"Was there a moment, known only to God, when all the stars held their breath,- Madeline L’Engle
when the galaxies paused in their dance for a fraction of a second,
and the Word, who had called it all into being,
went with all his love into the womb of a young girl,
and the universe started to breathe again,
and the ancient harmonies resumed their song,
and the angels clapped their hands for joy?"
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
Advent, when the stars held their breath...
Saturday, December 4, 2010
Giving Thanks
We were lucky this year to get to celebrate Thanksgiving with several groups of people - we had a bunch of friends over in Chicago, we saw Alicia and Dave in town for a quick and delicious meal, and then spent time in MN with family, where we also saw my Grandma Marly and caught up with some friends in town at the Danielson's house. Jed also came down for a couple days for family time (appropriately), and we explored a new (to us at least) local hangout that had a fab live band (which reminds me that I need to track down their name...)
We had a great weekend with Mosbo family and friends over the holiday - here are a few pics from our trip:
This shot was taken during a break in the middle of the jumping/dancing festivities with Bo and Megs!
Beautiful table!
The guys...
... and the girls! (Minus the little girl who was sleeping.)
Fun with Grammy.
This trip was the first time that Eva seemed to get how time leading up to a drive and time leading up to leaving worked; she would ask how soon we would be there, or how soon til she had to leave. She also talked about going to "Miny - sohta" a lot beforehand - she somehow even has the MN accent down!
Happy start to the holiday season - there is so much to feel grateful for!
(This is a gratitude tree that Eva and I made together; each branch has something written on it to be grateful for.)
We had a great weekend with Mosbo family and friends over the holiday - here are a few pics from our trip:
This trip was the first time that Eva seemed to get how time leading up to a drive and time leading up to leaving worked; she would ask how soon we would be there, or how soon til she had to leave. She also talked about going to "Miny - sohta" a lot beforehand - she somehow even has the MN accent down!
Happy start to the holiday season - there is so much to feel grateful for!
Thursday, December 2, 2010
Joy in a Box!
Eva got a fun package in the mail this week from Godmomma Linnea in Colorado. It contained several fun treasures, but the first gift that captured Eva's attention was...
... a set of fairy wings! What a smile on this 2 year old's face. :) Next, she discovered the rest of the ensemble wrapped up in the box....
...a fairy dress with ribbons/belt, and a fairy wand!
Fairy play ensued for quite a while - including dancing, flying, singing songs, and teaching us parents how fairies run. :) Thanks Lin, for the box of joy you sent our way!
Fairy play ensued for quite a while - including dancing, flying, singing songs, and teaching us parents how fairies run. :) Thanks Lin, for the box of joy you sent our way!
Tuesday, November 9, 2010
Everyday Personality Moments
There are definite personality trends that have taken root in Eva that seem to be constant themes, even as she grows older and her personality tweaks a little through each stage.
Eva is very tender-hearted and sweet - with her dolls, with me and Peter, and with friends. Quick to hug, cuddle, or curl up in a lap, this little girl is also usually very kindhearted and encouraging. She's been lovingly putting her baby dolls to bed , over and over again, and singing them songs, telling them she loves them, etc. as a new game. She made it up and all the details involved; sometimes it strikes me how much she is already internalizing and/or expressing care for others and an awareness of what love is.
This photo and video are of a typical play afternoon - this day she wanted to have a picnic with her dolls, where she carefully fed and cared for each baby doll and then put baby Maya to sleep.
Another tender-hearted memory that made me smile today was when we were in the car, and before we even left the garage, Eva was telling me that she liked my hair, she liked driving with me, and she loved me SO MUCH. So I told her that she was very encouraging, and then explained what the word meant. And after she thought about it for awhile, she said that everyone is encouraging, and everyone needs encouraging, and she loved me SO MUCH. :) Well, she kind of got the meaning of the word; halvsies counts, right?
Another trait I see lately is that Eva is very strong, active and a quick learner. She masters every trick at gymnastics near the front of the class, if not first, and is willing to jump/twirl/run/skip/hop the whole class through. She waits in line for the teacher to give her a stamp (reward each kid gets), plays with other kids when they want to and then runs off and starts anther course when it gets slow. She seems to be both pretty independent and careful to listen (usually). Today in class I was noticing that out of the 15 or so kids in her gymnastics class that are of similar age, she was - by far - listening and responding the most consistently to me and to the teacher. I had a little mommy moment of pride when I realized this was really often true week after week in her class - although I think a lot of it is just her wiring, along with some of it is coming from our parenting. (She now also has her front and back rolls, hand stands, and trampolene skills well-honed from this class, btw!)
She also loves most sports or active games we do together. She played t-ball for the first time this weekend with Peter very well, hitting the ball right off the tee over and over and then running to go get it. Today she and I practiced bowling (in the kitchen), and she routinely wants to run/chase, flip and dance, and "hit the ball and run the bases" inside (throw the squishy softball in the playroom and then run from the back to the front of the house for her bases.) She's got the basics of soccer in the backyard down, and lately has been climbing up the wooden climber at the park (5 ft tall) on her own, and up the slippery side of the slide over and over with no problem. I'm amazed at how strong she is sometimes and how quick to pick things up and respond to learning a new activity.
The third trait I keep seeing her display is her deep empathy and emotive streak. The girl knows when anyone is feeling sad, mad, happy, scared, etc. and will ask me/you/anyone about those feelings! She started announcing that she was getting sad at around age 1, which I later learned not all kids do. She still tells us and expresses just about every feeling she goes through, having a wide range of looks go across her face and also a fairly wide range of vocab to describe it all (common looks include her frustrated glower with chin down, her frantic flapping arms full of excitement, her wide open eyes and mouth in surprise or surprise, her deep chortle and giggles at all kinds of provocations, her impish nose wrinkle and grin when she's being mischevious, her hand up and waving with wide eyes rationalizing to us what she wants and how it is a good deal, and her all out full body frustration tantrum!)
She also asks us how we are feeling, or if we are having a "discussion" says "What's wrong?" right away as soon as there is any tone shift in the room. If a friend of hers is sad, she will hold his/her hand and say, "It's ok." If we walk by total strangers she can tell are sad or angry or excited, she will ask me what's wrong until I explain what their feeling may be or what caused them. I realized the other day that I was explaining life and meaning to her at a very basic level when we do this exercise. Why is that lady mad mommy? Well, she might be tired because she is working so hard. Why is that man scared mommy? Well, maybe he is worried about that old lady he is with and if she is feeling ok. Why is that little girl crying? Well, she misses her mommy and wants her attention. Why are you sad mommy? Well, it was a hard day and I am just tired honey. You okay mommy - you want a hug? Yeah honey, I am great, give me that hug. How to let her have her feelings but still express them and understand them appropriately, I often wonder? How do we model expressing our emotions and letting others in to help, but also not spilling stuff all the time and and still dealing with what is ours as adults to just deal with? Sometimes we pray together over sad or mad feelings, but its not as often as it should be; I don't think I would notice that unless I was explaining life to another little human being. But now I do notice that.
When she is excited or happy, she also positively vibrates! As empathetic as she is to so many negative feelings around her, she is also very developed on the happy side of the spectrum, much to my relief! She jumps up and down over many simple pleasures, like 'new' boots from the thrift store or getting two star barrettes in her hair today instead of just one. When we suggest a fun destination, or tell her great job for cleaning up, or tease her in the middle of a game - her whole face lights up, you can see the wheels turning inside her head, and she jumps full force into whatever the next thing is.
I am very aware lately of all that I love about this little person and how she shines through these everyday personality moments. She's also still very creative, smart, loves music and movement, people and art projects, has a wild imagination and tries to convince us of things all the time! Taken together, these qualities are forming our little 2.5 year old into a delightful girl who teaches me something every day and challenges me in ways I never knew possible - and that is a beautiful thing to witness.
Eva is very tender-hearted and sweet - with her dolls, with me and Peter, and with friends. Quick to hug, cuddle, or curl up in a lap, this little girl is also usually very kindhearted and encouraging. She's been lovingly putting her baby dolls to bed , over and over again, and singing them songs, telling them she loves them, etc. as a new game. She made it up and all the details involved; sometimes it strikes me how much she is already internalizing and/or expressing care for others and an awareness of what love is.
This photo and video are of a typical play afternoon - this day she wanted to have a picnic with her dolls, where she carefully fed and cared for each baby doll and then put baby Maya to sleep.
Another tender-hearted memory that made me smile today was when we were in the car, and before we even left the garage, Eva was telling me that she liked my hair, she liked driving with me, and she loved me SO MUCH. So I told her that she was very encouraging, and then explained what the word meant. And after she thought about it for awhile, she said that everyone is encouraging, and everyone needs encouraging, and she loved me SO MUCH. :) Well, she kind of got the meaning of the word; halvsies counts, right?
Another trait I see lately is that Eva is very strong, active and a quick learner. She masters every trick at gymnastics near the front of the class, if not first, and is willing to jump/twirl/run/skip/hop the whole class through. She waits in line for the teacher to give her a stamp (reward each kid gets), plays with other kids when they want to and then runs off and starts anther course when it gets slow. She seems to be both pretty independent and careful to listen (usually). Today in class I was noticing that out of the 15 or so kids in her gymnastics class that are of similar age, she was - by far - listening and responding the most consistently to me and to the teacher. I had a little mommy moment of pride when I realized this was really often true week after week in her class - although I think a lot of it is just her wiring, along with some of it is coming from our parenting. (She now also has her front and back rolls, hand stands, and trampolene skills well-honed from this class, btw!)
She also loves most sports or active games we do together. She played t-ball for the first time this weekend with Peter very well, hitting the ball right off the tee over and over and then running to go get it. Today she and I practiced bowling (in the kitchen), and she routinely wants to run/chase, flip and dance, and "hit the ball and run the bases" inside (throw the squishy softball in the playroom and then run from the back to the front of the house for her bases.) She's got the basics of soccer in the backyard down, and lately has been climbing up the wooden climber at the park (5 ft tall) on her own, and up the slippery side of the slide over and over with no problem. I'm amazed at how strong she is sometimes and how quick to pick things up and respond to learning a new activity.
The third trait I keep seeing her display is her deep empathy and emotive streak. The girl knows when anyone is feeling sad, mad, happy, scared, etc. and will ask me/you/anyone about those feelings! She started announcing that she was getting sad at around age 1, which I later learned not all kids do. She still tells us and expresses just about every feeling she goes through, having a wide range of looks go across her face and also a fairly wide range of vocab to describe it all (common looks include her frustrated glower with chin down, her frantic flapping arms full of excitement, her wide open eyes and mouth in surprise or surprise, her deep chortle and giggles at all kinds of provocations, her impish nose wrinkle and grin when she's being mischevious, her hand up and waving with wide eyes rationalizing to us what she wants and how it is a good deal, and her all out full body frustration tantrum!)
She also asks us how we are feeling, or if we are having a "discussion" says "What's wrong?" right away as soon as there is any tone shift in the room. If a friend of hers is sad, she will hold his/her hand and say, "It's ok." If we walk by total strangers she can tell are sad or angry or excited, she will ask me what's wrong until I explain what their feeling may be or what caused them. I realized the other day that I was explaining life and meaning to her at a very basic level when we do this exercise. Why is that lady mad mommy? Well, she might be tired because she is working so hard. Why is that man scared mommy? Well, maybe he is worried about that old lady he is with and if she is feeling ok. Why is that little girl crying? Well, she misses her mommy and wants her attention. Why are you sad mommy? Well, it was a hard day and I am just tired honey. You okay mommy - you want a hug? Yeah honey, I am great, give me that hug. How to let her have her feelings but still express them and understand them appropriately, I often wonder? How do we model expressing our emotions and letting others in to help, but also not spilling stuff all the time and and still dealing with what is ours as adults to just deal with? Sometimes we pray together over sad or mad feelings, but its not as often as it should be; I don't think I would notice that unless I was explaining life to another little human being. But now I do notice that.
When she is excited or happy, she also positively vibrates! As empathetic as she is to so many negative feelings around her, she is also very developed on the happy side of the spectrum, much to my relief! She jumps up and down over many simple pleasures, like 'new' boots from the thrift store or getting two star barrettes in her hair today instead of just one. When we suggest a fun destination, or tell her great job for cleaning up, or tease her in the middle of a game - her whole face lights up, you can see the wheels turning inside her head, and she jumps full force into whatever the next thing is.
I am very aware lately of all that I love about this little person and how she shines through these everyday personality moments. She's also still very creative, smart, loves music and movement, people and art projects, has a wild imagination and tries to convince us of things all the time! Taken together, these qualities are forming our little 2.5 year old into a delightful girl who teaches me something every day and challenges me in ways I never knew possible - and that is a beautiful thing to witness.
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