We lost her to kidney cancer six months ago - today would have been my grandmother's 75th birthday. I miss her so and will always appreciate the lessons she taught me.
In honor of my grandmother, a few of my favorite pictures of her.
... but Georgia didn't know that until the day before her birthday. On October 12th, we hopped into the car, I had packed it the night before while she was sleeping, and we started driving. Every time she asked where we were going, I told her we were looking for something fun to do for her birthday. Twelve hours later, we drove through the gates of Disney World, and it started to sink in for her. :)
We spent the week of Georgia's 4th birthday at the most magical place on earth!!! (and after viewing the week through my daughter's eyes, I do believe it IS the most magical place) Now, the fact that I have a four-year-old daughter could be a blog post all to itself - holy crap, where did those four years go? - but I'll stick to the highlights of our trip and some of the observations of a person who has not been to Disney World in more than 15 years. We did four parks in five days, one day at each and two days at the Magical Kingdom, which (no surprise) was my daughter's favorite. We also were in on the test phase of the magic bands. Don't know what those are? I'll get to that in a bit.
First day, the Magical Kingdom for my daughter's 4th birthday. We got there before the park opened because we had 8:15 a.m. reservations at Cinderella's Royal Table inside the castle. It was very expensive for a breakfast but worth every penny because my daughter dressed up like a princess (Cinderella somehow knew what hotel room we were staying in and left a dress, tiara and wand - hee, hee, hee) and loved going into Cinderella's castle! If you ever do it, I HIGHLY recommend the reservations before the park's 9 a.m. opening (as long as there are no early magic hours). You'll have to reserve it about 180 days out during busy times, and you'll have to set your alarm for about 6 a.m., but it was amazing to walk through the park with no one there! Perfect way to start our trip and my daughter's birthday. She met Cinderella, Ariel, Jasmine, Snow White and Sleeping Beauty and had a special chocolate slipper dessert. So what if it was 9-something in the morning -- it was her birthday so chocolate was in order!!
We hit another milestone in our house yesterday - Georgia turned 1 1/2 years old!! I keep waiting for life to just slow down and take it easy, but I might as well wish for my own pet unicorn, right? I always did want a unicorn though. That would be pretty cool you have to admit!
Since 18 months is a more significant age than 15 months or 17 months (there's just something about 1/2 years), I went to the store with Georgia yesterday and bought her a cupcake, a cake and a balloon. When the lady at the cash register asked if someone was having a party and I explained the reason for our celebration, she responded, "well... she's a very... loved little girl, isn't she?" I think she meant spoiled, I was getting the "your kid is spoiled" vibes, but she was nice enough to interject the word "loved" instead. Ha!
So here's my know 1 1/2 year old lovely enjoying her cupcake.
Whoa! Sesame Street today is not the Sesame Street I remember from 20-something years ago. When did they start rapping the number of the day? And where did all these characters come from, I remember about seven or eight. Now there seems to be some new, neon character every time I look. And when did Gordon get so old? Is that even the same Gordon? And he had a cell phone! Where have I been that I never noticed all these changes? (Oh yeah, childless and living in a purely adult word - hello childhood again!)
OK, maybe I'm really aging myself with this tirade of questions and observations, but the Sesame Street Georgia will grow up watching is much different from the Sesame Street her momma grew up with long, long ago. So if you haven't guessed, Georgia and I watched Sesame Street for the first time today. She's usually napping when it's on, but as she proceeds to drop (and fight dropping, yeah for me!) her morning nap, she was awake for the first 15 minutes of it.
Even the open to the show is much different than I remember, all flashy and jumpy and stuff. I just wanted to close my eyes, plug my ears and rock back and forth while softly and slowly singing "can you tell me how to get, how to get to Sesame Street?". I was able to control myself thankfully, otherwise Georgia would have proof her mother is crazy. The number of the day today - one - which was rapped in a song (can you call it a song?) by someone I have never seen before. Obviously, I need to catch up on my hip-hop artists and probably any other entertainer who is considered "cool" and "popular."
At least I knew who Elmo was, even though he is a post-dinosaur age addition. Hey, I've even met the overly-hyper, blazing-red character in person:
15 months + no dates = not so good.
This is what I have learned. My daughter was born 15 months ago, and it has been 15 months since my husband and I have had an evening out alone. To say (or type) that out loud is a little shocking actually. In 15 months there have been no romantic dinners in a dimly-lit restaurant, no nights at the theater, no dessert and coffee while talking for hours about things that fascinate or puzzle us, nada.
We did have one lunch with just the two of us on our two year anniversary. But we had to do that over Ben's lunch break, so it was quite rushed. Then there was a Monday afternoon where we dropped Georgia off to go see a movie. But there wasn't really time for a meal and to be honest, it was kind of an awkward afternoon. So I'm not counting either of those.
There have been plenty of rushed meals out to make it home before Georgia's nap time or my leaving for work, several movies on the couch with the volume down low so as not to wake the baby and pausing it every time she does stir, trips to the zoo, walks in the park, meals out that include me scrapping up half-chewed food and syrup-covered crayons off the floor before we leave - and all of these have included Georgia.
Not that Georgia-in-tow is a bad thing - we love her company - but we are WAY overdue for some Jaime and Ben time. So what's stopping us?
Hmmm... pretty much that I haven't wanted to leave her with anyone who isn't family, and our nearest family member is a 12 hour drive away. And even if we did live near family, I can only think of three family members I'd leave Georgia with alone anyway. (I'll withhold those names to keep everyone guessing). Bottom line is, I'm picky when it comes to my baby, perhaps too picky, and that pickiness is not making things more romantic around this house. There's a reason why you should not move too far from home, and that reason is all too obvious to me right now. When they say it takes a village, it sure the hell does!
Now if I can just find my village... and a couple of candles.
After a post and picture(s) almost every day of 2010, I would like to say I took myself kicking and screaming into 2011 with a "no new post for a while" requirement. But only part of that is true. I have to admit, there was no kicking and screaming. I need to put the laptop down and step away from it. I needed to not feel pressure every night when I came home from work to stay up until one a.m. to edit pictures. I needed to not find a reason to snap pictures of Georgia every day. Perhaps all of that was some New Year's resolution I neglected to realize until this moment. Whatever it was, it has been nice.
But I must admit, I've missed sitting down to type out thoughts and feelings and attempts at humor on this small glowing screen, so here I am tonight. It seems fitting that I'd get back to it on the 13th. After all, don't all the good things in life happen on the 13th? :)
Georgia is 15 months old today. We're getting terribly close to 18 months, which will then be terribly close to 24 months, which all means this mama can't believe her baby's so dang big! Wow, 15 months, really?!?! But what's even more of a slap of "my baby is a toddler" reality is how grown up she is acting. Wow, does this kid have some attitude when she wants to have it. My, my, whomever did she get that from?
She can throw a temper tantrum with the best of them when she doesn't get her way. She's started pointing and things and just doing this half-grunt, expecting my husband or I to jump up and get what ever she's desiring at the moment. She is asserting her independence. No, let me repeat that, she is ramming her independent streak down our throats. Where did this mini adult come from?
Georgia's vocabulary is also growing, as is her comprehension. She has known what a tree is for a while and would call our dogs a dog, but now she does it for dogs on TV and in magazines and books too. She points at a car (or a truck or a van) and says "car." She knows what a freakin' car is! She will also say cup and has tried out fish. Mama has become mom or mommy. It is amazing to watch.
And we went to the zoo a couple weekends ago, and for the first time Georgia actually "got" the zoo. It was so much fun.
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