There’s an old sappy song going through my head right now.
Where are you going, my little one, little one? Where are you going, my baby, my own? Turn around and you’re two – turn around and you’re four Turn around and you’re a young child going out of the door.
It came up when I was watching my friend Ellie, who’s going to have her second baby next month. I met her when she just started college, and now she’s got a career and beautiful family. I’m so happy to have watched her grow and mature over the years.
Look at that face!
And to see Ellie and her husband, Jimmy, with their older daughter just warms my heart. They’ve done a great job raising a polite, intelligent, and charming little girl. I enjoyed spending time with her, drawing, problem solving her strange pen, and trying out the child’s binoculars I got her. The binoculars came with a whistle. She really liked the whistle.
Lord of the Rings themed decor. Baby Charles Christopher has a LOTR mural in his room.
Ruby can even read already! My heart burst from pent-up love, I guess. I don’t know how I’d cope if I had grandchildren and could see them all the time. To get to watch the child of your own children grow up is a real privilege. (I respect my children’s decision not to reproduce, so I’m glad to have bonus grandchildren.)
I want those hair things. I didn’t want to share Ruby’s face, but you can see her hair! That’s what mine looked like—same color and curls.
I also made a new friend and got two new friends on my Finch app. All in all, I had a good day, and didn’t mind one bit driving to Round Rock in the rain. Yes! We got 1.8”! The ponds filled. Joy!
Today I’m starting off with the birds, because even though I had limited bird time today, I got a lot of fun sights and sounds in.
I think the cardinals are posing. They’re everywhere, flapping and chirping.
The most dramatic sight was watching the red-tailed hawk get chased off her perch by a crow (I say “her” because the hawk is very large). I got some good photos and turned a couple of the live ones into little movies.
Just minding her business. I’mThe start More pestering Hawk is annoyed
The other birds, meanwhile were just all a-flutter. The Harris’s sparrows were really busy, but there were 8 other kinds in the mix. I also enjoyed a couple of wrens and house finch groups that weren’t at all shy. It was fun! But I had to leave.
Carolina wrenYet another cardinal These are pipitsHouse finchesShe wondered what I was doing
Babes?
I left home to go to Plano to see baby Ruby, who is actually a two-year-old chatterbox now. I also went to see Pouri and Elmira/Ellie, my Persian “sister” and bonus daughter. I miss them a lot, because they’ve always welcomed me and treated me so kindly. It feels so great to feel unconditional love!
I’m not that tall. My shoes have hidden heels I think.
I really enjoyed the party, because Ellie and Jimmy have such nice friends and families and wow, all the children there were so happy and fun to watch. They just played like crazy and the parents were so good at soothing and redirecting when needed. I was impressed.
This little girl cooked and cooked on this excellent play kitchen that makes cooking noises.
The best thing was the bouncy house in the back yard. Those little ones were filled with joy and energy and had a blast. All but one were girls and no one screeched!
Yes, I successfully bounced. It tired me out. Proof I bounced.
The little boy is Ellie’s nephew and as cute as he can be. Watching him play with the toy ice cream shop and car wash was so much fun for me. He’s a little engineer or scientist in the making.
Ruby and the ice cream shop toy. It’s very clever.
I’d have felt jealous or sad since I don’t get to hang out with grandkids much, but Pouri let me pretend to be a grandmother, so I just sat and smiled at the cuteness.
Speaking of cute, these!
I did end up passing in a few of the things I’d have given to my grandkids to Ellie and Jimmy, with all my love. I gave a Peter Rabbit cup and saucer my dear stepmom had given Declan with intentions to pass them to his children. He said it’s fine to pass them on. I also gave Ellie my three beautiful story books of different cultures that had been my mother’s as a child. They are now almost 100 years old. I think Ruby will enjoy the beautiful illustrations and the Japanese haiku.
Post crying
There was crying involved in that exchange but mostly it was very satisfying to see the thoughtful and engaging gifts that the little ones had so much fun with. There was lots of food and role playing stuff, all things any preschool child would enjoy.
I also enjoyed the cake. Dang, the kids all took turns nicely, really loved singing English and Persian birthday songs, and were patient with problematic candles. Everyone just laughed, including when Ruby steadily picked individual sprinkles off the cake. She likes sprinkles a lot. This was such a low-stress event.
I came back to the same hotel I usually stay at, walked around by a creek, and enjoyed some quiet knitting time. I enjoyed my day being an honorary grandma and seeing my friends.
I got a reindeer party favor because there were extras. I made her a collar. It says Vixen. That was my childhood reindeer toy’s name. Ellie sent carrots home with each toy (technically a caribou).
The Hermits' Rest 