The morning glories in my backyard have caught my eye these last few days. It finally seems worth the effort to start these plants indoors half a year ago (February)!
I love that a tiny seed morphs into such a large plant that bursts with new blooms every morning. By afternoon, the flowers on these Morning Glories, and even the foliage start to wither. The following morning, the plants have perked up and dozens of new blooms have emerged.
I'm going to risk sounding like a musical by breaking into song here. But the words of this old hymn are coming to mind as I think about this daily miracle...
The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases His mercies never come to an end They are new every morning, new every morning Great is Your faithfulness
Eliana is a delight. It's so easy to get her smiling with that sweet, gummy smile of hers. And she has the sweetest 'coos'.
In fact, she is such a generous smiler that I literally have to turn the light off in her room at night so that I can get a soother in her mouth. If I don't, she will just keep smiling and cooing at me as long as she can see me, unable to receive anything to pacify her when I leave. Sweet kid.
This week she has discovered her hands, and has been using them to gag herself. Not sure why that's fun enough to repeat it over and over, but that's her thing this week. She's also started trying to lean forward and sit up on her own. Though she hasn't managed that quite yet, she is holding her head up quite a bit now. Man. Next thing we know, she'll be off to college.
Here's a sweet moment after her bath last night, while Tim was leaving a message for his mom.
One of the lines in a song I love to sing these days (Child of Promise) is
Fresh from God, refresh our spirits Into joy and laughter lead
Eliana, fresh from heaven, most certainly does just this. Even when she's not smiling.
Beanfest 2008 was -- at risk of a very bad pun -- quite a blast.
On Friday morning we awoke to the sounds of stage assembly, picnic table arranging and port-o-potty set up. By Friday afternoon, there was a main stage assembled beside our bedroom windows, a fry truck parked beside our porch, and rides set up at the end of our driveway. The picture below is Maia watching excitedly as the mini 'amusement park' took shape on our street.
The thing I enjoy most about Beanfest is the myriad of friends that come from far and near right to our doorstep once a year... literally. I can't say I got to engage in many lengthy conversations of depth (which I love) but it was 'a different kind of great' to enjoy a little bit of time with so many of the people in our lives.
Here's the mini tour by our house, for those of you who couldn't be here. (So sad for you.) You can't get any closer to the heart of the Zurich Bean Festival than this.
Last year, a train ride was set up on our street. Maia talked about that train for a whole year. She was a little disappointed to find out that the train hadn't returned this year, until she found out they had set up pony rides at the end of our next-door neighbour's driveway. Oh yes, ponies right next door. Guess what we'll be hearing about for the next year?
Here's the debrief with her dad right after her first pony ride. I love the wide-eyed, quiet processing that happens when she is first thinking about something new and exciting.
The Bean Festival is also starting to mean a weekend visit with our friend Adam from Ottawa, who I now refer to as "little brother". We just love this guy -- his presence, his sense of humour, his desire to follow God, his sincerity. Maia adores Adam and I think the reverse is true as well. This weekend he pulled out a painting she had sent him last year that he has been keeping in his journal all this time.
Here's Adam, freshly 'napkinned' and ready to take on his baked beans. (His hair got a little extra lift from the wind.)
I rather expected that Maia, being quite reserved about new people in general, would keep her distance from clowns. But boy, was I wrong.
An hour after this clown made her a bunny balloon, she returned quite boldly to ask him if he could please make something with "hands and legs and a head". He was kind enough to oblige.
As much as I enjoyed playing on the Beanfest stage the last two years, I was happy just to be 'mommy' this year and enjoy the music from a distance. (Well, not too much distance, of course.)
Our dear friends Kelly and Dave, and Glen (recording engineer and co-producer of my next album). did a set as Strawberry Mary.
And Maia danced.
And danced.
Danced with friends. Danced alone. This girl just loves to move to the music and I love that she feels the freedom to do just that. I think she and King David would get along just fine. (Don't worry, I haven't encouraged dancing in her underwear in the streets.)
And Eliana, you ask?
Well, when she wasn't smiling (which she does very easily these days)....
... she was sleeping. You've got to love how babies sleep through just about everything, even rock music in loudspeakers. And now it's quiet again in Beantown. And to be quite honest, that's just fine too.
On Sunday, the girls and I got to see Tim race for the first time this year. Maia and I love cheering on Daddy in this sport he enjoys so much. I think, like many endurance athletes, he's drawn to push his body and mind to the limit and to strive for personal excellence in something that can be measured. It's not the most important thing in his life, but it's one of his passions and I love supporting him in it. He spends most of his day sitting in his work. And he's not a tv-watching, reading-and-currently-unavailable, going-out-with-my-guy-friends-again kind of guy. He's very present with us when he's home. So it's easy to genuinely support him and make space in our life for his training.
The Goderich Triathlon is particularly special for our family because Maia was only 8 days old when he carried her over the finish line. We had hopes of Maia running across the finish line with her dad this year but only if there wasn't someone running close behind him. This time there was, so we'll have to save that family moment for another race.
Right before the race start, Maia met up with daddy on the beach. She wasn't at all sure she wanted a kiss from someone so wet... not to mention so strange-looking in his wetsuit and cap.
Although the swim portion is the most challenging for a lot of triathletes, especially in open water, it's the strongest of the three sports for Tim, which always makes the race start exciting to watch since it allows us to spot him among the front pack of swimmers. Actually, this year, he had the fastest swim time (1 km in 14:29) of all the athletes, and won a pair of running shoes for coming out of the water first -- nice! (Below, Tim is the one diving into the water with a blue and black wetsuit.)
So this race was close to an Olympic distance race -- 1 km swim, 45 km bike and a 10 km run. (By the way, if you didn't watch the amazing race that won Simon Whitfield a silver medal at the Olympics this week, you can still catch it at cbc online: click sports, then triathlon, then Day 11 Triathlon Men's Highlights. Completely inspiring.)
Here's a wee clip of Tim flying into the transition zone at the end of the bike:
I didn't really get any decent race photos (which could have something to do with the fact that I had a baby strapped to my front and a toddler in hand). But I do love this post-race photo of Tim.
Tim has had a foot injury (plantar fasciitis) since February, so without a lot of running under his belt this year, the 10k run was a little unpredictable. Well, he had a great race, and was surprised to be awarded a bronze medal for finishing his age category. Here he is with our friends Baird, Ken and Rick, who also had a great day and were the first all-men's team to finish.
Maia was happy to take care of daddy's medal for him for a while. (This is mid-song and dance.)
By the way, Maia adores our friend Ken. He's Tim's swim-training partner (which Tim loves!), a doctor, and a complete goof when he chooses to be. Gotta love someone with a tonne of education who still manages to be a kid at heart.
So, congrats to our bronze boy! All the medals in the world wouldn't make us love you any more than we already do.
Mommy is pretty and Maia is pretty and Daddy, you are NOT pretty.
You are handsome.
So much of Maia's one liners happen at the dinner table. Here are a few examples:
Maia to Papaya: Okay, people, we're going in a mouth. Papaya (voiced by Maia): Oh no, I'm too big for that mouth. [Maia swallows papaya with flair, as though conquering prey.]
Over lunch this week:
Maia: Are you sweaty, daddy? Tim: Um, no. Why, do I look sweaty? Maia: Your hair is kind of - up. Tim: Oh.
During a conversation about pregnancy over supper:
Tim: One day, God might give you a baby in your belly too. Maia: Yeah, and then I'll have a big belly. But right now, I just have food in my belly.
Lots of them emerge from the back seat in the car as well.
Tim: Holy cow! Look at that! Maia: Where? Where's the cow?
I'm learning that just when you think your kids are predictable, they change it up to keep you on your toes.
Monica: Maia, we're going to a restaurant. What would you like to eat for lunch today?
Now the answer is always FRIES. But every now and then I ask just in case the answer will be fries and something else.
Maia: Umm.... I would like a sandwich, some broccoli and a salad.
WHAT?!?
And on the swing at the park this week:
I'm going higher than... than JESUS!
When Maia sees a plane flying overhead, she still asks:
We Dohertys are pretty stoked about the Olympics in general. But this time around watching the swimming events in Beijing is extra special since we are rooting for someone we know.
When we lived in Stratford, Tim so enjoyed coaching Jane and Julia Wilkinson in swimming at the Stratford YMCA. Eight years later, Julia is in Beijing with a whole lot more training and experience under her belt, but seemingly still the ever-sweet Julia that we knew then.
To top it off, her results have been so exciting! She qualified for five different swimming events at Olympic trials, and has had personal best times in almost every swim in China. The swimmers have to swim each event three times to make it to the final (heats, semifinals, top 8 in the finals). Last night we stayed up to watch Julia finish second in her semifinal for the 200 individual medley (50 metres each of butterfly, back stroke, breast stroke, freestyle). It wasn't looking like she was going to qualify until she turned on the heat in the final 50... wow, did she rock! She finished 2nd and qualified for the 200 IM finals tonight. So exciting! So if you're willing to stay up until 11:21 tonight, you can cheer her on with us through your tele. And if not, well, she still has two more events to go in the next two days -- the 100 free and the 200 back.
It's hard to believe that Maia turned three today. That's 36 months she's been in our lives already. Didn't I just deliver her? Oh.... right. That was Eliana.
My friends weren't joking when they said time flies with these little people. And how I do love this little person.
Even though Maia's birthday was today, we 'partied' on the long weekend with family that was able to come up -- my parents, my two sisters and Tim's dad for a few hours as well. We hung balloons and streamers in the kitchen, and just enjoyed being together for as long as we could before people had to leave, one by one. (The last guest was my sister Christine, who left this morning.)
I love watching my family enjoy the girls. It is such a joy to me to see the interest they have in both of them, and the smiles and laughter that are shared when simply watching them. I find that I enjoy the girls when I am alone with them, but my joy is multiplied when there is another adult there to enjoy them with: someone with whom to make comments about how strange and wonderful they are, with whom to knowing exchange glances when they're funny or obstinant or adorable. I guess that's part of the beauty of community.
On Monday morning, Maia and I baked a chocolate cake together for our big lunch crowd. That Siebert cake recipe is unbeatable. (Thanks, Mel!) I think we're adopting it as our official Doherty birthday cake recipe from now on. Maia had originally asked for a carrot cake but then changed her mind at the last minute. Good call, kiddo.
It's been good and hot here. The icing tells the story.
Notice that Maia is wearing different outfits in almost every picture? I have recently had to make a rule about changing into new clothes without asking, or else this little lady would costume change all day long. Clearly, I was a little slack with the new rule while company was around
Now I can't only include pictures of the toddler-morphing-into-child when there is also such a charming and content baby around. Eliana lives up to her name. She is a joy. Here are some pictures of her with my sister and my dad as well. Again, I just love watching others enjoy her. Is it possible I love that even more than my own moments with her? Hmmm.... I'll have to think on that one.
And although today was Maia's actual birthday, Tim and I didn't have much planned since our planning had really gone into the time with family on the weekend. So we decided at the last minute to take her out to Exeter for dinner (fries and ice cream, good and nutritious!) and to the splash pad. She loved that. So much that she cried when it was time to leave, poor thing. I'll have to take her again back on a hot afternoon sometime this month. Only a dollar for all that fun!
Happy happy birthday, darlin.
My heart melts to know that this heavenly treasure is upstairs sleeping as I type this. We are blessed.
Just a few moments I captured with the girls enjoying each other this week. These moments seem to wash over the crying, the toilet training, the testing limits, the fatigue... it seems love really does cover over a multitude of things.
