Rollerskating

It amazes me how the art of roller skating is like life as a parent. In the beginning, you child wants to hold onto you. They cling to your hand, afraid of the road ahead. Afraid of falling and the pain it will bring. So you hold on tight. You whisper words of love and encouragement. You gently guide them, showing them there is nothing to fear. That they just need to focus ahead and not be afraid. You tell them they can do anything they want if only they try.

 Soon you begin to ease them slightly away from your side all the while promising to not let go. As the world turns, suddenly your child is a little more confident and moving forward with a little more speed. You catch them as they fall, lifting them back up, still encouraging them. Slowly you move slightly away, holding your breath willing them to succeed, afraid of the pain they will feel as they fall. But they do fall... and while you might try to catch them, you can't always do it. Suddenly, they realize that while there may be some pain and a slight sense of failure each time they lose their balance; they can do it.

At this burst of self confidence, they move away from you asking to try it alone. With both fear and pride you slowly move to the side. On unsteady legs they now travel the road alone. They flay-el and fall but they do make it. With each turn their progression is smoother and the smile brighter. The breath still catches in your throat from pride in your child's accomplishment and sadness. You WANT them to succeed. You WANT them to try new things. To grow and flourish. But a small part of you missed the moments that your child needed you 100%.
As they last song finally releases it's ending chord, your child comes to you with joy gleaming in their eyes asking you "Did you see, did you see?!" "I DID IT!"

Yes baby you, you did it.

Under Construction

I was blessed to partake in the most wonderful dinner party the other night.

We laughed.

We ate (and ate and ate).

We built wine cork towers. 

What, like you don't???

Any whoo, I'm in the process of writing my blog entry for that night.

But it's not done yet.

And I stumbled onto this creation that I had to share.

THIS ONES FOR YOU POPS!!!!!

{here}

love,

the baby

(Yes, after 35 years that's what he still calls me. As in "Kay, the babies on the phone!" Which is also the actual length of our phone conversations - after he says hello.)

Funny Little Thing

 Sometimes this is what life feels like.





Which can lead to feeling like this.

But I wouldn't trade this for the anything.

An Ode To Nonni

My dear friend Sandy shared a family tradition with us this year that was a staple in her childhood. Her grandmother (Nonni as she was called) would make the most wonderful, fun, competitive dinner for the entire family on the night of winters first snow storm. 

You never called.

 Your were never invited.

 You just knew to show up at Nonni's house at 6 pm on the first snow.

 Period. 

End of conversation.

The meal consisted of polenta spread on a large wooden board

And covered in super scrumptous italian grandmother homemade sauce (or gravy depending on how you were raised calling it), meatballs and sausage.

Enough said.

What makes this dinner so much fun, is that no one has a plate. Only a spoon and fork. You must eat the polenta carving a path to the meat.* Only then, when you have shoveled to the center, could you partake in the meaty goodness.

Girls waiting for their junior version.

Sandy explaining the rules.

Ready. Set. Eat!

Thank heavens for "uncle Jim's" babysitting services with allowed for socializing cooking.

 *Sandy complained that the board she had was too small. Since it was a rectangle those of us on the side got to the meat faster. Thus, "winning". She kept telling us how perfect Nonni's board was, but thats' a WHOLE 'nother story.

Dilann

Just walked into the room asking me to open a fruit treat bag for her.
 Dilann: "Mommy, can you open this for me?"
Me: "Sure baby. I see you ate some seaweed too."
Dilann: "I did!"(opens mouth super wide) then- "It's in my belly, see mommy!" (As she unzips her jammies and proceeds to poke her tummy.) "It's in here."

For those of you who have never heard my child speak. It's no exaggeration. That's how she talks. My favorite is when she stands with her hands on her hips and says "I'm frustrated."

her favorite game right now...
Smell My Feet.
Yes, she holds her feet to your face and tells you to smell them. Then she laughs hysterically after you tell her they are stinky. The fun part is that they aren't. They are soft and sweet like cotton candy, just not as sticky. I have no idea where she learned this game, but since we all play along it's not going away anytime soon. What gets me is that she initiates this game at the most random time. As in, she could be asking for a drink of water and then she suddenly lifts a foot of the ground and says "Smell my stinky feet!"

 Aahhh, gotta love 2 year olds.

Hello Stranger

It's been a crazy few weeks in the land of the Le's. 

Sickness has come and hopefully gone.

Hayden was in and out of the hospital.

 Grandparents have come and gone. 

Much to Ayla's chagrin excitement school has come back into her life.

 I went to Ithaca, NY and returned.

I discovered this little music gem 

(I'm sure most of you tech savvy friends already knew about it, but me... I'm kinda slow on this fancy stuff.)

And now, today, finally life is kinda normal.

I almost don't know what to do first.

Should I go buy Lego's

or

grocery shop

or 

make my overdue store returns

or 

stay in my pj's for another few days

or

 hit the gym

or

shower?