Six

Bunny is six.

She is growing up so fast. Her days are filled with kindergarten, learning and friends. She runs around the playground pretending she is a dog. She laughs, she plays, she has fun.

At home she draws and plays with her Littlest Pet Shop. She makes up songs and stories. She shares her knowledge with us. She is silly.

She tolerates Lion, "he may be a jerk" but he's her brother. At times when we offer to do something with just her, she asks to include Lion because she loves him.

She is such an amazing girl. Everyday I am so proud to be her mother. And everyday I pray for her family in China, I will never forget them.

Happy Birthday Bunny!

Two

Two years ago today in a land 7900 miles away, a little Lion cub was born.

This Lion cub endured unimaginable heartbreak and loss which would have broken even the strongest person. But he was not broken. He is strong. He is resilient. He is a survivor. We, who are lucky enough to be a part of his life, are touched and made stronger by his spirit, his enthusiasm and his love.



Today at two, he is the epitome of boy. He jumps. He runs. He throws his body around with reckless abandon just because he can. He loves cars and trains. Oh how he loves trains. He worships the ground his sister walks on and often he tries to tackle her to that ground.


Today, I think about how lucky I am to be his mother. He is just so full of life, so full of love. I am truly so blessed to have him place his hand on my face and call me momma. I want to savor this moment forever, to keep him just the way his right now. But I also cannot wait to meet the boy and man he is to become. I cannot wait for him to finally learn more words so I can hear what is on his mind and in his heart. I cannot wait to be present for all of his discoveries, all of his firsts.


Today I also remember. I remember the birthdays I missed. I remember a man, quiet and proud. I remember a man whose heart was broken with loss. I remember a man who loved so deeply. I remember a man who trusted us to raise his son. I love that man with all of my heart. I want thank him and let him know that Lion is a fine and wonderful little boy. I will make sure that he always remembers you.



I also remember a woman and a boy I never met. A woman and a little boy who didn't get the chance to be here today. I carry them with me in my heart and know that they are looking down on Lion today. To the woman, I say thank you. I say I love you. I say hug the little boy you have with you and know that I will do the same to the little boy I have with me. To the little boy, I say I would have loved the chance to know you, to be your mom. I will make sure that Lion always remembers the both of you.

My Lion, your Lion is two today.

Five

This post should have been up days ago but I just couldn't find the words. How do you sum up the essence of someone? How do you describe what makes them, them?

Bunny turned five on the 14th. It still shocks me that she is five. I can remember the first time I held her in my arms at nine months. I remember that baby, the first steps, the first words.


Five is no longer a baby or even a little kid. Five is a big kid. Five is a kindergartener. Five can do things all by herself. Five can write. Five can almost read.

Bunny at five is amazing. She is loving and kind. She has patience for her little brother (except when she doesn't). She tries to teach him all that she knows.


Bunny at five is talented. She draws beautiful pictures. She writes and illustrates her own books. She wants to share her talents with her friends and family.


Bunny at five is funny.

Bunny at five is a friend.


Bunny at five is full of hope for the future. She cannot wait to experience all that life has in store for her.

Bunny at five is a blessing that I am so lucky to have in my life.

Bunny is five. Five.

Sometimes The Glitter And Rainbows Look A Little Different

Today is my birthday.

Today is just another ordinary day. The world did not stop for me. There were no unicorns, no rainbows, no pink puffy heart stickers. Instead there were frozen waffles, runny noses and poopy diapers.

My birthday in 2010 did not turn out as I had envisioned. There is no flying car or robot maid. Instead I drove Bunny to school in an old SUV and I am the one picking up the legos that are left out for me to step on.

There is nothing extraordinary about my day, nothing special to mark my 41 years on this earth. Instead it is just an ordinary day filled with kisses and hugs, handmade birthday cards and pictures of pink unicorns with hearts and glitter.

And I'm totally cool with that (except I really, really want a flying car)

Thank You

Today is my birthday. My 40th birthday. The big 4 - 0. And you know what? I am totally cool with that because I am seriously one of the luckiest people on earth.

So today I am going to thank all of the people who have made me feel so blessed and lucky.

First I want to thank my parents because really this day is all about them. Without them, I wouldn't be here. Without them, I wouldn't be the person that I am today. You are two of the most amazing people I have ever met, thank you for being you.

Second, I want to thank my husband. There are so many reasons why I love him but I wanted to share two with you. He helped me realize a nearly lifelong dream yesterday and thereby resolving one of the two bones of contention that we had in our marriage. Ironically both involve baseball (and to be fair there is nothing he can do about the other one so I just need to let it go).

You see I am a huge Brewers fan. I have been for all of my life. When I was a kid, I belonged to the kids club and went to a lot of games. Every year I would look at the schedule and see if there was a game on my birthday. I thought there would be nothing cooler than having your name on the scoreboard on your birthday. For whatever reason I never went to a birthday game.

Until September 28, 2000, my 31st birthday. It was also the last game at County Stadium, the old Brewers' stadium. I told Frink about my wish and asked him to call to have my name on the scoreboard. It would have been awesome to see my name on that old scoreboard on that special day. But he didn't call. And my name wasn't in lights on that day. And I kind of held a grudge for the next 9 years. I even organized a tailgate for one of his birthdays and had his name on the scoreboard.

But then we got tickets to yesterday's game. The day before my birthday. I reminded him about my childhood dream. And this time he came through, which is totally awesome.


But more importantly, he did something for me which was just amazing. Last week we had a discussion about what I wanted to do for my birthday. We didn't have anything special planned so we'd have to throw something together last minute. We decided on dinner at my favorite restaurant with some friends. When he asked who I wanted to invite, I started to cry because so many of the people I would want there were so far away.

So he e-mailed my friend Issa and told her that I was feeling down about my birthday. And together they cooked up the best present a girl could ask for. So thank you, Frink. You are truly amazing.

Now I'm going to thank Issa and my other wonderful friends for the wonderful gift they have given me. Issa organized a blog party for my birthday. She got all of these amazing bloggers who I read,admire and love, some who I know personally and some who I am waiting to meet, to send me birthday wishes from their own blogs. I was floored when I saw this. This blog and the people I have met through it have meant so much to me and to receive something like this means everything.

So thank you Issa, Mommy Geekology, Matthew, Kirsten, Bridget, Kate, Heather, Greis and Stacey for making my day all the more special.

Finally, I want to thank my beautiful girl, Bunny. She's the reason I started this little blog. She is the reason that I do everything. And she is the reason I am truly blessed.

Three

Wow. Three is huge. You are not a little baby anymore. You are no longer a toddler. You are a little kid.

You are learning new things every day. You can spell (and write) your name. You can count up to 20. You love the letter game and know what letters start a lot of words. You rhyme everything. When I ask what you want to learn in school, your list is so long. You want to know everything, right now. Pretty soon you will be smarter than me.




You love to laugh. You love to make up silly dino games. You make up the most wonderful stories. You love to sing and dance. Right now your favorite songs are the Bushel and a Peck song and You Are My Sunshine. But I've also caught you singing along to the Beatles and that makes me happy.

You are growing up. You are now tall enough to ride the dino ride at the fair all by yourself. But I love that you still want your mommy around. Your beloved dinos have fallen out of favor lately, replaced by horses and puffy glitter stickers. Crayons have been replaced by markers as the preferred method of artistic expression.

Today you are three, my dear Bunny. You fill our lives with such joy and love it is hard to believe what our world was like without you in it. I wish that your days are filled with laughter, sunshine, love, silly dino games, glitter stickers and whatever your heart desires.

But today my thoughts also go to a family half a world away. Even though I don't know you, I want you to know that the little girl you brought into this world, who has entered our family and our hearts, is happy and healthy. Thank you. I will never let her forget you.

They Say Its Your Birthday

Yesterday Bunny went to her first non-family birthday party. Her little friend Claire turned 2 and had a party at Gymboree.

It was as I thought it would be, a bunch of little kids running around like crazy not really paying attention to eachother. Except when they got in someone's way, then there was mayhem, a potential situation to defuse.

Bunny did what she always does. She hugged Claire and they ran around together for awhile. Then she found the oldest boy, he was 5, and wrapped him around her little finger. She and this boy chased each other and played together.

After she had tired of her new friend, she found Claire's grandfather who was holding her little 4 month old cousin (who is also a boy). She then started hanging out with them, fawning over the baby and showing off for grandpa. (I suspect we may have some trouble later. She likes boys and they like her back.)

All this flirting made her hungry so she was ready for dinner. They ordered pizza and had juice boxes for all the kids. Bunny was in heaven, two of her favorite things. And just when she thought it couldn't get any better, they brought out the cake which had marshmallows on it. She stood next to her chair jumping up and down clapping saying ooooh ooooh ooooh. I thought she might just explode.

After presents were opened and good byes were said, we headed to the car. I asked her if she liked the party. She said yes. Well what was your favorite part? She thought hard for a moment and answered "The cake." Well of course that was mommy's favorite too.