Happy Labor Day!

Maliana ~

Last week as I attempted to post pictures to this blog, you crawled underneath my chest and into the crook of my arm while I lay on the bed with the laptop. You proceeded to snuggle in and fall asleep against me, and slept like that for over an hour. I loved that you just wanted to be near me, even as I was working. And while it made my blog posting a bit more of a challenge, I wouldn’t trade it for the world.

So, as for this week, I am not sure when I will actually post this entry on your blog as I am quite sluggish feeling right now…it seems like these long weekends are always amazing, but they are also jam-packed with our squeezing out every last drop of fun before heading back to the normal daily grind. As I write this morning, I am sipping a caffeine-laden beverage from Starbucks and willing my brain to function. This fatigue however is well worth all the fun we had this week and weekend.

First, Happy Labor Day! We had a wonderful extra day off work this weekend, with you waking up and immediately the first thing out of your mouth was, “You don’t have to go to work today?” Followed by the obligatory squeals of delight, crazy happy kicking and bed dancing when I reassured you that “Yes, we get to stay home and play all day!”

On the actual holiday we went to Wai Gong and Memaw Lisa’s for a cookout with the Hart side of the family. You followed Uncle Blaize around (not letting him get more than a few feet from you most of the afternoon, with him being the awesome uncle he is and including you in any and all kid activities); played with your cousins; “helped” with the badminton games; and went nuts on the trampoline (from which I don’t think my knee joints will ever be the same). You had essentially no nap that day, but no matter. That didn’t stop you from having a terrific time and playing up until the last ounce of energy was spent…falling asleep on the couch for the last hour or so we were there.

our masterpiece for Labor Day picnic ~ fruit pizza!

 

trying (and loving) your first chili dog

look closely...Daddy is actually carrying you while playing badminton ~ now that's multi-tasking

Over the past week, Daddy has had some wonderful opportunities to do some serious bonding with you too, which makes me so happy. Your Tiny Tot’s soccer league had sent an invite to come out and support the Westerville South soccer team in one of their first games. So, while I finished the blog last Tuesday night, Daddy took you to the game where you sat on the bleachers, ate pizza, watched the sun set and got to see some real soccer action.

beautiful sunset

getting chilly

go Wildcats!

Another day this week, Dad had to use some vacation time from work, so he took you to the zoo along with Memaw and your cousin Sammy (who had never been to the zoo before). It was a hot day, but you all braved it like champs and had a great time in spite of the heat. I am so happy that you got to spend the day with just these guys, something that doesn’t happen all too often.

Then, after golfing with Daddy all day last Monday, Aunt Lindsey came back to our house…very excited about seeing her little niece!

willing to give tricycle rides…one of the many reasons we love Aunt Lindsey

And finally, on Friday after school Daddy picked you up again since he had that day off work too. You informed him you wanted to go on a “date” into Westerville, so you both went to Schneider’s to get donuts for Saturday morning. It was so sweet to hear you requesting dates with your Daddy now. Along with the outings this week, and all the time spent together this holiday weekend, you and Daddy have gotten a lot closer. It is so important that you spend time like this together, just the two of you. This should definitely be a priority as you grow up.

Recently your imagination has been expanding by leaps and bounds. Your current favorite game is “Mommy/Daddy and Baby” where you make Daddy or I into your baby and then you play the role of caregiver. It is really cute and we get to see your take on our own parenting of you. It is quite sweet and ever so comical as well. This nurturing side of you has presented itself in other tender moments too. Upon waking on Labor Day, we both opened our eyes at about the same time, but I closed my eyes so you wouldn’t notice I was awake yet (to see if I could get just a few more minutes of sleep in), at which time you propped yourself up to study me for a bit. Then you ever so sweetly reached over and began stroking my face and hair with your hand…just like I do to you. Ahhh. It’s moments like these that warm my heart…confirming that you are soaking in our attempts to show you how loved you are, and wanting to give some back. What a great way to start the day. Thanks for that gift Mali.

Along with watching soccer this week, we also went to cheer on Natalia at her Westerville North volleyball match…a very exciting game. You were also very interested to know that someday, you will go to high school there too. But what I think interested you even more was watching the football team come in from practice. You stood there, silkie in hand, right outside their locker room and just stared at them in awe. Several of them waved at you and said hi. Uh oh…you’re a sucker for a man in uniform already.

Go Lali!

On the way home, you pointed out the sunset and said, “Look at the sunset Mama!” So happy you are appreciating the little things.

For the most part this week, it has been oppressively hot. One night, to beat the heat, we took you to see Kung Fu Panda 2 at the theater. It was a good movie, but pretty tough to watch in some parts. One scene in particular showed the moment where Po was abandoned by his mother, in order to keep him safe from the wolves that were chasing them. You got very upset by this scene, tears welling up in your eyes and telling me you wanted to go home and didn’t want to watch the movie anymore. I ended up taking you out into the hallway and trying to explain what was happening, reassuring you that Daddy and I were here and not leaving you, and talking about how you felt about what had happened. I eventually brought you back into the theater to watch the end, so you could see the resolution. You ended up enjoying it overall, laughing out loud in many parts throughout the whole movie…but boy, it was tougher than I expected it to be too. As we were in the hallway after those heart-wrenching scenes, I couldn’t help but feel at a complete loss for words. I felt like everything I said fell flat. I desperately wanted to take away the pain you felt, but couldn’t. And I realized that this is likely just a small taste of some of the experiences and conversations we will have with you as you get older and begin to grasp more of your beginnings; the early days and months of your life story. I shuddered to think about it on the one hand, because it is so hard to see you in any kind of pain. I also felt relieved to think about it on the other hand, because I am thankful that Daddy and I can be there with you to support you as you try to make sense of it all. I know we can’t be exactly what you need for all of the struggles in your life. As you get older, the role we play in “making your boo-boos all better” will be smaller and smaller. But I hope you will always remember that no matter how large or small a role we may play, we will always be there in any capacity you need us to be. No matter what.

On a lighter note, I would be remiss not to bring up a smarty-pants side note that happened after the movie. All was back to normal as we left the theater, with you happily munching on Twizzlers. As we walked to the parking lot, I handed you another strand of licorice and asked, “What do you say?” to which you replied “Thank you” and then, to my surprise, flung a “What do YOU say?” back at me. I wasn’t sure how to respond, and after a couple of seconds you looked at me in all smart-aleck seriousness and said “You’re welcome!” Touché Mali, touché.

Saturday was probably one of the hottest days of the summer, which of course we ridiculously decided to spend the entire day outside (yikes!) The morning found us at the playground, playing with the Rafters. (Remember our old house guests from a while back?) Afterwards, we headed out to pick up Lao Lao and Uncle Forge and headed to Swappers’ Day; an ENORMOUS flea market in Johnstown, held every Labor Day weekend. We didn’t buy too much (even though there was a TON of stuff), except you were pretty happy with your Spiderman backpack find. In spite of nearly melting into puddles all afternoon, we had a good time and it was nice to be out in the fresh country air.

walking into Swappers' Day, past all those beautiful soybean fields

We even stopped back over at Lao Lao’s afterwards so Daddy could see the fox and buck they have. I have to give you kudos too. Just before leaving, you snuck outside and were waiting for me with a big cup of water, ready to splash me with it. Once I walked outside, you started after me. Being the “mean mommy” I am, I turned it back on you and soaked you with your own prank. I have to say, you are a bigger person than I ever was as a kid, because you just ran away, laughing and screeching. You can dish it out, and you can TAKE it too. You’re probably different than most kids I know, who likely would have immediately began crying right on the spot had the same thing happened to them. I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again…you are such a cool kid.

Sunday we went to see Uncle Joe and Aunt Tina, who graciously fed us once again with some delicious pasta. It was raining as we arrived, so you decided to sing your own version of the familiar rhyme…”Rain rain go away…come again another time” (???) I love your substitution of words. Uncle Joe hooked you up with a super cool Spiderman costume that used to be Sammy’s, which you put on and took off no less than 4 or 5 times that night. You loved it! Uncle Joe even dressed up with you at one point. What a good sport! With Sam and Erin at their mom’s, you were the sole kid that night, which made us your primary playmates, bossing us around as only you know how. Joe even made the comment at one point, “She is large and in charge, isn’t she?” Ha ha. As we quieted down after dinner, you took off from the couch to cuddle with Aunt Tina on the floor. I just love that you feel so comfortable with them.

your first taste of figs ~ yum!

just your friendly neighborhood Spiderman

not sure what Joe is, Elmo playing football?

So, another happily ever after end to another super week. As Daddy and I drove home on Labor Day evening, we reflected on our time with you and how fortunate we are to have the family and friends we do. Sure, everyone has their quirks…but those quirks are also what make life so beautiful too. We both agreed that along with how wonderful all sides of the family are…one big thing that makes everyone even more lovely in our eyes, is how their eyes light up around you. It’s quite phenomenal to watch. You have no idea how much you are treasured.

Love,
Mama