Thursday, November 3, 2011

Beat the drum.

This is a big day...no...make that huge.  It's a day to celebrate, eat cake, live it up and beat the drum.  Today my girl is 2,000 days old.

No...I haven't counted each day on a paper calendar or added using my abacus, calculator or iPhone.  My countdown to baby clock became my count up clock...counting each and every day I have been blessed to have Kayla in my life...2,000 days to be exact.

Or...48,000 hours or 2,880,000 minutes or 172,800,000 seconds.  Whichever way you choose to look at the amount of time she has been in my life...each day, each hour, each minute, each second...all more precious and special than the one before.  Because 2,001 days ago I was not a Mommy...2,001 days ago I had no idea how profoundly my life would change with the sound of her cry, the sparkle in her smile or the glimmer in her eyes.  Because 2,001 days ago my life was no where near as perfect as it is today.
Here's a look back at just some of the first 2,000 days...just some of the days that have made my life rich and full of life and love...just some of the days...
Go ahead celebrate something big {or little}...just celebrate...beat that drum!

Wednesday, November 2, 2011

A practically perfect jolly holiday.


This was Kayla's 6th Halloween.  I have been patiently waiting for the past five years for her to actually care...to have an opinion about her costume.  I have been dying for the day that she demands to be something or someone.  For the day that she lays down in the middle of the store claiming she would just die if we didn't buy the $100 costume that would only get worn once  Anything, really.  And I promised myself when that day came I would deliver.  I would deliver because for so long I hoped she would have a voice.  For so long I prayed she would have an opinion.  For so long, I wanted her to be typical...just like every other girl and care about the one day she could be anyone she wanted to be.

Be careful what you wish for.  My girl wanted to be Mary Poppins.  Not Mary Poppins in a skirt, coat and black felt hat adorned with flowers.  Not 'spoon full of sugar' Mary Poppins.  Jolly Holiday Mary Poppins.  You know the one...white dress with a ruffly lace bodice, sheer sleeves, red ribbons and a gorgeous red waist cincher...complete with a white lace parasol, of course.  Oh...and of course the final detail...the white boots with red buttons.

Ummm...yeah.  Have you been shopping for a Mary Poppins costume lately?  No?  Well I have...in stores, online...looking and searching for anything that could possibly resemble Mary Poppins.  Anything that could be tweaked or adjusted to look like Mary Poppins.  Anything...really...anything.  Nothing.  Thank you, Disney, for making this task so difficult.  Thank you for creating every princess costume available in every store known to mankind.  Some with sparkles...some without...some with accessories, some without.  But Mary Poppins, not a chance.  Nowhere to be found.

So I ask again {secretly hoping she has changed her mind to Cinderella}.  Without hesitation she states "Mary Poppins".  And so...Mary Poppins it was.  While I had no idea how much this was going to set me back, I knew I had to make it happen.  I had to deliver.  And so I did...
Thanks to Ebay, Joanns and a costume designer, the look was complete...well, almost.  She wasn't satisfied until she had white boots with red buttons.  Thankfully my mom found a pair of women's white gloves that I modified to be shoe covers boots with red buttons.

With rosy cheeks and a bounce in her step she strutted singing Mary Poppins tunes...
Our Trick-or-Treat moments were many this year.  Prancing from parades to parties.  First stop was Trick-or-Treat Main where we ran into Kayla's best friend, Peyton, from preschool...

Next stop was her school parade {cutest thing ever, by the way}.  As the kids dressed as lady bugs, princesses, super heros and zombies strutted their stuff, family, friends and homeowners lined the street to witness the cuteness in full effect...
Kayla and her boyfriend, Tucker...yes, boyfriend.  More on that subject later...but he is definitely one of the cutest boys in her class...my girl has great taste.
Take one...he kinda loves his Captain America shield.  He was so proud that his mom made it for him.

Take two...

And her "BFF" as she calls her...Kendall...sweetest girl, ever.  I have a story about Kendall that will bring you all to tears...stay tuned...that's for another day...
I can't even begin to tell you how fortunate we are to be where we are...for Kayla to be where she is.  She is in the greatest school...in the greatest class...with the most amazing teachers...
Next stop...visiting grandparents and great grandparents...

For as long as she could walk Kayla has walked into my grandmother's house and sat on that stool at that table and played.
Pretending to talk on the phone.  Pretending to take orders.  Pretending to be a receptionist.  Writing and scribbling and talking to no one in particular.  Today she did the same.  But today was different.  Today she asked me how to spell Halloween.  As I spelled it she wrote it...hallowEE...backwards N.  Did she seriously just write Halloween?  She has never asked me to spell a word so she could write it.  Today she did it...with success.  Not cat.  Not dog.  No...Hallo-freaking-ween.  Awe.  I was in awe.  So much so I didn't take a picture.  Why does that happen?  I get so caught up in those moments of pride that I forget I have a camera....a very large camera with a very large lens hanging around my neck.  Ugh.

Our final stop on the Halloween train this year was trick-or-treating with great friends in the frigid autumn air...
She quickly became Mary Poppins in a parka...but she didn't care...just as long as people kept putting candy in her bucket...and she filled up that bucket!  Just as I filled up one more amazing page in my memory book.  I observed her from afar...watching her strut her stuff up driveways...turning only to tell me to stay there.  She would knock, give the traditional salutation of "trick-or-treat", take only one treat and walk away with the largest smile of contentment and pride you have ever seen.  I wish I took a picture of that face but I was too busy standing there in awe of her.  In awe of the girl she has become.  Beautiful, confident and proud...and alright, I'll admit it, it was hard to see through tear-filled eyes. 

Once we returned back to Paul and Michelle's house the kids emptied their buckets and bags like it was their job.  Kayla reached in over and over and over again until each and every last piece of candy was laying in front of her on the table.  Ready to be eaten.
For those that don't think candy puts you on a sugar high...answer me this...how is it possible that these kids could run {yes, run} around the house until 10:30 PM...only stopping because we made them.  Sugar.  Sugar is the reason.  That sugar is sweet and so is my girl...my Mary Poppins...and my memories of this Halloween.

Hoping your holiday was just as jolly...and just as perfect...practically perfect in every way.