We've turned twooooooooo.

Our darling girl, Miss Zoe Caroline, is now "Twooooo."

Dear Zo-zo,

Happy 2nd birthday! Two months late is this letter of remembrances, but our lives are crazy right now. You don't mind, do you?

Let's start with a list of things you currently love:

Pooh-ba (Pooh-bear, of course.)

Ruh-ruh (Clifford the Big Red Dog. Your favorite episode is on a video Gigi got you for your birthday. It features this little dauschaund named Bob, who doesn't obey and gets in lots of trouble. You ask to watch the video by saying, "Ruh-ruh? Ruh-ruh? Bob! Bob. Bob? Yep.")

Spinning and singing and dancing. You especially love Ring Around the Rosies right now, because you get to fall down at the end. This is hilarious to you, and you'll spin and fall as many times as I will sing the song.

Saying all the names of the people you love, in a sort of song you made up. 
"Gigi, Nana, Opa, Dada, Mama, Ahka...Gigi, Nana, Opa, Dada, Mama, Ahka, Puppy..." Grandaddy's name currently has too many syllables, but when I add it to the list, you smile and say, "Yep!"

Beebee Ahka. This is what you call your baby brother, Eric. When you wake up, you ask for Dada, and then for Beebee Ahka. Sometimes you really get going saying his name very very fast, BeebeeAhkaBeebeeAhkaBEEBEEAHKA and then it morphs into BeeAhkaBeeAhkaBeeAhka. You love your brother so much and are such a good helper with him.

Painting, drawing with chalk, drawing with crayons, coloring with markers, anything that has to do with art. You love to create and when you get done, you point at your picture and say, wide-eyed, "WOW!" I love that your sense of wonder is so big and so evident. You also sometimes color on things that are NOT paper. I asked you yesterday, rhetorically (you don't know yet that sometimes I ask questions that I already know the answer to), why you color on the wall or the floor. You looked at me, looked at the wall, spread your hands out and said, "Hmmm...."

Hide-and-seek. You love the actual game played with Daddy, and you also love your version of it, where you hide objects like a sock or a spoon or your baby doll and then want me to find them. You always try to trick me. So if I ask, "Oh, where's the sock?" You point to the light in the ceiling or to the bathtub, trying to get me to look there instead of under the blanket. I love how your imagination is developing.

Reading. You love, love, love to read. I'm so very thankful you do. I want you to learn how the world opens up to you when you read. I want you to feel that simple joy of getting lost in a book, of reading into the wee hours because you can't go to sleep until you finish the story. (And I will try my hardest to remember this when I'm telling you to go to bed and you want to read just a little longer.)

The list of things you don't love is very short...raw tomatoes, flip-flops, getting your picture taken when everyone is looking at you, and lately, shirts that are not the color blue. Otherwise, you love to try new things!

Some of your firsts this year:

Your first sentence (phrase) was Daddy, Go! We were in the car, and apparently Daddy wasn't getting to wherever we were going fast enough, so you started telling him Daddy, go! You also love to say Mommy, No! So, Daddy go and Mommy no...I see how it is.

Your first joke was when we were in the car, waiting for the light to turn green. We were telling you that red means stop and green means go. When the light turned green, you said, "GOOOOO!" We laughed at your excitement, but then you started saying, "Ruh-ruh, GOOOO! Heeheeheehee." We corrected you, saying, No, red means stop. You looked right at us, shook your head, said it again, and laughed loudly. It took us a few times, but we finally realized you were making a joke!

Oh, Zo, darling girl. You mean the world to us. You have weathered the transition from only child to oldest child so well. You have such curiosity and a depth of understanding that is beyond you. I sometimes look at you, realizing how much you understand, and I am floored. We are just so thankful to God for you. Happy 2nd birthday!

Love you forever. xo

You & Daddy blowing out your candles.

Your new art easel!

The family

A welcome letter to Baby Eric

Dearest Eric Robert,

You're three weeks old.

Wow.

I knew I needed to put down your birth story, otherwise it will fade in my memory like your sister Zoë's already has.

You were due on Saturday, January 12th. You were born on Friday, January 11th. My doctor told me that I'm one of those lucky women who delivers fully-cooked babies. Yay for me. But both you and your sister were beautiful and healthy. So that's what matters.

I had decided that Friday the 11th was going to be my last day at work. I was quite ready for you to come and to not be on my feet anymore. I had a doctor's appointment that morning and was told that you could come any time, or that you might wait a while.  I went to school and taught the afternoon, then stayed a little while cleaning up my desk and organizing some papers. I'd had my substitute folder complete and ready to go since we'd returned from Christmas break, just in case.

Your grandparents on my side, Gigi and Grandaddy, had said they would come get your sister and take her for the weekend. I think Gigi had an inkling that you were going to come soon. They came and picked up Zoë around 6. Your Daddy and I decided to live it up and go out to eat and see a movie. We thought we should take advantage of being sans kiddos one last time. On our way to dinner, we stopped by the Warren Theatre and bought tickets to the 8 o'clock IMAX showing of The Hobbit. We headed to Pei Wei, one of Mommy's favorite places to eat.

During dinner, I started having a few contractions. I'd had Braxton-Hicks contractions for months with both Zoë and you, and usually they stopped. While these felt a little stronger, a little different from those, I still didn't think you were coming yet. We left for the theatre at 7:50. We pulled into the parking lot and I was feeling very unsure if we should go watch the movie or not. We decided since we already had the tickets, we would try it but sit on the aisle in case we needed to leave. We got out of the car and I had a very strong contraction that stopped me in my tracks. Back into the car I went. Your Daddy dashed back into the theatre and got a refund for our tickets. He wondered if we should just go to the hospital and he would go back home later for my hospital bag. I said no, let's go home first, maybe my contractions will stop. But they didn't and were getting stronger and closer together.

We made it home and were only there for 10 minutes or so before I was having to stop and do breathing exercises through the contractions. Your Daddy zipped into high gear and rushed around the house getting the last few things we needed. We got into the car and headed to the Birth Care Center with my contractions about a minute apart. We checked in at the desk and I kept having to lean on your Daddy as I was trying to sign my name to all the paperwork. We got to our hospital room around 8:55.

Everything went incredibly fast and before I knew it, they were telling me I could push if I wanted to. I couldn't believe that you were about to come. I looked at your Daddy and asked, Are they really telling me to push? I remember the delivery nurse telling me that I was doing a great job and was about to have a baby. I was so confused because we had just gotten to the hospital. What do you mean I'm about to have a baby? Do you know what you're saying? I just got here! Your Daddy was helping me breathe and count and the doctor broke my water, I pushed...

And you came into our world at 9:38 p.m.
8 lbs, 5 oz, 20 1/4 inches long. A head of black hair and a healthy cry.
Long fingers and what your Daddy affectionately calls your monkey feet. Long feet and toes like fingers, just like him.

And we loved you completely.

Welcome to our family, Eric.

Love you forever,
Mama
xo

 

On weddings and the joy of sleeping in your own bed...part one.

Last weekend we flew to Greenville, South Carolina to see my brother marry a fabulous girl. Since my mom is originally from North Carolina, a lot of her extended family was able to join us there. We had a wonderful time being together. The weather was gorgeous and cooperated fully except that it started raining during the ceremony and everyone had to mill about inside while the chairs were moved to the reception. It was a very small inconvenience and everything was just delightful. Steph has such a sense of style and everything was decorated so well!

Everything, except darling Zoë decided that pack-and-plays in hotel rooms were unsuitable for sleeping. We left Wichita at 7 am on Friday, getting to Greenville around noon. Mom & Dad picked us up at the airport and when we got back to the hotel, Zoë did fall asleep for a little nap in our hotel room. She won't go to sleep if she can see us, so as dutiful parents we camped outside the door until she stopped crying.

That night, same story, second verse...fussed and cried loudly for a while but finally went to sleep. Woke up at 1:45 in the morning and would.not.be.soothed. We had a room with double beds, so my pregnant self and all my necessary pillows took one bed, and Nathaniel took the other. I put Zoë in bed with me, and she laid quietly for a little while, then I tried putting her back in her pack-and-play. Nothing doing. She immediately stood up and started crying.

Put her back in bed with me.

Wouldn't fall asleep. Fussed. Cried. Flopped.

Finally told Nathaniel, "Your turn..."

He took her into his bed. Up and down, back and forth to the pack-and-play. Around 2:45, we decided she just needed to fuss it out and hopefully was so tired it would only take a few minutes. Nope. At this point she was crying. Loudly. At 3 am, knock on the door (and she'd just quieted down, of course.) Hotel management. Report of a loudly crying baby on floor 5.

Right. Yes, we know. And what would you have us do? It's not like we aren't in here with her. It's 3 in the morning. She's a baby. Babies cry. Where shall we go with her?

So at a little after 3, Nathaniel, bless his Daddy heart, took her down to the hotel lobby. She finally fell asleep on the sofa in the lobby around 5:30 and he brought her back upstairs.

Up & at em at 7. My turn then and she & I went downstairs for breakfast while Nathaniel slept a bit longer.

Part two tomorrow...

Lyle sleeping...give Zoë some lessons, will you?

Loving on her cousin

Rehearsal

Steph & Mike & their pastor

Steph & Lyle & Kim...Lyle made friends everywhere he went!

Mini-vacation

Isn't it great to be able to get away for a little while, even if it's just an extended weekend? I've been looking forward to this all summer. We left on Thursday after Nathaniel was finished teaching at Butler and headed to Branson. We planned to stay one night with my parents and just explore on Friday. It's hard to decide what to do sometimes with a toddler that still takes two naps (hooray when you're at home, not so much when you're out and about.) We made it to Missouri with not much fuss on Zoe's part...she's at the age where she doesn't much like to be cooped up anywhere, especially her carseat. She really did well, though, until the late afternoon fussy time. We had to endure her fussiness and squirminess for about an hour during which time I was half turned in my seat trying to entertain her. I ended up with a raw spot on the back of my arm! We'd brought the classical cd she usually goes to sleep to, but it was hard for her to get comfortable.  She finally fell asleep with her leg crooked over the arm of her carseat with her arm up behind her head. She woke up much happier and we made it into Springfield for dinner and then to Branson before too late. A late evening swim in the pool and then to bed for Zoe, while we adults hung out in the lobby until it was our bedtime. Traveling with kids requires flexibility! Last summer we went to Wisconsin when Zoe was only 10 weeks old. I think we might have been a little crazy. This trip was much shorter and much easier. Side note here: there are some children and teens that haven't been taught proper behavior when you're at a smallish hotel pool. We'd gotten there and had Zoe in her little pool float and were hanging out in the shallow end, right by the wall. Two boys came in--one about 13 and one probably 16--and they jumped in not far from us and started playing a game where they tried to splash and dunk each other. Mind you, the distance from us to them was probably less than three feet. I teach middle school, so you think I'd be more understanding, but really?

We didn't really do a whole lot in Branson, but it was great to be together with my parents. My aunt Barbie came up for the afternoon and dinner. We ate at the Keeter Center Restaurant at College of the Ozarks, which is about a 10 minute drive from Branson. All the food is locally grown and is served by students. We loved it and would definitely go back. If you're in the area, you should definitely give it a try. The prices are a little high, but comparable to any "nice" restaurant on the strip, and you knew at this place that everything was high quality and fresh. And the fresh rolls with homemade apple butter were amazing. I think I ate four of them. Maybe five.

Fun at the Outlet Mall

The Disney Store? You never told me this place existed...you can buy a million Pooh Bears here!

My new friend

In the lobby of the hotel, they had all these huge bears. This was our favorite place to hang out.

Pan-blackened catfish on quinoa and vegetables

Half a chicken, cooked two ways with garlic mashers and a okra-tomato salad with apple cider vinegar (This was my order and it was so, so good.)

Aunt Barbie & Dad

Love you, Auntie Barbie! Zoe's in her pj's for the drive down to Kristen's.

Happy Mom & Dad

The Keeter Center's outdoor porch

Free concerts and other summery things

Funny memory this morning, thanks to this:

Did you know you're never supposed to put an apple and a banana in the same area? The ethylene gas from the apple messes with the ripening of the banana. How do I know this, do you ask? When we went to Canada the summer after we got married, we stayed at a Bed and Breakfast in Montreal. The man that ran the B & B did not have a very high opinion of Americans. He was condescending in every way and did not make us feel one bit welcome. In the morning, when we arrived for our scant breakfast, Nathaniel took one of two bananas that were hanging on a banana hook. He placed the leftover banana in the fruit bowl on the counter, which contained apples among other fruit. The innkeeper looked down his nose at him and plucked the offending banana from the bowl: Don't you know you NEVER put a banana... And all I remember thinking was, Really? Did you really just correct a paying customer about a BANANA? So anyway, I guess I didn't really learn that lesson well. That poor ripe banana.

But I started writing about free concerts and other fun summer outings. So many things to be thankful for today: a quietly napping baby, dinner at NJ's and the Spiderman movie with Nathaniel last night, (Zoe-keeping courtesy of his parents...thank you thank you), the upcoming prospect of working part-time and stretching my brain (I have been having such fun lesson planning...well hello teacher nerd), and free events in the summer.

Thursday evening we went to a free concert at WSU, part of their Art for Your Ears concert series. We got to hear Gretchen Peters. They had free ice cream and free ice-cold water bottles, and the whole event was lovely! They have one per month in the summer. The next one is August 2nd. Read here for more information.

These were pint sized water bottles dipped in orange paint!

I hope you're finding fun things to do this summer!

Fun with Daddy

Yesterday was quite fun. We went to Saturday night church the night before (a first for us, and I can see why people enjoy it...you get your whole Sunday free!) We went out to eat for breakfast, then to OJ Watson park to go paddleboating and to eat snowcones, back home for a nap and then to Nathaniel's parents' house. All in all a really wonderful day. Thanks, babe, for being such a great Daddy to Zoe. We love you!

Eggcetera in Old Town...they have a really wonderful Greek omelet

Paddleboating

Following the Yellow Brick Road

Zoe LOVES to swing. Woe to us if she sees swings in the distance at a park.
Once she sees them, it's all over for us!

Zoe's first trip to the beach

Oh, how I love the ocean. I wonder if it's because I live smack-dab in the middle of the country, miles and miles and hours and hours away from the coastline. Or do I love it so much because I have such happy family memories of beach trips? Whatever the reasons, I feel like I'm coming home when I get a glimpse of the water and smell that salty air.  I really wanted Zoe to experience the beach this summer. When my side of the family ended up deciding against the beach trip (due to a really great reason: my brother's fabulous upcoming wedding in October in South Carolina), I was disappointed to not have a week at the beach.

But it ended up working out! We just got back from a week on the East Coast visiting Nathaniel's side of the family. We started in Raleigh and then visited his sister Rachel in Chesapeake. One day the weather was forecasted to be mostly sunny, so after Zoe's morning nap, we packed up and hit Virginia Beach! It was only for two hours, but boy were they glorious! Thanks, Rach, for organizing this crew for a most wonderful outing!

Watching Veggie Tales to pass the time...are we there yet? 

She wasn't sure about the sand at first

Ooh, don't take me too far out!

I could absolutely live here. Sorry, Kansas!

Mama and Zoe

Beautiful Auntie Rach

Cousin J

Conquerers of the sandcastle! Uncle Than with K, I & J!