6 hours ago
"I shall be telling this with a sigh somewhere ages and ages hence: Two roads diverged in a wood, and I - I took the road less traveled by, and that has made all the difference." Robert Frost
Every now and then, my soul beckons for some Miles Davis. In particular, a CD of Miles' love songs. They soothe me like little else. The other day, before Kyle got home from work, I popped in said CD and let the music wash over me in the sweetest of ways. As I grooved to the music while cooking dinner, I noticed my little shadow, Brooklyn, doing some grooving of her own! Her little lips were pursed and she was swaying in time to the music. When I called to her, she grinned at me as if to say, Mom, this is good stuff! To reiterate her enthusiasm, she pointed at the CD player and ooh'd and aah'd! I said, Brooklyn, is that your jazz face? And she promptly pursed her lips again. So, she now has a "Jazz Face". Seriously, guys, it's stinking awesome. My baby girls likes Miles. Who knew?
Jazz Face with Ipod. Youngsters these days...I can hear it rolling off your lips as they have from the lips of parents and grandparents every generation since man first applied a chisel-like tool to rocks and made round "roly" things with them. I knew when Brooklyn grabbed my pink Razr, flipped it open and chirped "Hey!" into it, that I was in trouble. However, when she plopped down with Kyle's ipod and started putting the ear buds into her tiny ears, my eyes widened considerably. Wow. And when she gave me her "Jazz Face", I knew she was digging it.
Our dear friends, Erik & Tifany, have been staying with us on and off for the last two weeks as they are moving to India in a few short weeks and have been, technically, homeless! They sold their house and 98% of their possessions and will be departing this fair continent for another continent, another climate, another culture, another world for 3 years. There are no words to describe how much I will miss my best friend. We have shared so much in the years I've lived near her.
While others are fortunate to have all their best girlfriends living nearby, the majority of mine live hours away. Maybe that's one of the reasons I have cherished having Tif literally just a moment away. We were a second home for their toy fox terrier, Sophie, and Tif and I spent countless hours either in person or on the phone, hashing out life's little and big problems. There is rarely a moment worth mentioning in our lives that we didn't discuss with each other, seeking advice, counsel, prayer. She listened to me weep uncontrollably as my maternity leave neared its end and my heart broke at the thought of leaving Brooklyn for 8 hours a day. She prayed with me as God took me through a period of learning to trust when I couldn't find the right daycare. She encouraged me when I struggled with the decision to stay home with Brooklyn or continue working. Sharing joys, elations, bad days, good days, crises at the office, struggles at home, the best brand of tea, hair salons, spiritual struggles, our souls were so often laid bare before each other. We knew that we may not always like what the other had to say, but that we loved each other and would never steer each other wrong.
I will so greatly miss my Tif as she leaves me temporarily. I applaud her courage in stepping out in faith. And I wrap her in prayers and blessings as she and Erik enter a greater battlefield. You are so loved, my sweet friend. And will be so greatly missed.
As I rode the roller coaster with Michael, Kyle captured Brooklyn's reaction. She was just not sure about the whole thing.
Pardon my sound effects..I wasn't aware we were being recorded. Children make you do strange things, but it's all for her benefit!
Just a cute picture of Brooklyn with DD & RanDad. They were watching as Chad, Melissa, Josh, Rachel and Jeremiah took a whirl on something that the rest of us decided would leave us dizzy for the rest of the day. The look of concern on Brooklyn's face pretty much mirrored my own.
Mom held Brooklyn while I ventured on a roller coaster with Michael. It was a tad alarming as they delayed the ride for lightning, only to suddenly lock us down and send us off zooming through space as rain hit our faces like icy pellets! We lived to tell about it, though.
A few weeks back, Mom and Dad were gracious enough to take the family to our local amusement park, Magic Springs! The day started out sunny and then switched gears on us and stormed for a little bit, but we managed to make it a fabulous day of quality family fun. We picnicked out of the back of our cars as the rain poured around us, and when it wasn't raining, we rode roller coasters, high-flying swings, and the most hilarious ride I've ever been on - these old 50's looking cars perched on precarious looking, lofty tracks. It looked like a children's ride, but be ye not fooled. It turned out to be the most invigorating ride of the day - just as your car approached what appeared to be a sheer drop off, you were whisked around a hairpin turn, flung about like bowling pins and and barrelled down another perilous path, eliciting squeals of glee, delight and terror from even the most stalwart of roller coaster enthusiasts. I could have ridden it over and over. Go Magic Springs and the funky car ride! As a world-class, HIGHLY experienced thrill seeker and amusement park expert, I give it 5 stars for surprising thrills and just absolute hilarity.
Brooklyn was able to experience yet another first - a Carousel ride on a horsey with an authentic horse-hair tail. She was ok for about 15 seconds and then she wanted me to hold her. As you can see, Tio Mikey was as giddy as though it was HIS first carousel ride. Seriously, who doesn't love a good spin on one of those?
It was so precious to see Brooklyn leading her DD and Randad to see the sights. There were more than a few sighs and aaahhs...
Having grown up with possibly the greatest father of all time, I have an eye for recognizing pure talent in this area. And I must say that the skills exhibited by one Kyle Floyd have caught my eye and put him in the running for the Greatest Dad Ever award...notwithstanding the fact that his daughter is only 16 months old. This man is truly one of the best daddies I've seen. Brooklyn is crazy about him, as all daughters should be of their daddies, and he worships her. I love catching them sharing sweet kisses or talking about their days (Brooklyn's side of the conversation is much more like gibberish, but she gets her point across).
To all daddies out there - your job is a challenging one with eternal rewards, so don't take it lightly. And to my daddy, how I adore you. To Kyle - you are the best daddy a girl could want for her children. I am so proud of you.
Our dear friends, Chad and Kim Cate, were in town this weekend and I found an excuse to make some yummy homemade vegetable lasagna! After stuffing ourselves, we sprawled out in the living room and enjoyed the easy companionship of old friends, full bellies and a houseful of nothing but love. Speaking of love, Brooklyn was SMITTEN with Chad. She wouldn't leave his side!
I donned an old apron from my grandmother to whip up some goodies in the kitchen. Brooklyn was fascinated by it, so I gave her one of her own to wear - complete with a spoon. She beamed and waved her spoon about like a conductor! Meanwhile, Darby leans in for a smooch from the tiny chef.
Zach and Anna walked to our house the other evening and found our little family resting outside on our driveway, practicing kissy faces. Kyle and Zach discussed sprinkler strategies while Anna, Brooklyn and I fought off 'skeeters and the general malaise brought on by mid-90's temps and complete humidity...
As our sprinklers came on the other evening, the water looked too inviting, so I stripped off Brooklyn's clothes and gave her the opportunity to get wet! She rather enjoyed the misting effect from standing BEHIND the sprinklers.
I captured my little one gazing off into space, looking angelic and utterly kissable.
As a mom, I suppose have a slightly unusual stance on toys. I really don't like them. They are a source of constant clutter and after a few moments of play, go largely unused. I have, on the other hand, seen an empty box offer up HOURS of entertainment, plus serve as a storage box of those same tiny, cluttery toys which I trip over and find gouged into the sole of my foot. Now, books - that's something I will spend money on.
One would think that as the oldest of 7 kids, I'd be used to toys galore. But somehow, even in a houseful of 7 kids, toys is not what I remember. I remember building forts with the couch pillows, and stuffing those same couch pillows under over-sized Happy Cat t-shirts and running full speed into my sibling like two tiny sumo wrestlers! I remember bookshelves full of books! LIttle Goldenbooks, Dr. Suess, Berenstein Bears, Mercer Mayer... I remember Legos and only one toybox (for all 7 of us) that we would occasionally "dump out" - it was an event at our house to do this. And then it took most of the afternoon to put it back together. But the Legos provided HOURS of entertainment as we would build cities and worlds and stretch our imagination to the max! I remember playing outside and running under sprinklers...tag and chase...never would you find my mom's house cluttered with toys - but we were HAPPY KIDS! So I think my aversion to toy clutter began at an early age. I'm just a tidy person by nature.
So now as a mother of a 16 month old, I don't think I've actually purchased a true "toy." I find myself only purchasing things that are truly educational and will visibly teach Brooklyn something. A few weekends ago, I stumbled upon a great garage sale find - a Leap Frog desk and lap notebook in excellent condition for practically nothing! She loves to sit at the desk and play and read and talk to herself, and I don't worry about it cluttering up the house! Everyone wins!
On this particular day, we were trying on clothes and some of her many hats. Brooklyn LOVES hats. She is such a girly girl and I love it!
Every now and then, Brooklyn saunters up to me and climbs into my lap, regardless of whether I'm busy or not. And truthfully, her precious little body is welcome into my arms any time, night or day. My heart melts into puddles when she tucks her arms into her sides and snuggles her head into the crook of my shoulder. I could freeze time and never move out of those moments. And I know that at the light speed at which she's growing, such moments SHOULD be frozen and savored.
And can you believe the blond curls our little angel has? I think she gets them from Kyle, although my brother Jeremiah had a head full of gold locks before his first haircut snipped them off. :( Sad day! Brooklyn's curls will not be snipped any time soon! Unless her hair suddenly straightens out and turns into a mullet, which I will cut WITHOUT hesitation, I plan to let her little locks grow for some time.