My friend Deb just sent this to me from last week's brunch. I just love it. I love my girl.
And here are some videos from yesterday. She is either jumping or singing Bob Marley's "One Love." In case you don't know the words, it goes, "One love, one heart, let's get together and feel alright." And she is coming ever-closer to reciting this entire chorus clearly. She adores this book and we are now a home that plays Bob Marley more than any college student ever has!
Slippered-feet pitter-pattered down the hallway yesterday at 7:45am. It had been a rough night for all of us. Nora is welcoming the arrival of her two-year molars...and they are causing quite the ruckus. She was up with screams and moans and wiggles every 1-2 hours all night long...I watched her on the monitor and waiting with baited breath for a few minutes each time to see if she'd fall back asleep or needed comfort. Her 5:00am nursing session was non-negotiable and after rocking her to sleep until 5:30am, I fell into bed exhausted...praying that Daniel would let me sleep in. (But, I mean, it was Mother's Day...so did he really have a choice?)
So, back to those pitter-pattering feet. As the door creaked open, Nora was yammering on about something. As I blinked in the rays of morning light pooling on the bed from the opening curtains...I caught her message, "Happy Mama's Day" she chirped over and over and over as she grasped at the comforter to pull herself up upon the bed. What a mountain of changes have passed since last year's holiday to moms!
Mother's Day 2011
My chubby, sparse-haired, one-tooth babbling baby has now become a running, curly-haired, toothy toddler. After opening up some awesome gifts (a new video/photo pocket camera & summer maternity clothes), we enjoyed a beautiful day of blue skies and whipping winds down at Sunset Beach and then an evening at my mom's house.
Nora was completely unamused by a windy beach or water that had loud and frothy waves licking at her toes. It was not the "beach" of her recent memory down at the penninsula in Long Beach...the one with warm sand, no waves, and a gentle slope into the water that allows her to play up to her neck in the salty pool. She protested often and LOUDLY...and finally, she cracked us up so much with her misery, that we packed up and headed home for lunch. Thanking our lucky stars for the beans and rice we had on hand. If you are looking to warm Lulu's heart, it's currently all about the Spanish rice and pinto beans...a veritable bucket of salt (although I rinse the beans vigorously). She gobbles this concoction down and howls for it daily.
Here are some of the best pics of the day...and some videos from this year and last year.
Making castles with her dad.
Even little Smüdgie felt the warmth of the sun.
Me and my 22 week-old sweet pea.
Snuggles in the cold wind...complete with my unrubbed mineral-sunblock (Hello, Daniel! Can you help a woman out?)
Investigating the sand between her toes. She is obsessed with getting rid of any foreign debris in her toes and on her hands lately.
Her cheesy grin. A new talent has arisen.
Her grin a year ago.
One slightly-buried foot, one ruby-painted foot, and the tiniest one freaking out that it might get gritty.
Caught a picture with my step-dad, John. A bbq in their gorgeous back yard to end the day!
Video Mania
The Day begins with a coached "excited face," "Happy Mama's Day!" and "I love you!"...but you can hear her sweet voice, coached or not! (Please ignore my just-woke-up hair...the cute factor overrode my vanity.)Beach meltdown:
A year ago: Time is flying!
It was with a tear in my eye that I set up these blocks again for the Friday shoot. This was the last "weeks" shot...since next week I'll be spelling out a new phrase - One Year.
Gulp.
I had the great fortune to meet Kathy and her son Shane at a local coffee shop when our babies were only a few months old. They share the same birthday...but that's where their common traits end. Whilst Shane giggles all day long, Nora tends to lift an eyebrow in suspicion. While Shane is biting his friends lately, Nora is offering open-mouthed kisses. As Shane sleeps in his car seat, Nora screams and kicks in hers.
Here are the two of them in some of the best shots. Negotiating the tricky idea of sharing.
*Nora likes the concept.
*But quickly changes her mind.
*little angels
*their first coffee chat
We also had a fabulous time at Pretend City.
"Future Dancing Star"
The remainder of the weekend found both Daniel and I yearning for a quiet weekend home alone. We wanted to relax and take Nora on bike rides. Pack picnics and walk to the marina. Enjoy a late breakfast at our favorite restaurant. Forget the car and running errands and about impending visitors...just the three of us. We soaked in the calm and took deep breaths as we must this week dive into the big birthday party preparations. Below are some of my favorite moments.
The couch session of listening to "oldies" is fantastic. Lulu is obsessed with cell phones and amazed by music. I won't give her my phone but Daniel and others sometimes indulge her pleading...this leads to persistent grabbing and screaming and crying when the phone needs to be repossessed. But it also creates beautiful moments when she is so utterly smitten...so completely thrilled with the phone and the music emanating from it that you have to just sit back and smile.
*here she is wanting the phone*
*after losing the phone*
"Dancing feet" *Note her dancing feet. My Grandpa Thurm used to circle his feel while playing the guitar. "Why the Supremes are not so"
On 9/11 we both spoke of our sadness and memories on the anniversary of the attacks and the wars waged to avenge them. On that historic morning, I was standing barefoot on a blue plastic chair in my classroom at Compton High. It was my second week and I was launching "Othello" to my 10th graders that day. I had covered the board with memorable quotes from the play and had a whizbang lesson prepared to capture their attention. Miles Davis' "Kind of Blue" swirled in the air. My hands danced back and forth switching colors of thick whiteboard markers.
Shortly after the first plane hit, a fellow teacher...with decades of teaching under his belt...entered quickly...calling out with a tense voice.
Did you hear?
Hear what?
A plane hit the World Trade Center in New York.
What?
Turn on your radio.
**I turned off Miles and turned on NPR. I didn't immediately understand what I was hearing. Neither did the announcers, necessarily. I would be standing with markers and no shoes as the second plane was announced as hitting the second tower.**
I did not teach "Othello" that day. Our school, only a few blocks from a large county courthouse, would have extremely low attendance due to justifiable parental nerves. I don't remember what we "learned" that day; I do know that I listened to my students talk...and for hours we spoke or sat or cried. I drove home late in the evening...wrapping my mind around what it meant, what would I do with students the next day, wanting not to be alone in my apartment. Driving past flickering candles in windows along the street.
So, 10 years later, my family set out with a picnic and a frisbee. We walked to the marina and with a gentle breeze and glistening water in the distance, we laughed at Nora's "walking" prowess, enjoyed apples and carrots and pickles...and a canteen of vodka with
pomegranate juice. Overhead, military planes flew in formation. Nora waved. It was a memorable day.
Play time with my girl. "The tease" "Making a run for it" "Just to prove it wasn't a one-shot deal"
A few days ago I flew to my childhood home with Daniel and Nora. What is normally a routine flight to Seattle and a little hopper over the snow-capped mountains...transformed into an adventure of what to do about missed naps, forgotten solid foods, heavily-perfumed Russian grandmothers who want to hold the baby, filthy airport carpets that lure Noodle's attention like crack, and finally the glory of stepping off the plane into the crisp spring air...a bundled baby on my hip.
Her Godmother, Courtney, scooped us up after our journey. Smiling and lamenting traffic circles and offering the best chewing gum. Soon we were amidst her boys...Jonah (if you can consider a teenager a "boy") and Abram. These sweet gents surrounded Nora with offerings of toys and swings and laughter. Nora was bedazzled and instantly smitten.
And soon it was Friday...and the weekly photo shoot was upon us. Where better than in the Snapdragon Coffee Shop...Courtney's warm caffienated paradise in Cashmere. I swelled with pride as we drove up to the wood-shingled building. A train chugging along the tracks, majestic mountains rising in the distance, the Wenatchee river snaking aside the highway.
And then we entered. Each amber-drenched nook filled with quotes, popcorn, espresso, Indian elephants, alphabet blocks, knotted wood countertops, and the most inviting moss couch.
Here is where Nora splashed her gummy grin and this week's photos were made. I am so proud of my best friend...a business owner. Her very own shop. I loved her place. We sent the boys away and sat on her couch alone. Just the girls. Nursing Noodle. Sipping a chai latte. Reveling in the moment I'd envisioned since last July.
Snapdragon Coffee - don't miss it when you're in Cashmere, Washington!
And soon we were rolling along the river in my dad's monster truck. Towards his hilltop home and the merriment of a cousin reuinion. My brother and his family soon arrived. Giving Nora yet another glorious afternoon of fascination watching Sam and Rebecca hit golf balls, throw toys for Buddy, and create sweet chaos.
It is great to come home.
