Sophie spelled a word last night! Last night Sophie was playing with her refrigerator magnet letters. She was really quiet, and when I went to look at her I saw that she had taken two of the refrigerator letters and put them together on top of a laundry basket - she spelled "UP". We asked her what it said, and she kept looking at us really intently, and finally, she said, "Pup!" which is in the beginning of her favorite, Hop on Pop (UP, PUP, Pup is up). She was pretty darn close and she knew it meant something. We've shown her how to spell things with the letters before, but not that - and Paul swears that although they were spelling other words from Hop on Pop earlier in the evening, they didn't do that one. Amazing, huh?

Look who's wireless! NO MORE MONITORS! EVER! We're having a tea party to celebrate! For lots more pictures of the muffins, the cinnabun, and the other assorted baked goods our family is known by, click here, here, and here.

I swear I have SO many things to say and not enough time to do it in. I want to write about how I lost weight and can finally fit into my pre-Sophie jeans. I want to write about how lack of sleep from all three babies teething makes me want to throw myself in front of a bus. I want to write about things that have absolutely nothing at all to do with babies in any way, shape, or form. And then I want to post some paintings. In the meantime, take a look at this utterly fascinating site... Enjoy! Color in Motion: An Interactive Experience of Color Communication and Color Symbolism

You say it's your birthday... I wrote in this morning to my local Beatles Breakfast program with this request for a dedication: My name is Elena. It's my birthday today, and we've been up all night with our 5-month-old twins and 1-1/2 year old. Please play me something to wake me up! ps ~ We listen to your program every Sunday, and my daughter Sophie loves to shout, "Beatles! Beatles! Beatles!" So when they read this, the DJ added, "Way to go, Sophie!" and she just stopped in her tracks when I explained that the man on the radio was talking to her. She was so excited that we both jumped up and down and danced to my song. (I give the DJ extra credit for not picking "Birthday.") The big 33 list. I have also been working on a list of 33 things I would like to accomplish this year, in addition to making a 33 "life list". Interestingly enough, it's easier to come up with the life list, since I don't have to actually commit to doing them before next August 15th. ;) In any case, I'm not done with either, but I will post when they're finished.

Snapshots of August. Each of these things deserves its own post, and hopefully I will be able to, but for starters, here are little snapshots of life on my planet: Today is our 7th wedding anniversary. We have now loved each other for 10 years. I think about all the blessings I have, and the way my life is now - the children, the house - and I think, all these things only exist because we love each other. Amazing. When Paul asked me to marry him, one of the reasons I said Yes is because I knew that he would help me grow - and that he would help me make every one of my dreams come true. I knew that together we would be able to do amazing things. And guess what - I was absolutely right! Yesterday, the twins were baptized. At last. It seemed like such a long hard struggle to get them out of the hospital and into a life of normalcy - they are now 5 months old but I was afraid to set a date for the christening earlier because I never knew when Angela would be able to come home for it. We took her off the monitor for the ceremony, and both of them behaved beautifully the entire time. Their heads still smell like chrism, it takes forever for that spicy oily smell to go away, but I kind of like it. (Dear friends: we only invited our immediate families, and even that - 10 people - was almost more than we could handle. Believe me, we wanted you there, and there will be a meet-the-twins day in the future, but life with twins is 20 times harder than anything else I've ever done.) Last week we had a meeting of the moms - the wonderful Michelle and Jill took a road trip and I finally got to meet these amazing women I've been talking to online for the past 2 years. We've formed a little circle of Mama-encouragement; they are true and living proof that one can be a mother and still be an amazing artist. When I asked Michelle what they wanted to do, she said, "I don't really care, as long as there's food and we can talk." So we went out to our favorite place for lunch, and talked until the staff started hovering in that polite way that lets you know you're about to get kicked out so they can close, and then we went out for gelato and talked and talked until they started to turn the lights out. We could have talked all day and not run out of things to say - nothing was awkward and there was only lots of encouragement and ideas flying through the air. (Note to self: illustrate that.) We all made gifts for each other, and that, seemed fitting too - that each of us thought to give of her talents to the other two. A quick word about the two of them: Michelle is sunny, smiling, and told the most amazing story about how she used to use her mom's art supplies late at night (Michelle, you have to write this up!). Jill really listens to what you have to say, and has such beautiful eyes that are always twinkling - you know she's thinking of something good! (Jill, I'm still waiting to get that manuscript - send it on over, I'd be honored to read it!) They are incredibly inspiring and I was so thrilled to meet them that after they left, I danced with glee around the living room, hugging Paul for watching the babies so that I could have a few hours. And next week... it's my birthday. Let the good times roll.