I feel so lucky that some of my very best childhood friends also have children that are about the same age as Maggie. When we’re all in town at the same time (aside from Erin who now lives there!!) we try to make a point of it to get together with the kids. Most recently Erin and Lara came out to my parent’s house with Thomas and Maggie and we ended up going to see the cows next door and eating large amounts of popcorn.
Mara is old enough that she understands what it means to go on a walk, but when it comes to Thomas and Maggie, their still a little hopeless when it comes to directions or walking distances without getting distracted.
By the time we made it to the cows, and picked up some pussy willows on the way, it felt like we’d reminded both of them that we were going to see the cows many, many times. The cows weren’t really sure what to do about a bunch of kids staring at them, so they just stared back. Sydney, on the other hand, decided that the best thing to do was to charge at the fence, which made me nervous because there was one cow that looked like it wanted to eat Syd for lunch.
My parents have a collection of toys that stay at their house and it is always fun to see what other kids, besides Maggie, glom onto. Thomas was all over the fruit cutting station, the hammer, a truck, and also my dad. He kept bringing my dad different things and made sure that my dad noticed it. It was all sorts of cute.
While the kids played with play-dough my mom started to pop some popcorn and by the time the first kernel had hit the bowl, nearly everyone was done playing with playdough. As the adults and kids both huddled around bowls of popcorn, we started talking about all the different groups of people that have enjoyed popcorn at my parent’s kitchen table. It was a long, long list and it seemed fitting that Maggie would be shoving handfuls into her mouth with two of her buddies by her side.
I only wish I could have understood their conversation as they each reached for handfuls. Mara is pretty quiet, so much of the talk was between Thomas and Maggie. It wasn’t long after that both Erin and Lara had to leave, but lucky for Mags and me, we got to stay and keep eating and chatting around the popcorn bowl.
camp janet , friends , Gavin & Mara , Grandparents , Thomas , Uncategorized
HBHQ Gets Snowballed
You’d think that we’d never seen snow before the way that we’re celebrating it here…or at least the way that Maggie is celebrating it. Yesterday morning she woke up early and started poking Barry in the nose insisting that he get up. When he’d finally wiped the sleep from his eyes and wandered down the hall after her, she ran up to the window looking into the back yard and yelled at the top of her lungs “NOOOOOOOOOO!!” (which translates into snow)
So we piled on the layers and went outside and Maggie was in heaven and so was Sparky. Sydney, on the other hand, had to take a moment to herself before she got off the back stoop and when she did she too ran around like a mini snow plow. We frolicked in the back yard and I demonstrated my best pitching stance while hucking snowballs at one of the big trees in our yard. Barry informed me that I may or may not have some serious skills when it comes to my pitching of snowballs.
That afternoon when the Little Miss wanted to go out again, I was smart and brought my cup of tea to enjoy because I learned earlier in the day that Maggie just doesn’t get cold. Period. When I was pregnant with her I was constantly warm and often light-headed because I was so hot, and now I feel like I know why. The child does not get cold ever and poor little me does. So, I brought my tea and kept it close by for occasional sips while we rolled out a couple snowmen.
Today when we woke up to more snow, I found that good snow really does make a difference when it comes to rolling snowmen. The snowfall from last night just wasn’t as good as that snowball material the other day, but we made do and put together a mini snowman. The squirrels didn’t seem to mind, and immediately stole his entire facial structure. Poor guy.
The prediction is for more snow to dump tonight and all day tomorrow. That’s fine, I guess. We’ve been busy inside also. Mostly in the kitchen baking breads, muffins, chili and other snow-related things. I can do this for a while longer and can battle the cabin fever by going outside and making forts, but I’m slightly excited for it to melt. Then we can crack open the windows and welcome nicer weather.
But until then, we’re going to be watching the “NOOOOOO” fall from the sky and work on perfecting the best drying techniques when it comes to our jackets and hats. It isn’t so bad. We had our yearly snowy visit from Chach, she is fearless driving her little car in this weather. I’m a wimp; however, we did go across town yesterday just to get out of the house. I decided I didn’t need to do that again, at least with the predicted snow coming.
And aside from cooking and watching the snow fall, we’ve got other indoor activities to do. For example, reading the paper and making sure that we haven’t missed an important story. Maggie, like her dad, likes to read the advertisements. [B-mills edit 1/17/2012: "That's how you know where the best deals are." ]
Most importantly, we’ve got a new game that we can play all hours of the day: “Night-Night”. Maggie invented it and I’m almost certain that this game is just part of the developmental process. She loves bossing us around while piling blankets on our heads insisting that we go night-night. She also loves to pop up and yell “Morning!” to whomever is playing with her. Every once in a while I only wish night-night time was as simple as a pile of blankets and a simple “night-night.”
I’ll give it a try here and see how it goes.
Night-Night.
family , Getting Outside , life , love & marriage , Mags & Mama , Mags & Papa
Brothers
A number of years ago Barry’s uncle made him a copy of all the home movies from his childhood and I think it is one of those gifts that just keeps getting better and better over time, especially since Barry is now a father and The Little Miss sometimes does things that are just oh-so-Barryesque. One of my favorite snippets from the home movies is of Barry eating grapes, while holding an entire bowl full in his hands, and he complains to his mom that Brian, who snagged one, was eating his grapes. Classic.
But one of my very favorite parts (aside from Barry rolling over his cousin’s head) of Barry’s Childhood Videos, so appropriately named, is of Barry and Brian playing with their red wagon on a blustery fall day. After Brian had pushed Barry down the hill and through the field a number of times, he’d finally had enough. Pretty soon you see a angry little Brian hollering from the top of the hill and then the camera cuts to Barry yelling back for Brian to come back and play. The whole interaction is hilarious and adorable at the same time.
So when Barry and Brian get together now, sometimes isn’t too hard to see some of those dynamics, personality traits or jokes that have carried them into adulthood shine through. Brian isn’t necessarily stealing Barry’s grapes and Barry isn’t making empty promises about pushing his brother in a wagon, but they still like to banter and play together….even after all these years.
Plus they like Foreigner, remember?
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