Grandma C's Present

My mom is always concerned about getting the girls presents to them on time. 

Just typing that sentence makes me laugh out loud.  My mom has a history of making beautiful handmade gifts, that she never finishes. 

I remember the fair isles sweater that I wanted so badly when I was a kid.  She started making me one for my birthday or Christmas, I don't remember which.  When I opened my present I learned quickly that it wasn't finished.  She assured me that she would finish it soon.  When she finally did finish it she gave to my daughter and by then it was too small for her. 

Sorry, Mom, but it puts this year's wonderful gift into perspective.

I had mentioned to Mom that I had been saving all of Haley's train t-shirts that she had grown out of.  At first I saved them just because I couldn't bear to part with them.  She loved them so much.  Then I saw an ad in a magazine about making old college t-shirts into a quilt.  I told Mom about it and she said she would like to make a quilt for Haley.

I brought all of the t-shirts with me when I visited my new neice for the first time.  Mom has been working away on the quilt ever since.

She called me a couple of days before Haley's birthday and told me that it wasn't quite done.  She wondered if it would be OK if she gave it to Haley while we were visiting in Montana.  I was actually excited for her to give it to Haley then.  I think Haley gets a lot more out of presents when they are presented to her and she can open them in front of the giver.  I know I like to watch people open presents, especially my own children.  I really like it when I know it is something that they are not expecting and something that they will like a lot.

So shortly after we arrived in Montana my Mom brought out Haley's gift and asked her if she would like to open it.  "Yeah," she said as she reached for it.  Mom had to help her open it, it was in a big gift bag and she had tied the handles together with a ribbon.

I think Haley was a bit overwhelmed.  I don't know exactly why.  Maybe it was the two day drive.  Maybe it was the fact that we finally had arrived.  Maybe she was "tarred."  She looked at her gift, but there wasn't the excitement that I had expected.

When we got to the cabin that we were going to stay at for the week and picked which room Haley and her sister would stay in I got the quilt out and laid it on her bed.

Then she was excited.

She talked about it every night when she went to bed and she was excited to show it to her Aunt and Uncle and cousins when they arrived.

We have it on her bed at home now and she points at a different square each night and we talk about it.  She really loves her quilt and it is something that she will treasure for a long time. 

Notice the tracks between each square.

The back of the quilt.

Thanks Mom for getting it done - on time.

The Night Before Christmas

When I was a little girl my Mom read The Night Before Christmas by Clement C. Moore every Christmas Eve before we went to bed.

I didn't realize how important that tradition was until I was in college.  My freshman year of college was the first time that I had ever been away from my family.  The college I went to was not that far away from my hometown, but once I went to college I stayed there until Thanksgiving. 

I went home for that holiday and then I went back to school.  As Christmas approached I had a serious case of homesickness.  My roommate and I were feeling sorry for ourselves  and one night after we had gotten into bed and turned out the lights we started talking about our Christmas traditions. 

I told my roommate that my Mom had always read that story to us.  I can't remember why now, but I started reciting the story. 

I had it memorized. 

Word for word I recited the story like I had the book in my lap, but it was dark in our room and the book was back home.

The story has always been a part of Christmas.  I have read the book to my girls every Christmas Eve from their very first Christmases.  I can still recite it from memory so I can hold the book open to them so that they can see the pictures.

Last year Haley's Big Sis decided that she wanted to read it.  It was kind of hard for me to give that up, but I did.

Today we received a box from my Mom in the mail filled with wrapped boxes.  There was a copy of the book inside, it wasn't wrapped. 

We opened the book and I realized that it was the kind of book that you can record your own voice into.  I immediately thought that it would be so cool to have a recording of my Mom reading the story.  I turned a page, but there was no sound.  I thought maybe that she had expected me to record the story, which also would have been cool, I was disappointed though. 

Haley took the book. She has a couple of books that can be recorded and she started pushing the buttons.  Haley wanted to read the book so she started turning pages and that is when I heard my Mom's voice.  I was afraid that she had recorded over the first few pages. 

I asked her if I could look at the book.  I read the instructions.  It said that it works best in a room with good lighting.  I turned on the light and then closed the book and opened it again.  My Mom's voice told me that the book was a gift from her read in her own voice.  We turned the page and the story began.  We hadn't ruined it after all.

Haley has listened to the story, read by her Grandma many times this afternoon.  It is sitting on the coffee table in the front room and the lights are on.  She goes in to that room and listens to the story and then comes and finds me and says "Grandma read."  or "Read book."  She loves it.

So there is another tradition that has changed and changed again.

Thanks, Mom.

It's Not Fair

Grandma C is jealous of my husband's Dad, Grandpa C.  Haley gets really excited when he is coming to see her.  My Mom has witnessed the excitement first hand. 

Once she was at our house and had been there a couple of days when Grandma and Grandpa arrived.  Haley ran to the door and gave Grandpa a hug.  You know by now, if you have been reading this blog that Haley's hugs are not consistent, but Grandma did see that hug.

Grandma C knows that Grandpa C has the tractor that Haley likes to ride.  She thinks that the tractor makes the difference.  I don't know if that is true.  It doesn't bother me, I know she loves all of her Grandparents very much.

What Grandpa doesn't have though that my Mom and Don do is a train track right outside his window. 

Haley loves to come to Montana and stay at Grandma and Don's house because of the trains.  We can usually hear the train coming and we all yell, "Haley get to the window, a train is coming!"  Haley yells "WooHoo!" and giggles.  Sometimes several trains go by in one day.  Yesterday the same train went back and forth switching cars.  There was also a crew loading Herzog Cartopper backhoes onto some cars that were hauling new ties.  I think Haley was especially interested in this train because there was a caboose on the end.

Haley and her Dad sat in the back of the Yukon in the garage and watched the action for almost two hours.  It was really hot yesterday.  I think the high was ninety three.  It was a little cooler in the shade, but they were dedicated.  Haley was in heaven.

Haley loves that trains go right by Grandma's house.  It would seem that Grandma and Don have an unfair advantage.  So I really don't think Grandma needs to worry about Grandpa C's tractor.

Haley really liked the fact that the train she had watched all day parked right there and stayed all night long.  Whenever she looked out the window it was still sitting there.  She actually seemed a little concerned that it wasn't leaving.  She waved at it and said "Bye."  and then she would walk by later and it would still be sitting there and she would say "Bye." again.

I didn't appreciate it much however.  The crew walked away from the train around four o'clock in the afternoon and left it running.  It ran for a couple of hours and then shut down.  We had about an hour rest before it started back up again.  That went on all night long.  I ended up wearing earplugs to block some of the sound, but Haley didn't.  I was amazed that she could sleep through it. 

This morning about nine forty five the crew came back and the train finally left.  Haley and I went out the front door and waved goodbye.  Haley said "Bye.  Miss You." 

I didn't.

Grandma's House

Haley was excited to go to Grandma's house.  She was ready to go.  She was a bit worried that we weren't be completely truthful with her, however.

She had packed everything that she wanted to take.  She had tried to make sure that Mom and Dad were packed as well.  If something was sitting on the counter she would put it into our suitcase.  She even went in to her sisters room and pointed to her pile of clothes on the floor and said "case."  Big Sis didn't really appreciate the help.

After dinner she started talking about loading the Yukon.  She finally convinced her Dad to start loading and she went out to help him.  I was doing the dishes and he came in and told me that she was sitting in the Yukon.  He had told her several times that we were not leaving until the morning, but she wanted to sit in the Yukon.  When I had finished with the dishes I went out to check on her.  There she was still sitting in her seat.  I had to practically drag her out.

The next day we were up and out the door early.  We had a long drive ahead of us.  Grandma lives in Montana.  We had to explain to Haley that we would go to a hotel and spend the night and then get up and drive again.  She seemed to understand that.

The first day went really well.  She is getting to be a really good traveller.  There was a time when she wasn't. 

She kept us entertained.  About once an hour she would yawn dramatically and say "tired."  We told her to take a nap and she would put her head on her pillow and "snore" and then say "wake up."  She did that the whole way.  I told her that maybe she wasn't tired, maybe she was just sleepy.  Then she added that to her routine; she would yawn really loudly and then say "tired, sleepy."

The second day of travel went about the same as the first except every time we stopped at a rest area she would say "Grandma's house?"  I had to keep reassuring her that we were indeed going to be at Grandma's house by dinner time. 

We stopped at a springs for lunch, we ate in the Yukon and then decided to go for a little walk around the springs.  Haley's Dad said "Haley, let's get out of the Yukon and go for a walk."  Haley said "No" and shook her head.  I don't see the head shake very often. 

He said "Come on, we are just going for a little walk."

"No." Head shake.

I got her to get out of the Yukon and we started walking.  She kept saying "Yukon.  Grandma's house.  Yukon."

I finally told her that we could head back to the Yukon.  She practically took off at a run.  We sat in the Yukon and waited for Big Sis and Dad to come.  She relaxed once we were on the road again and said "Grandma's house, yeah."

It seems that she thought we were fooling with her and that we really weren't going to get to Grandma's house after all.  I don't know why she doubts us.  You'd think we weren't always truthful with her.

That's The Way it Should Work

We are planning another trip, this time to see my Mom.  We didn't hint about it ahead of time, and Haley didn't find out until today.  It works so much better that way.  It didn't stop her from going in to "full scale packing mode" however.

Last night my husband had an atlas and some maps out.  When Haley sees maps she gets suspicious, it usually means someone is going somewhere (usually Dad.)  She seemed interested in the maps so he started telling her about the maps.  They talked about the map that the atlas was open to and who might live in that area.  Grandma C.

Then she came downstairs and found me and said "Grandma C*****".  I assumed at that point that he had told her where we were going so I said "Are we going to see Grandma C?" and she said "Yeah!"

This morning while I was in the shower Haley took all of her clothes out of her drawers and piled them on her bed.  She came and got me and brought me in to see what she had done and said "case" which means "suitcase"  I know that now.  The first time she said that to me several months ago I had no idea what she was telling me because it sounds more like "keys."

So we counted out the right amount of outfits and put the rest back in her drawers.

She packed her horses into a green purse that was in her closet.  She packed all of the videos that she wants to take.  She packed her laptop and her computer games.

Then she started bringing me food.  I thought she wanted a snack at first, but I soon realized that she was packing snacks.  A few minutes ago I walked in to the kitchen to find those first snack items that she had picked out on the island along with a box of cereal, a bottle of barbecue sauce and a carton of coconut milk ice cream.

Right now I can hear her coming down the stairs with her suitcase.  Thud.  Thud.  Thud.

I need to start packing.  If I wait too long Haley will start packing for me and I have no idea what that might entail.

Another Year Older

This spring a friend of mine asked me if I could stop at the Feed Store on the way to her house and pick up some baby chicks.  She has chickens in her back yard that she keeps for eggs.  She thought that Haley and her sister might enjoy getting the chicks and carrying them in the car to her house.  They did enjoy that and Haley really enjoyed the feed store.

The store had a full rack of Shleich animals and a whole wall devoted to Breyer horses.  She had a lot of fun looking at the store, but I was grateful that she was distracted by the cacophony coming from all of those baby chicks.  There were hundreds of them and you couldn't even have a conversation if you were right by them.

I decided that for her birthday it might be fun to go to the Feed Store and let Haley shop.  We didn't direct her one way or another we just let her look.  She was excited to find a horse just like Chelsea, the horse that went lame a while back.  She grabbed the little horse and immediately said "Yelsee" which is how she says  Chelsea.  She also got a horse that kind of looked like a Shetland pony I used to have and a little deer.  She looked at the wall of Breyer horses, but she didn't seem like she wanted to bring one home.  I think she prefers her little horses because they are small and she can carry several in her hand as well as in her purse.  She also likes to sleep with them.

We got to the car and told her that we would have to name all of them.  Chelsea was done already named of course, so Dad suggested Sandy for the sandy colored mare and Haley came up with Raina for the deer.  We stopped at the grocery store on the way home and picked up a gluten free cake mix and a can of frosting that didn't appear to have dairy in it.  I put the cake in the oven when we got home.

We had stopped at the mailbox on our way in and there was a package for Haley as well as a couple of Birthday cards.  She opened them as soon as we got in the house.  The package was a gift from her Grandma C, she got a really pretty box with horses on it and a couple of magnets with horses on them, a key chain with her name on it and two shirts.  She was excited that she got money in her birthday cards.

Haley's Big Sis called and wished Haley a Happy Birthday and asked if she had opened the gift from her yet.  She hadn't, so she opened it while she was on the phone with her.  She opened her present and found a Polly Pocket doll and some clothes for it and then her Big Sis sang the Birthday song to her.

Later Dad frosted her cake and we had dinner.  After dinner we put a candle on her piece of cake and sang the Birthday song to her.  I helped her blow out her candle.  I had forgotten about one more present from me, so I asked her if she wanted to open another present.  She said "yeah."  It was clothes for her Barbie dolls.  After that we went for a walk.

So now I have two teenagers.

Peace

Haley is all about peace.  The symbol that is. 

For some reason the peace symbol resonates with her.  She has had an affinity for it for many years.  When she is shopping she is drawn to it like a magnet.  At first I didn't realize how pervasive it has become until I was folding her clothes one day and I noticed that t-shirt after t-shirt had the peace symbol on it in some fashion.

It has become quite the running joke in our house.  Well, especially between Haley's Big Sis and I.  If we see something with a peace symbol on it we know it is just a matter of time before Haley will notice it.  When we get catalogs in the mail, or the circulars in the paper we know that Haley will point out the peace symbols.

We recently got the new catalog for Pottery Barn Teen which has many things in it covered in peace symbols.  They call the line Berkeley.  When I saw it I immediately thought of Haley.  Her birthday is coming up and I don't have a present for her yet.  She has been giving me clues that she might like some new luggage, this is something she frequently points out in newspaper ads.

I don't know why she wants new luggage.  She used to have a small pullman that came with a matching backpack, fanny pack and sleeping bag that Grandma C gave her.  It became too small for our use when her legs got so long.  I have to fold her pants many times to get them to fit.  If we are packing for more than two days it gets way too full.  I donated the whole set recently.  We have been packing her clothes in my suitcase when we travel.  I guess she has decided she doesn't want to share with me.

The PB Teen catalog has bedding in the Berkeley motif as well, so I am thinking that would also make a fun gift.  She got a hold of the catalog the other day and noticed all of the peace symbols immediately.

As I am typing this the catalog is sitting on the table, she just walked by and pointed to the backpack on the back of the catalog and said "Peace."

Peace, Baby.

Haley's Hugs

Grandma C left this morning after staying with us for a week.  We had a lot of fun together while she was here.  It is always nice when she can stay that long because it gives Haley enough time to get comfortable with her.

It is not just Grandma C that Haley needs time to get comfortable with.  Haley doesn't make quick transitions.  Whenever we do something new it takes Haley a while to get into it.  She needs time to process things I think.  This is getting better as she gets older, but it is still a reality for us.

The first night when Grandma got here Haley was excited.  She was visibly more animated than usual.  She doesn't run into Grandma's arms like other kids do when someone comes to visit, she acts very shy.  She smiles a lot and she gets giggly.  She did not go right to sleep that night.  She kept coming downstairs after I put her in bed.  She came down and stood there grinning at us, it is not easy to be stern with her when she does this, she is so darned cute.

The next day she wakes up early and goes to check that Grandma is still here.  She is still very excited, but she still does not seem comfortable with her.  It takes her several days.  By Wednesday I think she actually answered her when Grandma said "Good Morning, Haley.  How are you today?"  Mom thought it was nice when Haley put in a video and sat on the couch to watch it.  Grandma C asked "What are you going to watch Haley?"  Haley held up the little plastic pig she was gripping.  Mom guessed that it was either Charlotte's Web or Babe.  It was Babe.

As Mom was leaving this morning I gave her a hug.  Haley was sitting on the couch watching her show.  I asked her to stand up and give Grandma a hug. 

Hugs are rare commodities with Haley.  I mentioned in another post that I sometimes get one in the morning, that is a fairly new development.  Usually when Haley gives hugs she kind of sidles up to a person.  You might get a sideways hug (which is more like a run by) or a back hug (which is when she spins and backs up to you allowing you to squeeze her shoulders before she bolts.)  Recently Big Sis discovered that if you ask for a hug with your arms up like your signalling a touchdown she will also raise her arms and when they come down on your shoulders that is about as close as you will ever come to getting a real hug.  I think I might be getting morning hugs because she is still a little groggy.

My Mom is somewhat jealous of my Husband's father - Grandpa C.  Once we had a visit from Grandma C and Grandma & Grandpa at the same time.  Grandma C was already here when G & G arrived.  Haley had already had some time to get used to my Mom so when the doorbell rang and I opened it to reveal G & G she had gotten over the initial shy period.  She ran to Grandpa and gave him the closest thing we have ever seen to a spontaneous hug.  My Mom is a good sport though, she just laughs it off and says that the only reason Grandpa ranks higher is because he has a John Deere tractor.  I think she is right to a certain extent, but she does have an advantage too, Haley can watch trains from her house.

This morning I raised my arms in our "touchdown" way and Haley did too.  She gave Grandma C a pretty good hug, partly because they are exactly the same height now.  I think Grandma C was happy with it.  It was more than she got from Big Sis who was running out the door at the last minute to catch her bus.