Ten (Because Sometimes Blogger Deletes Your Post and You Just HAVE To Repost It)

Isabelle turned 10 years old over the Easter holiday.  In the blink of an eye, a whole decade has passed since we first held our baby Belle in our arms, our forever first.  This past year brought tremendous growth and maturation, personal style and very distinct preferences.  She crosses her legs and bites her nails and loves to wear perfume.  She is the best big sister and is the most helpful girl I could ever hope for, always willing to lend us a hand with the babies.  Belle is an avid reader and almost always has a book in hand, reading to her sister every night before bed, a bed they now share per their request.  She likes to keep her room tidy but her closet messy, has a serious love affair with accessories, and takes the longest showers of anyone in the house.  Belle loves to be outdoors riding her bike, playing basketball, and exploring the woods behind our house.  She is a wonderful artist, dancer, and singer and has been working hard at learning the piano this year.  We are incredibly proud of her.

In celebration of her tenth birthday, Isabelle requested a bunny birthday cake and a trip to a local pizza/fun zone place with 3 of her best friends.  Thanks to Pinterest, I semi pulled the cake thing off, silently praying that no one examined the bunny ears (shaping mishap) or the nose (sunken cake middle, per usual).  But she loved it, proudly showing it off to everyone who came by our house!  Thank you, Pinterest, for making us mediocre, non creative type moms feel like superheros on special occasions!  The fun zone party idea turned out to be the best: the girls ran around playing mini golf, arcade games, bowling, and rode go carts.  Shawn and I walked around with the little kids "supervising" AKA playing Dance Dance Revolution with a baby strapped to my front in the Ergo.  Mama's still got it, kids.  We ended the day at our house, singing happy birthday and eating cake and ice cream.  The girls disappeared into Isabelle's room and gave each other manicures and some pretty questionable hair styles.  They were all so good and well mannered, you almost forgot about the incessant giggling and screeching at every turn.

We love you, Belle, so very much.  Happiest of birthdays, sweet girl!  

The Christmas Diaries: Don't Stop Believing

This just might be the last year she BELIEVES.

Isabelle is 9 1/2 years old and she's started asking questions:
How can Santa really travel to everyone's house in one night?
Why do they have fake Santas at the mall?
Are there really such things as flying reindeer?

We give her simple answers, usually off the cuff, but keep things pretty realistic:
Santa's time is not OUR time, one night to pass out toys to all of the children is much longer than just one night in Santa time.
The fake Santas at the mall are just some of Santa's friends who travel around playing the part to spread Christmas joy and cheer.
Yes, there really are flying reindeer.  And little elves and a big 'ole sleigh and a toy making workshop. Santa is magical and wonderful and so full of love.  He gets his joy from giving to others, a truly selfless person. He is a wonderful example of the humility and grace we should strive to practice daily.

We suspect she will at least pretend to believe for quite some time, even when she actually doesn't. She likes the magic and the excitement and the whimsy.  This year, she studied about Saint Nicholas in her religion class.  She was so taken with his story: the protector of children, a man so generous and a true role model for living a compassionate life.  He lived by the Gospel and used his entire inheritance taking care of the sick, the poor, and the needy.  Isabelle was so taken by the idea that Santa Claus was actually born from the life's work of the selfless St. Nick.

This is how we have presented Santa Claus to our children: not just a jolly old man who gives them gifts for being "good".  No, Santa Claus is so much more than that.  Santa Claus represents love, compassion, and generosity.  And the sweet little elf on the shelf that he sent to watch over our girls, Freddie, falls right in with those beliefs.  Freddie is not here to cause mischief or threaten the girls and send bad reports back to the North Pole.  He is here as a reminder to be good and sweet and kind, to uphold the Christmas spirit with one another and to honor the legacy of Saint Nicholas.  And so on the day that Isabelle comes to us and asks if Santa is real, this is what we will tell her.  He is real in each and every one of us, in all of the kind and thoughtful things that we do for each other.  The magic of this season, the moral tug we feel to do kind things and care for those in need: that is Santa.

We took a trip to the mall to visit Santa last week and I was so pleased with how everything turned out: the line moved quickly, Brees managed to get only 2 stains on her dress before the photo, River was wide awake, and no one cried.  And Isabelle took it upon herself to be the family representative, telling Santa what her little brother and sister want for Christmas and assuring him that they have been very, very good.

This just might be the last year she BELIEVES.  We're going to make it the best year yet.

The First

Isabelle started the fourth grade this week.  We spent the last few weeks getting her uniforms ready, buying new school shoes, packing her book sack, and purchasing her long list of school supplies.  I felt so excited for her: the smell of freshly sharpened pencils, the stack of composition books, the art box filled with crayons.  There's just something so promising about the start of a new school year and, after a long summer off, Isabelle has been ready all week to dive in head first.

On Sunday afternoon, she laid her uniform, shoes, and a bow for her hair out.  She packed her bag for the 20th time and set it next to the back door.  She said, "OK, Mommy.  So, tomorrow morning please wake me up a little early so that I can get my hair just right.  Please make your special cinnamon rolls for breakfast like you do every year on the first day of school.  I'll set my alarm JUST IN CASE something happens to yours and you don't wake up in time.  Then, we'll stop by Sarah's house to take pictures like we do every year.  You can bring me to school since it's the first day but I don't want you to walk inside with me.  Just walk me to the door this year, okay?  I think that just about covers everything".  

It was one of those moments as a parent that make you realize that maybe, just maybe, you've done SOMETHING right.  For all the guilt trips I've embarked on as a mother, for all the times I've wondered, "Am I getting this right?", moments like this happen and you realize, YES.  We're doing something right.  We're raising a happy, healthy, well rounded individual who is beginning to make decisions for herself.  Good decisions.  For all the temper tantrums and crying and yelling, for all the time outs and tough love sessions, this little girl is starting to show us that she did actually learn something.  And now she's putting it all into practice.  She's becoming an organized, practical, responsible young lady. I just watched her complete one task after the other in awe, so proud of the progress she has made and the effort she puts into her work.  

Isabelle is our first born, the child we learned from, the girl who turned us from Shawn and Liv to Daddy and Mommy.  When we had her, we were completely clueless as to what being parents actually entails.  We still feel pretty clueless, actually.  But she taught us that it's okay to learn along the way.  She taught us that the one and only true thing children need is the love, time, and attention of their parents.  She taught us to be forgiving of our own personal shortcomings by loving us despite them.

The first born is a bit of a guinea pig, an experiment in parenting.  We made a lot of fumbles along the way and I am forever grateful for her patience and forgiving nature.  Through her, I've learned important lessons about the ins and outs of carpools, what jobs to volunteer for at the school fair, and where to find the best school uniforms that will last all year.  I've met a network of other mothers whom I rely on for survival.  I've become a master at creating the perfect ballet bun and can bake a pretty decent batch of brownies when necessary.  I've learned how to call out spelling words while simultaneously cooking dinner and can sew a hem on a torn skirt while running to the bus stop.  All of this as well as making her late, forgetting to pack essential items, and not knowing my head from my mama ass quite a few times.  But, we're learning, day by day, how this whole parenting thing works and I know that, for as many times as we fail her, it's the few times that we get it right that she will remember.  She will know that we tried our best, she will feel the love we have for her and allow that love to guide her.  That's the plan, anyway.

Here's to a happy, healthy, and productive school year, Isabelle Grace.  Remember: no pressure, no stress.  Just do your best, give it your all, and enjoy the process.  We love you to the moon and back.

 

Dancing and Praise

This weekend was Isabelle's 6th dance recital, a chance for us to sit back and witness all of 
the hard work our little girl has put into her talent this year.  She performed a classical 
ballet piece and a tap routine and we could not have been more proud.  Isabelle loves 
to perform, she is completely calm and cool under pressure and you can tell while 
watching her how much she truly loves being on that stage.  Brees was mesmerized as 
she watched her big sister up on stage.  She waved and called out to her from the 
audience, "Sissy!!  Sissy!!", Isabelle's own personal cheering squad.  She earned a new 
trophy to add to her growing collection and a ton of compliments and well wishes from 
her teacher and peers.  I only cried a little bit, wiping my proud mama tears away as my 
little girl twirled and pranced around the stage, her technique much improved since last 
year.  She was awesome, in every single way, and I just love her so.  

After recital, we made our way over to my cousin's high school graduation party: a 
gathering of our big family on the back porch with tons of food, good dancing music, and 
the best company you could hope for on a Saturday night.  We danced and danced, took 
turns swinging kids, and ate to our hearts' content.  The little cousins entertained each 
other for hours and I stole away for a few slow dances with my husband.  By the time we 
got home, it was almost midnight and we were all delirious.  So many milestones take place 
this time of year: graduations and weddings and showers and ceremonies.  It's a time of 
year that feels full of possibility, new beginnings, farewells and welcome homes.  It's a time 
to reflect on the power of hard work and dedication and to come together with the ones 
you love to say job well done.  And this family, well, we love any excuse to get together 
and celebrate the ones we love!

 

A Nine Year Celebration

We've been purging lately, simplifying and cutting back on all the clutter in our
lives: materials, emotions, whatever the case may be.  After lying low for a good portion of
this past year, we are diving back into the world with a vengeance.  We are celebrating
this season in our lives by packing up the car every chance we get and going on one
adventure or another, taking in all the sights and sounds we encounter along the way.  It
feels so good to be out again.

This weekend, we celebrated Isabelle's 9th birthday with a weekend in the city.  Shawn and
I asked her if she would rather a weekend away with the family and her BFF/cousin rather
than another big party and she enthusiastically accepted our offer.  As I mentioned in
this post, we are limiting the amount of material possessions that enter this house, choosing
to make big memories together instead.  We gave Belle a whole list of activities to fill
her birthday weekend up with and let her choose the itinerary.  After she made her
selections, I went to work getting everything planned, packed, and organized.  It was a
jam packed, fun filled weekend in New Orleans with trips to the zoo, the aquarium, an
IMAX film, Audubon Park, the Insectarium,  a pizza party with our best friends, gelato, and
a stroll through the French Quarter Festival.  The weather was amazing and the
temper tantrums were kept to a minimum.  We walked what seemed like a hundred
miles, danced and laughed and made it through the no nap tears.  Basically, it was all kinds
of awesome.

I am one of those people who like to just go for it when it comes to trying new things, no 
matter how scared I am, because I am afraid that I may never get the opportunity to try 
it again.  This weekend, I saw the same crazy/gutsy characteristic in my girls when 
they enthusiastically agreed to eat bugs with me at the Insectarium.  We ate chocolate 
covered crickets, cricket cookies, and a couple of caramel worms.  They were delicious 
and the girls proudly showed their "I ate a bug" stamp to everyone they saw.  So proud of 
my fearless young ladies!

Even the butterflies showed Isabelle some love as we walked through the butterfly 
garden, swarming around her in the late afternoon sun.  A beautiful monarch landed on 
her hand and stayed perched there for a long time as Isabelle sat quietly on a bench next to 
the koi fish pond, savoring the moment, her little face all lit up.  Brees just looked up at her 
and said, "Sissy has a butterfly!!!".  As if she needed another reason to adore her big sister.  

We got home really late on Sunday night: exhausted, tons of laundry to do, desperately in 
need of showers and a car wash.  But we stayed up just long enough to sing happy 
birthday over the glowing light of a number nine candle and a batch of homemade 
brownies.  We said goodnight to our growing girl as she thanked us a million times for her 
big birthday weekend adventure.  And we hugged her just a little bit tighter, always our 
baby, forever our first.