Happy Birthday Dear Eddy, 2 Years

It's official, my baby is two.   We celebrated Edward's birthday Friday afternoon with several friends (Daxton and Madelyn) and a cousin (Maddie).  We had originally planned to have the party at a park so the kids could run around and hit their balls and bats around a baseball diamond, but the weather did not cooperate.  So we made do at home and still had a great time. 

Eddy was wild about the balls all around the house and ate at least the tops of four cupcakes, so I know he had a happy birthday.  We spoiled all the kids' appetites with hotdogs, pretzels, coco puffs, popcorn, and of course cupcakes.  We also had a pinata (that I made that got pretty sad looking when the balloon deflated halfway through the drying process.  Oh, well, it still functioned perfectly fine.) that the little 'uns quickly got the hang of and smashed to pieces.  There were lots of fun sports treats inside and--the real hit--glow sticks.

My Eddy-bear is growing up so nicely.  He is a kind little brother and a sweet friend.  He is strong and stubborn.  He is learning so many new words and concepts every day.  He is a good listener.  He is a beautiful singer.  I love my boy and am so grateful he is a part of our family.

My mom sent these little love letters from my family.  The boys loved seeing how big their hands were in comparison and reading all the little notes.

I was inspired to try something a little different on the morning of Eddy's birthday by this blog post about finding a quiet time to celebrate the birthday part of a birthday.  We told the story of the day Eddy was born and the special things we love about the past two years, then walked around our candle "sun" two times to represent two years of life.  Then Eddy opened some small gifts.

Some people (who shall not be named) thought it was weird but I really liked how quiet and personal the little ritual was.  Eddy felt special and that's what matters most.

Images Courtesy of Erica

My sister left early this morning to get back to Utah in time for my Grandmother's memorial service.  Delta was good enough to give a reasonable bereavement rate (thanks, Collin, for negotiating!) for her to change her original flight plans and leave early.  We were sad to see her go but glad she was able to be where she belonged today.  She forwarded me these pictures she took on her phone, and some I found on my camera when I was uploading.  Wow, my sister has a natural eye and gift for capturing people.  She even got several of me that I don't cringe at, and that's saying something!

We love visits from our family.  I especially love Erica's down-to-earth attitude about life.  She is so good with kids, happy and teasing.  She is a good sport about doing whatever the boys want to play and going off on adventures that get us lost in random parts of Boston.  But we laugh and make sarcastic jokes and smile all the way so even the lost and disappointing parts of the trip are memorable and fun. I love my sister's frank sense of honesty--she does not beat around the bush in any way but just says it like she sees it.  Even when she disagrees with me--which is actually quite often--she is polite and tolerant.  Erica and I are about the same age difference as Davy and Eddy and we've been through a lot of life together.  I hope my boys are half as good friends when they grow up.

A Grandmother Day

My Grandmother, Evelyn Bee Madsen Kimball, died peacefully last night, surrounded by people who loved her and whom she loved dearly and well.  I got to see her a few hours before she died in her sleep via Skype.  Truly an amazing technology!  My sister and cousin and husband were on all sides as we talked to our Grandpa and my Mom and of course, Grandmother.  She had already slipped into her coma-like sleep, but we were assured she could still hear us.  Before all this happened I felt very matter-of-fact about the fact of death but when it came down to it--and with some help from the Spirit--I got pretty emotional.  We shared some of our favorite memories of Grandmother and I got choked up.  My cousin (who hasn't sung in public since he was 6) sang I Am a Child of God because Grandmother had specially requested it many times and I sobbed.

What a classy lady my Grandmother was.  She loved toys, being well dressed, home shows, flowers, fairies, cats, bees, music, dolls, nice food, her friends (some of whom she had stayed in close touch with since college), me.  I have two extra special memories of my Grandmother, in addition to the many wonderful ones.

The one I shared last night with Grandmother was the day she spent with me here in Massachusetts.  She and Grandpa had come to Boston for a conference and were staying in a nice hotel in the city.  She invited me to come see the spectacular view of the city from the observation deck.  Then we went to Newbury Street and we walked and talked and she treated me to lunch at a cafe.  Then we went to Belmont and I showed her around my favorite places--we walked to town and got some ice cream while sitting and people-watching.  We dropped in on a neighborhood estate sale and I found some vintage clothes.  I felt like the most special girl in the world, getting to be with my Grandmother doing things that she and I both enjoy.

The other memory is a remembrance that my mom printed out and included as a token in her casket.  Here is what I wrote:

Grandmother, how I loved dressing up in your gorgeous old ballgowns and lovely college-days outfits!  How glamorous and grown-up I felt.  I love that you let me try those dresses on at the risk of a split seam or a stain, instead of preserving their condition.  I think you liked that they were being loved all over again and understand that dresses ought to be worn, if only in daydreams!  My favorite of all those wonderful dresses is still the jade green velvet with a slight hoop skirt and scalloped neckline that had matching long gloves.  Oh, I felt as beautiful as Scarlett O'Hara in that dress, swishing down the staircase and twirling around for you to admire.  I bet you felt the same when you went to your dances!  Thank you for those perfect moments.  I love you.

When I woke up this morning and learned the news, and saw the drizzly wet day outside, all I wanted to do was stay in my pjs.  But then I wrote this email to my mom to give to Grandmother and I realized that on this of all "Grandmother Days" I was going to shower and wear something decent.  Then Erica and I (and Maddie and Eddy while Davy was in his Friday Class) braved the rain and walked Newbury Street in search of good window shopping, frozen yogurt, and cupcakes--yes frivolous, but just as I believe Grandmother would have liked.

We all grieve differently and at different paces.  I don't exactly know where I am in that process.  But I will be honest:  despite the pretty otherwise-normal day (having kids makes you shake yourself a bit and stick to the routine, thankfully) I have been teary and tender and my tummy has hurt.  When I felt my tummy hurting first thing this morning I suddenly and vividly remembered my frequent childhood complaint whenever something was different or new or stressful or sad.  That's been the way I've felt all day, just "off," as my mom would say.  I don't think it will fully sink in that my Grandmother won't be there to chat with and laugh with until next time I'm in her home.

I love you, my beautiful and graceful Grandmother.

C is for Captain and USS Constitution

Last week we spent our school time counting and practicing writing numbers.  We counted coins, swings at the park (2 baby swings + 4 big kid swings = 6 swings all together), mom's pairs of boots (I'm not confessing how many), feathers, leaves, buses on the road, fire trucks, and pretty much everything else in sight.  We were trying to get back on track for our around town adventures (I had started a week early we were so excited so we got off synch for a couple weeks).

Aunt Erica came to visit on Wednesday.  And on Thursday our around town adventure for "C" Week was going to the old Navy Yard in Charlestown to see the USS Constitution and spend some fun time at the hands-on museum.  We found a great parking place (for free!) just a couple blocks away.  It was a lovely Fall day and we had so much fun just getting to the ship!

On the ship we got to pretend to be a captain and steer the big wheel, spotted the letter "c" on life preservers, and even cannons.  It was a wonderful "C"-filled day.

Just like my Mom, and still my own self

A few weeks ago I had a perfectly lovely, long chat with just my mom.  What a treat!  Usually Sunday evenings we do a Facetime/web cam with the boys and whatever family is around in Utah and California.  It's wonderful but pretty crazy sometimes.  I love that we can see our family and they can admire the boys, but conversation seems pretty superficial.  And when my mom or I do call each other during the week during the day there are all sorts of multitasking efforts going on and distractions on both sides.  So I was actually quite grateful that our traditional big family Facetime didn't work out and I got my mom all to myself.

We talked about everything and nothing.  Our conversation flowed in that beautiful way that women's conversation--especially those women who have known each other a very long time--does.  I've always pictured a babbling brook or a fast flowing stream when thinking of conversations between me and my sisters and mom.  Collin finds it daunting to follow along with these talks--there is no point, you see.  Just letting the conversation go where it will is one of the aspects I relish.

One thing I do remember talking about was a comment that an acquaintance at church made about my decision to do mommy school, or "home school preschool" as I tried to describe it.  She said, "But don't you need certification or something to do that?"  I probably responded quite rudely, that's how surprised I was.  Certification to have discovery adventures and read picture books and practice writing letters and count things with my 3 year old?  Are you kidding me?  I am a mom, for pete's sake.  Never mind a prolific and comprehensive reader, a college graduate and MA candidate.  I didn't parade my diplomas in front of this lady but  I guess I may have felt a little personally insulted.  Perhaps even because I have had my own insecurities about being home schooled for a good portion of my education.

So I was talking about all this with my mom, nee home school teacher, and expressing my gratitude for what I've since come to refer to as my "hodge-podge" education.  I had a great many varieties of educational experiences, ranging from public school to home school to online distance college classes to a smattering of unschooling philosophies and practices.  In addition to all the after-school, extracurricular type activities most kids are involved in (choir, horseback riding lessons, piano, softball, a part time job, reading, etc.).  I never did have private or Catholic school, so I maybe I am not as well rounded as I could have been . . . ;)  Anyway, I feel so lucky to have had a mom who was willing and able to give me so many diverse chances to learn and to learn how to learn.  I want to be just the same for my kids.  Though not necessarily the same.  To clarify:  I want to give my children the foundation for a lifetime of learning, whether that means public school, home school, or some hodge-podge combination there of according to their needs and our family's abilities.

My mom and I are so different--I am much more like my dad in many ways (which means that my mom has the advantage of understanding me from having long understood my dad much to my chagrin as a teenager).  I always wanted to be just like my mom.  She is so erudite, so humble, so stubborn, so busy with doing good, so practically perfect in every way.  I remember the first time my mom told me that I was better than she at something.  I was maybe 14 or 15 and had been taking riding lessons for several years and was improving by practice and sheer persistence (because I am no natural).  My mom had ridden as a girl and was a role model in that as in many things.  She told me while driving home from a lesson that I was now a better rider than she had been.  I was thrown completely off balance.  No, not possible, to be better at something than my own mother!  I was so uncomfortable with that concept.  It took a long time to process the thought.  The fact that it was okay--in fact wonderful from my mom's own perspective--to be an improvement on her own experience was a challenge to accept.  I now understand.  I want my children to be better and have more richness (and I don't mean money or things) in their life than even I have had.

The chat with my mom a few weeks ago that burbled and meandered reminded me that I want to be just like my mom.  I also want to be my own best self.  What comforts me is knowing that my mom has always wanted my own best self more even than to be just like her.  We may live for our children and hopefully truly with our children, but not through them.  I have been blessed to know my mom quite well for a long time, but really, I feel in many ways as if I'm only now beginning to know her as a person.  I still admire and want to be like her, and I want her to like me in return.  This is a fun new stage of life to transition from being a daughter who has a mom to being a daughter who has a mom and can also gain the privilege of friendship.

Football and Boyish Charm

This morning (Saturday) Collin took the boys to see a young man from our ward play football at Belmont High.  It was a great trip for the boys--they came home dirty (Eddy literally took a handful of dirt and dumped it down his pants) and very pleased with their fun.  And Belmont won 18-16 against a tough team!  I have to brag a little on Collin's pictures, too, because I think he captured some really adorable moments very well.  Enjoy!

 

Don't you just love this bike rack with the concrete and brick and old window behind?  I see some serious possibilities with it for future.

This week Davy told me, "I don't ever want to grow up.  When I am a grown up I am grumpy.  I just want to stay a kid."

A Surprise Package and Edward in the Woods

This week we received a huge box packed full of goodies from our California Lambourne family.  It was a truly fantastic spread of presents and entertainment for many hours that afternoon and in the days since.  Thank you, Jessica, Evan, Janeil, and Grandma!  Several of the highlights were London Olympic shirts directly from London (Janeil was a lucky visitor to London during the Games), a gorgeous leather, Guatemalan woven fabric, and corduroy bag for me from Mom (she so knows my taste!), and so many early-birthday and just because gifts. 

"Gobble" stones as Davy calls them (Pirate gemstones in a treasure chest, books, umbrellas.

A Boston Red Sox-esque Lightning Mc Queen shirt for Eddy--he's asked for it by name already when wanting to wear it again.  Sorry, it's in the laundry!

Cars cousin Evan shared with us and a tire stacking game from the new Cars world in Disneyland--both a hit!

Davy's worn his new hoody almost non-stop already.  I can see this is going to get a lot of love!

When we went for a walk in the woods down by the Charles River to take Davy's suspender pictures I made sure Eddy had a turn, too.  He loves his necklace tie (and puts it on himself, if you couldn't tell) and looks so debonair and irresistible!