And Then There Were Two...

Two more Molly and Mommy Fridays.



Just two more. And then you start Kindergarten.



How did this happen? How did you zoom from zero to five in a week?



Molly - our Fridays together have been some of our best days. When you were little, we'd just go for stroller rides and have tummy time... and go meet Daddy for lunch. Then we graduated to Ballet and Pancakes, play dates, and LOTS of visits to the park. We've made some of our best friends on our Friday outings. Some Fridays we'd run errands... other Fridays we'd go to the zoo. And sometimes, we'd just hang out at home and color. It was on a Friday I first introduced you to "Mary Poppins" - which is now your favorite movie.

Sometimes we'd have visitors on Fridays -- so we always said it was Mommy and Molly Day with Very Special Guest Star Daddy, or Grandma and Grandpa... or whoever was joining us. And whenever we had a weekend road trip planned, we could start out a day early -- because Fridays were ours.



Fridays have always been our special day.



And now, you're headed off to Kindergarten. Even on Fridays.



When you're older, you may not remember our Molly and Mommy Days. (Although I expect you will, Miss Memory Like an Elephant...) But know that I will always remember the great times and fun adventures we've had on our special day together.

Fridays will always be ours.



I love you, peanut.



Love, Mommy

Family Folktales: Socks!

In the second installment of the Family Folktales series, this one takes us back to before you were born...

When your cousin Eleanore was about your age right now (4 or 5-ish), that Christmas we spent at Grandma and Grandpa's house. Stockings are a big deal in our family -- Grandma has knitted one for EVERY member of the family (and a lot of friends too!). She and I always have lots of fun shopping for stocking stuffers. And every year, we always would buy everyone at least a pair or two of new socks.

Well, that year at Grandma and Grandpa's, I'd been squirrling away gifts and stocking stuffers all year... and so had Grandma. And that must have been the year of the Great Sock Sale. Because Christmas morning went a little something like this:

Family gathered in Grandma's living room... everyone opening stockings...

Uncle Paul: "Oh, look what I got!"

Grandma, Mommy, Eleanore: "Socks!"

Daddy: "And look at what I got..."

Grandma, Mommy, Eleanore: "Socks!!"

Grandpa: "Well now, what do I have in my stocking?"

Grandma, Mommy, Eleanore: "Socks!!!"

As you can imagine, we got sillier and siller every time someone pulled out another pair of socks - until we were screaming and laughing it when Daddy pulled out his 12th pair of socks.

So now, Grandma and I definitely make sure everyone has socks... and we still laugh about it. Silly, I know... but it's just one of the little things we do that makes Christmas special for us.

(If you think this is weird, wait until I tell you about the Silly String Fights we'd have in Aunt Lois's garage every Thanksgiving...)

227 Down... 20 To Go...

Molly,

Before you were born, I decided that I wanted to change my work schedule. My job is a full-time, 50+ hours a week commitment. And with Daddy's travel schedule and no relatives in town, I knew something had to give. I also knew that I wanted to -- needed to -- spend as much time with you as I possibly could.

Thus, Mommy and Molly Fridays were born.

Hard to believe we've been doing this for almost five years. We've had about 227 Mommy and Molly Fridays (give or take a few)... and we only have about 20 left before you start Kindergarten.

It's like I blinked... and now you're almost five. Wow - other parents always warned us how quickly it all goes. Now, Daddy and I are the ones warning expectant parents.

For the first two years of Mommy and Molly Fridays, we'd hang out, play, have lunch on the deck (in nice weather)... then we expanded into playdates with friends who were having their own Mommy Fridays. Sometimes Daddy would take the day off, or Grandma and Grandpa/Papa & Grandma would come to town -- and we'd say, "It's Molly and Mommy Day, with special guest star... Daddy!" (or whoever was visiting.) Then we branched into Ballet and Pancakes Fridays.

About a week ago, as I was recounting the adventures of our day together, Daddy observed, "So, you only have like 20 left, right? Before she starts school?"

And I started to cry.

He was right - there are now exactly 20 Mommy and Molly Fridays left. So, I promise to make the most out of every last one.

Luckily, we had a FANTASTIC Friday this week -- ballet, Panera (a new choice you and Abby started last week), then off to a local park with Abby, Ellie, their moms, and a few other friends. There was a puppet show... but Mommy forgot it was Spring Break and didn't get tickets in advance. But you saw the world's BEST playground and immediately forgot all about it. We also rode the carousel with all your friends. After a quick snack (thanks to Ellie and Abby's moms), we took off for lunch with Daddy at Steak 'n Shake.

We both took a FANTASTIC nap... then you were invited to go with other Ellie and her family to a fish fry (your first!) and swimming at the Rec Center.

Seriously, this had to have been the best Friday EVER.

And we'll make the next 20 ones to remember too.

I love you, peanut. And I've loved our special Fridays.

All my love,

Mommy

We Should Have Named Her Carol

Every Christmas, Molly’s school has a wonderful little production called “The Jingle Bell Ball.” Each class sings two songs. (Check that – the kids in the older classes sing the songs. In the younger classes, the teachers sing while the babies sit there, shake jingle bells, or cry.) Last year, the Ballerinas made their debut – which Molly LOVED.

So Molly’s class has been working on their songs for a month. And I think Ms. Sofi has taught them EVERY Christmas carol. All of them. One will start on the radio, and she’ll sing along. Not just the standard “Jingle Bells” and “We Wish You a Merry Christmas,” either. She knows, “Deck the Halls,” “Jolly Old Saint Nicholas,” and “Winter Wonderland.” Even, as she calls it, "The rum-a-tum-tum song."

Molly’s other favorite carol is “Angels We Have Heard on High.” (This is one of my all time faves, too… since I have wonderful memories of singing this 1,000 times in high school swing choir.) She learned this from one of our favorite Christmas books Olivia Helps With Christmas. (Seriously, we LOVE Olivia!) So, just like Olivia’s family, I sing the verse, and Molly always let’s go for the chorus…

The best moment for me was when we were decorating Molly’s Christmas tree. (Yes, she has her own tree. More on that later.) She was hanging the ornaments – clustering them all together so all the “friends” could be next to each other (which was making me CRAZY! You have to spread them out!!!)… and she just starts singing in the sweetest little voice, “We wish you a Merry Christmas… and a Happy New Year!”

That’s what Christmas is all about.

"There Was More than One Lobster Present at the Birth of Jesus?"

My favorite line from the movie "Love, Actually." (Here's a bad clip of it on YouTube...) That movie is wonderful, affirming, and heartbreaking all at the same time... The cast rocks and the soundtrack is amazing. But that's not what this post is about...

Molly, your Grandma Twyla gave you a wondeful Christmas present when you were 18 months old - the Fisher Price Little People Nativity Set. And the story of why is even more wonderful -- it was her job every year, when she was a little girl, to set up the Nativity Scene under the Christmas tree. But it was a very breakable set - and so her parents told her to be extremely careful with it and NOT to dare play with the Baby Jesus. Just put him in the manger and be done with it. So, she bought you this set so you could play with it - just like she always wanted to. And this way, every Christmas, you and she would share a tradition. Very, very sweet.

So a few weeks ago, you lovingly set up your little set under the tree... and this year added an elephant that Grandma gave you... which made me think "I wish I had a lobster to throw in there." I walked by the tree later and witnessed this:

"So, there was an elephant and a giant tabby cat present at the birth of Christ?"

Friday Tradition: Ballet and Pancakes

When I went back to work after maternity leave, I went back "part time." (Part time, as defined by my work, is 35+ hours a week. But I digress...)

So, I work four days a week and have Fridays off. We always called Fridays "Mommy and Molly Days." We'd run errands, sometimes meet Daddy for lunch, and sometimes just nap. As you got older, we even started having playdates on Fridays.

Then last September, you started ballet lessons at your school. I was so excited. I was a dancer and your grandma (my mommy) was a dancer. I hoped you would enjoy dancing as much as we did.

Of course, ballet was before school started -- so we had to be in our leotard and leg warmers, ready to go at 7:30... A.M. -- in the morning.

But I got to stay and watch you. A small mommy luxury. And I treasured every minute. (And took about 1,000 photos.)

After your first lesson, because you did such a great job (and because it was only 8:15), I said, "Molly, you were a great listener. Where would you like to go to breakfast?" The answer I expected was "the bagel store" (a.k.a. Panera Bread) - where we go with Daddy on Saturday mornings.

The answer I got: "Pancakes at McDonald's!!!"

I didn't even know you knew McDonald's had pancakes... but ok, let's go. So we went and had pancakes. And you enjoyed them this much...

The next week, another mommy and ballerina joined us... then another. And they became very good friends over the course of eight months of Ballet and Pancake Fridays.

Ballet starts again next week and you are so excited. You really do love to dance, which thrills me to no end. It must be like when you and Daddy play catch - he loves that. And so another year of Ballet and Pancake Fridays begins. (You and your friend Abby already have told me this is the plan.)

This will be our last year of Mommy and Molly Fridays. Next year, you'll start kindergarten and I'll go back to work five days a week. But I will always cherish our special Mommy and Molly Days.

Love you, peanut.