It’s Ellery’s turn to be sick. I tucked her in on the couch and went off to do a few things. I glanced over a short time later, and this is how I found her.
Category: Ellery
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Ellery turns three
Today you turn three. There are no more babies in this house, which is bittersweet. I’m happy to sleep more and see your personality emerge, but I do miss that baby thing where they snuggle into you in a way nothing else can.
I suppose this transition has been helped by the fact that you were hardly a baby when you were a baby. You really are about 43 years old in your head.
You are forever making order out of the crazy we live in, which is good, because someone needs to do it. You’re continually bringing me my things—coffee, shoes, phone. Clearly, I have not left them where they are supposed to be. If something in the house is lost, we know to ask you where it is. 9 times out of 10, you scurry away and return with the missing item. When we check on you before we go to bed, you have often lined up all the things in your crib in neat stacks before you dozed off.
You’re now a professional eye-roller and brow furrow-er. You sometimes give us this look of exasperation, as though you’re thinking, “These grown-ups! Shouldn’t they know this by now?”
Even in your play, you have this controlled sense of self. You could spend ages just playing by yourself in the play kitchen. Cooking, talking, lining up your babies and blobs for dinner, you play with stamina that I only heard about in tales from other moms at the park. You adore playing with Neko and Shep, and they’ve discovered the real joy in playing with you these days.
This year was the first year I think you really understood it was your birthday. When I got you up this morning and wished you a happy birthday, you squealed with excitement. You love your cake and your presents. (Underwear! You were thrilled to get underwear!) You are so excited that this is your day. But what makes me even happier, is how excited Neko and Shep are. There are just overjoyed that this is your birthday.
Happy birthday, little one.
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Quilt
We went to the school fundraiser last night where we had loads of fun, lost at the trivia challenge, but came home with this quilt filled with love.
There was a silent auction, and the big kids, along the amazing Heidi, crafted this crocheted quilt. All the kids have immediately fallen in love, and are fighting over who gets to use it next.
Neko spent much of her sick day curled up inside it, but by evening she was ready to share. A little bit.
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Shaving cream bath
Did you hear? We got a little bit of snow.
Tom and Neko have been gone for hours, plowing driveways of friends and family. Shep, Ellery, and I have been holding down the fort. We’ve made breakfast, played games, watched tv, and played Boy and His Blob. We’re running out of things to do.
At school, the kids do letter practice in shaving cream on tabletops. With these little people, I wasn’t sure I was that brave today. The mess sounded a bit overwhelming.
So I threw them both in the tub. We blew through a whole can of shaving cream, making mountains and messes.
My apologies to the environment for all the CFCs we released today, but Shep has been in the tub for well over an hour, and that, my friends, is time well spent.
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A Boy and His Blob
A while back I bought a game for the Wii called A Boy and His Blob. We pulled it out recently, and it turns out the kids LOVE IT. Particularly Shep, who is clearly going to be our video game junkie.
When the video game is off, Shep has been wandering around the house sighing, and wishing he had his own Blob. So while Shep and Ellery were at school, Tom and Ellery ran to the fabric store and got the makings for blobs.
By the time I got home from work, Tom had booked time with the sewing machine, and there were three blobs bouncing around our house. And three VERY happy children.
Photos by Tom
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Birdhouses
The kids were home from school today, in celebration of Martin Luther King, Jr. Because they’re so young, this is a tricky holiday to talk about. I’m not sure it’s quite time to introduce the nitty-gritty of the topic, but we should talk about the man himself, and his message that showing love, respect, and kindness to all was the best means to an end.
Early in the afternoon, Neko came wandering into the living room and said she’d noticed two birds on the leafless tree outside her window. “They need a birdhouse,” she decided.
And that seemed like a great way to begin a conversation. We talked a bit about thinking about others, and how to help make sure they get what they need. We can help give the birds shelter and protection, and in turn, they help our eco-system by controlling the insect population and disseminating seeds. When we take care of each other, the world we share is a much better place.
I happened to have these birdhouses in my stash, so each child spent the afternoon decorating their house, and as the sun began to set, we hung them one by one. Three little people, making their contribution. A small gesture of kindness, but full of spirit.
