The One Where I Brag on Norah's Batting

Norah's admitted favorite part of playing t-ball has been batting.  She is currently 6 for 7 at hitting coach's pitches in games.  (With just one game left to go) Here are 2 of her successful at-bats (courtesy of Mom R, videographer and Eli-watching= multi-tasking extraordinaire).  Note: The giggle at the end of the first clip is Jason (he was realizing that N was 5 for 5 after that hit and pretty proud of his little girl)

The second clip is Norah's best hit of the season, thus-far.  Sadly, she ended her perfect hitting streak (ie--had to hit off the tee) after this one...but on the bright side, she was able to walk away from the game more proud of the hit than she was disappointed of the miss.  We'll see if she can get back into the groove for her last game of the season tonight!

From the Mouthes of Babes: Circus Edition

Ringling Brothers came to Reed Arena this weekend, so we thought it was high time that Eli experience his first circus.  We bought tickets with some of our friends, and had a great time.  The circus was, as always, exciting (and at times so stressful--I thought I was going to have a heart attack FOR the guy on the high wire), but my favorite part was definitely watching and listening to the kids' take on things.

Here are a few of my favorite quotes from the night:

En route to the show J and I overheard this exchange in the back of the car:

E: Can you ride on a baby tiger?

N: No, you can't ride on a baby tiger, unless it's at least 30 years old.

Norah: (at first the sight of the tightrope walkers): Mommy, why are those boys wearing sparkles?


Eli: (upon seeing the oriental knive diver produce a black, blindfold/face-sock from at his waistband and hold it up for the crowd to see) "Momma!? Is that his underwear!?" (This, of course was exclaimed at a volume level of about 110)

At the close of the show, the ringmaster put a beautiful blonde woman into a cage, then covered it with a sheet.  After briefly pausing to achieve optimum dramatic effect, he pulled the sheet away to reveal a massive Great Dane.  Eli was utterly astonished, and shouted in accusatory disbelief, "He turned her into a DOG!?!" (as if to say, "Did anyone else just see that!?  Are they just going to let him get away with it!?")

And finally, after the confetti popping, show-stopper of-a-finale, when the performers took their last bow, Eli shouted at the top of his lungs with total sincerity (and no prompting), "THANK YOU!!!"  Funny, sweet, little boy.

This was definitely my favorite trip to the circus thus-far.  Both kids are at an age where they were old enough to sit (relatively) still and watch the show.  (We bought 2 rows of 6 seats, so the adults sat in the back row, and the kids all sat in front of us below, which was super fun to watch.  Of course, they also spent a lot of time in and out of our laps, but it was nice to sprawl out--I would definitely buy tickets that way again)

N absolutely loved watching all of the animals perform-- the puppies and kitty cats, and the quick-change artist, in particular.  Eli's favorite, of course was the motorcycle cage.  He sat perfectly still for that part, and watched in awe, just saying "How do they do that?" over and over again.  Good times!

Spring Training

Spring has sprung in Robinson County, which means that we have been doing a little bit of this...

And a little bit of this...

And a WHOLE,

Lot

Of this!

I never realized how much patience my parents must have expended in teaching me to ride a bike with no training wheels (and I hope the same holds true for our kids some day when they look back on this time of learning)...but I have grown to appreciate it now, as an adult!  (Someone, please tell me teaching her to drive a car will be easier)

But in the end, seeing that smile

And hearing her proudly proclaim, "I can ride a bike with TWO wheels!"to nearly everyone we meet (whether we know them or not) makes it worth every second.

 

Although, I will also admit, finally seeing her riding away, so innocent, independent and care-free, was amazingly bittersweet.

(Cue the internal Abba soundtrack...and the waterworks--at least for me.)

"I watch her go with a surge of that well-known sadness and then I have to sit down for a while.
The feeling that I'm losing her forever--
and without really entering her world.
I'm glad whenever I can share her laughter--that funny little girl!


Slipping through my fingers all the time
I try to capture every minute--the feeling in it--slipping through my fingers all the time.  Do I really see what's in her mind each time I think I'm close to knowing? She keeps on growing, slipping through my fingers all the time..."

R.I.P. Mango

As I've mentioned before, the sole pet the past 3 years in Robinson County has been Norah's beloved fish friend, Mango.

 Sadly, as of April 4th, Mango is  no longer with us in body, but I'm confident his memory will be well preserved for many years to come in the mind of the family members here who loved him.

I worried that Norah would have a hard time coping with the loss of her first pet.  (Yes, as melodramatic as that may sound, to be nervous at the seemingly insignificant loss of a $5 beta fish, he had resided here for 3/5 of Norah's life, and she was very attached) So, I suggested that she memorialize him in art. (You can tell she was still broken up, emotionally at the time of this photo)

As usual, I was taken aback by her attention to detail.  She got the shape of his bowl down perfectly, he was a peach fish, and had turquoise and pink glass rocks in the bottom of his bowl. The bright colored patchwork in the upper right corner is a nearly perfect depiction of her curtains. The "rainbow" that he is sitting over is her bookcase, where he lived (her books are still arranged in color order).  Note the alarm clock to the left of the bowl.  It reads "5:00"...Norah explained to me this is because that's her favorite time of day because, "that's when Daddy comes home from work!"

This is still one of my favorite photos of N with Mango.  I can't count how many times I would find her in her room, gazing into his bowl.  She loved to watch him swim. Sometimes she told him about her day.  And best of all, she loved feeding him before she went to bed at night.

All loyalties aside though, she almost immediately began asking if she could get another pet fish...and (being the suckers  caring parents that we are) we quickly consented.  Enter "Figgy".  Norah chose him for his flashy purple color, and decided that she should keep with the exotic fruit category for his name.  (It took us a while to find a suitable purple fruit which met her approval).  Sadly, Figgy didn't fare as well as our old friend, Mango.  He only lasted about a month.  Which brings us back to square one...petless in Robinson County.  And (at least for now), we think we'll keep it that way for a little while.  

The Pied Piper of Robinson County

Norah has begun a weekly ritual of visiting hospice/nursing home patients with my mother, allowing a couple of hours for E and I to spend alone together.  (I like to think of it as slowly conditioning ourselves for her absence when she leaves us for kindergarten in the fall...and that is all I will say on that subject, as I don't want to be reduced to a puddle of tears at this precise moment)

On this particular day, Eli and I had plans to wash the car together.  However, when, while gathering our car washing gear we were met with the unmistakable sound of a bagpipe, like a feather in the wind (which, if you know me well is SO not my usual temperment), I decided it was a good day for a field trip.

"Momma!?  What's that sound?" Eli asked in excited curiosity.  "Why don't we go and find out?" I replied, as I took his hand and led him down our street to the source of the serenade.  (Jason and I had met our bag piping neighbor a while back, and have enjoyed his intermittent, spontaneous lawn concerts for a few years now.  Seriously...he's really good.  Sure, you may think it sounds a little weird, but you know deep down you're a little bit jealous of our interesting, cultured neighborhood)

The look on E's face when the piper came into view was priceless.  It was a mixture of awe, joy, and cautious curiosity.  (And the piper, himself was absolutely loving the audience of his one-man toddler fan-club). 

Eli slowly shuffled closer and closer, while the piper played the Scottish National Anthem.  When he finished, the piper asked if Eli would like to hear another song, to which he replied with an enthusiastic "Yes!" Mr. Leslie dazzled him with "the Happy Birthday song". while Eli sang along with a massive grin on his face.

By the time that song ended, Eli was practically in his pocket he had gotten so close.  "Can I try?" he asked, hopefully.  Mr. Leslie let him press the air out of the bag, and touch the holes on each of the pipes.  (with his fingers, not his mouth, of course)

 Mr. Leslie explained that bagpipes were traditionally used to ward off evil spirits in Scotland, but they also are fabled to have a  magnetism drawing in small children and animals (perhaps this is the origin of the creepy fairy tale, "The Pied Piper of Hamlin"?)

Then, to cap off our visit, he told Eli that he had a small set of "boy sized" bag pipes that he could love to let him play sometime if we would come back to visit on another day.  Eli was  absolutely floored.  (He has since asked on multiple occasions if we could get him some bag pipes for Christmas.)

Jason has always told me that he wants bagpipes played at his funeral, so I guess E came by his love for them honestly.  Who knows, maybe he'll start a trend. Move over drum set, make way for the new, hipster instrument of choice!