Anneliese at Almost 8

We have reached the point in this funny moment in time known as "blogging" where instead of everyday tidbits and daily-slog-minutiae delight nuggets, I find myself only vignetting my babies into words a thin slice at a time. And that's harder than you'd think, or maybe exactly as hard as you'd think, because capturing any human into a slice of a moment in time is... well, hard.

And here we are, with tiny "new baby" turned big girl big sister "middlest baby" Anneliese as an almost-eight-year-old. When I try to wrap my brain around where we were eight years ago this week -- newly a stay-at-home-parent, very pregnant, worried about H1N1, curious about folks getting smartphones, wondering how to picture our only child as a big brother, ending what we then naively adorably thought was the hardest decade in America we had seen in ages haaaaaaomg -- it's almost hard to remember that. It seems like another life. It was another life.

And then there was Anneliese. And now, well, look at her go.

Last winter, she finally lost that janky tooth that busted up her face when she was two. It's weird how it feels like both Anneliese and I spent five years cussing that tooth and missing her baby smile (me), and hating the jank (her), and then when it finally came out, I was, like, profoundly sad. When you have legit feelings about teeth as the end of an era, that's when you know your mom math is some weird sh!t, yo. (Anneliese was uncomplicatedly thrilled to toss it to the tooth fairy and move on with her life, for the record. Gave none craps about the memory and trauma and face change. KIDS AMIRITE.)

Anneliese at almost eight is a bookworm, devouring chapter books and audiobooks faster than we can put them in her hands or ears, and always on the hunt for a new free little library. She has taken in some of my own children's favorites this year (Harry Potter, the Little House series, the Narnia books, Roald Dahl, Beverly Cleary) which has been super fun (for me). One of her current favorite things is for us to go on a walk together and listen to our audiobooks and hold hands. She won't outgrow this too soon, right? Right?? RIGHT?! (Someone tell me she won't. Lie to me if you must.)

She has also decided sometime in the last year that music is maybe her Thing. She started on violin in orchestra last winter, and also auditioned for a spot in a community choir in a neighboring suburb, and adores singing with them. She is the youngest one, and thinks that singing with big kids all the way up through high school is the best. She spends a fair amount of time upstairs in the closest between her room and Charlotte's, sounding out tunes on the keyboard and trying to match it to her violin, which is super sweet, and also whoa dang loud, and also no you may not start piano yet, my dear, you are already super booked up. (But yes, our band nerd hearts are proud.)

She loves babies and taking care of her baby cousins, and is convinced (and will tell anyone who will listen) that she possesses a talent called "baby magic" that means she can always soothe them, and, well, I mean, let's just say I will be a very sweet mom when her own kid has colic, because that's definitely happening, right? That's how the universe works, last time I checked.

Anneliese and Charlotte have been playing together better this year than ever before in their lives. The closet between their rooms is currently set up like a nursery for all their babies (and I do mean all! their! babies! SO MANY BABIES OMG) and it reminds me so much of Ashley and me at that age that it just squeezes my heart and is exactly what I was hoping their sisterhood would be like.

She and Nathan are still fast friends too, and they all three still pile into her room every Friday night for a sleepover. I'm so scared those days are numbered but I will cling to it and let them do it as many more weeks/months/years of their childhoods as they want.

Anneliese become a bit more shy and a bit more poised this year. She is polite and mostly quiet in a group, yet also social and fun with lots of friends and party invites and stories from school. When she's chatty, she's nonstop - but she's decidedly less chatty than Other People who live in this house.

She switched this fall from dance to gymnastics and that seems to be going well, although it's a new rhythm for our family not to have any tiny dancers at the moment. She also likes crafts and sewing, and (like her mommy!) loves notebooks and pens and is always trying a new pretty ("pretty") lettering.

She loves sunshine and hates cold weather. She considers herself an indoor cat, except for trampolining and her newly-learned skill of bike riding. She adores sleep. First one down every night, and the last one up every morning. And she would nap any day we'd let her.

She is obsessed with spaghetti, especially her daddy's. She loves coconut and almonds and somehow loves popping candy but not carbonated beverages, because, well, people are complicated I guess.

And yes, a streak of rainbow still follows her everywhere she goes.

We love you, baby Beanie. Happy almost 8!

Days 6-11: MinneEFFINGsota, Take Four

{Still backdated, are you still with me?}

And on the sixth night, tired from the water park and after one small carsick rest stop, we rolled into Northfield, Minnesota, hugged Another Nathan, and there was much rejoicing in all the land.

A year to the weekend after he moved away, the kids were so excited to see his new house, and play in "their" room he had set up for them in the den downstairs, complete with shelves of toys and trinkets and plastic animal snouts and other Welcome Prizes, and air mattresses, and snuggles and legos and happiness.

And then they crashed, and Mark and I played allllll the pictures from our northbound journey as a slideshow on the Apple TV in the living room, because we are adults who know how to partaaaaay.

Day 7: The Sather Farm

The next morning we drove with Another Nathan to his grandparents' farm a few hours away, in rural Minnesota (even more rural than where he lives, which is basically in the middle of corn, if you'll recall). His mom had been sweetly inviting us to come visit the farm where she grew up, if we ever came to Minnesota, and, well, here we were.

The Sather Farm

(She drove from Iowa to hang out with us for the day. Another Nathan's mom. At her parents' farm. Isn't is just the coolest thing ever when the people you love start meshing into your family, and then they share their family with you?)

The universal preschool method for eating corn on the cob.

We had a such a lovely time with them, a lunch with fresh corn picked that day (it was basically all of Mark's corn dreams come true) (yes he has corn dreams, and has for years) (HE ATE SIX), and we got to see their horses, and Nathan got to play hide and seek with me in the cornfields, which, I won't lie, secretly scared the sh!t out of me. But he was cute.

At one point, while shucking corn to feed the horses, Charlotte proclaimed that her hair was the color of the cornsilk, which it was! Exactly! And now I can never see it any other way. At another point, while exploring all the giant* tractors and combines and trucks in their barn, we looked up and Charlotte had hopped up on a tractor with Grandpa Sather, and was waving to us happily, and oh man I just love that she makes friends wherever she goes. It also made me feel a bit sappy and miss my Grandpa, so yeah, that's the story of how I cried in a barn in Minnesota on our family road trip.

Also, Mark and Another Nathan piled the kids into a Gator (?) and drove across to where their big silos bins are (I have been informed they are not silos but bins, so okay), and Mark climbed to the top of one to look inside, even though he is scared of heights, so excited was he about this giant commercial farm.

And then we had root beer floats and heard funny stories and peeked in their ice fishing house, which apparently just sits in the garden during the summer (Minnesota is baffling and delightful to southerners like us, y'all), and played games and accepted a big crate of kiddie books from Another Nathan's mom, for the rest of our stay, because of course she thought ahead that we might be strapped for new material after a week on the road. She is just... that person. (Lovely, is what I'm saying.)

I insisted we eat at Pizza Ranch for dinner on the way home, because I had never been to one before, and, you know, covered! wagons! with pizza! But it turns out that was a dream I had put too much stock in (YES I KNOW, EVERYONE WARNED ME: NOT THAT GREAT) but I am glad I can say we did it, although I don't need to again anytime soon.

Day 8: Nerstrand State Park Waterfalls, and Northfield by Night

We fiiiinally had a slow day on our hands, so we went to a state park near Northfield and took a short walk and saw waterfalls. Was sweet and pretty.

Also, there were swings. When you're a kid, what's more delightful than swings, except grown-ass men who also will swing with you (bonus points for Daddy and Mr. David).

That evening, Another Nathan had one of his youth choir kids come over to sit, so finally Mark and I could have a break for some grownup time. We all went downtown and had burgers and beer by the river.

And then more beers at another place on the other side of the river, and oh man, Northfield is just so dang charming.

Day 9: Charlotte Booler's Birthday!!!

In the morning we went for a walk around Northfield's downtown market, and we had coffee cocktails (mine was delicious, other people had mixed opinions) and baked goods and the kids picked out various hair ties and bookmarks and both big kids got lanyard bracelets which they loved.

Okay so, by far, the hardest thing about planning this trip on the dates we did (which were basically the only dates we could make it work, all summer, was that we would be away from home on Charlotte's birthday. I haaaaated the idea at first, although she seemed fine with it (she wasn't asking for any particular friends or themed party at home, nor has she ever had that anyway). I made peace with the idea that as long as we weren't actually in transit, it could be okay. We could have a cake and a little party, and it would be sweet. And we did, and we did, and it was.



My friend Miriel came from her town close by, and brought her baby, and we drew with chalk outside and then made superhero capes, and we opened a few presents, and had cake.

It was very simple and sweet and easy, and that's about all the birthday chaos I would be comfortable throwing at someone else's home.

There were a few moments where I felt really far from home, and I also cried when my cake frosting fell apart (David helped me fix it, because there is no end to his sainthood), but by the time the day's chaos had settled and we were all snuggled on the couch watching her birthday video, I felt so warm and sweet and happy. Birthday feelings all intact, even while abroad. Ha.

Oh! And also! When Charlotte woke up on her birthday morning, Sheepie was suddenly wearing a birthday shirt, just like the cupcake one Charlotte had packed to wear all day!

Someone must have put it on her in the middle of the night! No one will ever know who. (Edit, backdated: this remains a much-discussed mystery of our family, even months later. Haaaaaa being a parent is sometimes the best.)

Day 10: Another Nathan's Church, Mall of America

We had to hug and kiss Marky goodbye first thing in the morning, since he had to fly back to Raleigh for work (the kids and I had plans to drive home slowly and see more friends along the way, but he didn't have that much time off), and it was surprisingly sad considering we would see him just a few days later. We didn't want the whole-family portion of our trip to be over. It was so fun! I never would have dreamed that driving across the country with three kids could be so fun  but it was! Fun and easy! We had had lots of adventures already and we were sad to send him to the airport.

But we waved goodbye and then went to church in Northfield. Anneliese had been waiting for years (literal years) (in the correct use of the word literal) to sit at the organ with Another Nathan in worship, something she didn't get to do when he was here in Raleigh (she was jealous when big brother did). I think it made alllll her dreams come true. So sweet.

After worship we had a delightful Cracker Barrel lunch (oh, how we have missed post-church lunches with Another Nathan!) and then drove to the Mall of America. The rides and such were too chaotic and busy for us that day, but we did go to the very giant and impressive Lego store, and Anneliese had a gift certificate for the American Girl store, and she had a delightful time wandering around forever, choosing a back to school outfit for Kit.

Another Nathan was also delighted:

Day 11: St Olaf, and a Hymn Festival

We took the kids to St. Olaf in the morning to walk all through the campus and chapel and see all the places where Another Nathan went to college, which was very sweet. I think he liked seeing them run all around outside in a place he loves so much. It's really pretty in the summer!

We shopped in the bookstore and ate grilled cheese at the student cafe, and it was actually a totally delightful little excursion.

The kids and I spent the afternoon bumming all over town, we went to the library and a few shops (Northfield has fun quirky shopping! Beautiful pen and paper stores, and fancy candy, and even a little shop that sells handmade doll clothes in that delighted all of the children but maybe especially Nathan, who has a hard time finding boy things for his tiger to wear), and also playing on a swingset at a park. It was sometime that afternoon that I realized how delightfully awesome summers in Northfield are, and understanding why people have summer homes in small towns away from home.

Just. So. Charming.

We lounged around in the library at Nathan's church and listened to him practice a bit, which sounds like a silly dumb thing, but it turns out it's totally a thing I miss from when he lived here. He plays beautifully, and when your best friend is a beautiful musician, it turns out you should not take that for granted, because it's lovely to listen to, and someday he might live in MinneEFFINGsota and you won't be able to listen to it as often as you used to.

ASK ME HOW I KNOW.

Anyway. Charlotte danced while he played. It was sweet.

That evening, we drove all the way up to a town north of St Paul to see a hymn festival from two important music teachers of Nathan's, they do these lovely little worship/festivals with readings and beautiful music and a choir, and he has wanted to show me for years what they're like, and here I was in the same town where they were doing one, when they were doing it, and so I was not passing it up.

It was a lovely last evening in Minnesota. The drive back through the cities was gorgeous, although you can't tell from this picture. It's blurry but pretend it's blurry with my tears, because I hate saying bye and I'm not very good at it.

Afterwards we had a beer and popcorn at a bar in Northfield before we went back to the house, because beer and popcorn is a thing one does when one is in Northfield.

And then we really did cry the next morning, because having our whole family together, and all of us together there with our dear friends, was so wonderful.

You're welcome, friend, for posting the pictures we took before your cry eyes got bad. (Mine were even worse, which is mostly why I'm not posting it, but let's pretend the decision was purely altruistic.)

Til we meet again, Minnesota.  <3 p="">

A Concert and a Recital

This one is mostly for the grandparents, right? The end of the school year always means concerts and recitals and things that bring tears to parents' and grandparents' eyes while the rest of the world watches with a resounding meh. But assuming you're a person who is enchanted by baby performers, in particuarly my baby performers, then here, behold!

The girls' dance recital:

They were cute, they matched, they delighted me. This is their tap routine:


(If you can't see the embedded video, click here to watch on YouTube.)

Anneliese has turned into such a leader in the last year. Charlotte is the youngest in the group and is mostly in her own world, but she loves to dance so much.

Ballet routine is here, if you're a person who can't live until you've seen both. :) Charlotte cracks me up; she sort of knows the choreography but she is going to do it in her own time, as the spirit moves her, y'all. Ha.

brb framing this

Nathan's orchestra concert:

Okay so Nathan takes himself very seriously. This is a thing I don't really even need to say, right? If you read this blog, ever, you know this about him. He got rosin and he got tuned and he played and it was super sweet.

I really maintain that learning music and an instrument is so good for kids (and not optional in our house) and it's so cool to see how much Nathan has learned in just a year. I hope he loves playing for a long time to come.


(If you can't see the embedded video, click here to watch on YouTube.)

My dad came too and he was legit impressed with some of the older groups. Our elementary school does an incredible job with this orchestra program, and I'm so glad our kid(s) can be in it.

Okay that's all.

This ends today's episode of special snowflakes. We shall return to our normal programming momentarily.

Chipmunk Christmas Dance

You know that Alvin and the Chipmunks Christmas album? Of course you know it. Everyone knows it. I'm pretty sure no one actually likes it (confession: I think I secretly do), but everyone knows it. We had it on a record (AN ACTUAL RECORD) when I was a kid, and I vaguely remember that it made my dad's ears bleed so much that he would only play it for us one time per Christmas. We would dance around like maniacs in the living room and shriek and sing along, because that makes it less annoying?

Anyway.

The girls did a little dance thing, a tiny show where they danced to a song with their class. And if there is anything that can convert folks (even my dad!) to finding this song adorable, it's Charlotte, dancing to "hula hoop" - behold:


(If you can't see the embedded video, click here to watch it on YouTube.)

Nothing about that video doesn't make me smile. Nothing.

The girls are in a class of mostly young kids, some a little wilder and more dramatic than others. Neither Anneliese nor Charlotte is the best dancer in the class but they pay attention and they try hard and they listen well, and they are so kind to the other kids. And that's lovelier for me to see than anything else they could do in there.

I'm so proud to be their mommy.

Firsts and Lasts

Want to see some evidence proving why I have been super mommy emotional this week? Of course you do.

Exhibit A: this. This right here. Are you kidding me with this?

On Tuesday night, Nathan played in his first orchestra concert. I basically melted into a puddle as soon as he got to his "backstage" room and rosined up his bow and started "warming up" (he did stop and smile for this picture, which I am thankful for).

By the time Nathan got onstage, he just looked so happy. We could see his face the whole time they played, and I don't even care how sappy I sound, it was awesome. I was full of my own memories and nostalgia and excitement and nerves, and seeing him look so joyful made it all just perfect.

I would listen to him play at this very-beginner first grade level for years and years, and find it objectively beautiful, I really would, if he always looks this happy playing.

Exhibit B - this tiny dancer.

On Sunday afternoon, Anneliese was in her first dance recital. This probably isn't news for people who grew up in families that "did dance" (not us), but we had no idea how old she would seem. No idea how much a curly updo and sequined dress and small brave smile would age her. No idea that seeing her dance in a line of her friends, all looking tiny and adorable, would make us cry. And cry, we both did. Make no mistake.

Of course Anneliese's recital was at the exact same time as a church musical Nathan was in. And the dress rehearsals were at the same times as each other too. Of course. So Mark and I switched off -- we each went to one dress rehearsal, and one big event, so we both got to see both. High five, Marky. Good job, team.

Exhibit C - Nathan, in said musical! He was a confident and happy singer and he knew every word and laughed at the jokes and gladly wore an animal hat and claimed he wasn't even nervous (and I think I believe him).

It seems like but a few moments ago he was eighteen months old and just learning to walk, using the bottom of my choir robe to pull himself up, climbing up onto the piano bench next to Another Nathan and staring wide-eyed at the piano. How many years he spent watching the big kids sing, in their own robes, in musicals, asking when it would be his turn. And now here he is, one of the big kids himself, in Another Nathan's choir!

I love these two. They are my favorite Nathans that have ever Nathaned.

Exhibit D - ummm this holy whoa try not to cry at the sweetness.

A couple weeks ago, Anneliese wrote her name by herself for the first time. And she did it in rainbow colors. (Try not to look shocked.) And I got very teary and took a million pictures and scanned it into the computer and yep, it turns out some things are just as awesome when the second kid does it too.

Exhibit E - last day of preschool. Charlotte and Anneliese are done for the summer! We took pictures on the steps of the school like always, and I tried not to cry at how much they have both changed over the course of just one school year. (That is a lie. I totally let myself cry. I mean look at them!!)

Anneliese has shot up like a weed and now towers over the other kids her age. And Charlotte, my goodness, she has gone from a baby to a legit little girl.

Y'all, I don't know how it is possible to feel so happy and also so sad to see your kids growing up. I don't know any way to talk about this that isn't riddled with cliches, but the cliches are around because they are true.

I am, all in one moment, really genuinely excited to see them doing new things, experiencing the world (big kids are fun! like, really fun), yet also completely heartbroken that they have so grown out of the tiny cheeks and noses I kissed when I first met them, first held them and sang happy birthday. It just goes so fast. It is wonderful and fun and exciting, but too damn fast.

So here's a cliche that always always holds up: DON'T BLINK, MAN.