it in 12 or 13 years.