A week or so back, Tom took the kids while I got away for a few hours. That night, when I arrived home, there was a present waiting for me. Inspired by the book DIY Kids, Tom and Neko had made me this little stuffed creature. Neko did the design and cutting and Tom did the sewing.
This the good stuff of parenting.
I knew the ice storm was coming, and since I was near Target last night, I decided to prepare. I picked up a new water table. Our old one had rubber plugs that were disintegrating, and as it was a $30 water table that lasted over three years, we were due.
This morning I happily showed it off to the kids and started assembling. Until I discovered the missing parts. Important, vital missing parts.
So now I’m stuck inside, I’ve hyped this whole project to my kids, and it’s all fallen through. I quickly threw together an oatmeal sand table, which didn’t entertain anyone for nearly long enough. (Meanwhile, Susie discovered at her house that cornmeal is actually a nearly perfect sand substitute.)
It was just that kind of day.
We muddled our way through, enduring an hour-long power outage somewhere in the middle.
In other news, Ellery is now standing on her own for short spurts, but refusing to be photographed in the act. Just as I focus the camera, she dives for the nearest chair or hurls herself to the ground. On a side note, when else in your life are chubby knees so cute?
Neko was home, too, but hiding from the paparazzi. No doubt she was doing research to build her case to support that proposed Britney Spears Law.
That’s the biggest bunch of non sequiturs, which, in itself, is a rather good reflection of my day.
I would like to introduce you all to the big hunk of metal that is currently serving no function in our kitchen other than using up valuable cabinet real estate.
We are now going on nearly three weeks without a dishwasher. Something about the company sent us the wrong parts blahblahblah.
We get to collect some sort of award if this goes on past a month, right?
Today you turned one. I feel as though this birthday snuck up on us because, um, didn’t you just get here? Although, I have to say, even though it seems like just yesterday that you arrived, I can barely remember life without you in the picture.
In fact, none of us can. The other day, as we were discussing how babies get out of mom’s bellies, I said to Neko, “Do you remember when Ellery wasn’t here, when she was in my belly?” And she couldn’t. For she and Shep, you have always been a part of this family.
Which brings me to the thing which amazes me most. When Shep came along, it was a rough transition for Neko. She didn’t understand what was going on, but she sensed she suddenly had to share the spotlight. As your due date approached, I braced for the worst. Neko was older, and I was sure I’d hear the inevitable complaints about hating the baby and wanting me to return it back to wherever it came from. I figured Shep would have resentment about not being the baby anymore.
But from the moment you came home, they have done nothing but love you. There was no jealousy. No squabbles over the time it took to feed and change you, or the fact that you were often in my lap. It was almost effortless.
And YOU were almost effortless. Sure, there were all the duties that went along with a new baby, but in between you cooed and smiled and giggled. You happily kicked your feet and explored your toes. You only really spoke up when you were hungry or tired, and when we got that taken care of, you slid back into your happy ways.
If you had been my first, I probably would have thought all babies were like this, all self-righteously looked at others with an “I just don’t know why they can’t control their kid” attitude. And if you were my second, you probably would have been through a slew of evaluations, since, being the opposite of your sister, I would have been worried there was something terribly wrong.
But you are my third. I know to sit back, relax, and enjoy the ride.
You remind me of my mother. You both have a way of camping in the middle of a room, barely moving a muscle, but having a complete sense of exactly what is going on in all corners. You both sit, with your legs splayed apart, and take control of the room. Of course, we don’t quite understand what you’re saying yet, but you sure seem to feel you are in charge. You both eat at the pace of a turtle, and do everything with a smile. Is it possible to reincarnate someone who is still alive?
Your birthday was celebrated with minimal fanfare. It’s not that we don’t care, but by now we know that this is just your first birthday. You have no idea what it’s all about, and with any luck, you’ve got many more to come. We bought you one gift, a small Eric Carle brown bear. In the morning, we took Neko and Shep shopping so they could each buy you a gift as well.
Neko decided to do the wrapping herself, using towels and blankets. Chele dropped off balloons, and I made cupcakes. “Ellery needs Knuffle Bunny cupcakes,” Neko told me, so I did my best to comply.
We meant to wait until after dinner to celebrate, by 4pm, Neko and Shep couldn’t stand it anymore. Everyone got candles on their cupcakes, and you got plenty of assistance opening gifts. I’m not sure you were thrilled about your cupcake. You gave it a good try, but then you just seemed mad that your hands were sticky and were ready to move on.
By the end of the night, Shep polished off more cupcakes and Neko kidnapped all your presents, and you went back to happily playing with some spoons and pans. Which is just so very like you. And I love every little bit of it.
Happy birthday, little one.
We hosted Dinner Club today. Which was really Brunch Club, potluck style. We’ve been on an unplanned hiatus for a bit, and there are new babies and new pregnancies and zillions of kiddos. It’s made it a little tough to get moving again. But we thought this would be a nice warm-up. Next month? We might actually try to go somewhere in public! Without kids!
But in the meantime, everyone was awesome enough to drive all the way to our house. With all the kids and food and fun, I never even picked up my camera.
Thank goodness Chris was there. And, good golly, he’s getting good. I have shamelessly lifted these photos from his website. I’m sure that breaks every blog etiquette rule, but I don’t care. It would be such a shame to not have them here, too.
Thanks to Chris, I was directed to this article about political bumper stickers.
And now all I can think about is that I want Obama to win because his bumper sticker is more aesthetically pleasing.
That may be shallow, but, dude, I’m going to have to look at that sticker for, like, EIGHT WHOLE MONTHS.
Neko has been really worried about Greg Wiggle. He’s been sick, and ultimately had to leave the Wiggles. The Wiggles did a great job of explaining it to the kids, with Greg handed the yellow shirt over to Sam, the new Wiggle.
But still, Neko is worried. She wants him to feel better.
She came up with the idea that she and I needed to make a Henry the Octopus for him.I prepped a lot of the pieces and helped her do the sewing, but a lot of the work she did on her own. A true collaborative effort, I think.
Now we’ll see if she can part with it so we can pack it up and send it to Greg…
Neko was extra quiet during quiet time a few days back. The kind of quiet where she’s either asleep, deeply engrossed in a project or play, or doing some experiment that ultimately results in significant damage to an object or another person.
Fortunately, it was the second option.
She spent nearly an hour turning this stuffed dog into a blue dog, and later added spots. She was very thorough, down to wrapping its little tail.
Jeff had a conference in Italy, and convinced Marlo to come with him, leaving their kids with her mom. A whole week away. In a foreign land. With room service. HEAVEN.
Nancy and I pitched in to give Chrystal a breather here and there, taking James and Vince off her hands.
Our turn came today. I convinced Tom to take half the day off, since I knew that five kids, although doable, would be a lot less stressful with two sets of hands.
Everyone had a great time—running, jumping, playing and laughing. I love they way they fall right back into their old ways just moments after they reconnect.
I adore that last photo, but it was taken with my iPhone under poor lighting conditions, so the quality is poo. Black and white seems to make bad photos look better, so it was the only way to save it. God forbid those kids mug for the good camera.
I know every parent thinks their kids are brilliant, but, dude, have you seen Neko’s aquarium? She constructed it while my back was turned and I was making lunch. Made using two bins from the playroom and a washcloth, and carefully pulled together items that belonged in a water environment. After our soup, I helped her spell for the label.
These covert creative bursts have been happening a lot these days.