Saturday, June 5, 2021

Celia’s 5th Birthday

May 22 – May 25, 2021                                        Most Recent Posts:
Reisterstown Maryland                                        Spring Brings Changes
                                                                                   A Visit from Carrie and Colin


I packed up on Saturday and drove 3 hours away from calm toward busy Washington DC and then Baltimore Maryland to see Carrie and her family and especially to celebrate my grand daughter Celia’s 5th Birthday.   How can she be 5 already???

IMG_5708Her birthday was actually on Wednesday the 19th but with school and her parents both working, I’d waited until Saturday to drive up to celebrate with them.  So it turns out she had multiple birthdays which I know was just fine with her.

I arrived just after her swimming lesson and in time for lunch.  Colin went down for a nap and she and I went straight to games and reading.

First we played Guess Who.  It’s a great game and she’s definitely got the hang of it.  “ Is your card a boy or a girl?”  “Does yours have glasses?”


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She picked out a stack of books and we read them all.

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When Colin got up we had our little party.  I’d gotten her 3 different types of presents but it turned out that her mother and I got our wires crossed and Celia already had both of the games I’d gotten her so she had only two boxes from Nana.  That seemed just fine.  This is what happens when you say smile.

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When I was her age, clothes would have been a big disappointment to me as a gift but not Celia.  She was thrilled with two new sundresses and wore them both while I was there.  But I don’t think I got any pictures of her in either one of them.  Wonder if her mother did.

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The other box was three new books If You Give a Mouse a Cookie, an second in her favorite series Madeline and one I really like entitled The Rainbow Fish.

Here Mommy checks out If You Give a Mouse a Cookie.

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At the time I bought these snazy sunglasses for her I had no idea her cake was a butterfly.  She really loved the sunglasses.  So did I and I tried them on just in case they would fit me but alas, too small.

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Time to sing Happy Birthday and cut the butterfly cake.  Delicious chocolate cake with too many sprinkles for me but she loved it.

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Make a wish, blow out the candles.

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Daddy cut very generous pieces for us all.  Thanks Matthew!

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Colin is really getting into it.

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Few things in life I like better than reading and I am so thrilled that both of my grandchildren share my love.  My favorite book went over smashingly.

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Our last fun of the day was outside with the rocket launcher.   It was me against Celia.  Colin was the count down and luckily happy to be my fetch it.  Great fun.  Take a look here.

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The next day Matthew was cleaning out/up the basement so we all pitched in to help with the toy area and managed to clean out all the bins and bag up three huge trash bags of stuffed animals etc to donate.

This picture is sort of half way through the clean out.

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And here is Carrie at the end.  Of course it won’t stay this tidy.

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After all that work, it was time to relax in the pool.

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Celia was going to demonstrate for Nana what she had learned at her swimming lesson.


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It’s the putting her face in the water and going under that is the hardest.


First you learn to blow bubbles in the water.


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It was scary but she did it!!

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Back inside a lot of time was spent emptying the car bin and sending the cars in races down the slide and then constructing a sort of race track for them.

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Sydney wisely realized she needed to get a higher view which would put her out of the way of racing and flying cars.

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The lovely Lila had no intention of getting anywhere near the excitement.

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Other things available in the play area bins are baby dolls which need to be dressed and undressed and put to bed and fed.

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This is undoubtedly THE very best reading chair ever.

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Carrie took a short video of us enjoying our favorite activity.  You can find it here.

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Coloring is nearly as popular as reading and luckily Nana is small enough to fit on the little people’s chairs at the coloring table upstairs.  Colin is reading rather than coloring and Carrie took a short video you can find here of two little people and one bigger Nana coloring at the little table. 

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The Cicadas have started up here at their house in Maryland.  We took a hike down to the stream to check them out.  They weren’t very loud just then but they were quite visible.  In the few weeks it has been since I was there, the noise has gotten so loud Carrie says it is difficult to be outside.

 

On this day their molted skins were everywhere.

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We saw them with red eyes and lacey wings.

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That stage was everywhere too.  They are gearing up for warmer weather and serious singing.

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Colin thought they were very interesting.  Celia not so much.
The Washington Post did an excellent short article and sound clip about this Brood X lifespan if you are interested.  Access it with this link.

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Back inside on my last day with them we created Celia’s Cafe where she mostly  made tea, cupcakes and grapes for her two stuffed patrons.

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Bear kept looking at the menu and ordering more and more until the table was overflowing with dishes.

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It was great fun and I was sad to say good bye to them.

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But, Carrie is bringing Celia for her visit to Nana at the farm in just a few weeks and then I will return in September to their house for Colin’s birthday.

29 comments:

  1. What gorgeous childen! And such a lot of stimulation available for their brains. These will be smart people! You are rightfully proud of them! Congrats to Carrie and Matthew!!!

    Virtual hugs,

    Judie

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    1. Thank you Judilyn. What a very nice comment. There is definitely a lot of stimulation. I love it when they make up games and role plays of their own. Hugs back to you.

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  2. When you were colorig with Celia, Colin was clearly interested in the book he had and was turning the pages so carefully. Restaurant is one of Finn's favorite games too but he like it to be a pizza place or and ice cream place. Love Celia's hair!
    xxxooo

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    1. I think Celia's Cafe is a product of what play food is available.
      Glad you liked the video. Carrie is the one who has insisted on extreme care with books as I did with her as a child. Colin has been known to make "mistakes" but in the main he is very careful. And he isn't bothered by reading the book backwards. LOL

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  3. Great visit...the kids are growing up quickly...these are wonderful memories!!!! Love the BIG reading chair:o))

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    1. I agree about the chair. I've never had one that big but it was really fun. Felt like the Papa Bear's chair in the Three Bears. Thanks for the comment.

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  4. Getting together with family is a good thing.

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    1. Yes it is William and has been hard to do in these Covid times.

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  5. Such special memories especially with videos. Video cameras were huge expensive things when my kids were little, but I do have some nice ones with my parents. Love that reading chair!

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    1. Laurie we had the same problem with the expense of video cameras when Carrie was little but we do have some of her and they are priceless. Carrie says the kids like watching the videos on the blog. Glad you liked them too.

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  6. Celia is so beautiful. I'm really sad that David was not there to see and share his wonderful grand kids. I miss him almost every day even after all this time.

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    1. How wonderful to see you hear Marty. As I said in the post when Colin visited the farm, David would so have loved to be with him. It's hard not to be sad that he isn't. We all miss him and his gentle smile so much. Thanks for your comment. Hope to see you hear again.

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  7. Beautiful grand youngins' Sherry! I'm sure they enjoyed their time with you and the chance to listen to Nana read favorite books. Looks like it was a special time f
    or all!!!

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    1. It is a special time Anne both when they come here and when I go there. Thank you for taking the time to comment. Would love to know what you are up to.

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  8. They are adorable and are growing up so fast. Thank you for sharing with us!

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    1. You are so welcome Pam. Thank you for coming along and reading. Yes they are growing up so fast but then Carrie and Hailey did too. It seemed over night between when they were 5 and then 15 and now. . . .

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  9. So much to do I'd want to stay forever. Your grands are adorable. Very glad you could make this visit.

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    1. Glad you share my feeling that they are adorable Gaelyn but then blogs always post the best of things usually. As much fun as it was, I don't think I'd want to stay forever. LOL!

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  10. Such a great time we had. Lovely pictures, fun videos, and such special memories. Looking forward to doing it again! 💕

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    1. We always have a great time which is so wonderful. And there's more to look forward to. Love you all BUNCHES!!!

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    1. Yes Doris, that's it exactly - fun! Thanks for letting me know you are out there reading.

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  12. 5 already? Seems like just the other day she was born. She is going to be a real lovely lady when she gets older. Hope her Dad has a good shotgun to keep all the boys away! :cD

    Love that reading chair, too bad it won't fit in Winnona. It would be a nicer chair than anything from the factory. One can only wish (sigh).

    PS: Your hair looks amazing! A very nice style for you. :c)

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    1. Exactly my thoughts Paul - 5 already!! But then you've been through how fast they grow. I think that chair would take up the entire front part of the RV but it's perfect for reading at their house. Glad you like my short hair. I remember your comment from the post showing long and short.

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  13. well, that looked like a whole lot of kid fun with Nana. Lucky kids to have you as a grandmother. I was still working when my grandkids (now in their 20's and one almost 40. I didn't have the chance to be the kind of nana you are now. Good on you and lucky them!

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    1. Yes Sue they can pretty much wear me out in 3 or 4 days. It is nice not to be working but with my traveling and even when I'm back in Virginia, I don't see them much since they are over 3 hours away. Looking forward to when they are old enough to come visit me on the road if I am still able to be on the road.

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  14. You have such darling grandchildren! And you seem to always find the perfect gifts for them. Those butterfly sunglasses are adorable on Celia. :-) It's wonderful that they love books and reading (or being read to). That's obviously a direct result of you and Carrie passing on your love of books to them.

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    1. Gifts are really hard when I don't see them very much. Carrie and I didn't do well with the games this time. Wish I could get you and I a pair of those butterfly sunglasses. Wouldn't we be a hoot!!

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  15. What a lovely visit with your beautiful grands. I laughed at the clean out project. All our grands' parents do that on a regular basis too. I have to be conscious of not adding "too much" to the piles and bins :-) I'm with Celia on not being a Cicada fan - icky!

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