Tee ball Girl

Eva's Small Team (only one player missing)

Ambi-dextrous fielding (she's wearing her glove on the wrong hand)

Eva and Aunt Trina!

These are photos from Eva's spring tee ball. She is enjoying playing
very much. While she still spends some time playing in the dirt, she
really seems to be learning a lot about the game and is doing well. Not
surprisingly, she shows a lot of hustle out there. She's the only girl
on her team, and sometimes she runs circles around those boys. They let
every child bat every inning, and when the last batter hits, then they
all run in; Eva often clocks the runner ahead of her!

The last picture is of Eva with her beloved Aunt Trina who came to town
last weekend. Eva and Aunt Trina had a wonderful time together, and I
got a couple of breaks -- one to run errands and one to attend my dear
friend Kevin's wedding reception. I know there are some of our faithful
readers who know Kevin, and I'll give you a moment to scrape your chin
off the floor at that news! It was a fun party, and I enjoyed catching
up with various members of Kevin's family, who in my early years in
Nashville were like a second family to me.

Yesterday, I got to watch Eva and her dance class practice their routine
for their recital on May 16th. It is a tap routine performed to "Don't
Worry, Be Happy." It is too cute. I can't wait to see her in costume
and on stage. Join us if you can -- Saturday, May 16 at 6:00pm at TPAC.

Next Monday, my dad is having knee replacement surgery. Please say a
little prayer that all goes according to plan and that he will soon be
walking pain-free. I will go to help out for a few days next week, and
"Auntie Sarah" (a dear friend) will stay with Eva again. Eva greeted
that news this morning with a big grin and a whoop (hear that Auntie
Sarah -- she's excited to have you with her again).

Easter doings

We had a fun-filled Easter weekend. In addition to the trip to Camp Widjiwagan on Easter Day, we went to church, of course. We also packed a lot into Friday and Saturday. Friday, we got pedicures with a young-adult friend of mine, Jessie. Eva had Jessie and me (and several other people in the salon) in hysterics, frankly. She loved the massage chair!

Then, my friend Kissy and her 6 and 7-year old kids came over to dye eggs. After hours of anticipation on Eva’s part, the whole egg-dying experience took all of about 10 minutes. The real fun was when we cracked cascarones over one another’s heads. They are a Mexican tradition I had heard of some time ago and then was reminded of on a work trip to San Antonio a few weeks ago. You hollow out an egg, clean it, let it dry (in our case in the interests of time, I used my hairdryer to speed up the process), fill the egg with confetti and then glue some tissue paper over the hole. Then comes the exciting part – cracking it over someone’s head. The kids were thrilled with that. We ALL had vast quantities of confetti in our hair and clothing!

Oh, I almost forgot, between the pedicure and the egg-fun, we spent an hour or so in our basement due to tornado warnings. Thankfully, we were spared, but a city 30 miles southeast of us (Murfreesboro) suffered great damage. Our thoughts and prayers are with those who were affected.

And Friday evening I went to a party and got to visit with several people I really enjoy. It was so nice to have adult conversation and delicious food.

Saturday, Eva got to spend a lot of time playing in the neighborhood with various children. Then, after a nap (which is becoming more and more rare around our house), we went to deliver mini Easter baskets to some special people. We ended our day with a trip to a favorite park, where Eva hooked up with some kids and a very energetic dad who was chasing them all over the park. Eva loves getting to play with other kids’ dads, and I was glad not to have to do the chasing and have a few minutes to read my book, something that with the naps becoming rarer has also become rarer!

I can’t believe we have finally hit the stage where I can read a few pages of a book at the park. I can remember when Eva was probably 2.5, I was at a park and I saw someone I knew from church with his then 6 or 7 year old daughter, and he was reading. I thought “what a terrible parent” because he wasn’t watching her and/or engaged with her every minute. Now, I know that at 6, a child can/should play at the park just fine without parental involvement!

Scaling great heights

Yesterday afternoon, we went to the open house at the Y camp (Camp
Widjiwagan) where Eva will spend 4 weeks this summer (at day camp). Because we had been there before for an HCA employee picnic, I knew my way around, and
sensing my daughter's growing impatience with the "formal" tour and her
desire to ride on the "roofless" bus, we hopped on the bus and went to a
particular part of the camp. We happened to get off the bus at the foot
of the very high Alpine Tower. Eva immediately wanted to give it a go.

After strapping on the harness and helmet and standing in line for quite
a while, Eva essentially ran up the first part, which consisted of a number of steps cut into a fairly steep piece of wood. That is where many
children stopped, sat down on a platform and were lowered down by the
rope. Not Eva; no the Gusto Girl continued up the rock wall on a nearly
vertical log, which led to a V where she needed to use hand
and footholds on both sides. Then she had to work her way up to a rope
ladder, which she climbed the hard way -- i.e., on the back side of the
slant versus the front. She then had to work her way to the other side
of it and onto the top platform. There was one moment when she got
scared and had to get herself reversed where she cried, but she managed
to recapture her cool, watch the counselors and me demonstrate what she
needed to do and do it. She was by far the youngest/smallest we saw who
made it to the top. Wow, was I proud of her.

She came sailing down and loved receiving the cheers of support and
congratulations. We then walked around the camp and no big surprise
came back to the Alpine Tower at the end. She did it one more time in
no time at all and again was thrilled with herself.

So, the photo at the top of this entry is a drawing she made today. It
says (and I'll forgo the phonetic way of spelling that she used), "I
went to Widjiwagan. It was fun." She drew herself at the top of the
tower and said, "Foof. I made it." And at the bottom is one of the
counselors (dressed in red and navy, just as the real counselor was)
saying, "Keep on going."

Commercial Break

I just had to take a moment to plug my friend Bryan Roberson's artist
talent. As you can see, he painted Eva's portrait, and I think he did a
fabulous job capturing Eva's spirit/essence. He works from photos,
although in this case he knew the subject pretty well. He has spent a
few years doing pet portraits and has just branched out into human
portraits, with Eva being one of his first. If you want to capture your
children or pets or both in a vibrant, playful way, check out Bryan's
website: www.bryanroberson.com.

Birthday doings

Wow was the birthday weekend fun -- a whirlwind, but fun.

It started with Mimi and Popaw surprising Eva outside her aftercare. She was clearly surprised and ran into their open arms immediately. We all had a fun time being together throughout the weekend.

That Saturday was the "friends" party. I learned a lot from this party, namely 3.5 hours is a little too long at age 6. Thankfully, the time was broken up with different activities. We started with ice cream and cake at our house and then went to watch the SEC Women's Gymnastics downtown. About 25 minutes into it, at least 2 of the girls (mine included) asked, "when will it be over" and "when are we going to go." We managed to stay another 25 minutes or so thanks to popcorn and licorice! Then, we went for a walk downtown, and I think hanging out at the fountain near the Symphony Hall may have been the highlight for the girls! If I'd known that, I would have just planned a little tour of downtown for them! :) We finished off the party with dinner at McDonald's, which was very exciting for all of them, especially considering the Happy Meal toy was a Littlest Pet Shop animal!

On Sunday, Eva's actual birthday, we all went out to breakfast at Athens Restaurant. For all you locals, if you haven't tried Athens yet, particularly for breakfast -- check it out! For a few years now, I had been telling Eva she could chew gum when she was 6. Well, darned if 6 didn't come a lot faster than I would have liked. Well, Athens had a gumball machine, and she was so excited by the prospect of getting one after her meal. Unfortunately, the machine did not work. Huge frustration and tears. Thankfully, I had a pack of gum, but it was at home, and the rest of us could not finish our meals fast enough for the birthday girl to enjoy her 1st piece of gum as a 6-year-old.

We had several friends ("Aunties and Uncles") over for birthday lunch, and we all had a lovely time. Eva was rather distracted with new things to play with and the fabulous weather outside, so we really didn't see all that much of the birthday girl. It was nice for the adults to have some time to visit.

All-in-all, a wonderful day/weekend for the birthday girl.

Little Man

In mid-March, for part of Eva's spring break, we went to Ohio to visit
my sister and her family. While we were very excited to see all of
them, the main purpose was to meet Samuel their (almost 4-year old) son
who they had brought home from Ethiopia three weeks earlier. He matches
Eva in spunk, which was wonderful. While the first few weeks home were
challenging for everyone, Samuel was doing so well by the time we got
there. He was a little shy with Eva and me the first evening and
following morning, but after that, it was as if he'd known us a long
time. His language skills were incredible, and all reports are they
grow daily. It was very clear he understood most of what was being said
to and around him, even if he didn't always have the words to respond.
He and Eva worked out a deal to share his bike, and all was well with
them. Samuel has learned the family ethic of teasing and delighted in
teasing and tricking everyone, but especially his dad with whom he had
then bonded most intensely.

Last weekend my brother, Sean, and his family were near Stacey's and
stopped to meet Samuel. Sean's oldest son taught Samuel how to put ice
down someone's shirt, and I heard that Samuel's dad is the target of
that oh-so-fun activity!

While we were in Ohio, Stacey and I had the chance to get out to a
lovely open-air mall and have a wonderful dinner at the Melting Pot. We
had more one-on-one conversation in that one afternoon and evening than
we have had in several years put together. It was delightful.

Another highlight of our time there was a trip to the Columbus Science
Institute (COSI), which was great fun for Samuel and Eva. We spent most
of our time in an interactive area. If you're ever in Columbus with
kids in tow, check it out!

Way Behind

I am way behind on posting, so buckle your seat belts . . . here come the updates.