Had a year really passed since Emi's 5th birthday party? Amanda stared in awe at her 6-year-old as she ran around on the beach with Angelo and Aubrey. This year, they decided, since they were still in Rio, to have a little family get together on the beach. Nearby, Ceci and Rosa sat with baby Lucie while Rico joined in on the kids' and Teun's shenanigans.
Emi ran up to Amanda and Niels, snapping Amanda out of her dreamy gaze on her daughter. "Mummy, daddy, look at this," said Emi. She held out a seashell in the palm on her hands, her blue eyes sparkling with excitement. Amanda smiled, "That's a pretty cool seashell," she said. "Uh-huh!" Emi beamed and bounced up and down. She grabbed Niels' hand right afterwards. "Come on! I'll show you where I found-ed it." "Where you found it?" Niels asked, laughing at the cute grammatical error. He chuckled and let Emi pull him away. Amanda thought she was off the hook until Emi looked back and called to her. "Mummy, you too!" she exclaimed. "Come on." Amanda laughed as well and got up. "Coming, coming!" she said. She went after Niels and Emi now, following them to a tidal pool where there were several other shallow water critters. "So cool huh?" asked Emi. Amanda grinned and nodded. "Very cool. Are you having fun, birthday girl?" "Yes," said Emi, nodding excitedly. "Now I can say I'm six," she added proudly. "Indeed," Niels agreed, nodding. Six... Amanda thought. She wished time would slow down, but she couldn't deny that it was nice watching their little girl grow.
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I was nominated by my mum for the smile challenge. It's pretty easy to do so when my kids are doing silly things to make me giggle while daddy snaps photos. *laughs* I nominate Lilah, Niels and Ceci!
Amanda couldn’t get enough of holding her niece, taking in that baby scent… it was so potent. Niels couldn’t resist laughing at her. “I think you should give someone else a chance to hold her,” he said. Amanda pouted playfully, at the same time Emi did the same, since she’d been waiting to hold baby Lucie. Amanda was totally in love with this baby girl. She could already imagine that she’d look like both of her parents. Already she had Rico’s blue eyes and somehow she looked like Ceci too, though Amanda couldn’t pinpoint it.
This Christmas, they were spending time at Rico and Ceci’s place, along with lots of other family members from both sides. It was great getting to spend some time with Ceci’s family as well; they were all so nice! Emi and Angelo were able to play with Ceci’s other nieces and Aubrey of course. They kids seemed occupied with their gifts while all of the adults were occupied with Lucie. Later on, as Rico and Ceci took Lucie away, mentioning that it was bedtime, Amanda caught Niels’ gaze lingering on her. He had ‘that look’; one that he’d been giving her a lot lately. “Oh don’t give me those puppy eyes,” she said, chuckling. Niels grinned playfully. “You knoooow you love her,” he sang teasingly. “Did you get that baby scent?” Amanda nudged him. Niels chuckled and stood, pulling Amanda to her feet. “Come,” he said gently, leading Amanda into the back yard. It was cold outside but as Niels wrapped his arms around her, the weather was soon forgotten. “Merry Christmas, my love,” he told her. “It sure is,” she replied. "It's from your mum," said Niels as he placed a package on the bed. Niels brought a scissors for Amanda to cut the box open. Quickly, Amanda's expression went from confused to amazed.
"Oh my gosh, baby! Look at this!" she exclaimed, withdrawing a pair of small ballet shoes. "My very first ballet shoes.... And-and! Oh wow! It's Maggie!" She giggled as she pulled a well-used doll out of the box. It had been the first gift Rosa gave her when they first met. How old had she been? Three years old? Amanda hugged the raggedy doll to her chest, overwhelming feelings of gratefulness filling her heart. Her adoption had followed a few years after Rosa had given her this toy. Amanda placed the doll on the bed before withdrawing another. This one wore a T-shirt with the words "dancing queen" embroidered. This had been given to her either by Bryana or Marlene. Either way, it reminded her of the days she'd been surrounded by adoptive aunts and uncles. Things had changed so much. Next, Amanda withdrew a nappy and a baby bottle. She eyed the items questionably and cocked her head when Niels dissolved into laughter. "Remember when your mum and Bry discovered that we were... no longer innocent?" "Oh!" Amanda joined in his laughter. "Right! Aunt Bry's lesson about us risking early parenthood." She chuckled and began packing the items away again, leaving out her doll Maggie and her ballet shoes. "Wait," said Niels. He removed the items again and withdrew an envelope. "There are some pics in here," he said. "Gosh you were good... any regrets about quitting?" Amanda shook her head. "No," she replied. "I do miss it sometimes... I miss our lives back then--being carefree kids--but I gotta admit, now love our lives." "Twick oh tweat!" Emi called out. Amanda chuckled as Emi gave the homeowner her best angelic look, causing the woman to immediately fill her trick-or-treating bag with more candy than necessary. "Thank you," said Emi before taking Amanda's hand again. Angelo held tightly to his daddy's hand, looking at the woman with big eyes while she 'aaahw-ed' and filled his bucket with candy.
"Gosh we have enough sweets to open up a shop," Amanda commented as they headed to the next house. Already, Emi's candy bag was weighing her down. "We're going to have to hide most of it," Niels whispered, yet Amanda could see the amusement playing clearly in his eyes. She nudged him playfully and walked on. Moments later, she was the one carrying the bag while Emi skipped ahead happily, humming a tune from Frozen. "Is our little Elsa ready to go home?" Niels inquired. To their surprise, Emi nodded. Angelo was already in his daddy's arms, too tired to continue walking. Amanda admired the way her little boy hugged his daddy, cuddling against his chest. There was so much love in such a simple embrace. Emi joined in, her arms reaching up to wrap around his waist. Kobe, he was such a good father, Amanda thought. It was amazing how far they'd all come--from being a family of two to a family of four. They were raising a toddler and a young child. Time was certainly flying. "It's getting cold," Amanda mentioned. "Let's get home. Or maybe we can stop by Aunt Ceci and Uncle Rico's place and share some of our candy?" She looked at Emi, curious of her reactions. "Yay!" Emi replied. "Let's go!" She grabbed Amanda's hand and immediately started pulling her in the direction form which they came. Niels chuckled. "Wow, a kid who actually wants to share her Halloween candy," he mentioned. Amanda smiled proudly. "That's our Emi." Amanda inhaled deeply as they stepped off the bus at their special spot in Cape Cod. "It's so good to be here again," she said aloud. It was a bit chilly, but nothing to severe to hold back their fun. Ghost bounded ahead, grateful for the open space, and as usual Emi ran after him.
"Down," Angelo demanded. "Down what?" "P'ease?" Amanda chuckled and set him down, watching him chase after his older sister and Ghost. Two years old, Amanda thought. It was so hard to believe. He'd gone from an infant, unable to move his left arm efficiently, to a toddler with such incredible perseverance. He was always such a joy in physical therapy, making the therapists smile nonstop, and at home, he certainly brought laughter. Niels caught Amanda admiring their son and his smile said it all. "I'm proud of him too," he told Amanda. Amanda chuckled and slipped her hand into his. They followed their children, reminding them not to go too far. Once they found a good spot, they settled down on their picnic blanket, enjoyed some sandwiches and cake, and then spent the rest of the time playing around in the open fields. Spending time with her children, Amanda couldn't resist feeling a sense of pride for how well-behaved they were. She felt positive that they'd grow up to be wonderful young women and men, but for now she was just grateful to see her son's second birthday. |
Amanda at a GlanceNames: Amanda Pontremoli, Amanda van Loon Archives
August 2017
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