Today

Today, Reese locked herself into her Daddy's office.  Both exits, locked.  Daddy tried to pick the lock but finally just decided to talk her through how to unlock the doors.  Thankfully Little Miss was able to understand and follow the directions and let herself out.  And then she found her sister's lotion.  And covered herself in it.

But then she came huffing down the stairs, 'backpack' and babies in tow, to tell us: "Mommy.  Love you.  Daddy.  Love you."

And I was blessed.

Today, Kate didn't like the new yogurt we got for breakfast.  And she couldn't eat her oatmeal because it was too hot.  And the smoothie just... well, it just wouldn't do.

And then she fell.  About a hundred times.

But then she asked me at bedtime, "Mommy, why are you proud of me?"  She knew the answer; her eyes told me so.  But I told her: "Because of everything that makes you who you are.  I'm proud just because you are you."  And she shrugged her little shoulders and involuntarily flung her arms around my neck.

And I was blessed.

Today, Avery took an hour and a half to try to pull out her lose tooth.  She needed a drink.  Then she needed to look at the progress of the lose tooth in the mirror.  And then had to be held down while the tooth in question was finally yanked from her mouth.

But then after lights out, we heard singing.  She was, in her innocent and wholehearted voice, singing The Earth Is Yours.  Praising her Jesus loud and honestly.

And I was blessed.

These girls.  They're real life.  And they're unspeakably more than I could've ever asked or imagined.

And I am blessed.

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Birthdays (dictated by Kate)

 We had two birthdays.  I liked it.

The most fun of Amelia's birthday was eating the cake.  I did monkey bars.  Then I swinged by the rings.

Then we had Nana's birthday.  We goed out to eat.  I made a cake and played in the sand.  The special thing about the cake is that there were so much sprinkles.

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Stages of Party

Much like the Stages of Grief, a two year old party has it's own stages.  Here are mine:

1. Excitement - Days before the party, there is a lot of pointing and giggling when party supplies are brought in.  Excitement rises when cake and decor begin to take shape.

2. Denial - The day of the party, general denial sets in.  "Are you having a party, Reese?"  "No."  "Are your friends coming over?"  "No."

3. Happiness - At the party, when very few guests have arrived, things are fairly calm and there are a lot of fun things to do.  Enjoyment and happiness set in.

4. Shock - When lots of friends arrive all at once, it may become overwhelming and shock often sets in.  Cuddling, hiding in grandparents or parents, and loudly saying, "no!" are all effective coping techniques.

5. Acceptance - After the crowd stops trying to give birthday wishes, things calm down again.  The festivities become fun and no one is trying to separate children and their guardians, as one might have feared.  Full acceptance, and even giddiness, may result.

Click here for pictures from Reese's 2nd Birthday party

Scenes of Summer

Summer time this year means a handful of big events (road trips, trips to Cali, and a handful of birthdays), but mostly it means downtime and togetherness.

From playing seamlessly as a trio of McClinton girls to personality clashes, summer this year means being together.

Here are some glimpses of our "summer normal":

Spa Day.  What mom doesn't want to read books while soaking her feet in a mini-tub?

Daddy Fort

Chick Fil A Face Painting Day

Texas Family Road Trip, by Avery

Before we left for our family trip, Avery made a little booklet for her to fill out each day.  On the trip, she completed the book.  (The apple doesn't fall far from the tree...)

I present to you, Texas Family Road Trip, by Avery:

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Luau!

For 7 months, our house was in transition. The girls desperately wanted to host playdates, but it just never seemed safe, between construction, packing, moving and unpacking.  Avery and Kate consoled themselves by shopping in magazines for party supplies so that they could
host a party as soon as we moved into the new house.

After much perusing, the girls chose a luau theme.  And after many, many weeks of asking, we went ahead and scheduled a house-warming luau party for both of the older girls' playgroups (despite the construction, painting, and unpacking that is still happening).  Luckily, Nana had lots of luau stuff we could borrow, so I took the girls to Party City and gave them each a budget of $10 to spend on anything they wanted for the luau.  We looked at decorations and games and cups.  In the end, Kate chose Hawaiian tattoos and umbrellas for her drinks, and Avery had her eye on a real prize: a dolphin balloon with the perfect price tag: $10.  Both girls ended up adding silly string onto the tab because who can say no to silly string?

The luaus were decorated by the girls and led by the girls.  Kate's party didn't have much structure because Kate was a bit embarrassed when I asked her what she wanted to do at her luau.  Avery's party had a checklist of items to complete.  Two girls with two different personalities.

Kate tells about her Luau
When everyone came over we took a Hawaiian picture and we wore a lei and a grass skirt.  Abigail didn't know that the grass skirts were real.  We played with silly string and we eated and we put on tattoos.  I loveded them.  One more thing that was really special about my luau was drinking Kool-Aid with umbrellas in the cups.

Avery tells about her Luau
When everyone came over, first we played with the stickers.  Then, we went upstairs to play and we hid from Jackson.  We played Pin the Flip-flop on the Hula Dancer and then we played with silly string.  We played with water and ate popsicles.  My friends thought it was fun!  I thought it was great.

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"It's Not Easy Being Mom" - A Guest Post By Nana

This week the beautiful, wonderful McClinton girls are spending the week with us while Angela and Jordan spend some time with Trey and Erin in L.A. I had so many plans and really, I’ve raised three kids of my own, this should be physical but easy enough, right?

Monday night, everyone goes down for bed by 9:15, a little later than I expected but they are happy and sleeping. Tuesday morning we start with a four course breakfast (as requested by the girls; eggs, turkey bacon, sausage, fruit, panna-cakes, hot chocolate, milk, juice and later yogurt for Kate and Reese) and then dressed and off to VBS on time, (hair not fixed but combed, I think that counts). WOW. I’m exhausted but Reese and I have a little shopping to do so it’s off to Walmart where one little almost-two- year-old throws a fit if she’s not carried. So an hour later with purchases in hand we’re home, eating and napping and I still haven’t done the break
fast dishes! Good thing this is the night sweet friend Emilee is keeping the big girls overnight. I’ll catch up by then…

By Wednesday pick-up at VBS I am ready; well, not really, I’m still tired, back hurts and foot is swelling, and Reese is tired and throwing fits unless held everywhere we go. But we are early so we go potty (did I mention we are also at the beginning stages of potty-training? And yesterday was a day of several accidents, so I am super intuitive now, watching and responding to “teetee” comments in a flash). We go by Kate’s room. It’s dark. Over to the sanctuary for Avery. No one there. Back to Kate’s room. Still dark at 12:25. Back to the sanctuary- where we find Avery and head back for Kate. Her room is still dark. I ask and of course, that’s her preschool Bunny room, and (I knew this) she is in the Throne class two doors down! So there is Kate with her teacher, not upset but clearly wondering what happened to Nana. I apologize and we go on with our day of fun- ChickfilA, resting, swimming, everyone getting hugs and love and happy. And who cares that the house is now in full blown disaster mode? We did pick up the toys.

On Thursday we head to VBS, confident we are better prepared; we have our hair fixed, our cheese crackers for the donation box, our notes for Miss Kathy’s pick up for playtime, and smiles on all faces. We arrive at 9:30 and there is no one in the halls. No one. We go to Kate’s room and the student aide says the class is in music; VBS starts at 9:00 (I knew that); so we hurry to get Avery to the sanctuary and I crack up laughing.

Really, this is a hard job. And I will not comment when Angela loses her keys again. Or look at her house the way I look at mine. These girls are loving, helpful, forgiving, sweet to each other and Angela is doing a fabulous job. Just ask me. I don’t know how she does it!

Every grandparent should do this for a week or two. It keeps things in perspective. Only two days to go…and I’m loving it!  Nana

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