Baby bear responds to a shelling of questions about her age, “free,” she says proudly. Sometimes she fires back impulsively before she even hears the question and throws off her interrogator. After her forty-five-minute class the instructor asked me if she goes by another name. I respond no. She tells me she said her name was free. “Three,” I translate, she just turned three.
The entire class baby bear waited patiently for her turn until the instructor called, “Free,” and she bolted to the apparatus and pulled herself up to the parallel bars and followed instructions precisely. At home we reveled.
It was a celebration of youth, freshness, color and sprite-like play. Icicles on our eves were no longer melting, another braise on the stove-top and a whole lot of deliberations for the fiesta…it was finally here. We are unsettled in our winter bodies, like disoriented awakening hibernating bears, we blinked in the long-forgone sunshine that greeted us that morning. We couldn’t have wished for more, okay maybe more balloons.
I watch my pomaded and combed (at least for the first hour into the fiesta) baby bear looking not quite like a baby anymore. Things change. Time is how we keep track. I’m falling more in love with this charged, visceral quickly growing being as her dream of her first party unfolds. Despite the usual frenzy that occurs with some extra sugar in the bloodstream of little ones, I am lulled by the capturing stillness when things wind down.
A suspension of time at the pinnacle of a growth spurt. A time to turn over the demitasse and read the coffee grounds to make sense of the putative future.
A glance outside, slightly arched green stems protruding from underneath dried leaves…a welcoming addition to our woodland gardens, and the party really starts going with the texture of life changing and the anticipation of spring around the corner.
The morning after the boys take charge…silver dollars on the griddle, and guacamole to accompany the kale latkes. Birthday girl sleeps in. Under her sumptuously warm comforter she dreams…the best is yet to come.
thefolia.com 
Hard to believe she’s three already. Your pictures are wonderful. A lovely scrapbook of memories she’ll have when she’s older.
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Yes, three years and all the more wiser. Thank you kindly for your thoughts. A vertical scrapbook since a hard copy is not on the schedule until maybe college when I will have some time.
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Happy birthday, little bear! I hope it was a great day for her! (I’m sure it was!)
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Thank you, it was her first one! I have a feeling we’ll be doing it annually for sometime now that she knows about them.
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That’s always the danger when you introduce something new and fun. It becomes tradition. Sometimes that’s a good thing. Sometimes it makes life harder on the parents. 🙂
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Oh no it’s all so delicious we look forward to fiestas in our nest, as long as it’s not my turn getting one year wiser!
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I was thinking about how in our house my husband once hid clues to find birthday presents. Now it has to be done every year, with every kid. Not quite as delicious a tradition as yours. 🙂
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Nice a scavenger hunt to find the birthday treasure…they will remember the tradition forever!
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True. Probably more than we’ll remember the hassle of it.
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Probably, enjoy creating memories.
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I am in awe that she’s three! I can imagine her excitement in anticipation of her birthday. She’s been watching her big brothers celebrate their special days and I’ll bet she was eager to have her big moment! You make every day celebratory for the children, Cristina, so I can only imagine how fun and meaningful it is in your nest when there really is a special occasion. Happy Birthday, little Miss Baby Bear!
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Thank you for your encouraging words Debra. Baby Bear gives me the strength for our daily adventures. As for her special day, everyone helped to make it especially festive even our guest. We had a lot going on in our nest, in the middle of painting, putting together a table for communal gatherings like these and unfortunately some trees came down which brought me to tears. I couldn’t have mustered the strength without everyone and while I grieve for the lost trees that in part made me fall hard for our nest, I have my happy and healthy bears.
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You lost the trees due to weather, Cristina? Ouch! I do smile at hearing you express love for your nest. You’ve had a lot of transition, and yet you’ve made your nest so loving and personal. I just know it is!!
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No unfortunately communication was lost in translation somehow and the wrong tree was removed. My heart sank as I pulled up to the house with it missing. A whole lot of commotion while we were prepping for baby bear’s fiesta that day. According to the aborhist the tree needed to be removed as it is seen as a hazard. I feel it was said, however because it wasn’t the tree we discussed, our nest is exposed and I’m feeling vulnerable and still heavy hearted. So grateful for your kind thoughts and that I somehow am able to convey it in my space that you visit. I do try to make the best with what we have or by making conscious and well thought out decisions when we are able to purchase something for the nest. A table has been on our list since move in so that we can commune and feast together. We are blessed to have found our nest and that in itself brings joy, with or without everything in place just yet.
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My heart hurts for you, and for all of us, I think, when a tree is unnecessarily removed. Things like this can leave us feeling so raw, and as you are literally experiencing, exposed. 😦
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Delighted to have you here Debra for your understanding and support as no ones seems to feel the same as me. Thank you!
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She truly is a free spirit, so maybe we should start to call her free!
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Ha! Well we already know that she will respond to Free, then again she was so excited for her turn in class who knows if she even noticed anyones names called.
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She is beyond adorable. I cannot believe how big she’s gotten. She will love looking back on this time, as will you…
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Thank you dear! Yes, I’m not on top of my hard copies like you are so great at, however, we will enjoy are electronic version. xo
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She is gorgeous! Adorable.
They grow up far too quickly. My boys were three five minutes ago. Now they’re all grown up and one of them has a baby bear of his own, halfway to three himself.
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How exciting, you get to relive it all over again. Enjoy these precious times and thanks for visiting my nest with your kind compliments.
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Happy Belated Birthday to her! Such beautiful photos. Love the headband!! 🙂 🙂 🙂
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Thank you for your well wishes! She ripped that headband right off of his head when she woke up.
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How inspiring to give oneself the name of “free!” (Even if she meant “three”). Reminds me of the movie “Lady Bird.”
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Yes, I know makes me wonder if she intentionally says it.
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