Little Miss Birthday

Evelyn turns 2 years old tomorrow!! The Big 2. We're currently in Massachusetts, enjoying a visit with John's family and our friends in the summer for once. We didn't expect to be here at the beginning of the month, but somehow all of the stars aligned and here we are, at Nana's house, planning tomorrow's party.



I'm really excited to be here for a number of reasons (in no particular order):

1) Work has been a little too stressful for too long, and I realized that aside from a short and extremely exhausting trip to visit my Dad in Arizona in April, which I would hardly call a vacation between the bad sleep, extreme heat/constant air conditioning, and Evelyn being in Monkey-Overdrive mode, I haven't had a vacation all year.

2) Being here in the summertime gives us a chance to give Evelyn what she can't have at home in the city -- lots and lots of outdoor space to run around in (watch out for mosquitoes though!), sunshine, the sound of crickets, delicious corn and apples. And maybe most poignantly, a little taste of the endless summers of John's childhood. When you can just run around in the woods unattended all day long. Something that I never had growing up in San Francisco, and that Evelyn won't have either as long as we stay in the city. Yesterday we were at the Red Apple Farm and there were 2 kids riding around on dirt bikes all on their own. Driving down the road, two other little boys were walking in the opposite direction, baseball caps on and who knows what kind of mischief on their minds. Maybe it's a very idealized vision of "country living" but for some reason it's really appealing to me right now. Sometimes the city can be so tiring.

3) Paula and Rhea have been here all month, staying with Rhea's Grammy and Grandpa. We were sad to realize that they would have to miss Evelyn's birthday party at home, which happened to coincide with Paula's 20th high school reunion. But, like I said the stars aligned... I realized that if I didn't have a vacation soon, I'd fall apart at the seams. Paula's brother Scott was also flying out from Costa Rica for the last week of August. Bert was flying out on 8/20. John's family is all here and we see them only in the dead of winter (which I'll admit is quite beautiful here but I've never experienced a Massachusetts summer - see #2 above). And somehow or another, it eventually seemed crazy NOT to go to MA and celebrate Evelyn's birthday there. So while we were expecting to throw a big party (at home) on the 23rd, we're instead having a big party here in MA, with Evelyn's Nana & Grandpa Jim, Grandpa & Memere, Aunt Taryn & Uncle Chris and cousins Luke and Amelia, Paula, Rhea, Bert, Scotty, Grammy & Grandpa (Rhea's), Aunt Nellie, maybe Trent and maybe Great-Aunt Francine. Then when we get home, we'll have another party sometime in September with the SF family and friends. Evelyn's such a rock star, partying on both coasts for her birthday. But seriously... she is, and we are, so lucky to have this wealth of family and friends.

4) It is hot here! But not unpleasantly so! I was expecting heavy humidity and my clothes sticking to me, but it's actually been relatively dry, hot in the sun but pleasant in the shade, and just beautiful. I guess it had been raining for weeks before we arrived, and while I am grateful for the summer that has finally arrived here, I wouldn't mind seeing a thunder and lightning storm before we head home. Hopefully Evelyn won't mind either...

We just got here a couple of days ago and already it feels like our vacation is too short. We're at Nana and Grandpa Jim's for a few days, then heading over to Grandpa and Memere's for a few days, and then off to Grammy's and Grandpa's, our extended Pralinsky family, for the last few days and then we fly home. Somehow booking 10 days seemed like plenty of time, at the time.

I wish I could post pictures but I didn't think to bring the USB port for the camera, so I'll have to pummel the blog with MA pics when we get home. Along with videos that I took before the trip that I haven't had time to edit, including one of Evelyn singing, very fittingly, the Happy Birthday song. She's been doing it for a couple of weeks now and nowadays she's pretty much got it (the words anyway... she still sounds like a bad American Idol audition). We always start off singing it to her, and as soon as we sing "Happy Birthday to Evelyn..." she shoots off the name of the next person to sing to. Milo is usually at the top of the list, then by association, Ken, "Nomamie" (Naomi), then Rhea, Paula, etc... Or sometimes Mama, Papa, or Paw-Paw. Yesterday, she would sing it and then blow out pretend candles. She must be practicing for the big day.