Grandma's Beach Bag

Dear Em,
I'm giving your grandma a shout out today via the blog, because I'm in Texas & wasn't able to celebrate with you at home. Today is her birthday, & I hope her day is absolutely amazing. Grandma & Papa live only 25 minutes away from us. Other than us, their house is your very favorite place in the state of Rhode Island.

I love to watch you dance & laugh with your grandma. It's like she transforms into a kid again right in front of our eyes. When you come to visit, she always has such fun things planned for you to do together. You water the flowers, bake pizza, & play hopscotch.

When I told you Grandma's birthday was coming up, you were thrilled to be able to make her a beach bag too. She recently told us her favorite color was green. So, we wanted to give her some Spring green to take with her to the beach. We also slipped in some pink & purple, your favorite colors.

You, Daddy, Papa, & Grandma celebrated with dinner at our house on Tuesday. I can only imagine the wide smile that spread across Grandma's face when she opened her bag that was made with love from her favorite two year old.

I love you so,

Mommy

Wedding Shower Wednesday: Basket of Candles

Dear Em,
On the day of my wedding shower I was given one of the most precious gifts I've ever been given. My best friend, your Auntie Jayme, gave me a basket of candles. But, it wasn't just any basket of candles.

Jayme had beautifully decorated the basket with white flowers & leaves. Inside was nine sets of candles, two beautiful candle holders,  & a roll of paper. When I opened the roll, I read aloud a sweet poem to the many ladies at my shower.

"A basket of candles

That come in a pair,

Of all different colors

For you two to share.

The white ones burn first

They're wrapped in white lace,

To celebrate the first night

In your new chosen place.

The mauve pair is shorter

But not any thinner,

To burn when serving

Your first company dinner.

There are candles to burn

Xmas Eve before bed,

Your first Xmas together

That's why they are red.

The navy blue candles are for your

First married fight.

Use them when making up

That very night.

The pink candles will set the mood

And pave the way,

For your very first married

Valentine's Day.

Now when your first year of

Marriage is through,

The cream anniversary candles

Will light for you two.

And sooner or later

We hope that maybe,

You will burn the yellow ones

For the birth of your baby.

And just when you thought

You could put them away,

Take the light blue ones out

For your 5th Anniversary Day.

Now just one pair left

For year 25,

The silver pair

To keep your love alive.

May the two of you be happy

Burn the candles just as I said,

But please don't forget-

Blow them out before bed."

As I read the words, pictures of our future together raced through my head. I thought about excited Christmas mornings we would have sitting next to a lit up tree. I thought about rewatching our wedding video as we celebrated another year of love. I thought about passionate fights & make-up snuggles. I thought about the very first glimpse we would have of our newborn child. I thought about all of these possible future moments & couldn't wait to have them with your daddy.

Now we store all of our candles in my precious basket. So many of these blissful moments have already passed us by, & we burned a pair of candles to celebrate the beauty of it all. Now I enjoy giving this special gift to new brides, in hopes their candles burn during special moments (it's not exactly easy to find the same candles in all those colors).

Do you know what my very favorite candle to burn was? The yellow one of course.

I love you so,

Mommy

Things I didn't think I would hear until you were older

Dear Em,
There are some days when I have to do a double take. The kind of double take you do when you can't believe your child just said that to you. I mean, are you 2 or 22?

For instance...

"I'm going shopping. I love you so. Have a great day."

You typically say this with a purse strapped over your shoulder & babies loaded in your shopping cart. You turn your head back & wave bye as you walk away...into the next room. Sometimes you ask Daddy if he wants to go shopping with you. You clearly haven't figured out his strong dislike for anything that involves a store or buying things (except for maybe Best Buy or a Sports Paraphanalia store).

"I'm married!"

This is what you say every time you put a ring on. It started because I accidentally scratched you with my engagement ring. There were some alligator tears, & I told you the story of how & why I got the ring to distract you. The talk went something like this, "Your daddy bought me this ring & told me he loved me very much. He asked me if I would marry him & stay with him always. I love him very much. So, I said yes, & he gave me this ring." You did a lot of "oooing" & "awwing." Now when you see a ring, you triumphantly put it on & exclaimed that you're married. When I ask you who you married, typically you say it's me. I've tried to tell you that you can only marry one person, but you don't care about that trivial detail. For now, it's fun to watch your daddy cringe every time you happily tell him you're married (he doesn't even want you to date until you're 30).

"I want to go on an adventure of my own."

I'm pretty sure we have Alpha Pig (from Super Why) to thank for this one. There was a Super Why episode where pig wanted to go on his own adventure. Since then, you've been packing up your things & asking to adventure on your own. Too bad for you we don't even let you play in the backyard without parental supervision.

"You don't trust me."

I think this is because Mother Gothel says "trust me, pet" in the movie Tangled. In any case, this phrase is hilarious for two reasons
1) This is exactly the thing I said to my parents...when I was 16.
B) You have absolutely no idea what it means. When we ask you to try your broccoli, you will firmly exclaim "you don't trust me!"

"I'm running away."

I have no idea where you picked this one up, but it breaks my heart a little when you say it. I mean, you're a little melodramatic so we're trying to mentally prepare ourselves for the possibility of you in your teen years slamming the door in our face & then yelling this behind a closed door. For now, it only breaks my heart a little. Usually, you start running & then look back with a little smile on your face to see if we're running after you. I hope wherever you run, you always come back.

I love you so,
Mommy

Stylin'

Dear Em,
If you could choose your own outfits, you would probably be wearing this every day.

Underneath your favorite pink coat, you're rocking a purple tu-tu.

I'm in Texas for work all this week. I set aside outfits for you each day, but maybe Daddy will let you choose an outfit or two on your own. Even though our morning routine sometimes comes along with you arguing with me when I try to dress you in anything but pink or purple, I'm going to miss our morning chats & hugs...I'm especially going to miss the hugs.

I love your style & I love you.

I love you so, 

Mommy

love letters

Dear Em,
You have a lot of strengths, but patience is not one of them. Funny thing? I remember my grandma saying the same thing about me when I was a little girl (ok, maybe that was only 5 years ago). On days where you're especially impatient (which typically correspond to days where you're running low on sleep), meltdowns can occur. Meltdowns can occur over things like you want chicken nuggets but don't want to wait the two minutes it takes to cook them.

One of my good friends got you the book Llama Llama Red Pajama along with the matching stuffed animal. It's been a favorite of yours ever since, & for a little while you dragged your llama everywhere. Our copy of the book is actually held together with tape. It's been very lovingly abused by your little hands. When I read it with you, I can't help but smile & think of how the little llama sometimes reminds me of you.

"Baby Llama, what a tizzy! Sometimes Mama's very busy.

Please stop all this llama drama and be patient for your mama.

Little Llama don't you know, Mama Llama loves you so?

Mama Llama's always near, even if she's not right here."

- from Llama Llama Red Pajama by Anna Dewdney

I don't know that this book has taught you much patience, but it's such a cute read. Plus, maybe if we keep reading, someday you'll be able to wait two whole minutes for your chicken nuggets.

I love you so,

Mommy

Pakarang

Dear Em,
A few weeks ago we met up with friends for dinner. Your daddy & I don't know a whole lot about the Providence area, but we're so lucky to have friends who do. They introduced us to Packarang, a Thai restaurant, & I'm so glad they did. I already loved Thai food, & I think this has become my new favorite spot.

Originally, we were supposed to have a large group of ten, & I worried that the restaurant would fit us all (I had heard it was a smaller place). Things got in the way for people, & we ended up with just a cozy group of six. As we walked in, I realized I had nothing to worry about. The place was mostly empty & there was plenty of room (it was a Wednesday night).

Your daddy & I chatted with a friend at the bar & got some drinks while we waited for the others to arrive.  Once our party was all present, we were promptly seated nearby what looked like a raw sushi bar. I quickly skimmed the menu & was immediately disappointed. Sigh, no nime chow. It's one of my favorite Thai dishes, & I was bummed they didn't offer it. As your daddy & I discussed what other appetizer options there were, I glanced at the specials menu. They had Spring Rolls listed, which is basically nime chow. Seriously, it's the little things that make me happy. Is it silly that I was relieved?

We started with an order of the Spring Rolls, & they were some of the best I've had. Not necessarily because of the rolls themselves. I mean, the rolls were good. They had mint leaves rolled into the middle, my favorite part. The peanut sauce is what really made these rolls, though. I'm not typically a big fan of peanut sauce, but this sauce had a spicy kick to it that made me a huge fan. I would put that stuff on everything.

You'll have to take my word for it that we ate Spring Rolls. They were too yummy for me to stop & take a picture. Soon after finishing our Spring Rolls, our entrees came out. I've liked Drunken Noodles at some of the Thai places we've eaten at in the past, & I decided to try Packarang's take on them.  The Drunken Noodles at Packarang are filled with spicy, fresh noodles, red peppers, onions, jalapenos, mushrooms, & basil. I, of course, asked for squid in mine.

I was a little surprised when I first looked down at my dish. The noodles looked almost like egg noodles.  There also seemed to be a lot more veggies than noodles. This wasn't at all what I was used to when I've ordered them at other places. 

Well, my entree quickly became my favorite plate of Drunken Noodles thus far. The jalapenos gave the dish a pleasant, spicy upgrade. I also liked the dish being heavier on the veggies than the noodles. I use the word heavier loosely, because the plentiful veggies actually made the dish seem much lighter. The veggies were just so flavorful...mmmm...I get hungry just thinking about it. It was a large portion of food & I was able to take half home for lunch the next day. Let me tell you, I was psyched to be able to taste those flavors a second time.

Your daddy ordered the Wild Boar Basil, I think mostly because it's fun to say you're eating wild boar. The plate is prepared with with sauteed pork (which doesn't seem as fun as saying sauteed wild boar) with peppercorn, mushroom, string beans, red peppers, & basil leaves with curry paste.

Your Daddy said the plate was good, but not his favorite. It just wasn't anything special. Apparently, the idea of wild boar is more fun than actually eating wild boar. Your daddy just likes lots of spice with his food, especially his Thai food. His favorite spicy dish is so hot he says it feels like the food is going to burn his face off. You may be asking yourself why anyone would want to eat something that burned your face off. I really don't know, but your daddy does. So, while the Wild Boar Basil was good, Daddy says he's going to stick with the curries next time.

Overall, we had a great night with great friends & great conversation (except for the part when I probably went into way too much detail about childbirth...whoops). While his entree wasn't a hit, your Daddy looks forward to coming back & trying one of Packarang's 8 curries. That's right, there are 8 to choose from. I hope to go back, like wicked soon. It's going to be hard for me to chose between ordering the Drunken Noodles again or trying a curry...but I'm sure I'll overcome this challenge.

I wonder if you will be a Thai food fan. Hmmm, does Packarang have Thai chicken fingers?

I love you so,

Mommy

Wedding Shower Wednesday: Baby to Bride

Dear Em,
Bridal showers can be beautiful, but they can also be awkward. Getting all the women in your life together in one room can be amazing but also a little weird. You're bound to invite one special lady who doesn't know any of the other ladies in the room. You're bound to be that special lady at some point at someone's shower. What can help to break the ice? Photographs (of course I'm going to say that).

One of my favorite parts of my own bridal shower was the Baby to Bride board my bridal party made me. It included pictures of me from the day I was born up until that day. There were family photographs, awkward high school photographs, photographs from when your daddy & I met, & photographs of special moments with friends. It was kind of like looking at my very own history & was so precious to me.

lilacs put a smile in my heart

Dear Em,
It's been a warm spring & the flowers have bloomed early. We've had very few April showers, but we do have plenty May flowers, just how I like it. Right now, the warm spring air is filled with the smell of lilacs, one of my very favorite parts of Spring. I love the beautiful smell & the deep purple colors that bloom into a light lavender. I love the way the sunlight filters through the branches.

The hint of the smell of lilacs makes me smile & think of a time when I was 8 weeks pregnant & every scent smelled awful to me...except for lilacs. Luckily, we have two lilac bushes in our yard. Your Papa trimmed a ton of lilacs for me, & we filled the house with them. Whenever I started to get nauseous, I would breathe the lilacs in.

One of my favorite things about Spring has become one of the things I love most about our home. When our windows our open, the spring breeze sends the amazing scent wafting through the rooms of our house.

I no longer fill the house with lilacs, but I like to trim some branches & arrange them in a couple vases each Spring. Our home is filled with the sweet scents for a week, & they're so lovely to look at (& they're free). Maybe that's why you've decided to your favorite color is purple now...well, purple with pink.

I love you so,
Mommy

on the other side of our first potty training weekend

Dear Em,
We did it! Well, you did it. You made it through your first two & a half days of potty training! You did great. You did better than great. Have I told you how amazing I think you are?

We started on Friday night at 5:30, right after dinner. You wanted to start before then. Dinner was ready & on the table, & your daddy & I were calling you to come eat. You had gone upstairs moments before. When we called for you, you shouted "not yet!" Daddy went upstairs to see what you were up to, & I heard him exclaim, "Em, what are you doing?!" Apparently, you had found your big-girl undies. You were naked from the waist down with your undies strew across the floor, trying to slide a pair up your legs. You diaper was laying on the floor next to your undies.

After dinner we rolled up the rug in the living room, moved your toys from the family room (which has wall to wall carpets), & barricaded the carpeted areas. Cleaning our wood floors is no biggie, but we weren't up for scrubbing rugs. We put your Sesame Street potty seat on top of our toilet & had you try to go potty. You smiled & told us you tried, but it was clear you didn't understand. We put your "special, big-girl undies" on (they are Minnie Mouse ones), let you go pant-less, told you that "pee-pee & poo-poo go in the potty, & set a timer for thirty minutes.

love letters

Dear Em,
God is someone that we talk to & talk about everyday. With that said, sometimes talking about God is hard. It's hard to explain His largeness, His awesomeness, His presence in the quietest of moments. This is why I'm so glad there are wonderfully written & beautifully illustrated books to help me out. One of my favorites is How Big is God?

In this book a little boy asks his mom "how big is God?" With the help of lovely illustrations, she explains that God can be big or small & that he is everywhere.

"'I'm glad that such a big God can still fit in my heart, Mom.'

'Me too. Out of all the places God is, That's his favorite place to be.'"

- from How Big is God? by Lisa Tawn Bergren

I'm glad that God made brilliant authors whose words help us learn & grow.

I love you so,
Mommy