Hablamos Español en los Cumpleaños de Edie

Today, my youngest child turned four. It's hard to believe we've totally completed the baby-raising phase of our lives. Now there are new tests to be faced. Stony will be a pre-teen soon and all I can say is...if teenaged boys cry less than teenaged girls it'll be all good. Of course, after that we'll be guiding two more girls through their teen years. I won't even begin to predict how that might go.

So, since Eric is away with the Army until tomorrow night, we decided to have Edie's birthday celebration this weekend. Because we aren't doing the birthday thing until this weekend, today had to be special in some small ways. First, I got her one of the stuffed animals from Taylor Books that she and her sister love. This is, literally, the softest teddy bear I've ever held. She was really happy to have it...and even gave it a bath later....but I guess that was her choice.

After work, I rushed home, changed the girls into some clean clothes, and then we headed out to Habitat for Humanity's ReStore for a very cool event. (Stony was with his dad this evening.) Amy Williams, the artist who created our beloved Press 2 for Spanish signs, was taking part in a show with Mark Wolfe as part of Festivall.

So these are the signs my kids and I spent two fun evenings searching Charleston for. We had a great time and I just love, love, love these signs. Today, we not only got to meet Amy Williams, but the girls got to make their very own stenciled signs!!

Amy had a great idea for the girls to create two signs: "Hola" and "Adios." I helped the girls as they chose the styles for their letters from the piles of stencils, then they placed their letters on the board (and a couple of swirls). Since the paint nozzle was too hard for four- and six-year olds to press, they held their hands on top of mine as I sprayed the paint where each directed. (Plus, when they were trying to spray it, the process included pressing as hard as they could on the nozzle and turning it around to look directly at the hole to see if it was working.)

The birthday girl ended up with a beautifully laid out "Adios":






And Miss Bella created a very original "Hola." I really think the extra-large letter L was just the touch it needed:
















They were both very excited and proud when I told them I couldn't wait to frame the pieces and hang it in their room. This kind of creativity is exactly what I love to see from them and hope they continue. I mean, I just love how children aren't as filled with pre-conceived notions about what looks good, what colors might go together, and all that.

I've said it before and I'll say it again...thank you, Amy Williams! It's hard to believe how much family time and fun we've gotten out of your art. It speaks to everyone!! In Spanish!!