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Tuesday, August 11, 2009

My Baby Is Two

Even though it was past my bedtime already, I stayed up even later last night to make a cute banner. I have wanted to make a cute birthday banner for years. I couldn't bear to let one more birthday celebration come and go with no cute banner.

Ellen doesn't care much about cake. Ellen is an ice cream girl. So we had an ice cream brownie sundae bar. She helped herself to a ground-fall apple from our tree as an appetizer. It was her 14th of the day. Ellen knows how to forage.

Jane finished her sundae, then helped herself to a bowl of straight whipped cream. Naturally.


Chocolate Coated Adam Lite™:


Molly's family was leaving, but I made them wait while I went inside to stitch the trim on her birthday skirt. (Molly's birthday was in June.) And now, looking at this picture, I wish I had made them wait until I pressed the trim too.


I like that this year Ellen's birthday coincided with the peak of the Perseids meteor shower. Seems right for my little fireball.

And speaking of meteor showers, here's a memory. When I was younger and our town was still smallish and dark enough at night for stargazing, I came home late one summer night from performing in a play to find my house pitch black and my dad and a bunch of my siblings lying on blankets on the front lawn, taking in a meteor shower. Recognizing a prime photo opportunity, I crept quietly inside, found my camera, and snapped a photo from the porch. My dad's reaction to the bright flash in his peripheral vision in the middle of a meteor shower has gone down in the books of beloved family lore: "Woah! Did anyone see that one!? That was AMAZING!"

Curses on light pollution. I want to be able to lie on the front lawn with my kids and see the Milky Way like I could when I was a kid.

Now I've stayed up way past my bedtime again. And I didn't even see a shooting star.

Goodnight.

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

Happy Birthday, Ellen!
Shooting star party at dad's was a success, I think. We saw some good'ns, but still not as many as the year with the camera flash (I remember counting nearly a hundred that night!)
Of course, I think of the story about dad every year now. The best part was that he had just been teaching us about super novae, and what they would look like if one was to see one...when FLASH! I remember being awestruck/startled, too. But I clued in faster than dad ;)
Also, the banner is very cool and I'm curious how you did it.
And the skirt, very cute. I love that fabric. I have the same pattern in greens and oranges hanging on my bedroom wall. Just 'cause it's pretty and it makes me happy to look at it.

marymary said...

Lili, I wish I had been there, but maybe Peter and I can have our own shooting star party in the Uintas this weekend.

For the banner, I cut 3" cardstock circles with this, punched two holes in the top of each own with one of these, put letter stickers on them, and strung them onto skinny rick-rack.

Last night Suzy told me that her new craft room curtains are that fabric too, in the yellow colorway. I love that we all picked out the same print independently.

Stephen said...

I certainly enjoyed Peter's post, still, it's great to see you're back. The photos are adorable, as always. I especially loved the one of Adam.

Anonymous said...

I'm glad you told Lili how you made the banner because I was picturing 8" circles and somehow that seemed less do-able. Not that I've been dying to make a banner (and not that I haven't earned my birthday stripes for a few years to come with the cupcake hamburgers) but still I liked reading how you made the cute banner.

Speaking of sharing tastes, I just bought the same shirt Jane's wearing in two different colorways for Mabel and Rose. (Mabel's is also featured in the current Old Navy ad.) (Ours were 2 for $10 at the Old Navy outlet in Park City.)

I wish Henry would confine himself to groundfall apples; he and Rosie have denuded our tree so much that I fear we won't have any for apple crisp next winter.

I didn't remember Dad being fooled (such a great story!) but I do remember that after the flash went off (which fooled me none,) I was blind for at least 5 minutes.

I remembered the Perseids about 9:40 last night and drove to the nearest dark spot we could think of--the road to the Olympic Park. We parked and laid in the road before I realized someone might need to use the roundabout we were lying in, so even though no cars were coming that way, I spent our 15 minutes of stargazing feeling paranoid of my babies being run over (and although the main road was a couple blocks away, every car that drove on it sounded like it was coming right for us.) We did see three meteorites, which we figured was pretty good since there was still a lot of light pollution and we didnt' know which part of the sky we should be looking in.

(Pshew, I guess not seeing you for a week or two leads to long comments from me here.)

melissa said...

You are amazing. I see no reason to press that trim. The skirt is just beautiful. I love the fabric. Where did you get it? I also want some to hang on my wall. I know it would make me smile each time I walk by.
Is everything around you just beautiful? I think it is.

OhSusanna said...

Definitely everyONE around her is just beautiful, including herself.

And Molly and I were both pleased as punch with the skirt, but then, I never press anything if I can help it.

OhSusanna said...

Also the banner is even cuter seen in person and you can't see in the picture how it's hung in cute yellow rick-rack. I bet Ellen doesn't appreciate it like she should :)

Betsy said...

The banner is artistic & festive! I love it. Of course since I saw it "in real life" they looked like 3" circles to me in the photo, but then Z's perspective was very easy to understand, 8" circles ha-ha, like paper plates.
I love those faces the mostes'. And the skirt.

Betsy said...

p.s. I also love Molly's toes.