M.F.E.O.

A couple weeks ago we were invited to Aunt Sallie and Uncle David's awesome new house to celebrate all the Mobley spring birthdays. As punishment for surviving another year, we made them all line up in party hats and asked them to smile while we took a zillion snapshots.

Elsbeth serenaded us with brain-melting shrieks on the drive to Greenville, but once there she decided life was pretty fantastic. She and Cousin Anna-Kate crawled circles around each other and battled to see who could retain possession of the most cat toys. I'm trying not to have my feelings hurt that she smashed the monkey cake I made for her to smithereens and threw it on the ground, but was quite interested in her cupcake here at the party. It's wise to creep snoot first into unfamiliar foods.


She was delighted to receive her very first doll, a sweet Raggedy Ann that she grabbed and kissed.


Somebody decided to let Uncle David out of the attic even though his medication had clearly worn off.


And Scary Uncle Jeff was permitted to mingle once we disarmed him. The children knew to keep their distance, but sadly a neighbor's cat has been missing ever since.

Andrew thought the whole thing was spectacular and didn't seem to mind that none of the presents were for him. (Granted, Nannie had a whole sack of goodies for him upon his arrival and we let him "help" Elsbeth open her gifts, most of which he unceremoniously pitched to the side once out of the wrapping.) Time being doted upon by loving aunts, uncles and grandparents feeds a little one's soul.

Andrew also got his own private magic show by a much adored family friend. I think Sir Raul was biting a quarter in half here.

The weather was unbelievable so we all spent hours in the gorgeous yard running, playing badminton, laying on blankets, throwing footballs, etc. Thank you so much Crazies Uncle David and Aunt Sallie for all the wonderful memories!

Back at home we're trying to muddle along after such party fun followed by days of getting to hang out with Nannie. Andrew continues to enjoy his gymnastics class ...

... and now we've added some swim lessons to the mix! And as a special bonus, he's getting take these lessons with his dear friend Eunice Chantilly! Aren't they so cute, waiting there to go into the pool?

Even though he's still very hesitant to get his face wet (which, from what I understand, is a critical piece of the learning-to-swim process), we're making great strides. He was wrapped around me like an octopus - total death grip - when we walked in the first day, but by the end of that class he was giddy about going back. He now willingly wears goggles (!), will jump off the wall to the teacher (after much negotiation about how close the teacher should stand), and is learning to float.

And Els keeps growing and growing. I'm going to shamelessly steal a nickname I saw on a blog I visited once years ago where the writer referred to her husband as "The Fiery One." Elsbeth is my Fiery One. She will be so happy, so very happy, giggling and laughing and grinning so you can see all her 7 teeth. Then something will happen - say, Mommy offers her water when she isn't in the mood for water - and she'll wither you with her glare and try to fling the offered sippy cup into the next room. I've been really working to get her to sign "please" when she wants more food, but she flatly refuses. She prefers to give me a stern look and bang on her tray. She is tied for the most adorable creature in the world and I simply love her to bits. I also collapse into a heap outside her bedroom door after I put her down for the night.

One item of prayer for my girl - she's scheduled for a swallow study at the Egleston Children's Hospital on Thursday morning. She chokes very easily on food - something that's been an issue since we brought her home, but that has gotten scarier now that we've (finally) entered the world of table foods. Several back-beating episodes had me calling our pediatrician who suggested we do the swallow study to see if there's an issue there. Anything that I can imagine fixing a swallowing issue sounds pretty yucky (surgery?), but I'm ready for meal times to be more relaxed.