celebrating two

Birthdays of the past have always been a huge thing here. I'm not sure how that happened. They evolved over time.
Until some I had even started planning months in advance....remember Mary Poppins? go here...or Star Wars here or even last year's Curious George here.

And while I enjoyed every minute of hand painting decorations and googling games and activities that went with the theme of the party, I decided it was too much. And really, somehow we had stopped celebrating the person who was born that day, and instead celebrated how detailed decorations, food and activities stuck to the theme.

So this year, Juan Pablo and I agreed to do away with parties. Gasp!

And as the date for Diego's second birthday neared, I got a familiar pang of anxiety. I hadn't started planning decorations....and themes were slapping me in my face...like Peter Rabbit, Dr. Seuss, and spring gardens.

Maybe we should give him a party? Maybe it's unfair? Maybe he won't even feel special? My mind was racing with doubt.

His birthday was on a Sunday this year, so we headed off to church. There were the familiar grumbles, and others like "but it's Diego's birthday"....but I wanted to start it off right, so their complaints fell on deaf ears. And even after church, I still hadn't planned what to do. The tentative plan was eat, Rita's ices for free (first day of spring!), and a park.

We agreed on Panera Bread for lunch. The kids love their soup in a bread bowl (and so do I!). As we discussed which park to go to on the way over, I gazed at the gray, cloudy sky and wondered if the rain would decide our plans for us. Ideas were thrown out....Sunday Park. The Wishing Well. The backyard.

Then we thought of Maymont. It's always fun and there's so much to do there...someone voiced a concern that there was no playground, and I quickly replied, "Nature will be your playground." (That turned out to be much more truthful than I thought at the time.)

We ran home to change, grab snacks, and I snuck the wagon in the car while JP wasn't looking. (He never likes to take too much anywhere...doesn't like to carry it later.)

Rita's was surprisingly NOT crowded compared to Sweet Frog's the day before (yeah, we've been celebrating the whole weekend). Five regular ices for $0, can't beat that! We chilled for awhile on the bench, then decided to head on.



Diego caught a snooze on the way over.


When our eyes met the amazing blossoms on this cherry tree as we walked in, it took all of our breaths away. The kids immediately wanted to climb into it's branches, and Isabela eventually lost her fear of falling out as seen in that pained look on her face.


And this boy was unstoppable...now these are the bars of real monkeys.


The tulips were gorgeous in the Italian garden.


Joaquin, get down off of that sundial!


The wagon did present a bit of a challenge going down hills and stone steps. And while I grumbled and got a bit upset when I got stuck with it in the Japanese Gardens, we both agreed it's what made the day so enjoyable. The kids were able to sit and rest on the long hauls, and we could cart all the bags and coats that got flung off during our trek.


The amazing Japanese Gardens....bamboo and it's hidden trails lets the imaginations of kids, big and small, run wild...




...Where koi fish seem like giant sharks...


And there's even time for yoga....



or to take in the beauty of spring.





Joaquin was in his element on this real life rock wall. This is definitely why I limit his intake of movies like Spiderman.



And Karate Kid.


Wouldn't you know, there was even a slide.



And we stared in wonder and contemplation as the longest train in the world went by right when we were at the train tracks. Really, could I have planned a better party?


We passed the bears, the eagles, the children's farm, and the bison...I couldn't help but feel sorry for them, who once numbered 60 million roaming free....


But Diego was amazed.


That's the whole entire park...and the kids were still going strong. (thank you, wagon.)



And I believe I heard it said on the way home, "This was the best day of my life." Spoken for all of us.


Happy Birthday, Diego.

We love two.

We love you.

moment

There is a moment. Every day. That stops time.

This moment during my day that I cherish, that I'm sure about, and that I wait for with anticipation...through all the busyness of the day that clutters my mind and fills my schedule...this moment fills my soul and satisfies my longing for peace. Not peace as in an absence of fighting, but peace as in
a state or condition conducive to, proceeding from, or characterized by tranquillity (dictionary.com)

It's not the morning sunrise. I'm not up that early.
It's not when the kids head off to school. We're just kicking into high gear.
It's not when the baby takes a nap. Time to get stuff done around the house.
It's not when I head off to the gym on my own. Radio's blaring.
It's not when I sneak a bowl of ice cream after everyone is asleep. Who likes eating alone?
And it's not when my head hits the pillow at night. Someone's snoring.

My precious moment is when I hear a little voice say, "Ma?" from behind a closed door.
Diego is just waking up from his nap.

I race to the room. I've missed him. This is my moment. He's standing in his crib waiting for me...with his blankie, his paci, and some huge stuffed animal overflowing in his arms.

You'd think he might be geared up after his long rest, ready to take on the world in all the ways his almost-two-year-old mind can think of. But he's not. He's quiet.

And I ask him, "Do you want to lie down with mommy?" And do you know what he says? What he always says?

He says, "Yes."

So I scoop him up and we fall to the bed, and we snuggle... cheek to cheek, or nose to nose, and we enjoy the moment. I breathe in his baby-ness, stare at the precious features of his face, and wonder how I could ever be filled with sorrow when I have such joy.

And while my to-do list is never-ending, I know that this will not be.

So, right now, I soak it up. This is my moment.

limericks

I was reading the kids some leprechaun stories out of this book, A Pot O' Gold, this morning, and we came upon some limericks. There is a city in Ireland called Limerick, but I don't think the poetry is actually from there.

Anyway, we decided to make up our own limericks, which turned out to be a fun lesson on rhyming, patterns (aabba), and wording in poetry and how it's sometimes different than the way we talk because of the need to rhyme.

I thought I'd share them because they were pretty funny.

I went first to show them how to do it:

I once had a girl and a boy,
Who both wanted one more toy.
Instead we said, "Maybe"
And had one more baby,
And now we're all filled with joy.

Then Joaquin made up this:

I went on a boat
And I passed by a goat.
The goat saw me
And climbed up a tree.
Then fell off and went to a vote.

And here's Isabela's:

Isabela's my name
And I played a game.
The cat jumped on it,
And I said, "Darn it."
And my cat I blame.

You can see how the last line of Isabela's had to have the words rearranged in order to rhyme. We also realized we had to rhyme with 'on it' and not just 'it', or else it didn't have the right rhythm....hence the 'darn it', which I actually thought of and had to approve since they thought it was so funny.

Have fun making up your own limerick and share it in the comments!!

Say...

Diego is in the cutest phase of repeating words. That can be dangerous depending on what you're saying...but usually we like to try out other languages on him.

I thought French might be fun.

So I said, "Bonjour!"

And he responded with the cutest little French accent, "Bonjour!"

The kids thought Chinese might be fun.

"Xie xie." And out comes, "she, she" with a precious little toddler voice.

Of course, we emphasize Spanish in our house, but some words are just better in other languages.



Take 'ball'. Diego's favorite word and one of his first. But in Spanish it's a little longer....'pelota'. So he prefers 'ball'.

This morning, while we were trying out all these languages on him, I went back to 'ball'.

Me: Diego, say 'pelota'.

Diego: says nothing

Me: Say, 'pe'.

Diego: 'Pe.'

Me: Say, 'lo'.

Diego: 'Lo.'

Me: Say, 'ta'.

Diego: 'Ta'.

Me (smiling proudly): Say 'Pe-lo-ta'.

Diego: BALL!

Well....at least he knows what it means.

march kites

The rain held off.

The wind was strong.

And if you can forget the hour of traffic and parking nightmares that we sat in just to get there, kite day was a lot of fun!



Kites dancing to music...


Loved this one of just a guy walking his kite.


Dragon kite coming in for a landing.


A circle kite!


And a rainbow in the sky.

green spring

It's such a relief to know that spring is right around the corner. I know there's always a chance of snow in March, and there's still some cold winds coming to chill us to our bones....but the signs are there, so it can't be too far off. I always imagine those poor Pilgrims and their first winter here and wonder if they thought it would ever end. It does.

And so...pictures from a wonderful park in Alexandria, VA called Green Spring Gardens. It's similar to Lewis Ginter, but on a smaller scale...and best of all...it's FREE!


Out back is their children's garden, with cute tables...


...winding brick pathways for little feet to follow...


...colorful pastel mailboxes to open...


..and all different types of little gardens. I liked the sign in this one.


There's also remnants of last summer.


And cool benches made out of branches that you imagine having in your own backyard.


This precious bird spied us before we even noticed it.


And I always love this serious expression on Joaquin's face. (I had to crop Isabela out because of hers!)


And this, it turns out, is Witch Hazel. I never knew what it looked like and love that I can learn right along with the kids.

a tree for many seasons

A friend recently celebrated her 40th birthday (I'm not sayin' who) and I whipped up this wire balloon tree since I didn't have any helium balloons. It's made out of a wire that is wrapped in brown craft paper. It's very flexible, but sturdy and fun to work with....we also made some of these yarn hearts with the same wire that turned out nicely.

I haven't made a tree for myself yet, but this same friend had a great idea to use it for easter eggs...or really you could decorate it for any holiday. It's a fun way to brighten up a table.