Ok, so I know we promised some photos of Madelyn's birthday party and I promise we'll get to that before she turns two :) But we had a momentous day here at Casa de Olmsted, and I can't wait to share it with you all. We took Madelyn for her first haircut this afternoon at Little Clippers in Lake Oswego, OR. I know, I know...how yuppie of us. But if you had heard all the hype about this place, you would've done the same thing! Seriously, this place was so cute, and they DO kids' haircuts. Everybody knows (ok, well at least every mother knows) that the first haircut is a big deal, so we figured we'd at least drive all the way to Lake Oswego for the first one. Plus, Little Clippers gives the kiddos a certificate and oh-so-carefully keeps those first precious hair clippings for you to take home. Really, they think of everything. Doesn't she just look adorable?! The gal only trimmed a little bit on the sides and the back, but she cut quite a bit off the front to give her those fabulous bangs. Suri and Shiloh, watch out!
What... you got somethin' to say? Listen, I've taken a break from eating the first cupcake of my life to give you this photo op - it's the most delicious thing I've ever tasted. I tried to get most of it into my mouth and I think I did a pretty good job for my first try. Yes?
(I'm so gangsta!)
Gotta go. Check back later for more pics of my party. It was such fun and I was so glad my friends and family were there to share cupcakes with me. If you think my face looks bad, you should've seen them :)
In exactly 33 minutes (8:01 p.m.), my baby girl will be one whole year. I could spout off a hundred cliches right now...they're all true. Simply put, this year has been, hands down, the most rewarding, joyful, cup-runneth-over year of my life. I love being a mommy. I just love it. I love that I am entrusted with a wee human's owies and tears and words and crawling and walking and eating, and that I am ever rewarded with her smiles and kisses and laughter and wonder and curiosity. I love that I am challenged every day but that this job of parenting has a purpose and meaning beyond anything I've ever tackled before. I love introducing Madelyn to all of the delights this world has to offer, and I feel privileged that I get to comfort her and empower her when its sadness and injustice creeps in. I LOVE watching Kurt be a daddy! I love that he unabashedly adores his daughter and that there hasn't yet been a parenting task into which he hasn't just rolled up his sleeves and gotten his hands dirty (often, quite literally). I love that Maddie's eyes sparkle when she sees her daddy. I love that the start of one new life has strengthened our commitment to each other and given us a common source of laughter and pride and thankfulness even on the rough days. I love watching our parents as grandparents and our siblings as aunties and uncles. They are loving and supportive and generous beyond measure, and Madelyn's tiny spirit soars in their presence. I love my friends and the freedom they afford me to just be real.
Anne Lamott says that there are really only two prayers to be said: "Help, help help" and "Thank you, thank you, thank you." Well, this has been a whole year of "Thank you, thank you, thank you." Simple, and profound, as that.
We celebrated Maddie's birthday by taking the day off work and introducing her to the zoo. She smiled and squealed and kicked and waved to all of the animals, and we all had a blast. Have a look :)
(The new baby elephant at the Portland Zoo! SO cute!)
(Madelyn with a little birthday treat from her mommy and daddy--a giraffe backpack!)
This past weekend, Kurt and I took Madelyn to the beach for her introduction to the ocean. We rented a house at Bella Beach (just south of Lincoln City, OR) with two other families (our good friends the Rank's and Hagerty's) and had a blast. The weather was gorgeous...sunny but chilly enough to crave hot coffee in the morning and s'mores over the fire at night. Our house was beautiful and was just a four minute walk away from the beach, which we visited every day. Although a bit hesitant at first, by the second day Madelyn was digging in the sand right along with the big kids (and unfortunately also doing more than a bit of taste testing). She would occasionally turn to the ocean and raise her hands in the air as if to salute its grandeur. Below are a few photos of some highlights (the last one was taken at the aquarium in Newport which we visited on our way back home...as you can see, Madelyn was more than a little amused!)
I've been in a book club now for nearly six years. Molly, Nicole, and I started it back in the day, and it now includes seven, amazing, lit-loving women that have become dear friends and trusted confidants. We meet on the third Thursday of each month, and our gatherings include dinner (always delicious and often coordinating somehow with that month's read), updates on each other's families, plenty of discussion about the book (we actually do read our books!), and The Big Reveal of next month's read. Each of us so looks forward to our gatherings, but one thing has been missing these six years:
We've never had a name.
Every legitimate group needs a name, right?! We've talked about it several times in the last few years but have never gotten around to doing anything about it. This past Thursday, however, we finally did. We agreed in June to bring suggestions for names to our August meeting at which point we would make a list and vote for our favorite. In a series of emails just prior to this meeting, we were talking about the offensive nature of the book we had just read. Cheryl wrote her thoughts and then said "Speaking of offensive, how about the Book Sluts for our name?" Hilarious coming from Cheryl because she's one of the most refined, poised, and moral people I know. We all laughed but never considered it as a serious submission. At August's meeting, however, she told us this great story about her 3-year-old son overhearing her telling her husband about her "Book Sluts" suggestion. "What's a book slot, Mommy?" was his response...whew! She could actually answer him honestly! We all thought that was great, and lo and behold, we ended up voting for it as our official name with the tag line: "We're way overdue."
The following were a few other fun suggestions:
The Page Turners The Spine Crackers The Denouments (you'll have to harness your high school English classes to understand this one!) Books and Bites Book Addicts Anonymous Lunar Literary Ladies with the tag line "It's that time of the month" (this was one of the husband's suggestions...who shall remain nameless for his protection!)
Like many other parents these days, we've used sign language with Madelyn since she was about six months old. "More, all done, milk, diaper change, home, hungry, water, and please" are all signs that we use on a regular basis. Madelyn understands them all and signs "more, all done, and change" on her own. Of course, it's wonderful that she's learning to communicate in this way (socialization being at least one of our top five goals in raising our children), but I've always felt confident and proud as a mother that regardless of her signs, I generally always understand what she's trying to communicate.
Until recently.
We have a book called "My Friends" that's all about various animals teaching a little girl to run, jump, climb, explore the earth, etc. It's one of Maddie's favorites (she will crawl over to us and literally grab our hand and put the book in our hand to read to her). One of the last pages has a drawing of about a dozen kiddos with outstretched arms that says "I learned to play from my friends at school." EVERY TIME we get to this page, Madelyn enthusiastically pats her tummy with both hands and smiles from little ear to little ear. Friends, I have absolutely NO IDEA what she is saying! Kurt and I have tried and tried to figure it out, and we have come up with nothing. None of the little kiddos in the drawing are patting their tummy, and patting your tummy isn't anywhere close to any of the signs we use. She knows where her tummy is (and her fingers, toes, and nose) and will pat it if we ask "where is your tummy?" but that in no way seems connected to this drawing. It is a complete mystery. And it's just killing us because she seems so genuinely thrilled to show us how emphatically she can pat her tummy each time this page comes up!
Ok, so I know we promised some photos of Madelyn's birthday party and I promise we'll get to that before she turns two :) But we had a momentous day here at Casa de Olmsted, and I can't wait to share it with you all. We took Madelyn for her first haircut this afternoon at Little Clippers in Lake Oswego, OR. I know, I know...how yuppie of us. But if you had heard all the hype about this place, you would've done the same thing! Seriously, this place was so cute, and they DO kids' haircuts. Everybody knows (ok, well at least every mother knows) that the first haircut is a big deal, so we figured we'd at least drive all the way to Lake Oswego for the first one. Plus, Little Clippers gives the kiddos a certificate and oh-so-carefully keeps those first precious hair clippings for you to take home. Really, they think of everything. Doesn't she just look adorable?! The gal only trimmed a little bit on the sides and the back, but she cut quite a bit off the front to give her those fabulous bangs. Suri and Shiloh, watch out!
