Life

The weekend was good. 

Family movie night on Friday with dinner on the couch (one of our kids' faves).  Lazy Saturday with my sis, Kenna, in town.  A visit to the pool followed by a night with Brandi (Carlile) & Ray.

Sunday night, Eden and I worked on a puzzle.  As we fit pieces together and hunted under the couch for missing ones, she looked at me, head tilted and eyes smiling, and said, "Mom?  Know what?  I'm goading up."  She's right.  She is growing up. 

Her imagination continues to come alive, her sentences grow more complex, and though she needs a little help moving a piece around, she sees where a puzzle piece should go.

She is stepping quite gracefully into her role as Big Sis, grabbing Si's cup when she gets her own; soothing him when he cries with,"What happened Si-guy?  You fall down?"

In less than a month, our Edie-Bird will be three.  And I'm planning her birthday party: Eden in Wonderland.  I don't have a whole lot of opportunity to do it these days, but I love planning parties - throwing arms around a person and celebrating the awesomeness of life.  Got the tiered plates, mason jars and glass votives to prove it.  I don't go elaborate or flashy...just tailored to the person with attention to little details.  (All time favorite parties: surprise birthday party for my sis, bridal shower brunch for my sis-in-law, adoption/baby shower for my friend, Bec.) 

For Eden, I've been inspired by this and this and this and this.  I'm a total nerd about it.  I list and sketch and plan with pen and paper.

I read a story when I was pregnant with Eden about a girl who'd been sweetly celebrated all her life - awaking each birthday to balloons tied to the posts of her bed.  And I love that.  Much as it breaks our parental hearts, our kids may hear a million messages over their lifetimes that they aren't enough in some way.  All the more reason to lavish love and douse delight on our littles at home. 

Still have a few logistics to work out.  Menu items to decide on.  Invites to mail (or phone calls to make - told you, I'm simple.)  Shopping and preparing.  But it's all so worth it, celebrating the life of a small person so dearly intertwined with my heart.

Photo by Kenna.