Thursday, May 28, 2009

My Naming Ceremony

Just as the birds began to sing on Sunday morning an Otomi Native American appeared at our doorstep. This was not just any Native American, it was a good friend of Mom and Dad's and he came to conduct my Native American Naming Ceremony.

A Naming Ceremony can be conducted at two different times during one's lifetime. The first being when they are a child, while the other happening after a lifetime achievement during adulthood. Mom and Dad have been planning this Naming Ceremony since before I was born so we were very excited that the day had finally arrived. We chose to hold the naming ceremony this week in honor of my 2nd birthday (May 28).

We all sat around the fire pit in our backyard while he cleansed himself and donned his moccasins so that his feet would be firmly planted on the Earth. He then preceded to smudge us with smoke from a lavender and herb mixture while chanting a Cherokee ceremonial opening song. He ended with a prayer and then anointed me with my Indian name "Birdsong". The name Birdsong originates from a hike at a special place that he and Mom took while Mom was pregnant. It was a very fitting name since all of the birds sounded as if they were calling my name throughout the ceremony. It was a beautiful and peaceful event.

After the ceremony he presented me with a handmade traditional fan with locally collected hawk feathers and seashells.


After the ceremony Mom and Dad prepared a beautiful meal which included fresh corn on the cob. It appears that the name Birdsong may be a perfect fit since I could not stop pecking at this cob.

Tuesday, May 26, 2009

Pimp My Ride

A little over a month ago we went for a walk down to the end of our neighborhood to a creek that feeds Lake Wheeler with my friend Odin. Part of the hike took us off road and was a little rough on my buggy. My buggy is an early 1900's Colson Stroller that we bought from the flea market shortly after I was born. It needed to be restored when we bought it but we held out until it was absolutely needed. I forgot to take a before picture so you'll have to rely on this one (4 months old) and this one (one year old) to see what it use to look like before falling apart.


Dad and I spent two days replacing the wood and spray painting all of the metal. I woke up on Saturday morning and had to literally pull dad out of bed. I kept repeating "Daddy, fix buggy, now!" until finally I had pestered him enough to get up. We worked well into the evening until all parts were restored and the buggy was put back together.

My ride has been pimped!

Taking it for a stroll.


Showing off my clover crown that Mom and I made.


And since we are talking about rides I might as well introduce you to my newest rides. You may have already seen my Beep Beep from my previous post when we traveled to TN/GA. In this picture I am taking my monkey from Kathleen on a drive. But just every drive with kids, I had to pull over to feed him.

And finally, meet my Fire Truck. This fire truck has also been passed down from cousin to cousin and now it's my turn at the wheel. Monkey and I have been fighting fires and taking care of the neighborhood.

Monday, May 11, 2009

One flight of stairs, one torn tendon and two sore throats.

Last week we packed the car and took off for a tri-state trip to see family and friends. We logged around 1,500 miles and around 22 hours of sitting in a car seat! For the most part I was a saint in the car seat -- singing, reading and sleeping. But by the time we reached Greensboro on our way home from Atlanta I had had enough. I even went as far as peeing all over my car seat to try get out. As you can imagine, it didn't work!

Our first stop was in Nashville to see PawPaw and GiGi. We had a great visit playing and helping around the house. I also got to see JoJo! The two of us played non-stop, took baths together, jumped on the couch, laughed and cried, but most importantly, had fun and enjoyed each others company.


OK, I know, it looks bad, but I promise it's not what you think it is. I was actually mad that Dad kept trying to take the horn away from me. Be sure to check out our Flickr site to see more of our pictures and to see a picture of Dad and I laughing and playing the horn while riding the ducks!


Dad built this Physical Therapy table for PawPaw to use to stretch. I tested it out first and it seemed to hold up pretty good.


Playing with a box turtle we found around the pond.


We took PawPaw over to Cheekwood so Mom could visit a similar Art Museum/Park to the Museum Park she runs here. This is a very large Hare that we ran into while hiking around.


Bella and Maya drinking a blackberry smoothie while having lunch with some of Mom and Dad's friends.

We stayed until Thursday when we headed down to Chattanooga to see Grandma and Papa Richard. We had a great dinner in town with Grandma before heading over to see some of Dad's friends.

One flight of stairs...While visiting Dad's friends I got to play with Drew and Anna and about 7 other kids. Anna was holding me while standing on the top step on their deck. She let go of me before realizing that I didn't have my feet under me properly. As she walked away I began to fall backwards head over heels down the first four steps. After bouncing off the fourth step I turned my body and began logrolling down the rest of the steps before landing on my back and looking up at Mom who was a mere step behind me trying to stop my fall. I was back up and running in mere seconds with only a few bruises on my back and head and an abrasion on my shoulder. I think Mom was more scared than I was.


After a short visit in Chattanooga we headed to Atlanta for Aunt Cindy's 50th surprise birthday party. We had a great mini-family reunion with lots of good food, stories and cousin-time. I had to hold my own as the youngest cousin. Here I am driving JoJo around in the Beep Beep!

Shhh...this is my Christmas gift for Dec 2009. We brought it home and Mom placed it in the attic so I'd forget about it and then be surprised on Christmas morning. There is only one problem...I saw her put it up there when we got home.

Yep, we went with a somewhat empty car and came home with a new fire truck, the bike and of course, as you can see, Beep Beep tied to the roof. The ride home from Atlanta was AWFUL!

Here's why:

One Torn Tendon...Dad was trying to show off in front of all the little cousins by riding the zip-line in Uncle Frank's backyard. The zip-line was about 300 feet long and starts about 25 feet off the ground. Cousin Tom had his tent set up directly in the path of the zip-line and Dad made the mistake of thinking he could clear it. As dad tried to pull up his feet his foot crashed into the tent, breaking all of the tent poles and grabbing Dad's leg and pulling it backwards while the rest of Dad's body continued to go forward. Dad heard a loud pop and instantly let go of the zip-line and tumbled down the hill while grabbing his knee. It turns out that it was a torn tendon behind the knee where it attaches to the calf muscle. The swelling and pain made for a very uncomfortable 8-hour drive home.

Two Sore Throats...Before leaving Chattanooga Mom came down with a sore throat. As the weekend went on her throat got worse and a fever developed. Needless to say, the ride home for her was bad too! While driving home we got a call from Uncle John that cousin Paden was just diagnosed with Strep Throat. Today, I woke up and the first words out of my mouth were "Maya throat hurt, Maya doctor." Mom and Dad think I was just saying it because they were talking about taking Mom to the doctor. I was very mellow today but never developed a fever and Mom's rapid strep test came back negative. It may be her allergies from the many pets we ran into on our journey. Whatever it is has Mom sidelined like never before. I think we'll celebrate Mother's Day next week!