More Snapshots of a Birthday

Making cupcakes the night before:

Beautiful excited girl:

I'm three today!

Reading "Puff the Magic Dragon" from Grandma Jo:

Right after swim lessons:

Playing baseball with Daddy'O with a new bat from Nona and Grandpa:

Making pizza for lunch:

And at the party!

The scavenger hunt:

Each picture clue that was found had to be opened by Josie and she had to wait until everyone was there to open it- this brought the group back together at each clue and the younger kiddos could participate.

Another clue:

Running for the next clue (I'm trying to get there before they do because the cupcakes are waiting in this next spot):

Eating cupcakes outside-Josie requested white chocolate chip cupcakes with white frosting and gummi bears and chocolate chips to put on top of it all:

Anna and Sophie-June having fun at the party:

Playing more baseball to relax after the party:

Check out that cute skirt! That's what I made Josie for her birthday. It's a full skirt, lots of fun to twirl in! I can't tell you how much spinning has been happening in our house and everywhere we go these days! It's puts a smile on everyone's face to watch her. I love that after each spin she always sits down hard with her skirt spread out in a circle around her (on accident or on purpose I'm not sure) and then looks up at you with a huge grin on her face. We'll have to try to get a good video of that to post sometime soon.

What Do You Have in Your Pockets?

I love the treasures that I find in my pockets at the end of a day. They tell me so much about my life and what it centers around, what I value, what I do. -A pair of hand-knit mittens that my friend Michelle made for Ruthie. I love handmade things and on snowy days we take them everywhere we go. Ruthie didn't want to wear them when we first headed outside, but as she ventured out into the snow and inevitably fell down and planted her bare hands in the cold snow she realized that she actually did want her mittens and asked for them. Moms like to be prepared, it makes for fewer tears and a more enjoyable time had by all.

-Some hair ties. Mothers of little girls will understand that a Mom needs an unending supply of these in her pocket.

-Quarters. It was laundry day. One of the domestic arts that has become immeasurably easier in the last hundred years of human history for many in the world. Part of the daily rhythms of my week, the making of a household and a home.

-A stick. This was Anna's 'treasure box', as she called it, and she gave it to me for safekeeping while she played at the playground. This Mom takes her role as guardian of her children's treasures very seriously. What may mean nothing to an adult mind may mean the world to my child. To an active imagination any ordinary, daily object can become anything you want it to be and the line between make-believe and real can become blurred.

-Two rocks. These were Josie's treasures, her 'special rocks' that she picked up at the playground, that she chose as hers from among all the others that could have been had. Yes, they do remember what treasures they gave me to hold and will ask for them later.

-Chapstick. I have to have something in my pockets that is just for me! Mama-care, because I, too, have value as a human being.