Amanda was a bundle of nerves as she finally took her seat among Niels, Angelo and the Rudd family. It was wonderful to have their close friends there to support Emi. Backstage, Emi was overflowing with excitement. She was full of chatter while Amanda got her ready for her performance, and she was beaming happily as she stretched. Still, Amanda couldn't help but be nervous for her little girl. It was her first performance in font of an actual audience, aside from her family. Niels placed his hand atop hers, whispering, "She'll be fine." Amanda nodded. She'll be fine, she echoed in her head. She took a deep breath and tried to calm her nerves. A ballet trio and a few other soloists performed before Emi took the stage. She appeared stage right, exuding so much confidence that Amanda couldn't help but smile widely. Angelo pointed, calling out his sister's name before Niels chuckled and gently shushed him. In rehearsals, Amanda would look out for any dance technique that was in need of correcting, any mistakes, any room for improvement, but during Emi's first performance, Amanda couldn't do anything but admire her child. The song couldn't be any more appropriate. Her little girl was a star.
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"That's right... eyes closed, Mister," Amanda repeated. The grin was permanent on her face as she walked behind Niels, her hands over his eyes. Angelo, in his father's arms, looked around with big eyes at the auditorium within the hotel. It had been surprisingly easy to book the auditorium at such short notice, but they'd been prepared for an occasion such as this. Taking Niels' free arm, Amanda reminded Niels for the thousandth time to keep his eyes closed. She led him down the aisle of the auditorium and to the front row seat. "Eyes closed," she said. She guided him into the seat and pressed a kiss against his temple. "Keep your eyes closed until I'm back and you'll get an award tonight," she whispered. She giggled and with another quick kiss she darted off backstage. Moments later, she returned and sat beside Niels. A smile slowly spread across his lips as he sensed her near again. "One moment," said Amanda. As Emi walked onto the stage, Angelo pointed and exclaimed, "Eeee!" Amanda laughed. "Well, you might as well open your eyes now, love. Surprise." Through the frosted window of their London apartment, Amanda gazed at the never-ending snow. She hoped the the Rudd family as well as Rico and Ceci would make it there safely. The apartment smelled of baked chicken and pasta, while Christmas carols played from the the iPod docking station. Emi danced around to Jingle Bells while Angelo tried to keep up with her, his giggles filling the apartment. At last, the doorbell rang and Amanda ran to let the Rudd family in. She greeted them with warm hugs, ruffling Jarrett's hair before Emi grabbed his and Tansy's hands and whisked them off to the kitchen. "I told her when her friends get here we could get started on the cookies," Amanda explained. She chuckled and moved aside to let her guests in. Niels greeted them next, Angelo in hand, hiding his face against Niels' shoulder. It wasn't long before the aroma of gingerbread and sugar cookies wafted through the apartment. With the promise of being able to decorate them later, Amanda was finally able to get the kids out of the kitchen so they could prepare for dinner. Soon, Rico and Ceci joined, bringing news that the snowfall had finally ceased. Over dinner, the adults chatted about various things while the children upheld a conversation of their own. Moments later, Emi was standing beside Amanda's chair, tugging on her shirt. "Mummy.." As Amanda leaned close, Emi cupped her a hands around Amanda's ear and whispered, "Can we go outside and build snowmans?" Amanda smiled and kissed her little girl's forehead. "That's a great idea, sweetie. But don't you want to open gifts first?" Emi gasped, beaming. "Gifts?!" "Yes, gifts for everyone." The best of all gifts around any Christmas tree: the presence of a happy family all wrapped up in each other. ~Burton Hillis Another first birthday? Wasn't it just yesterday that they'd celebrated Emi's first birthday? For the longest while, Amanda looked at her baby boy, running around in the yard with his big sister. Mother Nature had granted them good weather, considering the season, and they'd taken full advantage of the opportunity to be outdoors.
There was nothing but smiles today. They had a lot to celebrate. For one, despite a difficult first year of life, Angelo was a contented baby. He'd managed to overcome a physical deficit and not only had he the perseverance to crawl, but now he could walk as well. He could run, in fact. There were still moments when Angelo refused to use his left arm, but overall, he'd made incredible improvements. They'd had a cake for everyone to partake in, but later that day, with Angelo stripped down to nothing but a diaper cover, they'd given him free will with a cake of his own. "Mummy wook at Angewo!" Emi exclaimed as Angelo dug into is cake with both hands, his face soon following. There was an outburst of laughter from all of them, and soon, Angelo's perplexed expression morphed into one of utter excitement. He squealed happily, smearing blue frosting everywhere. Amanda soon rescued him from the sticky mess. "You deserve a bath, birthday boy...from daddy" she said, handing him over to Niels, a playful grin on her face. Angelo beamed and gripped his daddy's face in both of his frosting-covered hands. It was surely a happy birthday, and hopefully many more to come! Dear Niels, Amanda smiled as she placed two photographs atop the note she'd written for Niels. She left everything on her pillow and tiptoed out of the bedroom of their temporary London apartment. As usual, Angelo was already awake, babbling away in his portable crib until Amanda lifted him out. She showered him with kisses and whispered, "You know, you look just like your daddy sometimes." she smiled, walking into the kitchen with him. "Have I told you how your daddy and I met?" she asked him.
Setting him down in the high chair, she headed over to the cabinet to fetch him some Cheerios. As she poured some of the cereal into a bowl for Angelo she chuckled, thinking back to how shy she'd been the day Niels had first spoken to her. "Your daddy and I have come a loooong way," she told Angelo. She placed the bowl in front of him. "And if the powers above are nice to us, we still have a long way to go." It amazed Amanda how children's personalities developed, especially her children's. There was, of course, genetic predispositions: her shyness and utter girly nature, and Niels' bravery and his active nature. They'd managed to bear children with a unique mixture of the two traits and more. Emi constantly had them on their toes; they were rarely able to predict whether she'd wake up as the outdoorsy girl who wanted to run around barefooted and attempt climb trees (her father's childhood pastime), or if she'd demand to dress up all in pink--tutu included--and twirl around their hotel room (her mother's love of ballet).
It was easy for Emi to make friends. She didn't have to be urged to play with Jarrett and Tansy or to play nice, for that matter. It was something that she certainly hadn't developed from Amanda or Niels. They'd both been pretty introverted as children. Just as neither of them were as chatty as Emi had turned out to be. Angelo, on the other hand, was a relatively laid-back and quiet baby, but he was easily amused and just as easily disgruntled. He could promptly go from being grumpy to laughing hysterically at his sister's antics. Sometimes, he'd gaze at them with a knowing look, wise beyond his years. Amanda couldn't help but wonder if he'd be a genius of some sort one day. As quiet as he was, he'd accurately mimic Emi's speech. Her children were certainly her world. After Emi, she'd pondered about whether or not she could stretch her heart further to accommodate another child, but Angelo had shown her just how big her heart was. She was utterly in love with her little family, more and more every day. Despite the curve balls that life constant threw at them, her days ended with the coolest kids in town. I thought I escaped this challenge, but thank you Lilah for making sure that I didn't. *playfully straight face* So here goes nothin The rules are easy:
- Splash = swimming in clothes. Picture on your blog in 24 hours and 1000 $ to selected target. - Punishment if you give up - dinner and 10,000 $ to the selected target. My three nominees: - Cecilia Barthel - Ana Beau - Lexie Smith |
Amanda at a GlanceNames: Amanda Pontremoli, Amanda van Loon Archives
August 2017
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