Sunday School Rebel

now he is four (!)

Hooray! Thomas is, unbelievably, four years old. The birthday fairies did their magic...

It seems impossible, but it's true. I have a lanky, skinny boy in my house. I can't even call him a toddler anymore (sob). He is a real little boy, almost like the Velventeen Rabbit of babies. The dimples have stretched and the chubby thighs have disappeared, leaving me with feet that never stop running and jumping and arms that give sweet hugs. 

His birthday, the 16th, was pretty quiet. Beaux was gone that morning for a side job, but not before they got up early. Beaux said that Thomas exclaimed, "A birthday!" and smiled hugely at the work that the birthday fairies had put in the night before. That's exactly what he said  - "A birthday!" when they came to get me up. He was happy playing with random balloons for the rest of the day. We made it to the movie theater for a showing of Cars 2 as per our birthday tradition. Thomas wasn't that interested in the movie, after all, but preferred climbing up and down the steps in the theater. Okay, kid - it's YOUR birthday!

That evening, Beaux's daddy (Pop) came in for a visit. We had delicious homemade gumbo and then birthday cupcakes and presents.

I know this picture is blurry but I just love him clapping his hands. He was really into singing the birthday song this year, as well as blowing out his number four candle. We re-enacted the whole deal several times over. 

Thomas was, for the first time, extremely interested in his presents. As soon as I brought them out, he was ready to open those treasures right up. What does a four-year-old get in our house? A train watch, a box full of Duplos, a new puzzle, and some Dr. Seuss books from Pop and his great-grandparents. Money put away for special treats in the future. 

We decided to have his birthday party in Hattiesburg. My main reason was that it would be an easier trip for my parents and grandparents, as well as Beaux's. Plus, there is a really cool bounce house place that accomodates smaller parties - dude, we don't have 25 kid friends to invite to a party QUITE yet. So we loaded up the car with homemade Nutella cupcakes and gift bags and had an early morning party this past Saturday. 

Seriously. It was at 9 AM. I now know just HOW very much some people love us, to show up at 9 AM on a Saturday morning. The bounce house place doesn't serve coffee, so Lovie and Gramps graciously made a coffee run for the guests. Are they the best grandparents or WHAT?

In the past, I've written about how parties give me major anxiety. Since I've determined this, I've tried to approach them in ways that keep me from freaking out and making everyone else around me miserable. I can honestly say that THIS party was very much stress-free. I chose to make cupcakes, since I didn't have to clean my house for a party-at-home. My original plan to have both Nutella and plain vanilla cupcakes was thwarted when I messed up the vanilla cupcakes. It was a big batch and I didn't have enough supplies nor time to remake them AND make Nutella cupcakes, too. So I just took a deep breath (after figuring out what I did wrong) and said, "Oh well. We'll just buy some extra cupcakes." And the morning of the party, when I ran into the grocery store for a fruit and cheese tray only to discover they didn't have any ready-made - I didn't lose it. I just bought some cups of fruit and a bag of cubed cheese and assembled my OWN little fruit and cheese tray. 

Thomas had a FABULOUS time. All the kids seemed to have fun, and we pretty much had the place to ourselves for the first hour. 

I was worried my birthday boy wouldn't want to stop playing for cupcakes and presents, but once he saw his birthday throne, he was READY. 

Of course, he loved all his gifts. Lucky boy. Thankfully, now that we are at home, I don't feel like we're just overwhelmed with new stuff. He has been very busy enjoying his loot, for sure. In fact, when I told him that we should save something for a rainy day, his daddy accused me of pure meanness. Me?! Never. So I gave up on the rainy day plan. 

Best card EVER from the Green Bean Kid. I just love it and will keep it forever. 

Thomas and his bud Logan (whose parents drove down from Jackson for the party, thank you Brenda!) decided to pow-pow-pow on the video games. Boys and guns - sigh! 

My grandparents made the trip with my parents and enjoyed the party. My Grandpa was seen enjoying the Nutella cupcakes, most definitely. I really appreciated that they came. Unfortunately, Beaux's grandparents were not able to come, and Beaux's dad was recovering from working the night before. So my grandparents being there really did mean so much to me. 

We spent the night with Beaux's grandparents and Grandpa L. got some lovin' in, for sure. Please say a prayer for him as he starts radiation TODAY for seven weeks. He is strong and we just love him like crazy. 

Now we are off again, to celebrate my mom's birthday at home with the whole family. I just can't believe my sweet baby is so big and so full of joy and wonder. As always. Beaux and I are just still so amazed that he is ours, truly, a gift from God. I am looking forward to this year ahead, hoping that the layers of Thomas will unfold and we'll get to know our boy better than ever. 

thomas is four from Samantha Rebel on Vimeo.

the library in summer

 

This summer, I keep hearing about summer reading programs. Thomas' good friend is signed up for one at our local library (he's a year older than Thomas). I never would have thought to sign up Thomas quite yet, and I am sent back in my own memories. Somehow I never participated in a summer reading program and this stumps me. Were libraries not doing that sort of thing in the 80's and early 90's? It's a bit like reading fairs they have at schools now - not a big book sale, which I remember well and it was nearly better than Christmas in my mind - but like a science fair but with books. So unfair, that I missed out on something I would have LOVED to do. I bet you I would have won FIRST PLACE in a reading fair. 

Thinking of libraries and summer makes me think of the library in my hometown. It's always been my hometown but I didn't live there for any length of time until my first year of high school. It's tiny but that didn't lessen my excitement when my Grandma would take me there as a child. I remember the glass doors and the narrow hallway with the water fountain. You would open another glass door to the library and the ice cold air conditioning would blast you backwards. It was cold in the library, always, as if all the books were ancient treasures that needed to be kept at a certain temperature for preservation. The library was the only one in the whole county, unless you count school libraries. Later, I would spend a summer at the community college library, and that is whole other story that I had almost forgotten, until this minute. 

The children's books were all in shelves along the floor. I remember going when I was young enough to check out picture books; before I was in the pink reading group in first grade and allowed to advance to chapter books. I remember the glass cases full of tiny creations or dead animals stuffed and nearly lifelike, near the door. The librarian's desk was tall and you had to make sure you didn't check out too many books. There was a limit. She stamped the due dates with her fascinating stamp, checking her calendar for the date two weeks from today. She seemed to know my Grandma. We would go back to the car, me holding the stack of books close to my chest. I remember the drive home, looking up from a book that had me in its thrall already, watching the houses slip by, where people I didn't know lived, wondering about who they were. I still wonder. 

It makes me want to go back, and run my finger along the shelves. I want to hear the crackle of the plastic covering and feel the blast of cold air. There are many ways to come home again, I think, and sometimes being home is scattered in the cracks on the sidewalk and in the corners of a tiny, nearly obsolete library.