Happy Birthday Lola

Today the youngest member of my family turned two years old. We celebrated Lola Maxx Sunday at a birthday party in her honor, and I snapped pics of the boisterous occasion. Tonight’s blog post is all about this charming and sassy little lady.


Lola was not only the one celebrated, she also provided the entertaiment, giving new meaning to the phrase, “tooting her own horn”! 

I looked up Lola’s name:

“Lola,  you bring completion. You have a generous nature and like to see returns from your giving. You are a natural leader, fair and diplomatic. You are also moral, balanced, honest, intelligent, and deeply spiritual. Wisdom flows from you and you tend to think before you act. You have an eye for and an appreciation of beauty. 

Dependable and well grounded, you can be methodical and organized. Sometimes you appear to be stubborn and set in your ways, and yet you always finds reasons for celebrating life.”




Because of Lola’s young age, we will have to be observers of her life and see if the words above hold true. I can already affirm that this beautiful child is exceedingly generous and likes for everyone to be happy. She does have leadership abilities that she demonstrates in a practical, no nonsense, take charge kind of way. She is diplomatic and also kind, methodical while being fun. 

At two years of age, she currently shows her appreciation and love for beauty by accumulating bling. Give the girl a stack of pretty bracelets and she’s thrilled. Lola is very bright and connected to Spirit, and wisdom is evident when you look into her big brown eyes. 

Unknowingly using a large gift as a backrest!


It is interesting that Lola is associated with completion, given that she is the younger child in her family, the little sister to an older brother. I think her parents, my nephew Scott and his wife Nicole, find completion and perfection in having a son and daughter. They are certainly amazing parents to their children. 

I haven’t personally witnessed stubbornness from Lola, only playfulness, sweetness and a developing sense of humor. However, as the youngest in her family that could be a useful trait, and a way to make her wishes and opinions known! 




What this child does possess in abundance is a loving nature. She adores her big brother Weston and her Gigi and Papa. She loves her mommy and daddy and enjoys cuddling with them. She easily moves among her cousins, aunts and uncles, laughing, singing, dancing.  And everyone loves her in return, creating a supportive environment for Lola to thrive in while she grows and figures out who she is. 

Her eyes crinkled up Sunday as she flashed me a smile. She pointed to me and said, “Yaya”. That’s all it took to melt my heart. 

Happy birthday, Lola. I look forward to seeing all the ways you celebrate life. I love you!

Journey 333: Happy 1st Birthday Lola

Incredibly, a year has passed, exactly, since we welcomed Lola Maxx Miller to the world and to the family. We gathered today to celebrate this beautiful little girl on the anniversary of her birth. Her daddy, who is my nephew Scott, and mommy, Nicole, and big brother Weston welcomed us all to their home. 

 

 
Nicole has a wonderful tradition of carrying over the baby shower theme to the first birthday party. Lola’s shower was a yellow & gray theme. Today there were yellow and gray decorations, including a large sunburst on the wall with monthly photos of Lola capturing her year of growth, and festive cupcakes on yellow and gray plates. 

 

I realized after I took the pic that the 2nd month photo had fallen off!

And it has been a year of growth and accomplishments. From newborn to toddler, this cheerful little lady has gone from being immobile, yet incredibly strong and alert, to walking, running and keeping up with her brother. She’s always happy. Smiles easily. Flashes her big brown eyes as she wrinkles up her nose. 

She was less interested in opening gifts and more interested in the toys that magically appeared before her, after Weston and Kaleb helped with tearing off paper. 
 

    

Seated atop the dining room table, in her little chair, she was like a princess on her miniature throne. She smiled as her family surrounded her, not sure what all the fuss was about. Her mommy lit the single candle on the small birthday cake created just for Lola. As we sang “Happy Birthday” this precious girl brightened up and looked around….until we sang the “….dear Lola…” part. Realizing we were singing to her, she dropped her head, overcome by shyness. It was such an endearing moment. 

 

  

Song over, Lola daintily picked at her cake, putting tiny morsels into her mouth with her fingers. Mommy helped her out by providing a fork. That handy utensil not only got more cake into her mouth, it functioned as a great comb too! As she finished her cake, Lola gave into the impulse to rub cake everywhere. It was bath time after that. 

 

    

What a special day, celebrating a special girl. Scott and Nicole are an amazing couple, parenting their young son and daughter with love, patience and a good dollop of humor. They work well together as a team, taking turns handling the never ending responsibilities of raising kids.  And they have a wonderfully supportive family who encourages them and steps up to help. I love watching this little family together. 

 

                                      Big brother Weston.  

Lola is a beautiful child. She was born into a loving family, surrounded by the number 3. I look at her birth date, Day 333 in the year, and remember that 3’s signify a Body, Mind and Spirit connection, the presence of angels, and are connected to the energies of creativity, joy, imagination, kindness, psychic ability, growth and manifestation. Though she be but little, as Shakespeare would say, she is fierce. Not in a mean way. But in her determination. In her joy. In her kindness. Time will reveal her creativity and how powerful her imagination is, how strong her intuition. I know though. I just have to look into those wise eyes. 

Happy birthday Lola Maxx. I love you!

  
  
  

  

Journey 256: A Mouse, a Nature Walk and a Dance

Today presented an opportunity to get my granddaughter Aubrey and my sister’s granddaughter London together for an afternoon of playing. These two little girls don’t get to spend near as much time together as they would like. However, when schedules align, they enjoy every moment that they are given. 

 

The majority of their play date took place at one of the girls’ favorite hang outs… Chuck E Cheese Pizza. Today they were joined by cousins Weston and Lola, who entered into the spirit of fun whole-heartedly…just keep that big mouse who lurks about away! This is a noisy, kid friendly restaurant. Linda, Nicole and I didn’t mind the rowdy atmosphere though. The kids had space to run and slide, ride rides and plug tokens into whirring, clanging machines. 

 
Aubrey and London have been enjoying Chuck E Cheese since their toddler days, when Gigi and I had to boost them up the platforms, to the top of the playground enclosure. I watched today, with both amusement and tenderness, as the girls helped young Weston climb to the top, taking turns pulling on his arms from above and lifting from below. They made a great little team and Weston loved looking out over the restaurant from his vantage point. What better place to keep an eye out for that overgrown mouse roaming about!

 

Pretty little Lola, who will be a year old in late November, was bright eyed and interested in all the activity swirling about her. She and Gigi drove a car and she loved the bright green train ride that jostled her a bit too much after her bottle at lunch. She’s a good-natured, happy baby who smiles easily and already allows her curiosity to lead her. 

 

After Nicole headed home with her two sleepy babies, the girls finished up their afternoon together at Gigi’s house. These BFF/cousins are at an age where they need very little supervision. Linda and I sit nearby, visiting and keeping an ear turned toward the girls. It’s amusing and revealing, listening to them engage. Their life experiences pop up to color their conversations and play. And maybe that’s not a bad way, in the midst of make-believe, to sort out their little lives. 

We took time for a walk in the neighborhood. The girls carried plastic zip-lock bags for collecting treasures. I love that they fully expected to find such items. Into the baggies went interesting twigs and rocks, seeds, acorns and walnuts, and shiny bits of ribbon from some celebration. These children reminded me today that on our journeys, we find what we expect to find. I want to be a seeker of treasures as well. 

  
London and Aubrey ended their afternoon of fun with a little ritual that has become a tradition for them…The Dance. Sometimes they dress up in costumes. Today they donned leotards. And then they danced their little hearts out for their Yaya and Gigi. We enjoyed their performance and laughed at their antics this afternoon, as they let their little wild and creative spirits peep through. It was good fun. And more than that, it allowed them to move, their bodies and their energies. Rather than clinging sadly to each other, wondering when they will get together next, they instead parted company on a high and hilarious note. Wise beyond years, these two. Old souls who love and enjoy each other. I learn so much from them.