I Believe I Can Fly

So Sam has discovered Superman.  It happened in Florida, when I came across these jammies at Target.  Lucky for him, I'd forgotten to pack any summer jammies.  I spied the cape and thought he'd enjoy it.

Little did I know how these jammies would change his life.  All of our lives, really.

It was love at first sight.

The boy didn't even know what the "S" stood for, but yet his eyes gleamed with an unearthly glow.  He immediately wanted to know who Superman was, what his powers were, and if this cape would, in fact, allow him to fly.

I'll let you see for yourself...

"Whatcha doing?"

"I twying to FWWYYY!"

The rest of the trip, we searched You Tube for clips from the original movie, music from John William's amazing theme song, and racked our brains to remember the plot for the hilariously cheesy Superman II movie.

He's obsessed.  And I love it.  I love how committed he is to becoming Superman, so much so that he wipes out after jumping up high to fly.

There is little left in my adult life that I still feel this way about, but I think the ability is still there.  Hopefully enough of a seed so that I can join him in that magical place, Pretend.  To be whoever we want to be, to fight evil with our special powers, to play.

And when Charlotte is older, she can come too.  Maybe she can be She-Ra.

Hmmmm.

I posted this little gem of a picture already on Facebook, but it so well classifies how I feel about all this rebranding that I needed to show it here as well.  Sam and I enjoyed a little coffee date down in Naples one morning, it also happened to be the day of Starbucks big 40th anniversary roll out.

My kid learned to read his letters off their logo.  I think he could pick out the word "coffee" from just about anywhere.  Oh well.

I guess Charlotte developed a taste for caramel macchaiatos' down in Florida as well.  She kept reaching for my cup so finally I gave the remnants to her once, curious to see what she'd do.  

She sucked it down, licking feverishly after the stray drops.  What have I done?

Charlotte turns one!

So, shame on me for just now getting around to this, but our sweet baby had a birthday.  Way back on February 19th.  I was feeling overwhelmed from two trips we had scheduled, sandwiched around the big day, so we just did a small dinner on the actual day.

After much angst, I decided to attempt Smitten Kitchen's Famous Monkey banana cake.  It came out fairly well, and thankfully tasted better then it looked.  I'd highly recommend the recipe.

Also on the menu, Ina Garten's Chicken Stew with biscuits, Nordstrom's pear salad with champagne vinaigrette, homeade lemonade and Ina's Mocha Chocolate Chip Cookie icebox cake.  Because one cake wasn't enough.

The birthday girl got her own little monkey cake, she beamed while we all sang and clapped.

I wasn't anticipating her reaction.  Sam wouldn't even touch HIS first cake, and had a look of intense disgust on his face in every photo.  Charlotte, on the other hand, is a true woman and wouldn't stop eating after the first taste of chocolate frosting.  I didn't even get a chance to put a bib on her.

"I'm sorry, did you say that I had something on my face?"

The cupcake is gone.  She inhaled it.  Annihilated it.  That's my girl.

This first year has been such a delight.  Happy hearted, a frequent giggler and completely enamoured with her big brother, Charlotte was a welcome addition to our little family, one year ago.  We love you sweetheart!

Vacation

So we are just getting back into town from an embarrassingly long and sweetly wonderful two weeks in Florida.  We drove down, 20 hours straight, there and back, and stayed with my grandparents in their three bedroom condo, located in Naples.

Living together for 14 days, watching my children interact with their great grandparents on such an intimate, constant level, was precious.  I honestly miss the daily contact, knowing they will be waiting for us, sitting on the couches reading their newspapers, when we get in from the day.  Charlotte would kick her legs excitedly when we neared the front door, anticipating the smiles and hugs.  Upon coming home to an unusually empty condo one afternoon, Sam looked around and disappointedly said, "Where are all my friends?"

I took close to 300 pictures, attempting to capture these memories on film, in hopes that my children will remember too.  Pictures and videos to come.

In the meantime, it is good to be home.  My own bed felt great, I slept like a dead person when we finally collapsed at 2 am after driving for 20 hours, early Sunday morning.  And the birds are back.  And the chives are starting to come in.  And Sam and I found evidence of the first crocus's peeking their green buds through the cold soil on our walk this morning, looking around excitedly for signs of spring.  It was 32 degrees and we both needed gloves, but She's coming.

And here, Sam enjoys a brisk first round of the season.