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Zuzuday: Momma, can I have a sleepover?

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…is the wolf cry of the sheep who up until last January routinely still came into our bed in the middle of the night. Once we bribed taught her the value of sleeping in her own bed all night we no longer had a solid reason for her to not go to a sleepover. So when the invitation came for her first big girl birthday party sleepover (at a schoolmate who we haven’t met’s house no less!) we were hardpressed to say no. She started packing days in advance. We had to talk her down to just two bags and a sleeping bag.  The mother happens to be the room mother for kindergarten and that helped tremendously in relieving some of her anxiety. A couple of days prior to the main event though the little girl hosting got a case of the nerves and her and Zuzu weren’t being entirely kind to each other. I suggested we cancel, but Zuzu would have none of it. The approval had been given and she was not going to pass on running full on in to this milestone. So I warned the mother and she assured me they would take good care and if there was any trouble they would happily bring her back to us no matter the time of day or night. Fortunately it went swimmingly….

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That Dora pack isn’t Zuzus. When the Quail caught wind of the big sleepover she packed her pack and put it out with Zuzus in hopes of being included.

….so swimmingly that when we recently visited St. Louis to gather with old friends and our friend Amy suggested Zuzu join her 8 year old daughter and our other friend Pam’s 8 year old daughter for a sleepover before we leave that she once again started packing up her bags quick, quick, quick! She had some mild hesitation about the fact that they were new friends to her and slightly older but once again was crystal clear she had no intention of not going.

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When we picked her up the next morning she tumbled out of a house that smelled of chocolate-chip pancakes with a new outfit and a pack full of hand-me-downs and a big grin. Lil miss likes being a big girl.

fave-O-lit Friday

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Early Supper

by Barbara Howes

Laughter of children brings
The kitchen down with laughter.
While the old kettle sings
Laughter of children brings
To a boil all savory things.
Higher than beam or rafter,
Laughter of children brings
The kitchen down with laughter.

So ends an autumn day,
Light ripples on the ceiling,
Dishes are stacked away;
So ends an autumn day,
The children jog and sway
In comic dances wheeling.
So ends an autumn day,
Light ripples on the ceiling.

They trail upstairs to bed,
And night is a dark tower.
The kettle calls: instead
They trail upstairs to bed,
Leaving warmth, the coppery-red
Mood of their carnival hour.
They trail upstairs to bed,
And night is a dark tower.

Sugarplum Start of the week

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Almost 7 months in to life as a family of five and I find myself with more to say than time to say it. There is a reason why there are certain phrases that are labeled as “everyone says”. It’s both comforting and simply a reality; those universal truths. The most popular of which are often related to children, “Don’t Blink!” “They grow so fast!” Both of which are true and no matter how many times I tell myself this, I am continually shaking my head over where the time has gone despite my best intentions to soak it in. This littlest of the Sistred remains, sweet as the Sugarplum she is named for.

She is quick with a grin. She has the warmest of chuckles when you locate her tickle spots. She locks her gaze, raises her arms and dives into your face for a quick gum on the nose when she wants you to notice her. She sits and studies your face when you aren’t paying attention. She chortles to Barney and relaxes to Baby Einstein. She stares down the pink stuffed bear who is her same size when placed in a face-off. She plunks her toys on the ground enough to ensure a good round of calisthenics for her dinner partner. She snuggles in to your warm body when she is ready to drift off and kick, kick, kicks her pudgy little legs when you suggest she should and she whole-heartedly disagrees. She prefers to sit, stand, jump and play than to be left laying anywhere. She wants to be certain to be tucked in with her sisters wild rumpus rather than be left in a quiet spot to relax.

the sling- or her home within her home

She would rather you tuck her in to a sling and enjoy her company than be settled on the floor. But if you to intend for her to spend any amount of time on the floor, you best bring along a toy that she play with. Her little hands are busy, busy, busy these days. And along those lines, you might just hold off wearing any dangling earrings or necklaces for a while. Her long little fingers prefer to entangle themselves in anything they can find.

She sits!

 

 

Oh how we love our dear Sugarplum-

 

 

Also of note in the last month:

She grew two teeth! There was strangely, the start of a molar before either of these showed up, but then it sunk back into the gums and up came these pearls!

And she began her career as a foodie! First bites were oatmeal!

She met her Grampa!

She met her Aunt Shel!

Zuzu turns 6!

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Best. Party.Yet.

I still remember Zuzu’s first birthday and our multiple attempts to make the day memorable for her that no matter how hard we tried still felt forced and fumbling. On the day itself she went to school like any other, but being good working parents we brought tiny cupcakes to her class and gathered the little ones around to sing. She stared at us with her hands raised into their up demand and cried a little when it was met with a cupcake thrust into it. She peered at us even more curiously when we didn’t gather her things and head out to the car but instead sat down at the little round toddler tables and handed out cupcakes. She rose again and again, tugging first at my shirt, and the at her dad’s with growing concern at this break in routine. In the middle of all of the rising, and tugging, and resettling her cupcake was stolen by a neighboring child who had no trouble whatsoever at this change in routine.

Later that weekend we gathered a Publix cake frosted colorfully with the Baby Einstein catepillar and joined some friends at our local zoo and then the Whole Foods eating area to share the cake. Again, a nice outing, but not really “us”. We tried later to tie some balloons to her chair and sing with a lit mini-cake for the perfect photo op. My lens was met with cries for yogurt and to nurse, shreiks from the balloon wafting into her line of sight and further tears over the frosting that landed in her tired eyes as she swiped at them.

The next year w did better with a party at her local park. Nervous glances were still seen though as we sang to her over her Elmo cake. The year after that we even managed to coordinate the party favors with the help of a local friend’s handiwork that crated little felt capes to fly the children around the park before diving into a homemade Wordgirl cake. Her favorite character to date.

The next year we bounced at a local pizza place and after that we went with a gymnastics party which was a good call for the rowdy, multi-aged crowd we tended to include.

But this year, this year the party finally felt like us. We rented a bounce house that luckily for us would remain in our yard for the full weekend. We had a cake decorated by our favorite German Bakery with purple frosting and her beloved Momo’s ( her monkey lovies) decked out in pink hairbows. The party was made to order and Zuzu was tickled. We managed to also dodge the issue of too many presents with such a crowd by instead requesting each child bring a book to exchange for a new book. It was a beautiful fall weekend and by far my favorite of the celebrations of all things Zuzu. Happy Sixth year my dear- you are so very loved!

corner view: countdown

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to…..KINDERGARTEN!!!!!

The Kissing Hands. We read her this story & she decided her family needed kissing hands on her first day to not feel scared with her going off to school.

The classic “Big First Day” pose with The Sistred. We all missed her terribly. Thank good ness for our kissing hands.

Our Fashionista poses outside school on her first day

“I can do it on my own Momma.” and off she went as my heart clutched just a little.

Day 2 for the Fashionista, “I’ve got my kissing hand Momma!”

“I love you Momma! I’ll see you later!” The independance & courage in this daughter of ours has my heart swelling with pride.

Corner view is a weekly Wednesday date hosted originally hosted by Jane, currently by Francesca. A topic is given and you can see impressions; be it in photographic or writerly in form from around the world: Jane, Dana, Bonny, Joyce, Ian, Francesca, Theresa, Cate, Kasia, Otli, Trinsch, Isabelle, Janis, Kari, jgy, Lise, Dorte, McGillicutty, Sunnymama, Ibb, Kelleyn, Ninja, Sky, RosaMaria, Juniper, Valerie, Sammi, Cole, Don, WanderChow, FlowTops, Tania, Tzivia, Kristin, Laura, Guusje, Susanna, Juana, Elsa, Nadine

Five Minute Friday: Here

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Where a flash mob of folks spend five minutes all writing on the same topic and then share ‘em over here. While this weekly practice is relatively new for me, I am so enjoying the ritualness of it. The savoring of these moments in my life of cared for bits of ordinary. These few minutes of reflection fill up my heart each week and spill over onto my pages creating a snapshot with words.

GO:

“Here. This is for her scrapbook.”

Angeline handed over the ghostly, grainy image she had just printed with such care. Somberly and teary-eyed, I looked down into my daughter’s heart.

For the last 3 and a half years, we had been making regular trips to see Dr. Lucas. More times than not, the news he had to deliver surprised us, for better or for worse. It gave us tenuous ropes to hold for the here, the now, the future.

“Your daughter has early signs of pulmonary hypertension and a moderately sized VSD. In the future, we may be looking at going in.”

“There is a windsock of tissue forming. There is a chance; and I don’t know how big of one, that this hole may close on its own. Time will tell.”

“We didn’t expect her to grow. At all. But she did; she has, look at her here. No doctor in this country would even think of opening her up. We’ll revisit surgery in the future. But not now.”

“Your newborn also has a VSD. It is so much smaller than her sister’s. Her aortic valve though, it is functionally bi-cuspid. Do not Google that. It will scare you. She is doing fine here, now.”

“It is nothing but good news this time. The hole, it is almost gone. Almost entirely. That windsock of tissue has no clear opening at the end now. There is a bubble formed and we can barely see blood funneling out of it. She’s going to be fine. Here, here is a picture of her heart for your scrapbook.”

Here. She’s here. They are both here. We are so very blessed to be able to continually fill our scrapbooks with our, their dear hearts.

Stop.