July 4th 2013!

3 cousins in deck chairs

You are at the beach right now with your parents, Uncle, Sabba  & Safta. Your parents have “tweeted” several pictures which show you are having fun and growing up so quickly. Since my last post the biggest event has been our wonderful trip to Alaska! It was an amazing time to be with you every day and see you interact with your five cousins…Jacob (12), Abigail (9), Jackson (5), Maggie Rae (5), Eli (2) and Uncles Frank & Eric and Aunts Kristina & Shari and me & Papa Wayne. We were celebrating 20 years since we married. A lot has happened in 20 years. And a lot has happened since my last blog posting!  One day at your house there was a momma bird sitting on a nest on the post of the front porch!  Your mom got sick and I unexpectedly spent a sweet day with you. I got to hear “Granny! Granny!” several times & we went to the pool together. Maggie Rae and Kristina came for a short visit and we ate out together. Then on June 9 we got on a plane to Alaska and returned on June 18. The ship was so much fun. We made stops at Skagway, Juneau & Ketchikan. One of the best parts of the trip was seeing you every morning. One day we happened to run into the whole group of Disney Princesses waiting for an appearance. You met many of the Disney characters and learned to give “high 5’s” and 4’s and even “high zero”. One of the most fun things was a dog sled ride in Juneau where we made the only pictures of all 14 of us. Almost every evening the 14 of us ate together. You enjoyed climbing stairs and riding elevators a lot! You & I went to a Pixar party in the atrium with me & you loved dancing with the crowd and blew kisses to Mrs. Incredible. On the last day we went to a Character Dance party; your parents went too & made videos & pictures of you having a wonderful time dancing! It was such a joy to see you have so much fun. We had a special Pirate Dinner on the last night and Abigail gave you & Maggie Rae dresses so the 3 of you dressed alike. So cute! The staff from 60 countries sang “It’s a Small World After All”. Wayne & I went to the 10:00 pm “till we meet again” party and interestingly as we were leaving it, they played “Sweet Home Alabama”. We stopped to listen. As much as you like to see planes from the ground, you did not like flying! After we finally arrived in Vancouver you said “no more planes!” but we had to do it again to get home! Only the Denver to Vancouver part of the flight was comfortable. Since returning from the cruise I’ve only had one day with you; you had obviously grown up a lot! One thing I noticed was you were more independent. For example, you would ride in your wagon rather than insist on being carried. Although I love carrying you, as you’ve grown it’s hard on my back. When I put you to bed we read many, many books and you reminded me to take the empty bottle when I left your room. I don’t think there are many bed time bottles ahead for me to give you! Because your Dad is going on a long hike in Wyoming this month, I will be spending more time with you which will be delightful. I’m looking forward to it. You grow so quickly. Today the USA is 237 years old but this is just your second 4^th of July. Happy Independence Day 2013! 

1st pose with a character!

 

Three cousins & 2 Aunts!

 

Delicious food every day!

Granny! Granny!

Yesterday (May 20) we went  outside early and waved to people who were walking, jogging & driving by. We also listened hard to hear an owl “hoot” and did a little swinging. Then after breakfast, your neighbor Dustyn came over to visit with her little baby Camdyn. You were so sweet to the baby. You talked about a few things you had seen at the Zoo on Sunday and the pony at Do Dah Day on Saturday. You are so sweet & happy & enjoy so many things. Maybe some of that is “just you”. But much of it is due to your awesome parents who love you so much and make your world such a nurturing, happy, loving place. We went to the wonderful Hoover Library where you really enjoyed the other children on the playground. You are able to share & “play well with others”.  I gave you a naptime bottle, read books and then put you down for your nap. When you woke up from your nap, for the first time I can remember, you called out “Granny! Granny!”  It was such a wonderful sound to hear. As good as the delightful laughter I heard when I went to lift you out of bed. You and I then went to the pool. You were very cautious but enjoyed sitting on the pool steps pouring water from your little watering can. We stayed until your Dad came home from work. This week is your Dad’s last week of work before his summer break. My regular schedule for being with you will change. But I’m going to be sure I stay on your calendar! Maybe I’ll have more chances to hear the delightful sound of “Granny! Granny!”  

Airplane!

It is exciting when I am with you & you hear an airplane. Of course, often you are wrong; a lawn mower can trigger “airplane!” but more often you are accurate. If possible, when we are inside we run outside to see the plane. If we are outside we search the sky until we find it. When we can actually see the plane instead of just a jet stream, that is the best. We are going to be on an airplane together very soon. That is going to be a delight (the cruise more so than the flight!). Hopefully you will enjoy the inside of a plane as much as the outside. Your joy when you see an airplane in the sky makes me smile when I am with you, but now I also smile whenever I see an airplane fly over. In the past I would have told you planes seldom fly over our house. But now, I realize they fly over often. And because we’re live fairly close to the airport, they often fly  low enough to clearly see the plane. That is an example of the quality and joy you have added to my life. Because of you I see things differently. Because of you I enjoy the little things more.  Because of you I actually see things I’ve never seen before.

You really like to be carried. You are getting heavier and I’m not able to hold you as long as I used to be able to do. But every time you wrap your arms around my neck I realize the era of carrying you is drawing to a close. And every time I give you a nap time or bed time bottle, I know there are few bottles ahead as well. But one thing I’ve learned from being a mother, every age has its unique joys and delights. There is much more to look forward to than looking back on.

April 22-Boston Marathon & Meteor Shower

I woke up at 4:00 am this morning to try to see the 2013 peak of Lyrids meteor shower. I don’t think I saw anything due to the full moon, lights and not really knowing where to look or what I was looking for. But it was a good experience. Since the annual shower will happen April 16-26 (which includes your great-grandmother & grandmother’s birthday) each year, maybe one night you will be watching it while out camping with your family and remember your grandmother looked up at the early morning sky in 2013 and thought about you and your future. You are growing up so quickly. You have so many wonderful experiences ahead with your wonderful parents.  In a few minutes I will be going to your house to spend today and tomorrow with you. I am such a lucky person. When I was with you on Thursday, we went next door to visit with neighbor dog George and his family Madyn and her mother Dustyn and new baby boy Camdyn. You jumped on the trampoline and played with some of Madyn’s toys. You were quite serious & mature as captured in the picture on their porch as we waited to go into their house. When your Dad got home, the news was breaking that there were pictures of the Boston Marathon bombing suspects. The bombing happened Monday afternoon April 17. Your mother used to live in Boston & had just been there to visit a friend Easter weekend. Early on Friday morning I was awake watching the news as the story was unfolding in Watertown, MA. Quite a story! Last night before I went to bed I watched a video of you being pulled around on your big bear Doobie as you squealed with delight. It is such a joyous sound I watched it several times to hear your laugh. There is no better sound than your laughter! So glad I get to hear it so often.

April 2013-Cheese Grits

We have started going to The Egg & I for Cheese Grits (next door to Gymboree) on Thursday mornings. It was surprising to me how quickly you’ve become “a regular”. The waitresses know you and you enjoy speaking to people seated around us. And you enjoy eating cheese grits. This week because of your wheezing & congestion we skipped Music Time at Gymboree and explored Hobby Lobby across the street after our grits. After spotting an Elmo bucket we started trying to find more Elmo things in the store. There were none, but we had a good time looking for them. We saw a UPS truck outside the grits restaurant and you spoke to the delivery person. You were surprised to see her again outside of Hobby Lobby. You are very observant. I read an article about teaching young children math concepts. You have already grasped some of those concepts. It is so fun to watch you learn and put things together in your mind. I am looking forward to spring weather coming to stay so we can spend more time outside. We had a few “good weather” days and you were thrilled to find a lot of children at the neighborhood swings. You enjoyed playing & riding in a wagon with other children and a visit with your neighbors Tate & Avery and their long-haired dachshund Cooper. Your neighborhood streets are being repaved and there were a lot of noisy trucks and machines around. You enjoyed watching most of them; but some were too noisy & scary. You and your mother came to spend a Saturday at our house. You loved seeing Frankie the dog. He is getting very old and I’m glad you’ve had a chance to get to know him. I liked swinging on our patio swing with you. When your mother was little we would swing at her grandmother’s house and sing songs. It felt good to sing the same songs with you. Your mother was a toddler just yesterday. You and I went to the Mt Brook Library and you had fun playing with the children there. One mother commented how well you talk at your age. You really know a lot of words! One day I tried to list every word you said; it filled several pages. Interestingly you were afraid of the man with the beard playing a guitar at music time so we left the room. Several other children did too so you had plenty to play with. One day your mother told me you were sad to wake up from your nap to find I was gone. Although I don’t like you to feel sad, I had a warm feeling knowing you missed me! This has been your second episode of wheezing and congestion necessitating albuterol inhalation treatments which you don’t like but you tolerate. Not quite time to diagnose asthma, but that may be the case. If so, your wonderful parents will manage it well. One day you woke up too early from a nap you really needed. I was able to rock you back to sleep but you wouldn’t transfer back to bed without waking up so I laid on the floor with you while you finished your nap. It is so special to hold you while you slept. But then, everything I do with you is special to me…including running outside to spot airplanes, watching Elmo videoes & eating cheese grits!

March 2013-Almost 18 mos old!

Time goes so quickly! I’m so glad I get to share a lot of it with you.  One of the things so special to me about keeping you on a regular schedule while your mom works is that I never leave you without knowing when I will see you again. What a treat. There are times it is as long as a week between times I see you. When that happens I can clearly see changes in what you know and what you can do. Recently I’ve had opportunities to observe you with other children at story time at the library & a music session at Gymboree. You are thrilled when other children engage with you. When the teacher at Gymboree said the class was going to be ABBA music, my first thought was your Dad, rather than a Swedish “pop” group. You loved dancing to the music. Your mother always loved music and it seems you will too. On Feb 26 as I was putting you down “post bottle” for a nap you spontaneously wrapped your arms around my neck and kissed me. It was a first for me & made my eyes tear up. There was one day with you I described as a “Perfect Day”. I must admit your 3 hour nap contributed to the perfection, but we went to a bookstore & you picked out new books, you spoke to almost everyone & sat at a table with me to share a pretzel snack. We shopped at Toys R Us and because the weather was good we played outside post nap. You love to look at Elmo videos on my laptop. We’re also introducing you to Mickey Mouse characters since we’re going on a Disney Cruise in June. So I find the videos using Google. You love saying the word & surprised your parents by recognizing it later. You are so smart! The last day I was with you had diaper rash. It broke my heart when it made you cry with pain. The nurse said the best thing to do was keep you “diaperless” as much as possible. It made me stay with you constantly to prevent an accident. I spent a lot of time pulling you around the house while you sat on a big towel. You loved it! It made me realize simple things like a bath towel could be as much fun as an expensive toy. Your squeals of delight stay in my ears and make me smile when I remember our time together.  Recently there have been some stressful things going on at my work. What an oasis of pleasure it is to spend time with you. You will be 18 months old March 17.

You change every week!



Lyla Bear!



Sheep riding



Tree Hugging at University Oaks 



Visiting Great Grandmother Hastie

Helping Granny



Bitty Baby with new Potty

Visiting Granny's Office



Watching geese with favorite dog!



One change I noticed is your increased independence. For the first time when we went to the Chace Lake Swings you took off on your own, heading toward the street & the parking lot. When we went to Buy Buy Baby you darted off to another aisle before I knew it. I realize I must be  hyper-vigilant to keep such an independent curious girl safe. You are very alert to sounds. From inside the house you can hear an overhead plane or helicopter (which you pronounce an adorable way I can’t spell) and if possible we hurry outside to see it. When we’re outside you love to watch the birds & the geese fly overhead. The talented geese can walk, swim or fly and always travel in pairs.  Your vocabulary is expanding every day. Like your Sesame Street friend Abby Cababby, you love words. You are bilingual which is so special. I can’t “wrap my tongue” around Hebrew words the way you do but I am able to recognize the Hebrew words for “juice” and “water” and “trees” which is a start. You have started to color with crayons in an Elmo coloring book. We have started watching Elmo together on TV and on-line. And you are grieving the loss of our favorite Hebrew song on You Tube. Your Dad thinks it’s a copyright issue. At least you have it on CD in the car! Although I spent New Year’s Eve and the night of Feb 2 at your house I didn’t spend the night at your house at all in January. But we did spend a lot of time together. Your mother and I took you to Mobile to visit Great Grandmother. You delighted the residents of University Oaks where she lives. You were happy & sweet & funny & well-behaved. There was snow on Jan 17 and tornado conditions on Jan 30. You came to breakfast at University Hospital Jan 31 and one day we had lunch at Newk’s followed by a visit to my office in Jefferson Towers.  President Barack Obama was inaugurated for his 2^nd term, we visited your 2 month old cousin Micah at Brookwood where he has continued to grow and improve. Maybe we'll visit him at home soon. Your father made wonderful pictures of precious “Lyla Bear” on the prowl! And you came to breakfast at UH with your mom. Alabama football team won another national championship & you used the potty for the 1st time! Just a few things in  January 2013--a busy month. I’m so glad I got to share so much of it with you.