SEVEN and THREE...how can it be?

In accordance with the statutes of childhood birthdays around the world, we celebrated daily for 3 weeks in June and officially crowned June the "birthday month." Our first celebration was at Anne and Max's house - a lovely dinner to celebrate Miss Ella. 

On the 13th, we honored her request to dine at El Rancho Grande for her "good stuff" (= a mystery mixture of refried beans, yellow rice, sour cream, salsa and other random ingredients from around the table. I know, sounds delicious, right?.) Then back to the house for cookies, ice cream and gifts.

And the party! A cookout for 30, field games, canoeing, a pinata, and homemade cupcakes from Granny made for a lovely day at the park. Friends and family chipped in on a trampoline for Ella and a Power Wheels ATV for Carson. Once that was revealed, Carson was a blur for almost an hour! 

The 23rd brought Carson to the ripe old age of three. We woke him on that Saturday with a song and a smile. He opened his eyes wide, sat up, and yelled "TODAY I AM FWEE!!!" 

I thereby decided that I would adopt this line as the first thing out of my mouth on each and every birthday. 

Carson said the number one thing he wanted to do on his birthday was "see a ja-waff." We met Cindy and family at the zoo for the day and Carson got to FEED the giraffe. I don't think he had any idea that a living creature could catch something 6 inches in front of itself with its tongue. Carson was riveted.

 

We finished off the evening at—you guessed it—El Rancho Grande in Cincinnati.

After the weeks of festivities and plans, the reality settled in: 7 and 3 marks a huge leap for us. 

For the first time in seven years, there's no presence of an infant or toddler. We are finished with diapers and sippy cups. No longer do we own a high chair or a potty seat. Our bottles have been given to charity; the crib is in the attic. 

There's certainly a sense of freedom that comes with jumping in the car and going - but there's a part of me that looks back with nostalgia over those late night feedings, zipping up footy pajamas after a bath, or watching those unsteady first steps. What if I forget that Ella's first word was "duck"? Or that we called Carson "little squeaker" because of the constant birdy noises he made during his first few months?

It felt good to purge it all to Goodwill. But Derek saved a pair of Ella's shoes, and I've stashed our a few baby blankets under the bed. Maybe now that the commotion is over, Derek and I will take a minute to examine those soft blankets, inhaling the fading sweet scent of their tiny furry heads, and congratulate ourselves on this rite of passage. We survived the midnight feedlings and poopy diapers. Despite our flaws, we're raising two healthy, well-adjusted kids. 

Let the fun begin!

Just June

No big story, no theme. Just a few fun times in June. 

The photo I took for their birthday invitation

Gazebo hair salon with "Aunt" Heidi

Snuggling with Papa Gary

Playdate with Brayden at the splashpark

Spy-themed Birthday party for Zoe!

A week full of cousins!

Considering the fact that there are 130 miles between her kids and mine, Cindy and I make sure that these cousins get an ample amount of time together. They fight like siblings, they laugh like siblings, and they love like siblings. 

Belvo KOA

Cindy and Ben were headed on to Sweden, so their two oldest would be hanging in Miamisburg for a week of their summer. Since the grandparents had them during our work week, we decided to make the most of our two weekends with them. We planned a back yard campout. 

 

All the kids got to roast hot dogs over the campfire, then eat at the big table.

After fireflies, s'mores and a few ghost stories from Derek, they all slept like babes. 

At least for a few hours anyway...our rooster was Amblen, perched on a log at 6:00am sharp. Some things never change. I suppose we should be honored that he doesn't want to miss out on any of the fun :) 

Carnival

Lemon shake-ups, sticky kisses

Duck regatta, tilt-a-whirl

Tie-dye sunshine, bus gymnastics

Mom and Dad, boy and girl

Camera poses, bobbing horses

Carnival lights, funhouse mirror

Sleepy kiddos, spinning faster

Belly laughter...summer is here. 

The only constant is...

Change. 

I thought I was adept at rolling with the punches, but what I had forgotten is that when I change something in my life, I don't change it a little. I change a whole group of things.

I wrote a post in March about leaving my near-decade run at Mead. I didn't say much about where I went. I'm in a completely new industry, working in a building that's almost a mile from end to end, with 1500 complete strangers. I drive 40 minutes each way, so I don't know the city and I can't run to Ella's school if she needs me. And I've returned to the practice of daily design work, which is a long stretch backward for a group of tools that I was not sure I'd remember how to use.

So when I learned about a 5k happening on the grounds at work, I thought...hmmm. This is something I never would have done in my "safe" life, so why not?

I designed the shirts. 

I walked/ran the race.
I got to know my work group better. 

I now know 40 of those 1500 people...and that's a start. 

 

"Man cannot discover new oceans unless he has the courage to lose sight of the shore." 

- Andre Gide

Le petite artiste!

Imagine our pride to hear that there would be an art show at the High School. The 6 best works from each grade level would be chosen from each of the 6 Miamisburg Elementary Schools. And Ella's work was selected to go on display!

We walked into the High School gymnasium to find a menagerie of drawings, paintings, clay pieces, and woven paper bowls. Ella ran straight to her lovely little lion. Her toothless grin said it all!

The end of FIRST GRADE!

"MOM!!!!" Ella said, "have you ever seen a UNICORN????" 

"Um...well, not in real life but in movies...and my imagination," I stammered, starting into a story...

"Ok, whatever,  but do you think you can draw one, like, right now?" Her breath was quick and she stared up at me in wild desperation.

"Sure...why?" I asked, patiently.

"We started this AWESOME NEW CLUB at school...there are 5 of us and we play every day..." 

I just grinned and nodded. 

I know the rest of the story, as do most girls who had a childhood in suburban America. It goes like this: 

There were 6 of you, but then there were five, because one of them was a cute boy who got recruited in the beginning, then realized he was the only boy and ran away. Then you needed a name, and you debated between the Pretty Kitty Club, The Rainbow Club and The Unicorn Club. 

You moved on to the important topics of colors and what everyone should do and wear, thereby making everyone else wish they were a part of it. This part marks the innately human desire for social rank that would eventually be branded Cheerleading tryouts, Homecoming Court, Sorority Rush, and so on.

Then there was a debate over who would be President. It wasn't settled. Hungry for the lead position, Ella pulled the "artistic" card, which had always won me the elected office of my choice. Every club needs propaganda. And you can't get it without good design, which is yet another reason why Creatives rule the world. 

She very diligently wrote out her club rules, and she got out her markers and went to work. The next day, Ella had Mimi and I both making photocopies of the rules and the sign. It was on. 

I woke up the next morning, feeling like such an idiot. 

"Ella!" I rushed into her room and gently shook her awake, whispering: "You've gotta re-write the rules."  While I was embracing this sense of leadership and entrepreneurial spirit, I could not bear to send her to school enforcing Mean GIrl rules like "you must wear pink on tuesdays." What if a kid was in the club who didn't like pink? (then again..could  that be possible, given the name they had chosen?) 

You can see that I WAY over thought this.

From the edge of my sleepy six-year-old's bed, I delivered an Emmy-worthy speech on democracy, and how a tree with many branches bears more fruit than from one. At one point in my rant, I even compared the Declaration of Independence to Yelp and Pinterest, which is when her tiny blue eyes glazed over. So I got to the point:
"Write down one rule and make 4 other lines for each member to make a rule. Then follow them all. That's what true leadership is about."

And so it went. For the six shining days left in first grade, they made up dances and games and secret handshakes. Most of the girls are shown here, on the last day of school.

Right after this picture was taken, The Unicorn Club disbanded. Something about a conflict between two members that probably involved a dispute over who loved rainbows more. 

We went out for dinner that night, and I knelt down to Ella to ask if she was ok. She was staring beyond my shoulder...at a dessert being delivered to a neighboring table. "LOOK AT THAT HUGE SUNDAE!!" She gasped and giggled, clearly having gotten past the decay of her very first clique. 

We ordered one and shared bites with Derek and Carson, all of us clanking spoons in a toast to a much-needed summer break.