A proposal accepted...

Lily has been rather wedding-focused of late and got it into her mind that she wanted to get married. After being forced to cross most of her family members off the list, she decided to ask her best mate Edmund (whose Mum, Kristin,  is a dear friend of mine - we met in our Birth Centre prenatal classes, formed a Mother's Group and I simply adore her so... um... I wasn't complaining about Lily's choice!).

Hugs

The next time Lily saw Edmund at Playschool (as she later reported to me), she asked him to marry her. No idea how the actual proposal went down, but when I alerted Kristen of what allegedly occured (so she knew what Edmund was talking about if he mentioned something), she laughed and told me Lily's proposal occurred on February 29th. Yes, the leap year day that (according to folk lore tradition which of course we all live our lives by!) is the one day every four years when it is ok for females to propose. I really have to get Lily off Google. I mean, seriously?!? You couldn't make this stuff up!

Edmund giving flowers to Lily

Anyway, Edmund's response? As Lily told me 'He just didn't say anything'. Clearly he was a little shocked (or maybe had no idea what she was talking about!). Lily seemed a little perplexed but not devastated or even really phased. I suggested he probably just needed to think about it and hoped perhaps that was the end of all this hoopla!

We recently gave Edmund a cute little children's Bible as a gift, as his Mum was saying she wanted one for him as he was always asking questions about Jesus. So, today at Playschool, Edmund gave Lily a little pipecleaner sculpture as a thank you gift, along with a card that he had dictated to his Mum.... without prompting, this is what he wanted to say -

I read the card to Lily, she turned to me with eyes alight with glee. 'Edmund wants to marry me?!?!?!?!' she gasped with joy. (Pause). 'I need to buy a wedding dress!!!!'

Yes, really. What a girl - first thought is the dress!!!

After laughing for about 10 minutes, we did our best to leave the subject behind before things really started to get out of hand.

Best friends like to inspect bugs together

However, Lily of course reported the big news to her father, 'Daddy, Edmund said he wants to marry me!! We gonna get mayyied! I'm going to buy a wedding dress and I know! I need a ring! I have to go to the ring shop!! When I'm gonna get mayyied, Dad?' At which stage poor Daddy decided it was time to share some home truths to his three year old daughter. 'Lily, the law says you can't get married until you are at least 18'. Lily started to weep (oh yes, really) 'Mummy, Daddy says I can't get mayyied!!'. Oh. brother. We calmed her down and told her she could keep her plans for when she was a grown up girl. One day. Not soon!

As amusing as it all is, let's not get carried away, huh! I'm interpreting their little prechooler capers as them saying 'I like you, you are my best friend!' to each other, which is really what it's all about. Edmund is such a sweet and gentle little guy, they have always adored each other and played well together without issue -it's just charming to watch. Two kind and caring little buddies since the day they were born - for now we can just be grateful for their connection and friendship, especially their support for each other as they start school together. I love to see their growing bond, it pleases their mother's immensely as our own friendship grows too! Just a whoooole lotta sweetness, really!

In other friendship news, my other lovely friend Amber and I were chatting today as you do while waiting for the kiddies to finish school, when I glanced down at my feet and saw our two littlies, Harper and Eli. Too.much.cuteness!!! Harper (being a whole 7 months older than Eli) simply dotes on him in the sweetest way, always crouching down close to talk to him like he is a little baby. Truly adorable! They were having a precious little wordless chat, and Eli was sharing his rice cracker. It sure did make two Mamas smile....

Today I'm thankful for the laughter these quirky kids bring to our lives. And I'm so thankful for the wonderful friendships and support I have with my fellow Mama friends... I would be truly lost without them, they are such rich blessings in my life. In these intense days in the trenches of motherhood, we need our fellow mothers to share and grow and vent with, don't we? The shared experiences of raising young children bond us, support us and lift us up when the challenges bring us low. The blessings are multiplied seeing our children now forming such special bonds too.

So many delights in these days...