Gryffin's Birthday, the Big 10!

Wow, I can't believe Gryffy has hit the double digits! Tonight we're celebrating with Grammy and Bpop and Gryffy's choice, Bravo!, and last week he wanted a party at home, because that's his tradition. This boy loves traditions.

Here are a few pics from his party, followed by 10 things I love about Gryffy.

I'm David S. Pumpkins, maaaan. Any questions?
(He chose the SNL Halloween special as his driveway movie. Now it's all the 4th grade boys talk about. Ha!)

Ten things I love about Gryffy:

1. His joyful and infectious smile and laughter. This boy's always giggling loudly and loves to make others laugh! He's hilarious.

2. Confidence. Gryffy is totally unique and never tries to be like other people. He knows who he is, what he likes, and is completely comfortable in his own skin. And his charisma and confidence attracts a lot of friends.

3. He's ambitious and smart. This boy is already seriously studying to be a surgeon, and dreaming up a bright future.

4. He adores his big sister. These two are tied at the hip, are each other's best friends, and rarely fight.

5. Gryffy's amazing acrobatic skills and signature moves on the trampoline and his floppy curls tossing around with every flip.

6. He loves adventure and travel. He enjoys telling people about all the places he's been, or reminiscing on travels with us ("Remember when I picked up a jellyfish in Denmark?")

7. Gryffy's strategic mind and love of games, like cards and chess. He embraces that he's both a jock and a geek. :) And dang it, he's better than me at chess now, bringing home trophy after trophy at tournaments.

8. He adores our animals and especially our cats. Gryffy often embraces them and oozes love on them in a high-pitched squeaky voice. "AAAW, CLIIIIMBERRRR!"

9. He has a strong moral compass and solid character. I've watched him handle difficult situations with friends this year with incredible integrity, truth-telling, kindness and insight.

10. He is love. Gryffy always seeks out the new kids and welcomes them, like Pete on his first day. He makes a point of visiting the "buddy bench" at recess where lonely kids go when they need someone to play with. He always wants to give money to the homeless and spread kindness and light. And he deeply loves his family and is very proud of the things that make us unique.

Gryffin, I am so proud of you and love you so much! Happy Bday Buddy!

Lorelei's Birthday, the Big 12

This morning we celebrated Lorelei with a banner in our yard, our birthday tradition of early morning bagels/coffee (she chose Einstein Bros. at 6:45am) and our birthday interview. Isn't she lovely?

Tonight we'll celebrate with some friends at Dave & Busters, a singing of our spirited Dutch birthday song, "Lang Zal Ze Leven," then a slumber party and movie rental (Happy Death Day--L's fave movie). But for now, twelve things I totally love about my Lulu.

12. She's a pure original and knows what she likes--including blue and purple mermaid hair (which looks fabulous, I think).

11. She avoids drama with friends. I never hear her gossip, or put down others, or take sides unless she's worried about someone being hurt or left out.

10. She puts up with my wild adventures and is an amazing traveling companion--even braving long hikes in the Alps when she's under the weather with a cold so we can bask in beauty (can you see the sniffles on her face below?). This girl has wings to fly and takes it all in stride!

9. She is a lover of beauty who points out flowers, rainbows, sunrises and sunsets, the moon and stars. In the picture above, it's a snail shell and wildflowers--she especially loves all things small!

8. Sometimes she has anxiety and fear, and she faces it with resolute courage:

"I learned that courage is not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave [wo]man is not [s]he who does not feel afraid, but [s]he who conquers that fear." -Nelson Mandela
She does brave stuff. Like fish pedicures:

7. She makes the world a much more caring place with her deep compassion and kindness. 

6. She loves animals and cares so well for them. We still have to set up some volunteer time with the Wayside Waifs, where we adopted Domino, because she's always begging to volunteer with her furry friends.

5. She is a creative/artist, through and through. Her illustrations and comic stories are exceptional. She works hard at her art and has gained great skill that continually amazes me. She is also a voracious reader, and a pithy writer!

4. Lorelei has a sixth sense. Her dreams speak to her, and she listens and trusts their messages. I love when she shares her deep intuitions, and trusts her gut to guide her through life.

3. Lorelei maintains close friendships, especially with our neighbors, who she often gathers at our home for art, trampoline jumps, writing plays and stories and other creative adventures (this week, she's gathering with Ava & Sophie and their families in Mazatlan, Mexico, at her fave resort--what a birthday!)

(Virgin pina coladas at Pueblo Bonito Emerald Bay--yes, please!)

2. She is a fiercely loyal older sister. She and Gryffy genuinely adore each other and rarely fight. They are inseparable, and their interactions are always punctuated with loud peals of laughter. From the moment he was born, she was his stalwart companion.

1. She is the world's greatest daughter, enjoying long car rides with music (she controls the radio), rain walks, adventurous journeys, card games, quirky traditions, reverse tuck-ins, deep talks at bedtime, snuggling up to read with me... she still wants to be around me, and I sure love being around her, basking in her beautiful light!

Lorelei, we love you so much! Happy Birthday, Cumpleanos Feliz, Lang Zal Ze Leven!

Love,

Mom

Gryffin's Nine Years Old!

Gryffy turned 9! He wanted to have a laser tag party, but when he found out we had to limit the number of friends to 10, he just couldn't narrow it down. So, he opted instead for a bigger present (a hoverboard he's been eyeing for ages!) and a simple, backyard birthday bash...

 ... with this crazy crew!

Let's check out that hoverboard (the go-cart attachment is a gift from Gma/Gpa Connelly):

I think water balloon fights are becoming Gryffin's birthday tradition.

Some kids begged for the whole bucket!

 We corralled everyone to eat cake. The candles kept blowing out in the wind, so we ended up just lighting one for a quick wish. The boys tore that sheet cake apart and were even scraping off chocolate cake from the cardboard box it came it. Sugar overload!

Eat cake!

Then we set them loose. The basketball hoop and soccer goal were major hits for these sports-loving boys.

 And a few created their own fun in the back with the "water bottle challenge."

Gryffy takes endless delight in this.

Just look at his face...

Midway through the party, it rained. Good thing everyone was in swim gear for the water balloons. We opened the garage for the kids to take shelter.

But that didn't last long! Ghosts in the Graveyard was calling.

And a trampoline turned slip n slide!

After the party, our neighbor Roman spent the night. It was a pretty awesome birthday for this kid.

NINE things we love & appreciate about Gryffy:

1) He makes us laugh, all the time! Gryffy will go to any length to entertain people, and he's pretty hilarious. His smile alone - full of missing teeth - is contagious. :D

2) He loves his family fiercely, especially his big sister.

3) He works hard at whatever he does (straight-A student, soccer, research, writing, etc.). Even though he's one of the youngest in his class, Gryffin excels among his older peers.

4) He is a team player and cheers others on to success. He is genuinely happy when others succeed (on the soccer field he jumps up and down with his arms raised and that electric smile across his face when anyone on the team scores a goal).

5) Gryffy is extremely determined and self-motivated. He's working this summer on anatomy/physiology, chemistry and math because he wants to be a surgeon. He also loves studying history and has recently taken an interest in the Roman Empire.

6) Gryffy is incredibly compassionate and kind. Recently on a field trip he asked his chaperone if he could give up his hot drink at Starbucks in order to give the money to a homeless man.

7) He is committed to meditation and meditates with me everyday. At recess, on the field trip bus, on the landing in the house, he's always gathering people to meditate and build their "super mind."

8) He's a home-body/adventurer, something I think he gets from me. He loves no other place in the world as much as home, and yet he embraces adventure and loves to travel the world and experience new things. Because of this, Gryffy has an especially broad perspective for his age.

9) He still snuggles with me, takes my face in his hands, his green-brown eyes penetrating mine, and says, "Mommee, I loooooove you!" And I melt every time.

Lorelei's 11!

Lorelei turned 11, which conjures all the cliche phrases about how time flies with kids - and truly, I can't believe she's this old! 

Mark and I surprised her with lunch at school from Chick-Fil-A.

Lorelei wanted to celebrate her birthday with a slumber party, as per tradition. I made some bunting as a celebration banner for the fireplace and bedecked the kitchen in blue, twirly crepe ribbons for when she arrived downstairs, a year older.

Some pics from her slumber party:

Opening presents:

Lulu's guests included Lillian, Gryffy, Aria, Reece, Christina and Ava.

Her favorite cookie cake, the one she asks for every year.

Wishing!

Two of the girls fell asleep at a reasonable hour. The others were up all night - ha! Fortunately I'm a light sleeper, because three of them tried to sneak onto the trampoline at around 3am. :) Not so fast...

But my favorite part of Lorelei's birthday? Bringing gifts to a family in need. Lorelei picked out this bike for a little girl, along with an adorable helmet that looked like a peacock. When we delivered the bike, that precious little girl would not get off of it! I was steering her around the wood floors of their house until my back was sore.

To add to the magic, it began to snow outside, and for this family of refugees who had just arrived in America, it was their very first snowfall. When we got home, the kids were rolling snowballs all over the yard.

Eleven things we love about Lorelei (random order):

11 - She is the world's best big sister. She and Gryffin adore each other and have an incredible bond, always have. They rarely ever argue (except about where to sit in the backseat of the car during carpool - ha).

10 - Lorelei is kind through and through. She treats others with love and compassion, and sticks up for people who are left out or need a friend.

9 - She's deeply intuitive. She listens to the soul of the world through dreams and her extraordinary perception.

8 - She works hard to be a great student; she's smart, excels in school and often represents her class for special events (math competitions, spelling bees, musical solo, etc.)

7 - She still snuggles with me. When Mark has band gigs, we have slumber parties and stay up watching movies or reading Harry Potter (we're midway through Book 4)...

6 - ... Which calls to mind that Lorelei is a voracious reader. She cannot stop carrying her Kindle everywhere. The other day, she even brought it on our family bike rides to Zaxby's and also to the Fish Fry.

5 - She doesn't start drama. She just does her thing and (usually, with a small hiccup this week) tries to avoid all the drama around her at this age.

4 - She knows who she is and what she's about. Without imposing her wants on others, she stands her ground and does things her way. (Much to my chagrin sometimes, like when I have a particular outfit in mind for church.) :)

3 - She has a spirit of adventure and chooses to be courageous. 

2 - The girl can write and draw. Stories and comic sketches, poems, research projects, debates and other creations, just flow creatively from her hands. I'm amazed at her writing and research skills, and how she comes to me all the time asking for more ideas to write about. She's always conjuring up something creative, often entrepreneurial (like Baking Club).

1 - She's exuberant about life and soaks in its beauty. She notices and appreciates, and helps me to appreciate it too (like last night, when she just wanted to sit on the porch step with me and stare into the starry sky on a mild spring night, or how she frequently wants to drive extra loops through the neighborhood to appreciate a song on the radio - music lover, she).

Lorelei, we love you something fierce! Happy 11th Birthday!

Gryffin's SIX!

Gryffin John finally turned six!

(He's not fond of being one of the youngest in kindergarten, he likes to remind us.)

 This year, Gryffin wanted a backyard Minecraft party. Easy-peasy, and oh-so-fun!

Backyard parties are the best!

 He loved this Creeper named "Creepy".

 Gryffy's favorite toy was the Minecraft pickaxe from Miles.

 The trampoline. Best investment ever.

 Birthday kisses!

 I've been lagging behind on blogging since going back to school, so I'm throwing in some soccer pics. Gryffin's had an amazing season and suddenly decided that he LOVES soccer. He can't wait for soccer camp this summer.

Dylan and Gryffin.

 Exuberant at every game.

 Getting a hug from his best bud, Miles.

 Star Destroyers.

 Back to the party, left to right:

Mete, Mete's sister, Mitchell, Miles, Lorelei, Annabel (back)

Josh, Averie, Luke, Gryffin, Kai, Rahul, Lizzie (front)

Six things we love about Gryffin.

1) Gryffin is Mr. Fun. He's the most fun-loving, joyful kid around. His smile lights up his face and has the power of contagion. Charisma all around.

2) Gryffin's heart is made of pure gold. He is so compassionate. Just last night, I burnt my hand while camping, and immediately Gryffin ran to the ice cooler to get the biggest chunk of ice he could find without even being asked. He's constantly caring for others, picking up on the emotions of others, genuinely giving of himself.

3) Gryffin's a little genius. His adorable teacher, Miss Hill, often remarks what a great student he is despite being the youngest boy in class. She says he's the leader, and that he's so fun because he's goofy at just the right times, but helps keep the other kids in line by setting a good example when appropriate.

4) Gryffin still loves to snuggle with me. I love it when he climbs into bed in the early mornings, or surprises me with hugs and a sweet little squeak like a baby. (Yes, I baby my baby.)

5) Gryffin has a loyal heart. I see great character in him and know that he is a boy of integrity, which will carry him far in life. He can be trusted.

6) Despite being a homebody, Gryffin has a spirit of adventure. He rides falling elevators and roller coasters with me, does back flips on the trampoline, and crosses continents to take in new horizons. Just like his namesake, the mythological gryphon, Gryffy is loyal, brave and free.

Love him with all my heart!