Happy Solstice

Above and...

Below!

Oh, we're having the most lovely holiday week.  E is working half days to use up his last vacation days and... yum!!!  Granted, its been nothing "special," per se. (Other than getting to kiss the hubby hello before its dark!  Love it!!!)  We've yet to fight the crowds to see the tree, gone to a museum or even taken a brisk walk.  Nope.  The child is in hibernate mode, big time, so is E, and we've been happily "hanging" each afternoon.  E's even sneaked in a few - gasp! - naps :)

Meanwhile, P has been busy directing projects and play.  Sunday (E worked:( ) and Monday were full of holiday preparations, as we trashed our table, making our Top Secret holiday gifts.  Not satisfied at stopping there, the child pulled out every bit of building equipment he has and played construction worker.

The first tower was beautiful.  But he was antsy to demolish (see end of post for funny video...)  Then he took a lot more time, building a taller tower.  It had it all.  Parking garage, climbing room, sightseeing room, space room (that's a room with lots of s-p-a-c-e, for those non-New Yorkers ;), pyramid temple room, catapult, observation deck... playroom...  And BB's apartment.  

Parking in the parking garage..

BB and his Mama in their flat.

Then, we had to venture outside in the middle of the night (of course!) to see this epic eclipse.  Early in the evening, as I debated the merits of waking a 6 year old at 3 in the morning, my little brother assured me the kid would still be around in 2094 for the next one.  Ahh, well, always morbid, I woke the child :)

"P, do you want to see the moon celebrate the Solstice?"   If he didn't budge, I figured I'd go alone.  He popped up like a spring toy!  But, despite thoroughly wrapping him in a blanket, he didn't last long.  It was frigid.  

But gorgeous.  E and I stood under the starry sky before fetching the child, watching the shadow creep across.  Watching the red glow grow.  It was just too lovely to not wake the kid.  

Of course, it seemed much less beautiful, in retrospect, when the excited child woke early for Solstice ;)

He was so appreciative of his brown bag wrappings, tied up with pretty scarves.  After excitedly opening his first one, he got even more excited.  "Oh!!!  My presents!"  And he ran to the (ficus) tree and fetched the present he had wrapped for The Bees (my pointer fingers, his dear friends;)  Then he happily handed BB his package and then the cat, and then the large bottom one for me.  They were all handmade somethings (a group of arranged magnets for BB, a sewn mouse for the cat, a ribbon and bolts necklace for me ;) and he sat with rapt attention while we all slowly opened.  Only then did he return to the tree to get his other two presents.  Gotta admit, made my heart glow ;)

Determined that little BB would NOT sneak into the presents he wrapped, the child wrote notes on each one ;)

That night, he rushed to give Papa his present.  He had made and wrapped them all by himself, so I was curious with each opening.  I didn't see all of E's... but I did see a chocolate.  Which I thought was so thoughtful, cuz the kid knows his poor Papa (the hypoglycemic) can't have that stuff very often.

So we spent the afternoon messing up the house real good ;) and then hurried to toss it into place for Seth and Alicia's arrival.  Oh the joy of having friends we love so much so close!!!

The evening was So Fun, even if the Little Man was a bit out of control.  I pulled out a Facial Isometrics Exercises book (from the '50's) we'd discovered spelunking at a friend's a few days earlier... and we all rolled.  I'm shaking the bed now, giggling, looking at S and A's faces.  The book was a gut ripper itself, but make it a group exercise and forgettaboutit :)

Sticking to the theme of late (of darkness and parties), the kid started playing with our new on/off switch.  And Seth started playing with the kid's wand.  And the result was So Much Fun it hurt.  Of course, A and I had to start snapping ;)

Seth and E, debating the effect... So Schultz ;)

It looked so sweet!

The kid loved it.

Then, in the dark, I accidentally bonked the damn monument....  Honestly?  E and I had had the constant feeling of eggshells for the last three days.  Seriously.  A rambunctious child, an idiot cat and a 6 foot wood world.  And all of it right above our lovely neighbor's bed.  After my bump, it was now destined to fall in the middle of the night and take someone sailing on the river Styx, so the kid agreed to demolish.  I video'd (per instructions) but it wasn't anything fab.  The demolition of the one a few days prior, however, makes for a good chuckle.  I love to leave the learning to P, not predicting how things will go, but this one had me Mama muttering, and then laughing my ass off ;)

Happy Solstice!!!

I love how, upon removing the first block, the child just can't decide what to pull next.  Oh - and notice that after the fabulous fall, the first words out of the kid's mouth are:  "BB!  Did you see that?!"  Yup.  Regularly upstaged by the invisible monster.... ;)