In all honesty, I woke up this morning consumed with sadness and found myself missing Ken so badly I couldn’t catch my breath. I woke up at 4:30 am, taking a walk down memory lane before I left for Steph’s and another day with the kids.
When I got to Steph’s Abby had a Valentine’s Basket in her hand for Nana. Happy Valentine’s Day Nana – we made you a surprise. Do you love it?” “I do, Abby” I said, “I really love it.” “We made you a heart cookie Nana and it has your name on it.” And sure enough, inside was a huge heart cookie, covered with sprinkles and with Nana written in pink – Abby’s favorite color. Later that day I said to Abby “you know, Nana woke up feeling very sad this morning, but you and Currin and your Valentine’s basket you made with mommy, made Nana very happy”. Abby leaned over, put her arms around my neck, squeezed, kissed my cheek and said “we love you Nana”.
Abby came to me later and said “do you love your heart cookie”. “I do”, I said. “Oh Nana, it is a BIG heart and it has sprinkles and pink icing with your name. Do you love it, love it?” “I really love it, love it”, I said. Abby smiled, tilted her head, fluttered her eyelashes and said “do you think you should share it with me”. What a smart girl. Of course, I did 🙂
I’ve been holding Currin’s hand and walking with him in the hope he’ll gain confidence and walk on his own. We walked to his bedroom and there is a huge dog sitting there that just so happened to have a blanket over its head. Currin let go of my hand, walked to the dog and proceeded to play peek-a-boo with it. Oh how he laughed and so did Nana.
We went back to the living room and Abby had laid cushions from the couch on the floor in a pattern. “What’s that” I asked. “That’s our gym mat” and she proceeded to show me the things she learned in gymnastics”. Creative!
Then she looked at me and said the cushions were our “space ship”. “Sit here Nana and buckle your seat belt.” I sat down and sat Currin beside me. Of course I had to fasten his seatbelt too. “7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 -blastoff”, Abby said. And we were off. We landed on the moon; we visited the stars and had a great adventure. What an imagination she has!
Currin was standing by the hearth when I noticed something in his hand. He had actually managed to pull a long splinter from a log and guess where that went? Yep, straight to his mouth. You cannot blink around these kids!
It was such a beautiful day, much too nice to be indoors. So, we went outside to play. I pulled Abby and Currin in the wagon and oh how they both laughed. We drew pictures in chalk in the driveway that included a big heart that said “Nana loves Abby and Currin”, a big burst of sun, a duck (Abby said it looked more like a dinosaur) and Mickey Mouse. I helped Abby climb a tree – she is such a big girl. Then we went to the swings. I buckled Currin in the baby swing and took turns pushing both of them. Of course Abby yelled “higher, higher”. When both got tired of swinging, Abby jumped off and I attempted to get Currin out of his. But I couldn’t get the safety harness unbuckled. Currin was getting more and more upset which only made my attempts to free him harder. Considering my only recourse might be to cut the dang straps, I managed to free his arms. Abby held the bottom of the swing while I tugged him out of the harness. Whew! Abby smiled and said “teamwork!” It works every time.
As promised Nana took them to Dairy Queen for their Valentine’s day ice cream cones. I started this with Abby several months ago as our “Nana” treat and could hardly wait for Currin to reach age 1 so he could enjoy one too. Oh how my babies love ice cream cones. They say a picture is worth a thousand words so I’ve uploaded them to my Facebook page and the gallery here. Enjoy!
Of course my timing really messed up lunch but hey – Valentine’s Day only comes once a year 🙂
I decided to keep Currin and Abby last night for a sleepover at Nana’s house so Steph and Ladd could enjoy Valentine’s Day as a couple. Abby and Currin were chasing each other around the chair when all of a sudden Currin’s starts crying a horrible cry – you know, the kind that makes your heart stop. My first thought was he had gotten shocked by a power strip under the chair. I tried to grab him up and shake him so he would get his breath but couldn’t move him. Thinking he was paralyzed by shock my mind was rushing over what to do next when I realized his legs were pinned under the chair. Abby had lifted the footrest and his legs were caught. Once I freed his legs he was fine and had not been hurt at all. It took me a while to catch my own breath and stop shaking.
After that excitement I decided it was snuggle time. I put both Abby and Currin in my lap in the chair and turned on a princess movie – Enchantment. It is such a sweet movie if you haven’t seen it. Abby looked at me and said “we’re having a sleepover at your house Nana”. I smiled and said “are you having fun”. Abby hugged me and said “I always have fun with you Nana”. It didn’t take long for both to start to doze and soon Abby said “I am so sleepy”. I carried Currin to my bed and Abby ran ahead, climbed in bed, and under the covers. Abby loves my bed and my feather comforter. I sang them a couple songs and then Abby and I took turns singing “silly songs” – you know like “Row, Row, Row your house”, “Twinkle, Twinkle Yellow School Bus”. The sillier the better. Both were fast asleep in less than 10 minutes.
All in all it turned out to be one of my best Valentine’s Days ever.