The Sweetest Gift

I was putting Jake down for a nap the other day, which I don't do that often any more, and he asked for something very cute. He wanted me to sing the "Happy Present" song. It took me a few minutes, and then I realized he wanted me to sing a song I used to sing for him when he was 2, and old folksong, redone by nearly everyone but written by Dolly Parton, called "the Sweetest Gift."

The refrain:
She did not bring to him a parole or pardon.
She brought no silver, no pomp or style.
It was a halo, sent down from heaven's light
The sweetest gift - a mother's smile.

I sang him the song, gave him the smile and got blown a kiss goodnight by my lovely boy. The sweetest gift, indeed.


Here's a version of the song, by the Judd sisters, I found just now. It does make a sweet lullaby.

Day at the Discovery Musuem

Last week we had a family day in downtown Charlottesville. We took the kids to the Discovery Museum and then we all had a buffet lunch at the Himalayan Fusion. Top it off with a ride on the Merry Go Round and a visit with a cute puppy, and a good time was had by all!

Jake's New Bike

Mike bought Jake a new bike over the weekend. It has training wheels, is very stable, and Jake adores it! He rode for an hour the first day, 2 hours yesterday and an hour and a half already today. He's getting used to coasting without pedaling and loves the reverse to brake feature. So far, he's riding only on the tennis court of a nearby playground, where it is totally flat.

I took him to Derby Day today to ride with the other kids on their smaller ride toys but he decided he preferred his own private terrain so we went back to his favorite playground instead.

Good job, Daddy! Such a happy boy!

The Abby Olympics

Abby and I have been watching the Olympics together all week. She uses the time to do her own gymnastics on the floor, rolling, pushing, rocking, and some nice belly lifting!

Playing with Blocks

We had a quiet morning at home, and managed to find an activity that both Jake and Abby could enjoy. Jake made towers, and Abby chewed on blocks and knocked the towers down.





Jake was very proud of this tower!

Happiness is a new Babysitter

Our new babysitter came over today to meet the kids and play and learn about how we do things. She is a delight and Jake and Abby took to her immediately. I actually got to eat my lunch today uninterrupted and now I'm answering email while she and Abby play downstairs and Jake is in his room pretending to nap. It feels a little strange and a lot good.

If you're reading this, Tara, we are SO GLAD you are here!!

Day in Staunton

We spent a very nice day in Staunton, VA today. We went to their Saturday food market and tasted the wares. Bratwurst sandwiches, banana zucchini bread, fennel bread, colby cheese, iced tea and m&m peanut butter oatmeal cookies all made their way into our sticky fingers and mouths.

Then we spent a lot of time at Pufferbellies, a fabulous toy store. The mother and daughter owner team and their enthusiastic staff are amazingly nice and helpful. Though it's small you can see they select things very carefully - they have great toys!

Jake and Abby were VERY happy in the toystore!

Abby made her choice very clear:

Jake chose to use his reward stars for a magic pen. One of the staff threw in the paper pad for free as we were walking out so Jake could draw during lunch!

We also had lunch at a lovely sandwich shop downtown and ended up doing some unforeseen furniture shopping at an antique/junk shop on the sroll back to the car. We got home very tired but it was a great day.

Abby at Lowe's

She decided it was time for a vehicle upgrade!