Brainy Girl

Ch-ch-changes

2011-11-13T08:24:00.001-05:00

There has been some fairly major upheaval in our little family over the past several months. I'm not going to go into the details of it here, because most of you know already. All 4 of us are okay, we're just heading into a new phase of life. There is sadness, and grief, for the end of one chapter of life. But also excitement, for the start of the next chapter. We'll muddle through it, as we always have, and Lucy and Lainey will continue to be our highest priority, as they always have been.

I had been thinking for awhile that it might be time to bid farewell to this blog, now that the girls are getting older and I'm less comfortable (for the sake of their own privacy) posting about the details of their lives. I think that this current life event is going to be a natural breaking point for me. For those of you on Facebook, I will continue to post pictures of the girls there. I will also continue to post pictures, and pictures only, in a new blog: In Medias Resplendence (www.inmediasresplendence.blogspot.com). Nothing's there yet, but I'll put up some pictures sometime soon.

I have loved writing the Brainygirl blog. Thanks to all of you for following along in the adventures of the kiddos. Being a mom is the best, hardest, most important thing I've ever done, and that will be the case for the rest of my life. I couldn't do it without the love and support I get from all of you every day. Thank you.

First day of First Grade!

2011-08-17T07:16:00.001-04:00

Family Vacation 2011

2011-08-14T16:14:00.002-04:00

A day on a boat!

2011-08-14T16:04:00.002-04:00

The Little Things

2011-07-20T13:57:00.001-04:00

I haven't posted much lately. I was thinking about that the other day, and I think it's because I've just been busy enjoying my life this summer. I have had my fair share of sorrow over the years, and it has taught me to live and breathe a philosophy of enjoying the little things. The moments of peace and quiet, the moments of happiness, the moments of joy and light. I feel genuine gratitude for those little things...they are the things that matter the most. So a quick list of the little (and some big) things in life that I've been grateful for this summer:

The girls, playing ponies happily together on the deck, in the sunshine
Roger and I, sitting outside with them, drinking a local beer and reading our books as we listen to their giggles and observe the intensity of their imaginative play
Neighbors who we like, whose kids play with (and babysit) our kids
Lucy mastering the art of the 2-wheel, so very proud of herself
Watching my sis marry a wonderful man
Lots of family time with the 4 of us plus Sassy & Jim...so good for the girls, so good for us too
Pool time! Watching Lucy work so hard, and pick up the swimming thing so fast. Watching Lainey slowly and cautiously enjoy the water.
My BFF getting ready to have her first baby this fall...I'm practically as excited for her baby as I was for my own.
The girls getting to spend about a week with each set of grandparents. So good for all of them, and so good for Roger and me too! We miss them terribly while they're gone...but we also enjoy the momentary freedom.
I absolutely love my new job. The people who I work with are a joy, and I have commented to several people that I feel like this is what it would be like to work with all my college friends. The work that I do is so important, and although the stress can be high and the pay is low, I am energized by and excited about what I'm doing.
Upcoming annual family vacation in the cabins...the girls couldn't be more excited.
Reading...lots and lots of reading. Reading on my own, Lucy reading to me, reading to the girls.
Super fun weekend trips...to Chicago, to the lake house, to King's Island, a day on a pontoon.
Baseball games, play dates, walks around the block, quiet evenings in front of the TV with a glass of wine, snuggles and hugs and kisses, "I love you so much mommy," friends and family and sunshine and cicadas and flowers and most of all, my wonderful husband and our beautiful daughters.

Life is good, and I am so grateful for that. Every day.

UPDATE: also, especially today, I am very much enjoying and grateful for air conditioning!

Aaand, a month has gone by, and it's time to post pics from another fun weekend at the lake!

2011-07-04T15:58:00.000-04:00

Weekend at the lake!

2011-05-31T20:26:00.001-04:00

Lucy spent much of the weekend fishing, and playing with the worms.

Just look at our beautiful girl showing off her feathers!

Hammock time with Grammy

I solemnly swear that I am up to no good.

Coooold water!! Lucy was the only one brave enough to get in.

So, so proud of herself...love that little devilish glint she gets in her eye.

Love this face, love this girl!

Reflections

2011-05-26T14:41:00.000-04:00

I'm generally not the kind of parent who gets sad and weepy about the passage of time. I have enjoyed every stage of my girls' lives (admittedly, some more than others), and I genuinely look forward to seeing them continue to discover the world, learn about themselves, and become the strong, smart women that they're destined to be.

But...today is Lucy's last day of kindergarten, which just hardly seems possible. She is experiencing those conflicting emotions that I remember so well from the end of a school year...excited for the summer, thrilled to think about being a big first grader, and so sad to say goodbye to her teacher. As she and I were driving away from school yesterday, I looked in the rear view mirror and saw tears silently slipping down her cheeks because she was so heartbroken at the thought of bidding farewell to Mrs. Riggs...that's the sign of a great teacher right there. And it's also the sign of a little girl who loves school, which is the main thing I hoped that Lucy would gain from kindergarten...that foundation of positive feelings about learning, about being at school, about being a citizen. I love that she loves it, and I love that, as much as she is looking forward to the summer, she can't wait to start up again in the fall.

She has grown, physically and emotionally, so much over the course of this year that at times I look at her and see a shadow of the teenager she'll be before we know it. She's still in a stage of running up to me every afternoon when I pick her up from school and hugging me excitedly, she still spontaneously holds my hand as we walk down the street, she still skips with the freedom and joy of a young child, and she still begs me to stay and snuggle with her every night after we read books...but I know that those things won't last, possibly not much longer at all. I feel nostalgia, and a twinge of sadness, about that.

When I start feeling like that, though, I remind myself of all the exciting things she has ahead of her. Sleepovers. Art classes. Undiscovered talents and interests. Educational challenges and achievements. Solo bike rides to friends' houses. And so, so many other things. So it's not as though I would freeze time even if I had the power to do so...but still, today, I wallow a bit and contemplate how quickly it's all going by. My big girl, growing up so fast, and loving it every step of the way.

Pre-Wedding Photos

2011-05-15T13:52:00.000-04:00

My baby sister got married this weekend!! Everything went absolutely perfectly, from the weather to the food to the company to the lovely couple. I don't have any pics from the ceremony itself since I was kinda busy, but here are a few shots from the rehearsal and the salon!

Peewee Baseball

2011-04-30T19:48:00.000-04:00

Roger is coaching Lucy's Peewee Baseball team, and today was the first game. It was super adorable and everyone (especially Roger) had a blast!

Pre-game huddle

Number 2, up to bat...she actually got two great hits during the game!

Fun in the park

2011-04-23T20:05:00.002-04:00

This is the park & creek that Sally and I grew up playing in. I'm so glad that I get to share it with my kids! They had a blast and are already asking when we can go back.

McEaster 2011

2011-04-23T20:04:00.000-04:00

A beautiful sunny Sunday

2011-04-17T18:51:00.002-04:00

All You Need is Love

2011-04-16T09:50:00.000-04:00

The girls get into squabbles frequently these days, but they also really, really enjoy each other most of the time. Their latest favorite game is one of them tackling the other, saying, "I want a hug from sissy!" Then they collapse to the floor in a heap of giggles, saying, "I love my sissy!" "I never want my sissy to leave!" And this morning, "I love everyone in the whole world! (Except robbers and bad guys.)"

I love that they love each other. :)

A brief check-in

2011-04-04T19:52:00.000-04:00

I know that I have been the world's most delinquent blogger lately. I started a new job a few weeks ago, and it's taking up most of my free brain space these days. I absolutely love it, and it has been a great move for me, but it's definitely emotionally taxing in a way that I'm not used to. I work to try to make the lives of children in crisis a little better, and spending all day thinking about these kids makes me want to come home every day and shower my girls with more love and affection than they know what to do with. So that's what I'm spending my time doing these days, which I'm okay with. I think that once I settle into the new job, I'll find ways to resume things like blogging, but for now, it will just be small bits and pieces of our lives these days.

We're all great! Loving having occasional days that are warm enough to open the house and let in the fresh air. Looking forward to Sassy & Jim's wedding. Lucy's working on learning how to ride a bike, and Lainey's working on learning how to use chopsticks. Bracing for springtime yardwork to begin, but looking forward to the fresh produce and beautiful flowers that will result. Life is good.

The Art of Interpreting Lainey [UPDATED]

2011-02-21T13:47:00.001-05:00

Lucy has always been a fairly straightforward little person. She has still waters that run deep, and she is careful with her words, but when she talks you can basically rely on the truth of what she's saying.

Lainey...not so much. With Lainey, it is often nearly impossible to figure out whether she's telling the truth at all, if there's a kernel of truth in her statements, and if so, what that kernel is and how big it is. The "truth," for Lainey, is a very elastic concept. It's not that she lies (though at times, she does), it's more that the girl has such a creative and substantial imagination that her imaginings become woven in with the real world.

So basically, we can't ever take something Lainey says at face value. It must be thoroughly examined, and questioned, and interpreted.

For example. Over the weekend, Lainey decided she wanted to wear pigtails. Upon achieving said pigtails, she said that her hair looked like Stacey's. Not knowing of someone in her life named Stacey, I asked who that is. She said it's a girl in her class. I was surprised since the teacher had just sent home a class list for Valentine's Day and there was no one named Stacey on it, but anything's possible. Lainey just said that Stacey wasn't there on Valentine's Day because she was sick.

Later in the day, Stacey kept coming up again and again. We continued questioning Lainey, and it turned out that in fact, Stacey was still 3 on Valentine's Day so hadn't started in the 4s class yet. That would make sense if I didn't know that there were other 4-year-old kids still in the 3s class waiting for a spot to open up.

Then, when Roger asked Lainey what Stacey's whole name is, Lainey said, without missing a beat, Stacey Rose Marie Junior.

Mmmkay.

Lainey, continuing to mull on her friend Stacey, then excitedly announced, "And Stacey can transform into a box!"

So, there you have it...Stacey Rose Marie Junior has magically joined the 4s class and can transform into a box.

The thing is, even with all of that, I'm still not sure whether there's actually a new kid in Lainey's class named Stacey!!

I hope that Lainey's creativity continues to grow and thrive as she gets older, though I also hope that at some point, her tactic for obfuscating reality so skillfully falls by the wayside.

UPDATE: You will not be surprised to learn, I am sure, that in fact, there is no one named Stacey in Lainey's class, with or without the power to transform into a box. Lainey's teacher laughed when I asked her and explained the situation, and she said, "Well, maybe I should ask you if Lainey has an uncle who's driving home with you guys today and will sit in the backseat next to her?" I said that although Lainey has an uncle figure (shout out to Jimmy!), I'm certain she doesn't think of him that way and he's not officially her uncle yet, and other than him she has no uncles. And certainly no uncles waiting for her in the car. But her teacher said she'd been saying that consistently all day long. I'm thinking Lainey may have a future as an author of fiction!

Slip slidin' away

2011-02-05T15:23:00.000-05:00

We have had some crazy weather here in the midwest in the past week! We had a major ice storm last week that left us with about 1.5" of solid ice on the ground, yards, roads, and everything else. The city is still trying to dig its way out, and the girls had FOUR snow days in a row. Then today, we got about 6" of snow on top of the ice that was there already, and we have two more snow-dumping systems on their way in the next few days. Whew! But we've been able to get outside every day and do a little "ice skating," which the girls have enjoyed.

The skating rink, aka our yard, driveway, and road.

Skating

A "Night Mirror"

2011-01-28T09:11:00.000-05:00

Last night, Lainey woke up crying in the middle of the night from a "night mirror" (the girls both still call nightmares night mirrors). I think children's dreams are fascinating. This was definitely a scary one: "I was having a playdate with Katy, when a big dragon ship came. The big ship scooped us up. And then it made fire that got bigger and bigger and bigger and bigger, and then it threw us into the fire."

Poor punkin was shaking and crying, she was so scared!

Well Child

2011-01-19T10:38:00.000-05:00

Lucy had her 6-year checkup today, and everything looks great! 40.7 pounds (25th percentile) and 43.25 inches (16th percentile), so she's a shrimp like her mom but she's growing, which is all that matters. The doctor was impressed by how much of a ham that girl can be. :)

I took Lainey in as well because she's been pretty sick for a few days, and glad I did because it turns out she has a really bad ear infection. Is winter over yet?

Lucy's Birthday Party!

2011-01-17T08:34:00.000-05:00

We all had soooo much fun at Lucy's birthday party on Saturday!!!

Freeze dance with Sassy

Music time

Beading project

Birthday girl

Circle game

Pin the tail on the donkey, always a winner!

For her birthday treat, Lucy selected chocolate ice cream plus chocolate cookies.

The girls dissolved into helpless giggles for most of the eating time...none of the adults could figure out what they were laughing at, but it was so funny to watch!

Lainey was in heaven with all the big girls around!

2011-01-13T17:12:00.000-05:00

Since 19 times out of 20, the girls come home after school and beg for snacktime foods that I (almost) always say no to and don't care to boast about on the Internet, I have to feel good about their wishes today. Lainey requested dried cranberries and peanuts; Lucy requested crackers and hummus with dried apricots. Not too darn bad!

2011-01-13T11:35:00.000-05:00

A few things that I've been thinking I want to file away in the recesses of my memory.

The girls are so quick, these days, to spontaneous and heartfelt acts of affection. At least once a day, apropos of nothing, one of them will come up to me, give me a tight squeeze of a hug around my neck and a big sloppy kiss, and say "I love you sooo much, Mommy." Lainey has taken to telling us frequently that she wants to be with us forever. At the moment, college is a very distressing concept to both of them because they don't want to live somewhere where we aren't. I certainly know that this sentiment will change, radically, in the coming years, but it's just so sweet to hear it right now anyway. Lucy, last night, told me that I'm her very best friend in the whole wide world. (Of course, five minutes later, she was seething with rage about my very existence, but so it goes in the world of an almost-six-year-old.) I guess it's just nice to have reached a stage, however temporary, when the girls really do seem to appreciate and love us wholeheartedly.

Lucy has been asking a lot about the shooting in Arizona, and as always, I struggle with those conversations. I don't want to thrust her into the harsh world too soon, but I also believe that she has the right to as much truth as she can handle. Yesterday, she noticed flags flying at half mast, and asked about that. I explained that sometimes when people die, businesses and governments do that to remember the people who died. She said, "like when Aunt Livy died?" Without really considering my answer at all, I said no, the flag is usually half-mast only when someone very important dies. She promptly, and justifiedly, corrected me, saying "But Mommy, Aunt Livy was very important to our family." So true, and I tried to explain what I really meant, I think with better success.

Last night, Roger was reading books to Lainey at bedtime. In a quiet moment, she said, apropos of nothing, "Lucy is the best big sister ever, but I'm a rough little sister." As Roger tried to figure out how to respond, Lainey quickly said, "not 'ruff' like a dog, but 'rough' like having a hard time." Roger told her that she is a wonderful little sister and that everyone has a hard time sometimes, and she said, "Yeah, but I cry a lot, and sometimes I get really mad." He reassured her as best he could. It's a fascinating bit of self-introspection from Lainey; we don't hear a lot of that from her, and it's just so interesting to know that she's starting to think about things like that.

Christmases 2-4

2011-01-03T07:59:00.000-05:00

We had a lovely, whirlwind holiday season this year. Although I have no complaints about our celebrations, I confess that I am relieved that it's over and we don't have to pack everyone up again, or worry about shopping for gifts, or plan big holiday meals. I'm thrilled that we'll be homebodies for the next several weeks!

I "wrapped" a lot of presents this year in pillowcases...it saves trees and time!

Lovin' on Paco

Pile on Mommy

Lllama llama

Since she was orange and green, Lucy was pretending to be a carrot to see if the donkey would try to eat her. (He didn't.)

Music with Aunt Kim

Shea bug (my cousin's adorable daughter)

Running from the bad guy, Bowser

Tackling Bowser

Lainey looooved her Shea

Cousin coexistence

Lovin' on Aunt Kim

Grankie and Paco, decked out in red

Me and my Lainey girl

Me with my lifelong friend/confidante/cousin, Jenn.

Merry Christmas, Aunt Livy

2010-12-24T14:38:00.000-05:00

We lost Roger's sister, Liv, this week, and our hearts are all broken. But even as we grieve her absence, it's impossible to remember her without smiling through our tears. When Liv entered a room, everyone automatically oriented themselves around her, as plants do to a ray of sunshine. Not because she needed help, but because her presence was so warming, so sunny, so enthusiastic, that people were drawn to her by the sheer force of her inner light. She loved with all her heart, and was loved, in return, by all who knew her.

Lucy and Lainey, especially, adored their Aunt Livy, and are working to process the emotions they're experiencing right now. I think that in time, they, like us, will take great comfort from the fact that we got to celebrate Christmas with Liv last weekend. On Sunday morning when we left, Liv was still asleep. Lainey really wanted to wish her a merry Christmas, but we didn't want to wake her up. So as we walked out of the house, Lainey tiptoed over, patted Liv's door, and whispered, "Merry Christmas, Aunt Livy." I like to think that Liv felt that spontaneous act of love from her young niece, and carried it with her in her final days. We will all miss Livy so very much, but we will carry her love and warmth with us in our hearts forever.

Christmas 2010, Part 1!

2010-12-19T17:26:00.000-05:00

We had a wonderful Christmas celebration in Waterloo over the weekend!!

Decorating cookies

A girl can never have too many sprinkles

Dog, by Lucy

X marks the spot

Liv gets into the spirit

Lovin' on Aunt Livy

Christmas kisses!

Christmas sisters

Woo, money!

The Christmas scene

Lainey braved a cold, snowy day...look at those red nose & cheeks!

Roger did all the hard work

Beautiful snow bunny

Games with Grammy

Blackjack with Grandpa

Craft projects!!

Fun with a little friend

2010-12-12T19:31:00.000-05:00

When Lainey got to meet Savannah (the completely adorable baby of Sarah, one of my BFFs) earlier this summer, she fell head over heels in love. Since then, all dolls have been named Savannah, and there are always characters named Savannah in the girls' pretend play. So we were thrilled to be able to get to see Savannah (and her mommy and daddy, of course) when they were in town today!! Lainey was over the moon to see her little (or not-so-little) buddy again!

Happy birthday, Lainey Lee!

2010-12-06T14:33:00.000-05:00

Okay, so I'm a little late with this one, but better late than never!!

My dearest sweet Lainey,

It's hard to believe that you, my baby, are four years old. That it was just four years ago when you came into our lives with a joie de vivre that we all take joy from on a daily basis.

You continue to fill every room that you enter. You have an enthusiasm and joy for every undertaking that is really something to behold. You live life turned up to an 11 most of the time, which is endlessly entertaining (and occasionally deafening).

You delight in being the center of attention, and will loudly wrestle it back should someone else snatch it from you. If you tell a joke or do something funny that makes people laugh, you will immediately repeat it over and over and over, delighted at being the source of laughter.

Oh, are you smart. I mean really, really smart. You attack jigsaw puzzles with focused intensity. You are now reading small words, and working very hard at reading bigger ones. You have figured out basic math problems. You love to color in coloring books, and attack those projects with great precision and fervor. Everything you do is Important, as far as you are concerned.

You are a giggler. Like, a you-could-be-in-a-commercial giggler. When you get going--which usually happens at dinner--all of us immediately dissolve into giggles right alongside you. It's impossible not to. More often than not, you are giggling at your big sis, which she thinks is the best. thing. ever.

You continue to be Lucy's biggest fan, and want to do everything she does. You remember everything she says, and want to be with her almost all the time. It's hard to sort out what you really like, for yourself, and what you like because Lucy likes it. But that will come with time.

You are a button pusher. Big time. You're especially skilled at pushing Lucy's buttons...and also mine. And you do it just for the fun of it, I think. You like The Reaction.

You are still a cuddlebug, albeit a squirmy one, and I think you cherish our bedtime reading time as much as I do.

You try to help people who need it, you freely share your toys with Lucy (most of the time) and other friends who come over, you brighten up every room that you enter, and you complement the other three more serious souls in this family in a way we sorely need. I love you so very much, and can't wait to see what the next year holds for you, my sweet baby girl!

Birthday Party!!

2010-12-06T08:05:00.000-05:00

We had a very successful birthday party for Lainey yesterday at our house. I think the girls (Lainey decided she didn't want to invite any boys this year) all had fun, and so did we, thanks to LOTS of help from Aunt Sassy!!

Lainey, showing us her "fancy party face"

Goofball Lucy

The girls working on their crafts

Three munchkins (with Lainey in the lead) escaped upstairs and immediately made a beeline for Lucy's bed

Three little monkeys in a bed

The group (with Aunt Sassy) watches pin the tail on the donkey

Piper sees the silly place her tail ended up

Playing the prize walk game

Time for yummy treats!

The guest of honor, sitting next to her sissy as demanded

Blowing out her candles

What to do for a birthday girl who doesn't like cake? Ice cream sundaes made to order, of course! Mmmm.

Present time!

Well Child

2010-11-29T10:30:00.000-05:00

Lainey had her 4-year checkup this morning, and she got an A+! As you know, that's not a given with her, so I'm always relieved to hear that she gets a clean bill of health. For stats, she is 31 pounds 12 ounces (23rd percentile) and 39 1/4" (39th percentile). So she's actually taller than Lucy was at 4 by more than an inch! (Lucy was 38 inches at 4 years.) Her hearing and vision checked out just fine, and she weathered three shots with some tears, but felt better once she got two stickers afterwards.

Thanksgiving/Lainey's Birthday!

2010-11-28T21:10:00.000-05:00

All smiles

Birthday Party #1, with Lily

The Three Ls: Lainey, Lily, and Lucy

Happy big girl, at Thanksgiving #3

Happy little girl

Busy with Daddy's iPod

Manly men, doing manly things like drink beer and fry a turkey

Words can't describe how awesomely delicious this bird was

My guy

Lainey, waiting for birthday party #2

Fun with pilgrim clothespin dolls

Birthday party #2, and Grankie awesomely made fun ice cream cones since Lainey will always take ice cream over cake!!

So excited for a new coloring book!

Watching the present opening

New jigsaw puzzle, which is a picture of a unicorn and includes glittery pieces?

Best. Present. Ever.

Fun with Grankie

My beautiful 4-year-old on the morning of her actual birthday

Our 2010 Thankful Turkey. This year, everyone came up with their own ideas every night and wrote their own feathers. It was excellent. On this year's feathers: campout, cities, cookies, dessert, health insurance, Lainey's birthday, turkey, family, freedom, kitties, jobs, animals, mouse, schools, music, me [Lainey, thankful for herself], internet, Star Wars, art, movies, friends, doctors, Christmas, baseball, clean water, farmers, babies, Lainey [by Lucy, thankful for her sister], teachers, travel, candy, mommy, football, money, Aunt Kim and Aunt Jeanne, medicine, sunshine, Caleb, books, weekends, good neighbors, police, food, bugs, life, Grankie and Paco, Obama, parents, warm house, peace.

Fun weekend in Louisville

2010-11-21T19:38:00.005-05:00

Petting zoo!

Piggy wiggy

Yikes!

Bunny

Staredown

Making cookies with Aunt Kim

We went to this amazing place in Louisville where you can blow your own glass ornaments. So, so cool!! But it was HARD work to blow, and the girls did great!

Finished product

Watching the action, feeling nervous about the hot furnaces

Jeanne works on her ornament

Music with Aunt Kim

Monkey

2010-11-12T19:01:00.002-05:00

Our little artiste continues to work very hard at her projects, and she has now truly surpassed my own limited drawing abilities.

Halloween

2010-11-01T16:54:00.006-04:00

Trick-or-treating crew: Rapunzel, Wonder Woman, Iron Girl (Grace), Lion (Louis), and Yoda (Jonah)

One of the few shots where she's wearing her Rapunzel wig...wasn't the most comfortable thing in the world.

Wonder Woman, on a mission!

Sad for the evening to come to an end, hoping for a couple more trick-or-treaters to give candy to.

Our Smarty Pants

2010-10-23T19:59:00.004-04:00

Lucy got her first report card, which she aced with flying colors!! The kindergarten grade choices are M (Mastered), P (Making Progress), and I (Needs Improvement). She got Ms across the board. But even more exciting is the fact that she's reading independently at a first grade level! So awesome. After a rocky first couple of weeks, she has fallen in love with kindergarten. She has tons of little buddies, loves her teacher, loves the after school program, and generally seems to have a great attitude about school. I think that's probably the most important part of kindergarten, is building that foundation of a love of school...she's got it in spades.

I'm also thrilled to report that Lainey is on the verge of reading as well!! She knows and can write all her letters, is sounding out words, has a handful of sight words, and is just generally working super hard at it...whenever Lucy brings home reading homework, Lainey insists on sitting and listening/watching Lucy read, then Lainey takes her own shot at it. Totally cool. Lainey is also really, really good with numbers, addition and subtraction, and spatial challenges...the girl is still a puzzle whiz, that's for sure!!

So all in all, everyone is doing great, learning lots, having tons of fun, and showing lots of interest in topics new (science, the law, evolution) and old (dinosaurs, horses, princesses, cooking). They're total goofballs who enjoy each other more often than not, and I love the relationship that they're building! Sisters are the BEST.

It's rakin' time!

2010-10-23T19:47:00.004-04:00

Hee hee

2010-10-08T19:47:00.002-04:00

Lucy's new favorite pastime is telling jokes. Some of her jokes are actual jokes, some are just not jokes at all...she doesn't quite get the play on words concept yet. But she made up a knock-knock joke today that had me giggling the whole way home.

Lucy: Knock knock!

Me: Who's there?

Lucy: Cat.

Me: Cat who?

Lucy: Knock knock!

Me: Who's there?

Lucy: Flag.

Me: Flag who?

Lucy: Cat with a flag who's going to scratch your face off, so you better let him in!

Afternoon rain dance

2010-09-26T15:01:00.002-04:00

Last weekend we had our first rain shower in a long, long (long, long) time...the girls begged to go outside and play in the rain, and how could I say no to that? They had SO much fun, got soaking wet, and loved every minute of it.

Halloween Preview

2010-09-26T14:55:00.004-04:00

Lucy announced that she wanted to be a superhero for Halloween this year...I was thrilled that she's moved on from princesses, at least for now. After some discussion she decided on Wonder Woman. The costume arrived last week and she had to try it out immediately. Lainey's hadn't arrived yet (spoiler: she's going to be Rapunzel) but she had to dress up along with big sis to join in the fun.

Beautiful, beautiful girl

Strong girl

Apple Picking!

2010-09-19T14:56:00.004-04:00

We made our annual pilgrimage to a local orchard on Saturday and had a beautiful day for it!!! Pony rides, playtime in the mazes, caramel apples, grilled corn on the cob, and lots and lots (and lots and lots) of apples to bring home!! Sassy and Jim joined us this year, so the girls were in heaven!!

Labor Day at the lake!

2010-09-06T20:38:00.005-04:00

We all had so much fun at Grammy and Grandpa's lake house over the long weekend! The weather was very fall-like and cool, which didn't stop the girls from getting in the water!

This is the puppy swimming/running

Favorite game of the weekend: save the drowning puppy

Giving Grandpa a push

She looks so old to me sometimes!

Braving the water...I was in a sweatshirt!

Boat ride

Grammy and Livy on the boat ride

Worm!

Catching up: Family Vacation

2010-08-28T20:22:00.007-04:00

The next generation: Jaxon (I think), Shea, Dexter (I think), Lainey, Indie, Ollie, Lucy

Ring pop tongues!

Train ride

London Bridge

Shea

Spontaneous sister hand-holding

Peek-a-boo!

Indie and Lucy

Boat ride!

Lovebirds

Jump rope

I did it!

Fun with Caleb

Catching up: Weekend in Louisville

2010-08-28T20:06:00.002-04:00

Hero worshipping cousin Caleb

Cowabunga!

Classic Lainey expression

Catching up: Louis's birthday party

2010-08-28T19:55:00.002-04:00

Catching up: Fourth of July

2010-08-28T19:29:00.008-04:00

We were lucky enough to spend the 4th weekend with my law school girlfriends and all of our families, which was the first time ever we all got together. We went to a lake in Wisconsin where a couple of the law ladies have houses and they were kind enough to host all of us! So. much. fun.

Waiting for fireworks

Yeah...it was pretty much impossible to get a decent picture of all the kids, but at least they're all present and accounted for!

Report from the first day

2010-08-11T20:07:00.002-04:00

In bits and pieces of conversations, here is what we gleaned about Lucy's first day.

It was "great"!
She made new friends, including the littlest girl, Abby.
The bus ride was long.
She colored a picture of herself and of a yellow squirrel (originally intended to be Pooh, but that "didn't turn out right").
They read The Kissing Hand and each made their own kissing hand.
They rested after lunchtime, which consisted of laying their heads on their desks, and it was boring.
They have to have a teacher with them to go to the bathroom, which she seemed very impressed by.
She's sad that she doesn't get more time at Kindercare after school.

At the end of the evening, just before she fell asleep (she was one tired girl!), in the same breath, she said she wants to get up early tomorrow because she is so excited for another day, and then said she doesn't want to go back tomorrow because she's "not used to it yet" and is still on summer break.

Ah, a life of mixed emotions begins.

All in all, I think it was a good first day. Now the transitional period begins, with what I'm sure will be many ups and downs, but I'm confident that she'll settle into the new routine comfortably soon.

First day of kindergarten

2010-08-11T07:50:00.004-04:00

This morning, Lucy woke up early. She bounced out of bed with a sparkle in her eye. She threw on her carefully selected outfit and accessories. She studied herself in the mirror and pronounced herself to be beautiful. She ate breakfast with gusto. She waited impatiently for the bus to arrive, which was a bit later than expected given that it was the first day of school. She practically sprinted up the bus steps before it had even stopped, and didn't look back.

I am so proud of my big, brave girl.

Overdue

2010-08-09T09:27:00.003-04:00

I know, I know, I have been such a delinquent blogger this summer. The good news is that the reason for the delinquency is all the fun things we've had going on! Vacations, playtime, reading, popsicles, lemonade, gardening, swimming, Uno, coloring, and lots and lots more.

We also got a dog! That has kept us very busy for the past month or so as we're all getting used to each other. We love Gibson dearly already (well, maybe the cats don't so much "love" him as "hate him with the fire of a thousand suns," but I hope to get to "tolerate" sometime soon).

And it's hard to believe, but Lucy is getting ready to start kindergarten on Wednesday! We are all so excited for this next big adventure. Her ice cream social is this afternoon, when we'll meet her teacher and she'll get to walk around the new school for the first time. She's super excited to get on the bus in the morning starting Wednesday!!

Pictures of the dog, the first bus ride, family vacation, and much more will be coming soon, I promise!!

My Beautiful Family

2010-06-15T10:23:00.008-04:00

Hat tip to jmm for the wonderful idea that I completely stole. :)

What a Week!

2010-06-15T09:50:00.007-04:00

We just got back from an amazing, relaxing, special, perfect week on Harbor Island, South Carolina. We spent every morning at a beautiful, uncrowded pool, and every afternoon at a pristine, uncrowded beach. It rained once, for five minutes, and we got a rainbow out of it. Lucy learned to swim underwater by herself, and loved playing in the waves. Lainey got more comfortable in the pool and loved playing in the sand at the beach. We saw alligators, dolphins, egrets, ibises, herons, a fox, horseshoe crabs, jellyfish, a shark, lizards, fiddler crabs, hermit crabs, and countless beautiful birds. The house we stayed in was huge and gorgeous. The food we ate was delicious. One of my best vacations ever.

Happy Memorial Day!

2010-05-31T16:34:00.006-04:00

We had an absolutely wonderful weekend with Grammy, Grandpa, and Livy at the lake...it felt like July, and we spent all afternoon Sunday in the lake. So, so much fun!!

Lainey's still not a huge fan of water, and she didn't want to get in all the way, but she spent an hour or so sitting on the steps and shoving her face in the water. Silly girl.

Smooch!

Oh, so appropriate. :)

Smooch!

How could anyone not love this face?

The water was so clean and clear, the fish didn't have a chance!

Cheering for Lainey's big catch

Looking on with concern as she gets a nibble

Fish Wedding, by Lucy

2010-05-27T09:18:00.002-04:00

Wonderful Weekend

2010-05-23T19:25:00.004-04:00

Do you have people like this in your life? People who have seen you at your best and at your worst, who know you to your core, and love you for who you truly are. People who you may not see, or even talk to, for years at a time, but upon being reunited, you pick up just where you left off. People for whom you have such overwhelming affection and love that it's essentially impossible to articulate. One of the great heartbreaks of my life is that I live so far from my college friends, and as the girls get older and traveling gets easier, I fully intend to do more traveling so that we don't have to go so long without seeing each other. Truly, I love these people unconditionally, and my heart was so happy to be with them all again. I hope, for your sake, that you have people in your life like this.

The whole gang

Long story, but here we are, presenting our big check to Brad, the winner of the marriage pool.

Bryant, Craig (the groom!), and Dave...three of my guys, my favorite guys

Dave, me, Craig, Julie

4 of the 5 senior year housemates, reunited...it was SO wonderful to be with them all again...love, love, love these people!

Mac and Mc...my BFF, my forever friend, my kindred spirit.

The ladies! Crissy, Claudia, Nerine, Beth, Jules, and me...so good to spend time with these amazing women again!!!

I should also say that it was so nice to spend a weekend with Roger away from the kids...we basically haven't done that since Lainey was born! Stress-free traveling, sleeping in, taking a run together, just enjoying each other...that was a treat, in and of itself! Thanks to Grankie and Paco for taking the girls, who had such an AWESOME time that they barely wanted to come home on Sunday! I hope to have some pics to post of their super fun weekend soon.

Kindy 500

2010-05-23T19:22:00.002-04:00

The girls' school had the annual Kindy 500 boxcar race last week. Both girls decided they wanted Pegasus unicorn boxcars this year, and I must say, I think they turned out pretty well! As usual, neither girl loved the race itself...they're very self-conscious with all the parents looking on...but the overall event was a big success!

Graduation

2010-05-23T19:20:00.002-04:00

Lucy's 5s class had their graduation ceremony a couple of weeks ago. It was adorable, and the kids were all so proud of themselves and their accomplishments this year!!

Catching up

2010-05-23T19:18:00.002-04:00

Whew...it's been a busy spring and I'm behind on posting photos! I'm gonna get as many up as I can now because with summer upon us, there are several BIG photo op weekends coming up!

My annual Mother's Day tree planting. This year, I selected a crab apple that the girls have dubbed "Rainbow."

Jim, Roger and I ran a half-marathon in May! I was so proud of myself and, surprisingly, had a TON of fun...we've signed up for another one in November! Suddenly, I think I'm a runner...when did that happen?

Butterflies

2010-05-20T09:50:00.004-04:00

This morning, Lucy woke up and felt rotten. Her tummy was upset, she said she felt like she needed to throw up. She seemed to be genuinely feeling crummy, but the more we observed her, the more it seemed like she really wasn't *sick*. We know Lucy when she's sick, and she just didn't seem to be.

So I spent some time talking with her, trying to figure out what is going on, if anything. This afternoon is the Kindy 500, the annual boxcar race that they have at the girls' school. It's never been Lucy's favorite event, and I wondered if perhaps that was part of the problem. So I asked her if she was worried or anxious about the boxcar race, and she burst into tears and said yes. I asked her why, and she said, tearfully, "Because I never win!" She also, in the past, has felt very self-conscious with all of the parents looking at her, I think.

So we concluded that while she wasn't faking her stomach upset, she (hopefully) isn't sick, either. Just nervous and stressed out about the race this afternoon. So we eventually got her ready for the day and I took the girls to school, explaining to Lucy's teacher that she might be extra sensitive today. (We also told Lucy that she doesn't have to run in the race this afternoon if she doesn't want to...it's supposed to be fun, and if it's not, it's not worth it.)

So I hope we have evaluated the situation appropriately. I'm going to feel absolutely horrible if I get a call from school saying that, in fact, she is sick. This is a new challenge, now that Lucy is getting older...she's reached an age where it's possible that she might fake, or exaggerate, an illness because she doesn't want to go to school for some reason. I guess all we can do is the best we can do, as with all parenting challenges...I just hope we made the right call today. Time will tell.

2010-05-19T19:14:00.001-04:00

Dear class, it is up to us to keep our Earth clean! Love, Lucy

Puddles!

2010-05-03T20:32:00.003-04:00

Night Mirrors

2010-04-22T08:30:00.003-04:00

Lucy, especially, has become adept at describing her dreams and nightmares (which she still calls "night mirrors") lately. The saddest one was a few weeks ago, when she woke up crying and said that she had dreamt that she was with the family and we all left her alone, and she couldn't find us anywhere and she was scared and all by herself. Very scary for a 5-year-old!

Then the other night, she had a particularly potent one that she was picking up a worm in the backyard, and it bit her, and then she was scared of all worms after that. I think that concept is particularly troubling to her because she and her friends are fascinated by worms right now, so maybe it would affect her social life if she didn't want to play with worms anymore?

Lainey still doesn't quite "get" the dream concept, but every once in awhile, like last night, she'll wake up in the throes of a nightmare. I leapt out of bed when she cried out in the middle of the night and hurried into her room. She was MAD at me. Seriously mad, didn't want me anywhere near her. I finally got her to calm down enough to tell me that she was so so mad because, with a wail, "I wanted to water the plants TOO!!!" The worst situation for Lainey right now, I think, is being left out of the fun. So that's what she worries about while she's sleeping.

2010-04-09T11:04:00.001-04:00

Easter Fun

2010-04-05T21:35:00.003-04:00

Enjoying our new deck!

Swinging Sisters

Beautiful girl

Yummy frosting

Setting up ladderball for the first time this year

Easter morning

Easter egg hunt!

Having fun with cousin Lily

My girls

Making sure little sis checks out okay

Know-it-all

2010-04-01T10:09:00.003-04:00

Lucy is such a typical big sister in many ways...she loves to teach Lainey how to do things, for one. When she's in the right frame of mind, she will patiently sit with Lainey and show little sis how to write her letters correctly. She loves to control the situation and their play when possible, though these days, it seems as Lainey's often the one holding the reins. Above all else, though, Lucy must always be right, know the most, be the smartest....but it's more in the attitude than in the actual accuracy.

Lainey, having just completed a drawing: "Daddy, look at my picture! It's very impressed."

Lucy: "That's not even what impressed means."

[Moment of silence.]

Lucy: "Daddy, what does 'impressed' mean?"

Somehow, the girls got into a discussion of the source of milk.

Lainey: "It comes from underground."

Lucy: "No it doesn't!"

Me, to Lainey: "Really? Are you sure?"

Lainey: "Yes, it comes from underground."

Lucy: "No it doesn't! Milk doesn't even come from underground."

Me: "So where does it come from?"

Lainey: "Underground."

Lucy: "Coconuts!"

2010-03-23T17:33:00.001-04:00

I have a bad ear infection and I am NOT happy about it!!!

A few of my favorite things

2010-03-22T10:30:00.002-04:00

I love how the girls still add an extra syllable to certain words. "Neck-a-lace," "brace-a-let," and "patter-in" are my favorites.
I love how every night at bedtime, Lainey demands 100 hugs, two high-fives, and kisses from me to her and from her to me. I love how when she wakes up in the middle of the night and calls for Mama, after I've resettled her, she insists on giving me a kiss and saying, sleepily, "I love you Mama. Night night."
I love how Lucy is still working through life's big concepts. Right now she's working on when, if ever, it's okay to kill something. It's okay to kill an ant when it's inside the house, but not when it's outside. It's okay to kill an animal if the hunter or farmer is going to eat their meat, but not otherwise. So yesterday she was very worried about our kitties, and when/if they're going to die, and said that it's not okay to kill kitties unless we're going to eat their meat.
I love the current project of reading the original Wizard of Oz with Lucy at bedtime. It's been wonderful to explore the book again as an adult, and I can't wait to continue on to others in that series and move into some other of my favorite chapter books as a kid. Last night we read the chapter about the "Deadly Poppy Field," and I had to explain to Lucy what "deadly" means. She was very concerned about deadly flowers but reassured me and herself that flowers can only kill people in books, not in real life.
I love how Lainey suddenly knows all of her letters and numbers and can write many of them. I love how Lucy can suddenly sit down with a book and read most of the words (if it's a very basic book).
I LOVE that it's springtime and we can spend lots of time outdoors, exploring and soaking up the sunshine. The girls spent a lot of time with their sand table on Saturday afternoon, and made many trips to the back fence to discuss strategies with one of the little girls who lives behind us, who was playing with her sand table. We put up a couple of bird feeders this weekend too, and the girls spent lots of time scattering the birdseed on the ground so that the birds would find it easier...and squealed with delight when they looked outside and saw a squirrel munching happily away.

Keep on the sunny side

2010-03-19T09:23:00.002-04:00

Things have gotten better this week, as they always do, as I always know they will on some level. Sometimes it's hard to really believe that, but it truly does always happen. The see-saw changes direction, just because it's the way life works.

This week, it's been sunny. And warm. And we've had the windows open, and an extra hour of daylight in the evenings, and we've played outside, and listened to the birds singing in the morning. That has helped everyone's moods immeasurably.

This week, we've all been more or less healthy. That is also a priceless change for the better.

This week, I have jumped with enthusiasm into several really wonderful parenting books. We have some new strategies that we've been employing. I'm giving the girls more time to wake up in the mornings, we're not getting involved in their constant sibling squabbles, and I'm really working hard on keeping my cool. None of it is perfect, but it helps to know that we're making affirmative changes and really trying to fix the situation. The books I've been reading are just amazing, and they make so much sense...makes me feel better in general.

Lucy this morning told us that she's going to be a builder, a horse rider, an art teacher, and a librarian when she grows up. I love this stage that she's in, when the world is her oyster and everything is possible. She's full of hope and excitement and interest. Lainey is still Lainey. She is still attached to me, physically, whenever possible, and she still fills up a room with manic energy wherever she goes. She is also funny and lovely and progressing in leaps and bounds with writing all her letters and understanding more about the world every day.

The see-saw will continue to move up and down, as it is wont to do...but I wouldn't get off for the world!! I'll just do my best to enjoy the ride, and the sunshine.

OVER IT

2010-03-11T10:25:00.003-05:00

Ugh.

Both girls are quick to melt down these days, often at the same time. Last night they both melted down spectacularly, in the kitchen, as I was trying to make dinner. Roger was doing his best to calm them down, but the screaming, whining, and gnashing of teeth continued until I couldn't take it anymore. I took a breath and then joined the meltdown, yelling at the top of my lungs, "GET OUT GET OUT GET OUT ALL OF YOU GET OUT!!!!" He promptly scooped them up and let their tantrums continue in another room. Not one of my finer parenting moments, but I just couldn't stand it for one. more. second.

We're in a rough phase, behaviorally and physically. Lainey is all whining and tantrums, all the time. She fights from the beginning of the day to the end, so our days are generally book-ended with tears and frustration from all concerned. She is constantly glued to me, in a way that's making me feel very claustrophobic and cranky. Lucy immediately resorts to whining and occasionally tantrums upon hearing the word no. I am left to wonder if we have somehow completely screwed up as parents, that our kids can't handle it AT ALL when things don't go the way they want them to go. I know, without a doubt, that my nerves are constantly frayed and that I yell more often than I should these days as a result. Ugh.

Compounding, or possibly causing, much of this is the CONSTANT illness we've had this year. Here's the tally, as best as I can remember. Strep (Lainey), pneumonia (Lainey), stomach flu round 1 (Lainey and Lucy), ear infection round 1 (Lainey and Lucy), horrible plague of a cold causing much missed work (me, Lainey, and Roger has had a lesser version of it), ear infection round 2 (Lainey), and stomach flu round 2 (Lucy, so far, we'll see what the next few days hold). This is just RIDICULOUS and I am OVER. IT. ALL.

Okay, that's my vent for the day. The good news is that the weather's been warm enough that I've been opening every single window in the house during the daytime to get some fresh air circulating. If nothing else, that's good for our mental health.

Happy Birthday, Grankie!

2010-03-07T11:14:00.001-05:00

Ready for Spring!!

2010-03-06T16:49:00.001-05:00

What's the word?

2010-03-03T16:48:00.001-05:00

Lainey's teacher in the 3s class also had Lucy for that class. Today, she came up to me and said, "Well, now that I've had both of your girls I can see how different they are! Lainey is just so . . . opinionated."

I got the feeling that she had to work hard to find a nice word to use. Hee. Lainey is certainly a handful in a way that Lucy never was, that's for sure! She's . . . exuberant. :)

2010-03-02T17:31:00.001-05:00

Lainey's first time writing her name all by herself!!!

February can take a hike, too!

2010-02-15T09:50:00.003-05:00

Since I last complained about January, we've done lots of shoveling and had several snow days. We haven't been able to play outside very much because it's been too dang cold. Lucy got a cold and developed a horrible cough, turned out she had an ear infection in her left ear. After a couple of days on antibiotics she improved, but then started going downhill again with the cough. Yesterday she started complaining about her right ear. Last night, Lainey started complaining about her right ear, though we weren't sure if she was making it up or not. Roger just took them both into the pediatrician, feeling slightly silly about Lainey since she seemed fine, but sure enough, both girls have ear infections. I think we're singlehandedly keeping the makers of antibiotics in business so far in 2010!

Bring on springtime, please!!

Some catch-up pics

2010-02-10T08:46:00.002-05:00

The girls and me on Super Bowl Sunday. Yes, we lost, but we had so much fun rooting on the Colts and celebrating Super Bowl Sunday that it was all okay. And if we were going to lose to anyone, I'm happy it was the Saints.

We've had lots of fun in the snow lately! Here, the girls pose with their snowman, "Barbie." Barbie's still standing strong outside right now.

Rog and I were lucky enough to go to the AFC championship game at Lucas Oil...so much fun, especially since the Colts actually won that game!! Kind of a bummer that football season is over now, but soon we'll be able to root, root root for the Cubbies!!

Good riddance, January!

2010-02-01T12:07:00.002-05:00

I hate to wish time away, but I am not sad to bid farewell to January 2010...and I will also not be sad once spring arrives! Germs and cabin fever have caught up with us, and that's not such a nice combination!

It started a couple/few weeks ago when Lainey got strep.

Then, last Sunday night/Monday, she got a fun pukey bug.

As soon as she started eating again, she started coughing. The cough continued through the week and worsened.

Friday night, Lucy started puking.

Also Friday night, Lainey was awake all night coughing and crying. None of us slept.

Saturday, Lucy was a pale, listless bump on the couch. Lainey was a pale, glassy-eyed, coughing wreck. Roger and I were wrecks as well. Although she didn't have many other symptoms, something told me that Lainey just wasn't well. So I took her into our pediatrician's Saturday walk-in clinic, and I'm so glad I did, because it turns out she has pneumonia. She got pneumonia last January too. Not a good month for us, historically speaking.

So Saturday, the four of us pretty much stayed on the couch and watched movies all day. By yesterday, everyone was doing better. Lucy was fine and Lainey was improving. Thank goodness for antibiotics!!

Lainey still has a horrible cough, but she looks much better, is sleeping better (yay!), and is acting normally, so we sent her to school today.

Lucy had her 5-year well child checkup this morning and it went great. She's a shrimp like me: 36 pounds (23rd percentile), 40.5 inches (13th percentile). And her vision is 20/25, and given her genetics, she's almost certainly headed for glasses sometime soon. But everything looked great and she did wonderfully (except for the shots at the end, but who likes those?). So as I just told a friend, February is off to a much better start than January!! We'll take it.

Recent artwork

2010-01-18T11:24:00.005-05:00

In writing the post for Lucy's birthday, I realized it had been awhile since I posted pics of the girls' recent artwork. So here it is!

Lainey's impressive rendition of a dinosaur, from a few months ago. Not bad for a 2.5-year-old!

The four seasons a la Lucy

Lucy's elephant

Sad clown with mouse, by Lucy

Awesome mouse with cheese, by Lucy

Soldier, princess, and prince going downstairs, by Lucy

Halloween drawing with ghosts and vampires, by Lucy

This is her current work, which we think is pretty sophisticated in terms of perspective and angle. Note the nice work she did with the horse's 4 legs, especially.

People on balance beam, note the arrows indicating their direction of movement

Portrait of Paco, by Lucy

Finally, Lainey's recent drawing of princesses. She's actually far more talented at 3 than Lucy was, which is awesome....overnight, she's doing great at drawing people. Her teachers were flabbergasted when she whipped this out, none of the other kids in her class are doing anything other than scribbling. Cool!

Birthday party!

2010-01-18T11:18:00.002-05:00

Lucy's gymnastics birthday party was a great success! In fact, it was so much fun that I hardly took any pictures! Here are the few that I took that turned out okay.

Getting ready to blow out the candles on her awesome My Little Pony cake

On the rope swing

Listening to Ms. McKenzie explain what's coming next

Parachute time!

Happy Birthday, Lucy Goose!

2010-01-16T06:00:00.000-05:00

Oh, my sweet big girl, how time flies. How did this happen? All of a sudden you're five years old, no longer a baby, or a toddler, or even a preschooler. You're a child, a girl, a person. In five years, you've come so far.

Sometimes, I forget that you're only five years old because you're so kind, so compassionate, so mature, so wise.

Other times, not so much. Especially these days, you're going through a bit of a rough patch in managing your emotions. You're quick to dissolve into hysterics when things don't go the way you'd hoped they would, but we're working through it and coming up with ideas to solve the problem. You'll get there.

These days, you still love drawing, and you continue to show a real aptitude for it. You also really love horses (and, especially, unicorns), and the ever-present princesses. Your favorite activity right now is to put a crown and cape on Cinder, who tolerates the game with bemusement. You thrive in your gymnastics class (in fact, you just got bumped up to the next level of class) and are excited to start swim lessons again next week. You look forward to reading books with me every night before bed, and insist on snuggle time with mommy once lights are out. More nights than not, you are quietly snoring within five minutes.

You are very interested in the world around you, and ask all kinds of questions about everything under (and over) the sun. You stump me about half the time. You're especially curious about the earth, space, police officers, and jail. You ask lots of questions like this: "If police officers break the law, do they have to go to jail?" and "If doctors get sick, who takes care of them?"

Next week, I'm going to register you for kindergarten. You're excited and nervous in equal measures about it these days, and love to brag to Lainey about how you'll get to ride the school bus next year and she won't.

Lainey is still your favorite playmate, though the days of you being able to boss her around with impunity are numbered. That causes frustration for you sometimes, but I also think the challenge is a good one, because she injects some nuances into your playtime that wouldn't be there otherwise. She pulls you into a more active form of play, and you calm her down for quiet playtime. You're nicely matched right now.

You're kind and thoughtful in ways that surprise me sometimes. You're so smart and serious but also completely goofy. You have strong opinions about everything and are defending your positions with great skill and persuasion these days...you have even persuaded me to change my mind from time to time because you made such a good case. (Future lawyer?) You can always find a loophole. You're growing into a truly wonderful person, and I can't wait to see what the next year holds for you!!

Christmas, Parts 3 & 4

2010-01-05T20:29:00.007-05:00

The third Christmas celebration was with Grammy, Grandpa, Livy, and the other members of that clan. The girls had so, so much fun!!!

Sticking close to Grandpa, who the girls just adore. You'll notice that Lucy is ignoring the bag full of dollar bills she got from Great Grandma Gloria in favor of the beautiful dove Christmas ornament that was also included.

Loving the new shades!

Helping Livy with her new puzzle.

The three musketeers sporting their new tiaras, a super fun project Grammy helped them with.

The girls (I believe they were fairies again at this point) check out Grankie's accordion at our fourth and final Christmas celebration. There were 28 people at this one, and it was SO much fun!!!

Snuggles with Paco.

Preparing for a cartwheel. (Yes, as usual, the girls disrobed at every opportunity.)

Mid-somersault.

Lainey struck this pose and ordered me to take a picture of her, so I did.

Finger play with Grankie.

Loving some time with "Baby Shea." The three girls definitely had a mutual admiration society going on...I wish we lived closer!!

Reading with Aunt Kelly.

Sassy and Jim, watching the present opening action.

Cutie patootie in my lap!

Just a general picture of the present opening chaos, which was awesome. Keep in mind, this is only half of the room!!

D.R. and Jaxon, playing the super fun game organized by Granny.

All in all, Christmas(es) 2009 were our best yet....a great way to enter into 2010!!!

Christmas, Parts 1 & 2

2010-01-05T20:21:00.005-05:00

We had a wonderful series of Christmas 2009 celebrations!! The girls did just great traveling three weekends in a row. They were super well behaved, slept wonderfully, and had so much fun soaking up all the hugs, kisses, and presents from everyone!!

First up: cookie decorating at home. This was a great project that took us a whole weekend to finish!

This is the table runner I made for MK & DB. I was very proud of how well it turned out!

Christmas #1 with Grankie, Paco, Sassy, and Jim was awesome! It started out with a super fun gingerbread house project courtesy of Grankie.

Lainey and Jim take in the snowy sights.

Sassy, Lucy, and Lyra check out the winter wonderland.

Christmas #2 was our own little family celebration at home. We kept it simple this year. Each of us got something we want, something we need, something to wear, and something to read. Santa brought some small stocking stuffers for everyone and two large gifts for the girls to share. It was just perfect in scope and substance.

The girls were thrilled with their "need" present: child-sized snow shovels!

Getting right to work.

Very excited about her "read" gift.

A wonderful card that Lucy made for Roger and me.

The fairy princesses show off their "want" dressup clothes, posing next to one of the big gifts from Santa: a dollhouse. You'll see these fairy costumes pop up in nearly every Christmas celebration we had...they traveled far and wide. Often, though, they were NOT fairy dresses, they were musketeer outfits!

The fairies play with the dollhouse in the other big gift from Santa: a fairy play area.

We spent a wonderful Christmas Eve with Andy, Emily, Grace, and Louis! We were thrilled to finally meet Grace's little brother, who is absolutely adorable and settling in very well. Just can't tell you how much we love these people and feel as though they're family...we're blessed to have them in our lives!

Yes, the fairy costumes traveled to Grace's house...and she met us at the door wearing her own lovely princess outfit! Great minds think alike. The girls, as always, had tons of fun together!

Reflections on 2009

2009-12-22T08:20:00.000-05:00

This has been an excellent year for me. One of my best ever, I think.

*****

At some point, about halfway through the year, I suddenly realized that all the clouds had lifted. All the cobwebs had been swept away. Breathing was easy. Smiling and laughing was easy. Enjoying my children and my husband was easy. And enjoying my life, and myself, was easy. It's the first time in about 5 years that I've felt this good, this happy, this free.

*****

I spent several weeks doing some internal analysis and auditing, trying to figure out what had changed. And I think the answer is, a lot.

*****

We have a new house. I love our house. I love our neighborhood. I love the thought of growing old there with Roger, of watching the girls grow up and have sleepovers and have hangout sessions in the basement. I love how close we are to absolutely everything, but how we're still nestled away such that it doesn't feel like we're in the middle of a shopping mall. I love that we have neighbors who are friends, and that those neighbors have kids who are our kids' friends. I love that I can take long runs through the neighborhood, even at night, and feel perfectly safe and wave at people throughout the jog. It is home. It is home in a way that I haven't really felt since I still lived with my parents. It is home, and it will be for a long, long time.

*****

We don't have infants anymore. For some parents, this is a thing of sadness, of mourning, of looking back. Not me. I found the infant stage so challenging, so stifling, so claustrophobic. Now, I realize that I can be a parent AND feel a sense of freedom at the same time, which is a revelation. I adore my children, I have loved them since the day they were born. But now, I also enjoy them. I laugh with them. I celebrate their achievements and enjoy every moment of newfound independence. I love that they can play together, without grownup involvement, for longer periods of time. I love that they're developing their own interests and skills and loves and hates. I love that they don't nap anymore, which frees our time on the weekend. I love that it's not a big deal to have a girls' night with my friends, or date night with Roger, or even a weekend away. We don't need to give a mile-long list of instructions to babysitters anymore. And although we still have our moments (sometimes, big ones), I love that they can communicate their thoughts and feelings to us...this has removed a great deal of anxiety out of the parenting equation for me. We can talk to each other.

*****

It's now been 3 1/2 years since we lost Tricia. I mark the length of time since her death by the length of time of Lainey's life...it's absurd that such a loss and such a gift can come so close together. I still miss her all the time. I still think of her all the time. But now, the pain and sadness have dulled. It's easier to think of her and miss her than it was a year ago. It's easier to live my daily life without her in it. Life has moved on, and it's easier for me to breathe and smile because of it.

*****

Related to the length of time since we lost Tricia is the fact that I suddenly find myself with a robust and amazing group of friends. It has taken me awhile to really put down roots here, to permit myself to form a social life that has nothing to do with Tricia. But finally, I've done it. I have a healthy list of people who I can call to go get a drink, or come over to play Wii, or vent about a bad day. It makes such a huge difference to my outlook on life. And there are some people in my life here who are not biologically related to us but who are our family in every other sense of the word. You know who you are, and you know that I love you.

And, of course, there's the fact that Sally lives here now. She's been here for over a year, and I can't believe we ever got along with her living in a different state. Ridiculous. She is my sister and one of my best friends and, of course, the coolest person in the whole world as far as the girls are concerned. And Sally has found Jim, who has nestled into our family with an ease that belies the briefness of time we've known him. It's as though he's always been here. The 4 of us have so much fun together, and the girls adore "Jimmy" almost as much as they adore Sassy (but I doubt anyone will ever reach Sassy heights in their eyes, sorry Jimmy).

*****

I have found new, constructive, healthy ways to spend my time. I run now. I have hated running my whole life, and suddenly, I absolutely love it. I hardly ever run on the treadmill anymore, I prefer to run outside in all but the rainiest weather. I listen to audiobooks, breathe fresh air, sweat, and feel the blood pumping in my veins. I'm training for a half marathon next spring (I've talked Roger, Sally, and Jim into it also!) and can't wait.

I knit now, too. I started knitting earlier this year and am now obsessed with it. I can barely sit and watch TV anymore without feeling bored unless the needles are in my hands. I've made some pretty impressive things, too, if I do say so myself. The girls have pretty scarves, Lucy has a hat, I made Sally a wrap, my parents a table runner, and myself some fun winter hats. Also many dish cloths. :) It gives me fun things to think about and plan for, and having finished products at the end of a project to show off is the icing on the cake.

*****

And I can't forget the newest additions to our family, Cinder and Momma. On the one hand, it seems silly to include them on this list. On the other hand, it was a big change for our family, and I think it's all been positive. I just love those kitties. I love how they follow me around the house, how they pick up the girls' toys in their mouths and carry them from one spot to another, how Cinder loves to snuggle up in the linen closet with the clean towels, how Momma can always be found in one of her soft kitty beds. I love how the girls love them, and I love how the girls are vastly more comfortable around all animals since they've gotten used to our "fe-lions," as Lucy calls them. Things feel complete now, somehow.

*****

So it's all of those things, and more, and nothing at all. It's just been a wonderful year. I have an amazing husband, partner, and co-parent in Roger. I have two funny, smart, loving daughters. I have a secure job, a healthy family, and the perfect house. I have wonderful friends and family. I guess my hope for 2010 is to continue and even improve upon the greatness of 2009. Life is good, and I hope it stays that way.

A parental brag, because I'm allowed!

2009-12-16T18:27:00.003-05:00

Just ignore if this will annoy you. :)

Lucy's parent-teacher conference was today, and her teacher just showered effusive, glowing praise about Lucy. She is a leader. Everyone respects her, and no one messes with her. She is respectful of her friends, follows instructions well, and all her friends love her. As part of the "test" the teachers give to evaluate the kids, they ask each kid to count ask high as they can (separately). Most kids stop at 20. Lucy went to 106. She scored 171 out of 175 on the verbal part of the test, which is stellar for a kid at the end of their kindergarten year, much less one who's not even 5 yet and only halfway through the year! She's reading at a first grade level. She wrote the whole alphabet, upper and lowercase letters next to each other, well spaced horizontally and vertically. Basically, she would be a shining example of a kid who just finished kindergarten. So all in all, she's a total super star!! That's our girl!!

Dinnertime conversation

2009-12-16T18:23:00.003-05:00

Lainey: When I was a baby, I swallowed a toilet!

Roger: Really? The whole thing?

Lainey: Yes, really.

Lucy: WHOA.

Lainey: Yeah, I swallowed it down into my belly.

Lucy: Wow, you're like a big, giant toilet person! Giggles.

Lainey: Yeah!

Lucy: But your belly would be so fat!

Lainey: No it wouldn't, I would just push it down.

Lucy: But then your back would be so fat!

Lainey: No it wouldn't, because I would turn into a princess!

Lucy: WHOA!!! But then you'd be a big toilet princess with a big belly!

Lainey: No I wouldn't, my belly wouldn't be big.

Lucy: But how would you get the toilet out?

Lainey: Thinks for a minute. I'd use my crown!

Lucy: Oh, you'd use the crown to get the toilet out?

Lainey: Yes. Crazy monster voice...I WANT MORE PEACHES!

Birthday Party!

2009-12-09T20:10:00.006-05:00

We had a super, super fun birthday party for Lainey last weekend at the place where the girls take gymnastics class. It was awesome!! The parents got to sit down, visit, and watch while the kids had TONS of fun playing on all the equipment!! We're doing the same thing for Lucy in January, she's already excited!

Playing in the block pit. This particular scene occurred when Emily got stuck, so Lainey, Katy, and Hannah jumped in to rescue her.

Lainey and Hannah on the balance beam.

Big sis, showing the little ones how it's done.

Don't help me, I can do it myself!

More balance beam fun.

Piper getting on the rope swing, ready to buzz out over the block pit!

Lainey and little Lucy bouncing on the trampoline!

Birthday girl.

Birthday girl's cake.

Lots of help opening presents.

The day after the party, the 4 of us went to Disney on Ice, a combo Christmas/dual birthday present for the girls. It was AWESOME, they LOVED it, and I must admit, I enjoyed it far more than I thought I would! We had great seats, though we learned that we didn't need to buy 4 tix since the girls ended up sitting in our laps the whole time anyway.

Excited for the show to start!

Thanksgiving!

2009-12-09T20:05:00.003-05:00

Okay, so I'm a little late with this post, and I didn't even take all that many pictures, but we had a very successful Thanksgiving odyssey this year. We spent two nights with Grammy & Grandpa, one day with my dad's family, and one night with my parents, Sally, and Jim. Lots of traveling and visiting, but the girls did great...life is SO much easier now that they're older!!

Lainey's birthday celebration that occurred on her actual birthday...check out the AWESOME cake that Grankie made for her!!

Happy birthday girl

My new favorite Lainey pic

Playing with dolls, as they do most of the time these days!

Keeping a safe distance from the turkey fryer...man, was that some GOOOOOD turkey that Paco made!! We intend to demand a repeat performance next year...or, possibly, for Christmas dinner!

Swinging at the park down the street from Paco & Grankie's house

Crashing on the final leg home

Ditto.

Well child

2009-12-09T10:52:00.003-05:00

Lainey had her 3-year well child checkup this morning, and everything basically looks good. She clocked in at 28.7 pounds (29th percentile) and 36 inches (18th percentile), which isn't bad (for her). Everything else looks good, and the doctor was very impressed with how advanced she is developmentally. We have had some other recurring GI issues this year, though, so she's scheduled for an endoscopy and colonoscopy next week. By my count, it will be her 6th time undergoing anesthesia in her 3 years of life...I don't like it anymore the more we do it! But hopefully we'll get some answers. As always, I'll update when I have more to tell!

Happy Birthday to my Wild Child!!

2009-11-28T00:00:00.003-05:00

Oh, my little one, my sweet girl, my free spirit, I can't believe you're three years old. You are as full of spitfire and personality and mischief as ever, and I couldn't possibly love you more than I do.

Sometimes, you get this evil little gleam in your eyes, and we just hold our collective breath and wait to see what you're about to do. It's often genius, sometimes rule-breaking, always entertaining. You scheme and plot and do everything possible to skirt the rules, grab all the attention for yourself, and generally conquer the world. You make everyone laugh wherever you go.

Along with this envelope pushing comes quite a little temper. We have occasional problems with hitting and physical outbursts with you...but we've come to realize that about 85% of the time, your heart isn't really in it, you're just looking to get a rise out of someone or get a little attention. You're easily redirected and move past heartbreak very quickly. You work so hard with me to take deep breaths and calm yourself down when you're in the throes of a tantrum.

And oooh, are you smart. We're predicting a future career as an engineer or architect...something using your incredible mechanical and spatial skills. You are quite the champion at jigsaw puzzles...a few months ago, you put together a 100-piece jigsaw puzzle without any help at all from anyone. These days, you're a little too busy to sit still for that long, but I know that you'd be able to do it again easily if you set your mind to it. You're suddenly really into coloring and art, those seem to be the skills you're focusing on mastering right now (probably because that's what Lucy chooses to do most of the time). You have quite a vocabulary that constantly impresses me, and you hear and notice everything. You take things apart and put them back together, and you're quite the Houdini. Every doll in your immediate vicinity is immediately unclothed, and everything that can be is unscrewed and unlatched and unbuttoned.

But you still do adorable things like lifting your arms up and saying, "I carry you?" when you want to be held. (Not as often as you used to, but it still pops out occasionally.) Or pronouncing your v's as d's, as in, "I'm bery bery frustrated, mommy," or, with one of your favorite books, "no, Dabid, no!" I just love it. You like to be coddled at times and still request to be held and carried at times when you really don't need to be, but we generally indulge you when we can.

You are oh so sweet and caring, very concerned about the people around you. And, of course, your hero is Lucy. What's nice to see, though, is that you're showing a bit more initiative when the two of you play together, and you're not letting her boss you around quite as easily anymore. Often, your collective playtime is directed by you rather than her, which I enjoy seeing. I think that the two of you enjoy each other greatly these days.

You are still a free spirit, and prefer to be naked whenever possible. One of the first things you do when you come home from school is take off your shoes and socks, often followed quickly by pants and shirt as well. You're still hard on your clothes, too, and I've become accustomed to sending you to school wearing clothes with marker, paint, grass, dirt, and other stains that just won't come out no matter how hard I try.

You're officially 100% diaper-free!! You've been out of diapers during the daytime for almost a year now, but have still needed a pull-up at night. But a couple of weeks ago we gave the nighttime underwear a shot and you've done great. Can't say I'm sorry to be a diaperless household once and for all!!

We still struggle with some medical issues, but you're leaps and bounds ahead where you were last year. Weight gain is a struggle, and you're back to having some tummy issues that we're trying to figure out. But overall, you seem to be happy and thriving. Your cheeks are pink, your eyes are bright, your arms and legs are strong and active. You love your gymnastics class and I can see the muscles developing the harder you work...you're constantly in motion and can be a startling whirlwind of activity.

You are a joy to be around. You are loud and raucous and button-pushing and snuggly and smart and loving and busy and funny and just plain wonderful. I can't wait to see what the next year holds for you, my sweet Lainey Lee!!!