Back in January, Adam set off for his grand adventure of life on his own. There’s a whole post about it waiting in the wings, I just haven’t gotten it finished yet. But now it’s been six months, and we finally got to see our boy again.
We surprised Natalie and Jonah, who did not know he was coming. I told them we had to go pick something up in Sacramento and if they were very good, we would bring them a surprise. They were very good! (which is kind of a good thing, because I wasn’t going to take Adam back if they had been naughty!).
Adam stayed for 10 days, and Natalie stayed right beside him for about five.
Reading Ralph S. Mouse, in person! Their phone storytime is great, but real life snuggles are better.
Adam tolerated Natalie’s near constant touch and attention, and I noticed that every time Natalie asked, “Adam, do you want to...”, His answer was a solid, “Sure”.
Rock chiseling lessons from brother BFF
Adam came specifically for Nano’s birthday. Ellie has pretty much taken over all cake duties around here, but she had me help this time.
Strawberry chocolate checkerboard cake with rainbow frosting by Ellie, stuffed unicorn by Mom.
Natalie didn’t know what to expect…
... but she loved it!
It feels so good to see all of my little chickens in the same room!
A unicorn AND a Pegasus...Ethan knows what Sister loves!
An outdoor adventure kit from Ellie and Tessa. Those binoculars actually work really well! The first specimen she gathered was a bird’s wing. It smelled great. I know, because she shoved it right under my nose to show me. Yum.
I made Natalie a set of fairies and gnomes from doll blanks, and a little fairy house to play with in a little moss garden I made for her outside. She loved it!
I even added freckles. Natalie loves her freckles.
The bigger kids got the idea to recreate one of my favorite of my kid’s childhood photos. The day the original was taken, Tessa REFUSED to cooperate. The only way we got her to finally look at the camera was to have her hold a long forgotten prop bunny we found on a high shelf.
So, of course, we needed a bunny for the new photo, too.
Jonah sweetly played all day long the next day with Nano and her new toys, including fairies, sand toys, and safari gear.
These two. I swear. I can’t believe how close they still are. I hope that never changes.
Natalie also got sandbox toys for her birthday. The gravel driveway is probably not the best place for her to play with them, so we are building a sandbox in the back.
(In other news- Ellie taking driver’s training, complete with face mask, gloves and a temperature scan. Life goes on, even with #2 son at home).
On our last day with Adam we tootled off to a favorite swimming hole along Sutter Creek. Jonah and Nano caught minnows and Adam taught Tessa to skip stones, while I napped on a huge rock in the shade.
Adam left beautiful stacked rock totems all around the creek. I hope whoever came upon them later appreciated them.
Alas, the time came for Adam to go to the place he now calls home.
Then came the goodbyes...
And mama, last of all.
And then he was off into the blue beyond.
I don’t know long it will be till I see my boy again. We are back to weekly phone calls, but I’ll get used to it again.
