1.23.2008

Happy Birthday Grammy Kay!

Today is my mom's birthday. Hooray!

My mom is one of my favorite people in the world. She's smart, she's quirky, and she's fun.

She's so fun, in fact, we have adopted the name "Pied Piper" for her. Whenever the grandkids come to her house, they inevitably disappear into Grammy Kay's room and will inevitably reappear wearing all sorts of fun, crazy costumes. Case in point, Christmas a year ago, she had matching Disney Princess shawls and purses for all the girls. (Yes, that is Henry wearing a shawl too. Like he could resist the tempting call of the siren Pied Piper!)


Another reason to love her? She's dependable. Even before you have the baby, sometimes she'll come when you're horribly sick and pregnant and want to kill yourself, but you don't, because she comes and makes you freezer jam. She'll come again when you finally have that baby. She'll come and help and clean up and go out and buy you Christmas decorations for your new tree because she knows you don't have any money.


She's be known to throw a few awesome impromptu dance parties with her hip selection of songs on her hip iPod (that has, "Kay Smith Rocks," engraved on the back; so there's your proof -- she really is awesome).


She lets Henry cook with her. Cooking with a toddler? I can think of a million other things that are less stressful than that. She also does crazy things that give me an inordinate amount of anxiety just thinking about, like letting Henry push a chair up to the sink and pour spoonful after spoonful of soapy water onto a towel that she's strategically put there to soak up all the running water. Are you kidding? Oh man, I'm getting the chills just thinking about the mess. But that's her. The Pied Piper doesn't bat an eye at things like that.


And of course, as the nickname implies, she loves kids. The Pied Piper is truly one of the best grandmas I know. Henry loves her (and Ruby will too, just give her some time, she has trust issues, y'all) along with the rest of her 13 grandkids (soon to be 16 -- go Liz, Shelly, and Heather! Make us proud!).


Notice the similarities between that last pic and the next? My kids are about the same ages when these pictures were taken. I love that I have similar pictures of them with my mom. (Not to distract from my moving tribute to the Pied Piper, but come on Ruby, grow some hair already!)



Anyway, Happy Birthday Mom! We love you!

9 comments:

Jaeson and Traci Repscher said...

No wonder you are so beautiful, You take after your mom! What a neat tribute to her, that is a great birthday gift. Hey, Celia. I can tell it is too cold for you to go outside, you're a blog updating fool. Good for you, I love it when people update often, and yours' are some of my favorite to read. Thanks for giving us all something to do during this Artic Cold weather.

Anonymous said...

Kay is not only a suoperstar to her family, her depth of caring extends to people you probably don't know... like my grandson who blossomed under her tenure as a principal and professor and my two granddaughters who were shattered when their mother passed away. Kay's loving arms hugged them, fed them, and nurtured them. She's one of a kind! Keep her. Dr. Forgot

Natalie said...

Your mom is gorgeous. I love that you posted these pictures. I love being able to stay "in the loop" through blogs. Keep posting. I check everyday!

Heidi said...

Happy Birthday, Aunt Kay! I think of you often!

Two Ladies and No Baby said...

Go Kay, Go Kay, Go, Go, Go Kay. It's your birfday, have a party.

Adrienne said...

Mom is great....what a lovely shout out! Seriously, though she does have a certain spell over the kids.

What I love about mom is when she says she doesn't feel well, and is exhausted, she still accomplishes more than I do on my best day!!

She's the best!

Jessica said...

Can I say that I love your mom too? She is always so sweet and nice to me and my kids. I'll have to say that she puts on a GREAT Thanksgiving dinner too. (Does this mean I'll be invited back? :) - common')

No, but really - you guys have a great mom and she is a WONDERFUL grandmother!!!!

Celia said...

I think so too Jessica -- hence, the post.

Thanks for agreeing!

carl b smith and marilyn said...

Celiiaaaaa! We love your mother too! Thanks for taking the time to leave congrats for our anniversary. I hope that you are thinking of coming to LV to visit with us/Spencer etc. If it becomes a family affair, our rooms are available for a reunion. Love, Uncle Carl and Aunt Marilyn