goodbye three, hello four!

birthday

four years ago on this very day, at 7:59 pm, i gave birth to a baby named Emma Magnolia Mayne Jose (aka: The Baby Bumble, Ems, Emmylou, Lulu, Lu). i knew i was in love with her, but i had no idea i would love being a mother so much, or that my heart could ever be so full and so open, or that she would be so magical and wonder-filled. that little baby is now a “big girl”, and she makes me a stronger, bigger person every day.

emma is:

happy, kind, gentle, funny, clever, excitable, curious, smart, beautiful, stubborn, sometimes-shy, often hard-headed (literally and figuratively), determined. more than anything, though, she has a joyful spirit that’s infectious. she brightens our days and makes us laugh, brings joy and adventure everywhere we go. my favorite moment of the day is when she wakes up in the morning, comes padding into our room and climbs in bed for a “family snuggle”…it’s such serene comfort, and reminds me just how blessed we are to be a family.

emma loves:

going to school, taking dance classes (tap, ballet, and modern; lately we hear “watch this new move” all the time), writing words and letters, jigsaw puzzles, stuffed animals, stickers, “reading” books, riding her bicycle, playing with our neighbor Ollie, pretending to speak spanish (which is really a made-up emma language not at all resembling spanish), baking, tea parties, walking along the highline, visiting the MOMA, pickles, eating the entire lemon (including the rind), root beer (aka “special drink”), going on food-seeking adventures with dad, going on road trips, dipping toes in the ocean, The Beatles (‘John Lemon’, Ringo, Paul, and George), thomas the tank engine

the soundtrack

every year for her birthday, bear and i make a “mix cd” for emma. it’s a random mix of music that (a) reminds us of the kid, and/or (b) we love and want to share with her, and/or (c) is popular during this birthday year. this year it also includes (d) music that emma herself loves. she’s starting to have such strong opinions and memories tied to music, which makes me so happy. 2009 was the year that we couldn’t start a road-trip without listening to The Ramones, she spent many afternoons jumping on my bed to Simon & Garfunkel’s “At the Zoo”, she loved toni basil’s “Hey Mickey” (possibly because i convinced her it was about mickey mouse), and she decided that Flight of the Concords’ “I’ve Got Hurt Feelings” was daddy’s favorite song as she herself listened to it on a loop. this was also the year that she got her own cd player in her room (which meant she could close the door while listening to The Wheels on the Bus for the 10th time…). sweet.

(if you want a copy of this year’s mix, drop me a line. they’re meant to be shared.)

maps – the yeah yeah yeahs
kind and generous – natalie merchant
yellow submarine – the beatles
postcards from italy – beirut
seven nation army – the white stripes (we’ve chanted this bass-line to her since she was a baby; she loves it)
san francisco bay blues – eric clapton
particle man – they might be giants
i got hurt feelings – flight of the concords
blitzkrieg bop (hey! ho! let’s go!) – the ramones
hey mickey – toni basil
hoppipolla – sigur ros
at the beach – the avett brothers
i want you back – the jackson 5
groove is in the heart – deee-lite
the 59th street bridge song (feelin’ groovy) – simon and garfunkel
the kid – cry cry cry
waste – phish
sing for you – tracy chapman
long may you run – neil young
street fighting man – the rolling stones
revolution – the beatles

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happy birthday, my dear sweet emma magnolia. and thank you to all of you who have made such effort to become part of our tribe, our village, our family, friends, supporters, and loved ones. we love you all.