Jennifer Woodbury

Love Letters

It's been a long time since I scrapbooked. It's hard to pinpoint why exactly. A lot of it probably has to do with the fact that I don't have those leisurely quiet times all to myself during the day like I did when Ella was an only child who took naps. And I'm sure it's partly because I've been more focused on photography these days (my little photo project has kept me busy).

But I have always thought that blogging could fill the void of scrapbook pages in my life. And in some ways it has. I have more than three years of memories recorded on this blog that may have otherwise been lost, or at least become very fuzzy in the confines of my imperfect brain. But when I blog, I know that extended family, friends, and other photographers and scrapbookers are all reading, and I can't help but tailor my words to that audience. I like being accountable to those who visit my little home on the web, because otherwise I would probably neglect this blog more than I already do (3 weeks without posting = bad, I know). But still, subconsciously it does affect what and how I write. 

My scrapbook pages, however, are like love letters to my family. When I scrapbook, the journaling on each page is written directly to the subject on the page (which basically means Ella, since poor Claire doesn't have one layout to her name yet) without any worry about boring people with the excesses of my motherly (or wifely) adoration. Since I'm not sure when exactly I will be inspired to start scrapbooking again, I figured there was no better time than the present to sit down and write love letters to my two favorite little people, full of unabashed gushing.

You've been warned.

Dear Ella,

I love your giggle (it is definitely a giggle, not a laugh). I love how happy and full of energy you always are. Your preschool teacher, Ms. Sarah, describes you as a little Tigger, always bouncing around. You are my bouncy, giggly little girl.

One of my favorite things is when you come into my bedroom early in the morning (5 or 6 am), crawl into my bed, snuggle in close and fall asleep for another hour (or two if I'm lucky).

I love how protective you are of your little sister. When she bumps her head and starts to cry, before I can even turn to comfort her, you have already run to the freezer and come back with a Boo Boo Buddy to help her feel better. You haven't perfected your comforting technique yet, but I love how you try so hard and are unperturbed when your attempts make her cry even harder.

I love it when you constantly imitate things I say, like "Oh man!" and "Does that sound like a good idea?" This past weekend, you cradled my face in your tiny hands and told me I was your "little precious Mommy."

I like it when people tell me that we look alike.

I love how much you are looking forward to Christmas this year. When we put up the tree yesterday (early, so it would be ready and waiting for us when we got back from our Thanksgiving trip) you gave it a hug and a kiss. Seriously. And when I got out the stockings and explained to you that when Santa came he would fill them with little gifts, you said "And I will be so excited!"

It makes me laugh and cry all at the same time to hear how anxious you are to grow up. You keep trying to convince me that you've already turned four.

I love how self-assured you are, and how certain you are of your identity. You always correct me when I call you something like princess or smart cookie. "I'm not a smart cookie Mama," you sternly reply. "I'm a smart Ella."

I think you are the most beautiful little girl in the whole wide world.

I love that you always try to be such a good helper to me, eagerly following me around as I attend to household chores. And I love that I am still cool enough to be the one you want to play with all day long.

I love you Ella.

Love always,

Mom

Dear Claire,

I love how effortless it is to love you at all times. At this age, when you don't know how to throw a temper tantrum or talk back, it is impossible to feel anything but pure love and devotion towards you. I know it doesn't last forever, and so I cherish this fleeting time.

Even though you fall asleep easily on your own and don't need me to rock you, holding you tight against my chest and nuzzling my face into your warm head for a minute or two before I put you in your crib is one of the great pleasures of my life.

I love how you express happiness in the form of excited arm flapping. And I love how just the sight of my face can make you smile and bring you such joy.

I love how much of your dad I see in your features.

Rarely does a day go by when somebody, whether it be a stranger in the grocery store or the mother of one of Ella's dance classmates, doesn't stop to tell me how precious/adorable/cute you are. And I completely agree with them.

I love carrying on babbling conversations with you.

You have the hugest, cheesiest grin I have ever seen. It is hilarious. And adorable. And I love it.

I think you are the most beautiful baby in the whole wide world.

I love how easy it is to make you happy. All you need is for Mom to pick you up and all is right in the world. If only this could always be the case.

I love you Claire.

Love always,

Mom

Twins

Ella on Election 2008 from Jennifer Woodbury on Vimeo.

As this year's election has approached, I have been casually making Ella aware of who the presidential candidates are. I haven't displayed any bias towards a particular candidate, because I don't think three-year-olds need to be concerned about the intricacies of tax policy or partisan politics, I've just pointed them out to her whenever the opportunity presented itself. I wasn't sure how much of this was sinking in, but over the past couple of days it has become clear that Ella definitely has politics on the brain. Three examples:

1) When I brush Ella's teeth at night, I will often pretend that I see certain characters hiding in her mouth that I need to get out with the toothbrush. I think this is a common strategy among parents to make the brushing process more interesting for kids. Sometimes, in order to prolong the brushing of her teeth (and therefore delay bedtime), Ella will point out the people in her mouth that I missed. On Monday night, she said the following:

"Look! I have John McCain in my mouth!"

2) Last night, as I was heating up some baby food, I asked Ella to keep Claire company at the dining room table (Claire gets upset when I leave her sight, especially when she is waiting for food). As I was in the kitchen, I heard Claire start to fuss and in an attempt to calm her down Ella reached for a nearby newspaper and said:

"Here Claire, do you want to see Barack Obama? Let me show you Barack Obama."

3) While looking at the cover of this week's issue of Entertainment Weekly, featuring Daniel Craig (aka James Bond), Ella asked:

"Mom, is that John McCain?"

And just in case you get the wrong impression that Ella is extremely politically savvy for her age, the two times I have asked her exactly who Barack Obama and John McCain are, she has given me the same answer:

"Twins."

Happy Election Day!

A Princess and a Pumpkin

Our Halloween started bright and early at the town parade, which is always held the Friday before Halloween. Since Halloween fell on a Friday this year, we got to have the parade on the day of Halloween. The downside to this was that instead of spreading out the fun we had to cram it all into one day. And since I also thought that for some reason Halloween would be a great day to volunteer in Ella's preschool class making pumpkin muffins with her classmates, by the end of the day, after trick-or-treating around the neighborhood, I was exhausted from all the celebrating.

At the town parade, Ella trick-or-treated at all the local shops.

The bathtub full of candy at the kitchen & bath boutique was my favorite.

The parade ended at a park, where "Amazing Andy" the magician performed for the kids. Ella has seen Amazing Andy perform at least five times. He never changes his act. I'm pretty sure I could recite it word for word if I was ever called upon to do so. And yet, Ella still thinks it is the most hilarious thing she has ever seen. This guy is some kind of genius with children, because it is not just my child he has this effect on. To illustrate my point, here is Ella watching Amazing Andy last year:

And this is Ella watching Amazing Andy this year:

After the parade and preschool, we waited for Daddy to get home from work so that we could eat dinner and head out to top off the day's festivities with more trick-or-treating. We live in a fabulous trick-or-treating neighborhood, and I was shocked at how much candy Ella ended up with. She ran from house to house, making sure we didn't miss a single one. At each home she rang the doorbell on her own and timidly said "trick-or-treat" as she not so timidly helped herself to a handful candy. Without fail, after each house she would complain, "But I need more!" It reminded me a lot of last year, when she said "We have get more!" after each house. Better grammar this year, but the same sentiment. I must have bought Ella's "glass slippers" a half size too big because one of her shoes kept coming off. I didn't intend for her costume to be quite so authentic, but other than that trick-or-treating went off without a hitch.

As usual, Claire sat quietly in her stroller the entire night, barely making a peep. A few people asked if she was sleeping, but no, she was just sitting quietly in a semi-comatose state with a glazed look in her eyes. Hopefully next year will be a little more exciting for her.

At the end of the night, with Ella's treat bag so full of candy that Daddy had to carry it home, Ella said:

"I'm tired. It has been a long, long day."

If I managed to wear Ella out, I know the day was a huge success.

And if you aren't sick of Halloween yet, maybe you will be after listening to Ella sing the "Pumpkins Start as Fat Seeds" song over and over and over again, while wearing her pumpkin shirt no less. She asks to wear this shirt every day, and if I tell her it's dirty (which it is at least half the time) she will wail with disgust, "AGAIN?!" Anyway, enjoy the performance. From what I can tell, the lyrics go something like this:

"Pumpkins start as fat seeds, planted in the ground. Soon pumpkins grow, they're big and orange too. Then you carve a jack-o-lantern, light it and say BOO!"

Pumpkin Song from Jennifer Woodbury on Vimeo.