"Mommy, Rose kinda looks like a Pharisee." ~ Our Story

Sissy's new favorite thing is coming into our bed. She is really precious about it so we tell her to hop in. Unfortunately, she is not there to sleep. She is there to stare at us, breathe loud on our faces and, yes, sit on our heads. All very preciously, though.

Afton's new school uniforms came in. She is going to be so cute it might be against the law. Hope we don't get reported!

This is Rose's new favorite thing to do. She goes straight to this every time she is in the play room. Kinda reminds me of some magician act.

It was really dark and wintery looking one day last week so I decided to pretend like it really was winter and turn on Christmas music. One thing led to another and the next thing I knew I was baking snickerdoodles! It was the first time for me. Won't be the last!

Keeping It Real Part III ~ We have an ant problem exacerbated by a not quite empty sippy cups all over the place problem. These problems are making me crazy!

Saunders loves me though and always gives me a second chance. I love you, too, Saunders.
Beauty Shop!

Jelly weekend snuggles!

"Mommy, Rose kinda looks like a Pharisee."

Zoo time!

Afton built this. It is called a Sunnyside Show. She is precious.

Snack time straight from the garden!

Ronny pulled up the crazy island in front of our house. I am so happy! A yard that suits our lifestyle is on the way!

Thumb Suck Swan Song

Afton searched for her thumb for several weeks. When she was about two months old she finally found it. The picture below was taken just moments after that discovery. The picture below shows the start of a beautiful friendship.

Afton was a thumbsucker from that day on. She even continued the same rough form from her first success -- thumb in the mouth, index finger hooked around the nose. She slept all night that night for the first time in her life. Her thumb had served her (and her tired mommy) well. Any hesitation I might have had about letting my child suck her thumb was obliterated by that night's sleep. My baby was a thumbsucker. When the time was right she wouldn't be anymore, but while she was little and could use the extra comfort and security it provided I was not going to stand in her way. Every now and then a nosy stranger or a well-meaning family member would pull her thumb out of her mouth and/or tell her not to suck her thumb. I would always quickly tell them that she was allowed to suck her thumb. (I didn't add "And mind your own business!" because that would take the kind of nerve I don't have.)

I had always had age five in my head as the cut off for thumb sucking. Age five seems a long, long way away to a first time mom with a two month old. Wow, do those years go fast! Afton turned four this Spring. She is not much of a baby anymore. She is pretty proud of that fact, though I am always sure to remind her that she will ALWAYS be my baby. She doesn't suck her thumb nearly as much as she used to but thumb sucking is definitely still a part of her life. I realize that stopping something that you have been doing for as long as you can remember is not an overnight process, so I decided that if our goal is no more thumb sucking by age five we needed to start having the conversation soon. Several weeks ago I broached the subject for the first time. I was surprised to find that it was met with big, honest, silent tears.

Afton loves a challenge. She loves feeling big and grown up. She loves doing things the way the big kids do. She has raced through milestones like becoming a big sister, moving to a big girl bed, using the big girl potty with great delight and enthusiasm. I figured when I mentioned to her that it was time to start thinking about not sucking her thumb anymore she would react in much the same way. So those big, heart breaking tears caught me by surprise.

Turns out I had taken her by surprise too. She had no idea that no longer sucking your thumb was part of growing up. She hadn't seen it coming. I told her not too worry about it. She was only four and she didn't need to stop and until she was five. I told her just to think about it and to let me know when she was ready to try.

She asked some questions about it the weeks since and we came up with a plan where I would make a chart for her and when she goes thirty days without sucking her thumb she can go pick out a toy. She was more interested with each conversation we had and but still wasn't quite ready to try.

This afternoon she asked me to make the chart. She said she is ready to stop sucking her thumb. I was excited and told her I would make it for her during her nap and that we could start working on it this evening. She was excited too. I was glad we had waited until it could be something she was excited about instead of something that made her sad.

When I sat down at the computer to print out the chart I was surprised by big tears again. This time they were mine. That little nose hook thumb suck has been such apart of our lives. The trademark of the joyous little baby girl that changed everything for us...

Who knew no more thumb sucking could be so heart wrenching? But it is hard to watch a baby that you love so much slowly fade away even when you know she is just growing into a little girl who you love even more.

Makers, Bathers, Besties, Growers - Our Story

Makers...

Bathers (Rose's first time with a party watie. She loved it!) ....

Besties...

Growers (We have actual vegetables, people!)...

It Isn't Too Hard To See...

Happy Father's Day to the best Daddy in the whole wide world! Raising these little girls with you is my own slice of heaven. Thank you for all you are to them and all you are to me. You mean the world to all your girls...especially the biggest one! I love you! Happy Father's Day!

Best Daddy Ever Video

Brace Yourself - Our Story

Brace yourself. It's been an eventful while since my last Our Story post. Here we go:

I got these new lunch baskets and I am so excited about them! That's all.

After waiting all spring the time for Afton's "Big Performance" finally came. She got to stay up from nap on the day of the dress rehearsal so Mommy would have time to practice the required hair and makeup. A little over the top for a four year old but she loved the pampering. I tried to focus on how excited she was instead of thinking about how "Toddlers and Tiaras" I felt about the the whole thing.

Precious baby girl pooped out in the car on the way to rehearsal.

She was pretty much the tiniest one there. The place was out of control with preciousness.

The next day just two hours before the recital she spiked a high fever. So sad. She begged and begged me to let her go. The doctor said it was up to me. I wasn't sure what to do but Ron was. There was no he was going to make her miss the most anticipated event of her life so far!

The show must go on!

She performed through her illness like a true professional and was so proud of herself and even more proud of the little trophy she got at the end.

Next morning we had to leave for Bubba and Ashley's wedding at 4:15 AM. When we arrived at the airport it was apparent that Sissy had succumbed to the Great Summer Fever of 2011. So pitiful.

Security threat in Oklahoma City kept us in the terminal for an extra five hours. Yikes. Ron became somewhat of a hero when he busted out his lap top and turned on a movie for all the kids around us. Maybe people would have been less enthusiastic if they knew both of our kids had temperatures of 102. Or maybe not. Parents were getting pretty desperate.

One of our new terminal friends carrying Ponder out when we were finally released.

We finally made it to Holdenville, Oklahoma. What a lovely little town! The girls perked up when the saw the beautiful dresses they would be wearing in the wedding. They felt so special to be included. They have been excited about Ashley and Bubba's wedding for months now!

The were also delighted to be reunited with their cousin Scout. These three little ones used to spend every other weekend together. That was back when Scout was the size of Sissy in this picture and my girls were....well, babies. It kinda hit me that they aren't babies so much anymore when I saw these little cuties sitting on the couch together chatting like teenagers. I can still see all three of them running and giggling around my apartment together and it feels like yesterday.

Wedding day! It was a beautiful wedding. Exquisite really. A very touching ceremony. And the reception was a P-A-R-T-Y. Haven't had that much fun in a while. You will have to take my word for it though since the only pictures I have are of us waiting for it to start. I really need to work on that!

After the wedding we were off to Tulsa to spend sometime with Nana. She greeted us in classic Nana style!

It was fun to have time to sit and talk with Nana and Papa. I was really blessed in the grandparents department.

While we were there we tried out the new splash park in Skiatook. Nice job Skiatook!

Ronny being Ronny.

A last minute change of plans had us back in our old stomping ground Charlottesville, Virginia for a could of days.

Daddy was working, so the girls and I played. First our favorite old splash park.

Then lunch at our favorite Chipotle!

A romp around the playground at Fashion Square Mall.

Movie time in the hotel.

Next day I decided to take it up a level and take all three girls with me to a fancy salon I had always wanted to try. Word to the wise -- dragging multiple toddlers along with you on a trip to a salon is a really, really, really bad idea. It just hit me that the wise probably don't need that word. They probably already know that. I had to learn it the hard way. I will sum it up with two words: unspeakable humiliation. Another word that comes to mind is misery. Misery and salon really don't go together. Another word that comes to mind is babysitter. I like my haircut though, so I guess that is the silver lining.

Saw some old friends while we were there.

Then on to Richmond where we saw some more friends and had some more splash park fun. (Splash parks have to be one of the best inventions of our time!)

Finally, home sweet home. What greeted me but the first bloom from Saunders in years! Those of you who know Saunders know how special that is. To those of you who don't I will just say he is the most patient and forgiving, dearest houseplant in the whole wide world.

Also a big fat tomato in our garden. Be 'cited!

And back to normal life!