Summertime

We've been doing a lot (and I mean A. LOT.) of swimming.  Sam discovered goggles this summer, and now it is impossible to go near the water without them.  He's been practicing without his lifejacket a bit, and he's doing great.  It's hard to find that balance between teaching him to respect the water without instilling fear.

 

 

Sydney got ahold of The Bear. Honestly, she doesn't play with dolls or stuffed animals that much yet. But she grabs Sam's sacred Pooh every chance she gets.  As you can probably imagine, he really doesn't appreciate it very much.

 

 

I came up with a $2 pool noodle storage. A laundry basket from Dollar Tree and a couple of zip ties. I just cut out the bottom of the basket. Very Pinterest-worthy, if I do say so myself. 

 

 

Sam went to Bible School. This was supposed to be a relay race where they used water gums to spray shaving cream off of some balloons. Watching the teacher try to explain the concept of a relay race to a bunch of 4 year olds was highly entertaining.  It was basically a free-for-all.  But it involved water, so Sam loved it.

 

 

Since they didn't have a class for Sydney's age group, she hung out with Daddy while Sam and I went to church. Usually when we divide kids, Sam goes with Shawn and Sydney stays with me. But I think Shawn enjoyed a little bonding time with his girl. 

 

 

But the coolest thing our Bible school this time was the last night.  We had a man come and give a presentation about different types of animals.  He brought a few animals with him, and he talked about how God made each of them unique, just like he made all of us unique.  It was a wonderful presentation, and he even let the kids pet his boa constrictor after the presentation.  I asked Sam if he wanted to pet the snake, and he didn't even hesitate.  Such a brave guy.

 

 

We've been playing outside a lot.  Sydney loves to drawn with the sidewalk chalk...

 

 

...and Sam does too.

 

 

These feet...  I mean, are they not ADORABLE?!

 

 

Sam has been learning to ride a bike.  He's doing really well; I think all of that swimming he's been doing has been helping to make his legs stronger, too.  He has to stop every so often and honk his horn...just for good measure.  He's turning into such a little boy.

Dear Sydney,

You turned two a few days ago.  I'm a little behind in writing this letter because, well...life happens.  I don't want to go into it right now because this letter is about you, but the days immediately following your birthday were...eventful. 

You are so much fun right now.  I kinda feel like that's a generic thing I say in all of my letters, but it's always true.  You and your brother are just fun.  We delight in you.  You, baby girl, have a light in you that refuses to be hidden.  I hope you always let it shine. 

Your appetite is still healthy.  You will eat most things, and no meal is complete without some ketchup to "dip-dip."  A few months ago, Daddy and I started fixing you yogurt smoothies with milk to trick you into drinking milk.  You went for it for a while, but before long you were onto our sneaky games.  And now you refuse to drink the yogurt smoothies too.  Sometimes you will sneak off with Brother's chocolate milk, but after a couple of sips you realize your mistake and you will throw it down, vehemently proclaiming, "I 'on't yike it, milk."  You still eat yogurt, but you really prefer to eat it with chips so you can dip them in it.  We've settled for giving you calcium gummies, and you love them so I'm okay with it. 

You love playing "outsideporch."  I'm not sure how, but somehow going outside turned into "outsideporch" and you get most offended if we let Molly out and don't let you accompany her.  You love to beat a path down the sidewalk.  Every now and then you'll turn and look at me, shake your finger at me, and in a sing-song voice say, "Ah-ah-aaaaahhh."  Almost like you KNOW I'm going to tell you that you've gone too far. 

I think you're turning into a blankie girl.  I have to admit, I've been a little bit sad that you haven't really needed a lovie or anything.  You never really attached yourself to a particular stuffed animal (although you do love to torment your brother by running off with his Pooh).  But lately, you've started wanting one of your baby blankets when you're tired or upset.  It's this thin, gauzy material, and there is a hole in it where I think Molly chewed on it.  You are very particular in how it covers you.  It has to be completely flat with no wrinkles.  But as soon as you wake up in the morning, blankie is the first thing to sail out of the crib. 

You are all about Mickey Mouse right now.  I mean, you are obsessed.  I love watching you dance the hot dog dance.  You have got some serious moves.  In fact, you love to sing and dance in general.  At night, we sit in your room and rock, and if you're having a hard time getting sleepy, we'll sing for a while.  You will usually tell me which song to sing:  "Go song" for the song from Frozen, "Dog" for the Hot Dog song, "B-B-B" for the ABC's.  If I guess wrong or if you just decide halfway through that you don't like it, you'll grab my face, put your nose on mine and say, "No!"  But if I do it to your liking, you reward me with a big smile and you sing with me. 

We have another nighttime routine where we have to call role and tell everyone night-night.  While we rock you'll ask, "Where'd Daddy go?" and I'll say, "Daddy went night-night.  Night-night, Daddy."  Then we repeat the whole process with Brother, Momo, Elmo, Mickey, Kitty, and anyone else who comes to mind. 

You have really enjoyed the pool this summer.  You're getting more and more brave.  You love to stand on the steps and yell, "Fee, two, b'astoff!" and jump into my arms.  You also love to ride the noodle-horses and race with Daddy and Brother.  But I think your most favorite thing to do is to just play in the little plastic baby pool with Momo. 

My Sydney-girl, I love how you'll reach up and pat my face when we're rocking.  I love how you watch your brother with your eyes that miss NOTHING and you try to mimic everything he does.  I love hearing you count your toys, "Eight, H, Two!"  I love how you will dig through my purse to find my hand lotion and you insist on putting some on.  But most of all, I love that you are my little girl.  I'm looking forward to all of the pedicures, shoe-shopping expeditions and girl-food lunches we'll have together.  And if none of that is your thing, that will be fine.  We'll go rock-climbing or do whatever it is that you do.  I can't wait to see who you become.

I love you forever,
Mommy

We're Going To The Zooooooo!!!

Sam had been begging to go to the zoo to "see the animals" for a few weeks, so we took a day not long ago and went.  I'm such a nerd, I love the zoo.  I always have.  I would totally do the zoo camp and other things like that if they would allow adults to attend.  (As a matter of fact, we saw a few camp groups while we were there, and I kinda wanted to follow them around a little.)

 

Shawn always laughs at me because I have a wealth of silly songs stored away in my brain.  Most of them, I'm not entirely sure where they came from.  That morning, as we were getting ready, I kept singing the zoo song.  

 

We're going to the zoo, zoo, zoo.

How about you, you, you?

You can come too, too, too.

We're going to the zooooooooo!

 

It was pretty funny hearing the kids singing it at the top of their lungs.

 

I don't think I got any pictures of the polar bear, but that was a big hit.  We stood and watched him dive and play for the longest time.  He had a ball that he was playing with, and Sam loved watching him throw it into the water then dive down to get it.  I have to admit, it was pretty fun just watching him play.  We got to see him pretty up close and personal.  They are such beautiful animals...

 

Not long after we got there, we got caught in a little rain shower sudden torrential downpour.  Even though Sam REALLY enjoyed seeing all the animals, I'm pretty sure his favorite part was playing in the rain.  Little boys...

 

 

 

 And of course, every puddle we came up on, we had to split wide open.

 

 

 

While we were waiting out the rain, we got to watch a little demonstration at the tiger habitat.  One thing that we learned is that some animals are completely solitary unless they are in a mating season.  I've always felt a little bit sorry for the animals that are housed by themselves, but we learned that tigers live alone even in the wild.  The caretaker told us they put a male in with this female and they nearly killed each other before they finally separated them. 

 

 

 

She was purring or growling or whatever you call it while they were feeding her.

 

 

 

At some point along the way, Sydney figured out that Sam was walking while she was strapped into a stroller, and that just was not going to fly anymore.  Monkey see, monkey do...

 

 

 

Sam really liked the gorilla room.  One of them kept sitting and staring at him, which he thought was totally cool.

 

 

 

Since the last time we went to the Louisville Zoo, they have added these giant insect-statue things.  They are scattered all over the park.  Every time we would come up on one, Sam would stop and yell, "What's that?"  We'd tell him it's a grasshopper or a beetle or whatever.  Then he would ask, "Is he a nice grasshopper?"  Every time, I would tell him that, yes, it was a nice bug.  But I couldn't really tell him that when we got to the giant spider.  I just gently suggested that we walk a little faster. 

 

 

 

This won't make much sense to anyone except for the Western Kentucky crew, but when we saw this little guy, Sam insisted that it was Prissy.  I thought that was pretty perceptive.  They do have similar markings....

 

 

Before we went to the zoo, he kept saying he wanted to see the giraffes...

 

 

...but after we got there, he was pretty obsessed with the rhinos.  We later made the connection that there is a Spiderman villain named Rhino.  Eventually, it all comes back to Spiderman...

 

 

He really wanted to pet this guy.

 

 

We ended our day with a ride on the merry-go-round.  Out of all the animals that the kids could ride on, what did they choose?  The bench.  For real.  But hey...if they're smiling, why knock it?

I Need A (Super) Hero

Sam is a little bit obsessed with super heroes right now.  For his birthday, my sister got him some little super hero friends.  She really hit a home run with those.  I'm pretty sure he has had some combination of them in his hands nonstop since we took them out of the box. 

 

 

 

 

He's wearing his Captain America pj's in these pictures.  In addition to Captain America, he has Avengers pj's, Superman and Spiderman.  Every night after his bath, Sam stands in front of his dresser and carefully decides which pajamas to wear.  We were running an errand in Kohl's last week, and we walked past the little boys' stuff.  Sam about lost his head when he saw some Batman pj's.  At least we'll be safe when we sleep.  No nefarious villains in these parts!

 

 

He loves all of his super hero friends, but he seems to favor Hulk and Spiderman.  He even tried to "Hulk out" when we were playing outside last week.  It was pretty funny watching him trying to rip his shirt off then watching his bony, little-boy frame running around and smashing things. 

 

 

Shawn has enacted a "no friends in the bed" rule.  Those suckers HURT if you roll over on them!

 

 

I think what's the funniest to me, though, is when a super hero has captured one of the bad guys, then we switch to Scooby mode, and Spiderman has to "see who it really is."  If you have no idea what that means, please watch any episode of Scooby Doo and get back to me...

 

The imagination of a little boy is a beautiful thing to observe.

Garden Update

Time for a garden update!  My carrots are coming along...I might actually get to eat some this year!

I planted lettuce for the first time this year.  I planted 18 spots, but only about 5 are actually producing anything.  I haven't harvested any just yet, but we're almost there.  I'm going to need a lot more than what we've got, though.  This year I just did 2 squares...I'll do at least 4 next year, if not more.

I have a few tiny squash.  Squash and zucchini are funny.  One day you go out to check your plants and you have one or two tiny little squash.  Then you get a big storm and two days later you're up to your eyeballs in squash and zucchini.  We had a couple of days of rain this week, so I'm expecting to be eating LOTS of squash next week.

My cherry tomato plant is covered.  Sam and Sydney are going to be thrilled.  No big tomatoes yet, but I've got a lot of blooms.

My beans are getting there.  They were a little big slow-going at first.  I'm not sure if the tomatoes in front of them shaded them a bit too much or what, but they're starting to take off now.  This is another thing that I'm going to need to plant more of.  I did two squares this year...next year maybe 4 or more?

I'm a little unhappy with my herbs this year.  I did them in pots for the first time, and they're just not doing great.  My rosemary is turning brown.  I thought maybe I was overwatering it, but I'm not sure.

I nearly lost the parsley.  It all turned yellow and droopy.  I cut all of the bad leaves, and this is all that's left.  I'm pretty sure by this time last year, the parsley was really big and full.

The basil, on the left, is struggling a bit too.  And I transplanted a bit of the mint from my garden.  It struggled a bit at first, but it's starting to take off again.

I also planted strawberries this year.  I've had several little green berries, but something keeps eating them before they get ripe.  I don't think it's the kids, but I can never be sure.  I think I'll use that space for more lettuce next year.  My peppers petered out.  I'm not too upset about them.  None of us really like green peppers raw.  I mainly wanted to plant them so I could chop them up and freeze them.  Not the end of the world.

I'm thinking I need ANOTHER bed next year...

Sam's 4th Birthday

Every year we try to do something a little bit special with the kids on their birthday.  This year, we decided that Sam was old enough to decide what we did...with a little bit of direction from us.  We gave him some ideas and let him plan our day.  His big plan?  He wanted to "ride the steps and play with the trains and go back to that place where we jump and slide."  Shawn and I were a little confused about the whole "riding the steps thing"...until we remembered that when we went to the Aquarium we stopped in a Barnes and Noble next door for a quick potty break before getting on the road.  The restrooms were on the 2nd floor close to the children's area, so while I was changing Sydney's diaper, Shawn and Sam hung out by the train table.  Apparently, it made an impression.

 

Anyway, we weren't driving back to Cincinnati to play with the trains, but we remembered that Joseph Beth has an escalator, so we decided to go there.  Sam LOVES the train tables at the bookstore.  Every time we stop and let him play, Shawn and I ask ourselves why we don't do that more often.  It's fun, free entertainment, and he always gets wrapped up in pretending and playing.

 

 

 

 

The next day, we had his party at the same bounce house where we've had it the last couple of years.  If it ain't broke, don't fix it!  We could hardly get Sam to concentrate on eating cake and opening presents because he was so preoccupied with getting to jump.  Luckily, we were the first party of the day, and the owner was nice enough to let us go ahead into the jumping area.

 

 

 

Three guesses what kind of cake Sam requested---Scooby Doo.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Side note---this girl totally cracks me up.

 

 

Sam first played air hockey at a friend's birthday party a couple of months ago, and he loves it.  He's pretty good, too!

Of course, Sydney thinks she has to do everything that her brother does.

We found the Harry Potter display at the bookstore, and Sam had to wear the hat around for a while.  He loved shooting hoops with Dad at his party.  And we got to feed the ducks and geese outside the bookstore.

 

We let Sam choose a special birthday treat from the bookstore.  Once again, he surprised us.  I was sure he would choose a train since that was what he had been playing with.  Or maybe even a book.  But no---he wanted a pair of Quidditch goggles from the Harry Potter stuff.  Then, he insisted on wearing them to lunch.

I love the picture on the bottom.  It might be my favorite of the day.  Daddy and Sam playing air hockey and their whole cheering section lined up along the side.

Mothers' Day

I won't lie----Mothers' Day is bittersweet for me.  I approach it every year with a mixture of joy--because every day, for the rest of my life, no matter what I do right or wrong, I get the privilege of being a mom--and trepidation, because I won't be sharing it with my own mom. 

 

I would've liked to have been a mom in the presence of my mom.  I would have loved to see her with my babies.  I know she would have delighted in them. 

 

I read this a few days ago, and in many ways, it sums up everything I feel about today.

 

Except I won't be standing over a grave.

 

I visited Mom's grave one time.  One.  I think I stayed two minutes before I felt smothered. 

 

Some people find peace in visiting the graves of their loved ones, but I do not.  She is not there.  To me, her grave is simply a reminder of that fact.  Instead, I will celebrate her memories.  I will look through the photo album she made for me.  I will share stories about her with my children.  (And my son will memorize every detail of them, because that's just what he does.) 

 

I might shed a tear or two, but it will not be while staring at a gravestone.  It will be while I watch my children play.  It will be while singing in church.  It will be as I reflect about how many cross country races and piano recitals and swimming lessons and band concerts she attended as she supported us and cheered us on.  I will remember the cupcakes she made for us to take to school.  The spelling tests she helped us study for.  The snacks she provided for a neighborhood full of hot, sweaty, smelly kids after an afternoon of wiffle ball.  The mornings that she French braided my hair when we were already late because a ponytail just wouldn't have worked.  The costumes that she made.  The science projects that she helped put together (I have no idea how many tomato plants we tortured and killed during my middle school years).  The  nights she stayed up until goodness-knows-when doing her own homework because she had helped us with our homework first.  The hair-brained schemes of mine that she supported because they were important to me.

 

Yes, it is well.

 

Most days, it is.  And on the days, like today, that it kinda isn't, my lips will repeat until my heart believes it.

 

It is well, because He made it so.  It is well, because the grave isn't the end.  It is well, because in the absence of my mother and my children's grandmother, we have been blessed with a handful of women who have jumped in and bent over backwards to fill that void as much as possible.  Because they love us.  Because they loved her.  It is well, because I've seen the end of the story, and spoiler alert:  We win.  We get to see her again.

 

It is well.

A Picture's Worth A Thousand Words

Reason #417 why you should always leave your bathroom locked when you have a toddler.

Molly loves it when Sydney helps herself to snacks.

 

 

I recently read the book "1000 Gifts" and started keeping my own gratitude journal.  Being intentional about seeing new things to be thankful for each day and writing them down has really opened my eyes to my blessings.  I can tell a big difference in my attitude on the days I don't write in it.

 

 

I love it when he shares with her without being asked.

 

 

If I did a picture gratitude journal, I would probably put a lot of pictures of sunrises and sunsets in it. 

Best buddies.