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Lindsay Metcalf
on Jun 19 2013 - 06:00 AM
My top five most important moments of the summer so far
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mara williams
on Jun 18 2013 - 06:00 AM
Hey, manchild, mama says: clean your room, wash the dishes, don't drink and drive.
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Emily Parnell
on Jun 16 2013 - 06:00 AM
Eating fresh, local produce is good for body and soul
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Jim Cosgrove
on Jun 13 2013 - 06:00 AM
I just want to buy some pants. Please, turn down the music.
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When was the last time you had a sibling so excited about your birthday that he couldn't sleep? This is what happened with Marc and Charlotte.
It looks like Mitch and I were able to keep Charlotte alive for another year. Our sweet little baby turned three years old this past week. She's not a baby anymore, that's for sure! She's not a toddler, either. No, she's all about Barbies and My Little Ponies now.
Oh, and Spider-Man, of course.
I think this was the first birthday where Charlotte realized she was having a birthday. She talked about it for a month. In preparation, I found at a yard sale a dollhouse someone had built out of that masonite board stuff, and painted it in secret the same colors as our house, then put all of her existing Calico Critters in it.
Marc, ever the doting big brother, wanted to get a present for her too. So, we headed out to the toy store and he picked out more Critters for her. He was very careful about it, too. Which critters did she already have? How many babies does she have? What furniture would she like for the dollhouse?
He finally picked out a pair of twin baby mice and some bunk beds to go with them. He was so proud of his choice! But then, he looked up at me with a worried face. "I don't have any money!" I could tell he was about to enter panic mode.
"Calm down," I said. "I got ya. You can pay me back someday." He literally let out a sigh of relief.
That night, Charlotte's birthday-eve, he helped me finish painting her dollhouse. It's a tradition at our house that the birthday boy or girl wake up to presents in the living room, just like Christmas. Marc helped me arrange the dollhouse furniture, and helped Gramma blow up the balloons. We arranged the presents with the dollhouse as the centerpiece. Then, we went to bed.
Then, I woke up. I woke up to a tapping on my shoulder. It scared the crap out of me. When I recovered from that, I saw a tall Marc standing over me.
"Mom, I can't sleep." I looked at the clock. It was one in the morning. I checked to make sure my little boy wasn't sick or something, then took him back to bed.
Then, I woke up, to another tapping on my shoulder, and a tall Marc standing over me yet again. The time on the clock? 2:05. "I can't sleep," he said.
So, I took him back to his room. Again. This time I laid down with him a little bit. He was pretty restless, and I thought, the last time he was like this was at Christmas. "Marc, are you excited about Charlotte's birthday? Is that why you can't sleep?"
"Yeah," he admitted. "I want her to open my present."
Wow, I thought. What an amazing brother. I'll have to blog about this later!
When we all woke up on Birthday Morning, Charlotte was the first one down the steps. Of course.
"My dollhouse!" she said. "Is that for me?"
"Open this one!" Marc insisted. He shoved a present into her hands. His present.
"Look! Dolls for my dollhouse!" She was so excited, and so was Marc. I could see the pride he had in himself, in choosing a good gift for his sister.
She opened the rest of her presents. Gramma got her lots of Barbie things, which she was terribly crazy about. Good choice, Gramma Diane! Her father and I got her a Spider-Man costume, which she wore for hours.
Later, she would be found playing with her new baby mice and dollhouse in her Spider-Man costume. Yeah, I think she had a good birthday.
I wonder if Charlotte will be able to sleep on Marc's birthday-eve? Guess we'll find out!
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