Friday Thanks

Five things I am grateful for this week:

1. Playing hide and seek with Henry and Stella.  My niece Stella came over last Sunday and encouraged Henry and I to play hide and seek, so we obliged.  She is almost 4 now and has a great little personality.  Every time I would ask her how high I should count she would pick an arbitrary number, like "Aunt Crystal, count to 16!"  Not 5, not 10, but 16.  She also drew me a picture with several blotches of different colors.  When I thanked her for the picture I told her it was just like the rainbow.  She informed me that "black is NOT in the rainbow!!!" 

2. My mom.  My mom is a phenomenal grandmother.  It is so touching to see how she interacts with Henry.  Henry is likely the center of her universe, much like he is the center of my universe.  But, what is most amazing to me about my mom is that she is still a phenomenal mom.  Although I know Henry is very, very, very special to her (e.g., there are significantly more pictures of Henry hanging on her wall than pictures of me), she still finds ways to make me feel special .  I'm still her baby. She continues to provide words of encouragement at the right moment and provide space at other times.  She makes my favorite foods because she knows there are my favorite. She offers unconditional love and support.  What I love and respect most about mom though is that she leads by example through hard work, commitment, loyalty, love and compassion.  When I was growing up I dreaded it when people would say "wow, you are just like your mom."  But NOW, I take great pride in the fact I'm much like my mom in many ways.  Thank you mom for simply being you.

3.  iPad.  In celebration of my 31 years on this earth (tomorrow), Ryan bought me an iPad for my birthday.  I have wanted one for some time now, but thought it was a waste of money.  I have a laptop, so why do I need another electronic gadget.  Even if the iPad is not an essential electronic tool, I LOVE my new iPad.  It's just cool.  : )

4. Carrot Cake.  One of the personality traits that I love about my husband is that he is thoughtful.  Yesterday, despite Henry having a rough (i.e. cranky) day, Ryan ventured out to my favorite little pastry shop and purchased a slice of my very favorite cake (carrot cake from Dessert Tray).  It is out of this world scrumptious.  I think it tastes better because it was obtained with love.

5.  Olympics.  I'm not that big of a sports fan typically, but the Olympics are GREAT fun to watch.  I admit I haven't got more than 6 hours of sleep any night for the last week because I stay up and watch them, but I really enjoy the competition and patriotism.  Go Team USA!!!!!!!