growing pains

From my vantage point as a parent, it seems like our girls are growing in sudden surges rather than gradually. I often feel like one or both of the girls are in stages of life where they grow leaps and bounds each day, developing new skills and abilities beyond what I expect or imagine, then it seems to taper off for a while until the next one. These stages of growth (physical, verbal, cognitive, emotional, what-have-you) are always so exciting to witness and sometimes a relief, but they do a number on our heartstrings every time...
Kate is in one these phases right now... it just seems like she's busted through the door and has lept into little-lady-dom all of a sudden. (Ok, and "lady" is a loose term here... but you get the drift!) I'm sure this has been brewing for a while, but I am struck these past couple weeks at how she yearns to be part of the grown-up scene, longs to do what is right and what is expected, and how she tries sooooo hard to meet her own expectations of herself. It is precious, endearing, and also a tad bit heart-breaking as I see some of those things manifest themselves in awkward or painful ways for her... ways that I know are just parts of life that we cannot protect her from, but OH if we could...

This week she was tucked away having her "room time" and I heard her crying quietly in her room. Careful to avoid a tricky ploy to lure me back there just to ask "is room time over?", I listened in the hall for a minute. Yup, real crying, but it sounds like she's trying to muffle it. Hm.... Crack open the door. "Kate, you ok? What's up?" She was standing in the middle of the floor, tears streaming down her cheeks from red little eyes. She tried to get it together really fast and tried SO HARD to talk clearly and plainly in her "big girl" voice through the tears when she told me that her lampshade fell off the lamp. "No problem," I said, wondering why the drama? We picked the shade back up and placed the lamp back on the table and set about cleaning up... she was still wimpering and trying not to cry, but couldn't tell me what was wrong. Hmmm.... I'll let it go. Maybe she just needs a good cry. (Not sure exactly what this means, but my mom used to say that about me sometimes and it seemed to be true then.) As we work together in her room she keeps crying but is trying not to and I can't figure it out. I ask her if she wants to talk about feeling sad. Head shake no. She gets it together and then starts up again a minute later. But all the while, she won't tell me what's up. Acts like she doesn't know. About 15 minutes go by and then she finally just comes over to my lap and whispers something in my ear, then buries her head. "What, Lovie, I can't hear you?" She whispers it again, so softly that I can barely hear... "I accidentally burned my finger on the lightbulb." I look at her little finger and sure enough, she burned it. Mystery solved. Curiosity got the cat (or the finger, in this case) and the shade fell off as she flinched away from the burn. Ouch for that finger. And ouch for that little sense of self that was burned with (pride? disappointment? shame?) so that she didn't want to tell me. ...And ouch for Mommy who hates that she didn't come crying for me right away and tell me without any of that complicated emotional mess that we grown-ups carry around! And yes, that little finger got lots of kisses and pink ice pack action. I mean, surely she's not too old for that. =)

Oh, little one... you are so big and still so little! You are so capable and learning soooo many new things about maneuvering life all on your own but still.... learning. I see you work at it... to test yourself and try new things... to say something that matters and to prove yourself to... yourself. It gives me little heart aches to see how pride and disappointment and embarrasment and all those complicated things that come along with being "grown-up" are starting to pop up. Ache! It is also delightful to see true, real-deal laughter explode when a friend makes you laugh or to see you figure it all out on your own. ...Just the BEST to see you love life because there are things that YOU love about it... all on your own... just because you do. Ah, parenthood.... what are we going to do with ourselves at 13? This is just 3! Bear with us...

loving mealtime

CC has fallen in love.... with mealtime. Like a little puppy, when she wanders off I usually find her at her high chair, climbing and clawing at it to get in and be served. I used to think that she loved it so because - as the second - it was one of the few times in the day that I am sitting down at her level, focused on her and interacting one-on-one. ...But the fact that she wrestles the food out of my hands before I can even get it down on her tray lets me know that it's really not about me at all (silly, Mommy!). It's totally the grub. We are thankful that she is a willing and enthusiastic eater, but she wants ANYTHING and EVERYTHING that everyone else has as well, and as we all know... she's not shy. Eeek! Tonight my mom got to town and I ran to the grocery while she kept the kiddos. When I left CC was enjoying some green beans out of Meme and Papa's garden and when I got home she had devoured the entire container... almost a whole mason jar full! Deeelish.

Mmmm.... lasagne.

Happy 1st Birthday, Carter Caroline!

We *cannot* *believe* that Carter Caroline is already a year old! How did that happen? We celebrated in Princeton and CC loved all the attention and commotion. (And the taste of ice cream she got from Aunt Sal!)

CC, we love your spunky personality... it can be challenging at times finding the energy to keep up with you, but we wouldn't change a thing (except maybe that Teradactyl scream-thing you have mastered.) You are firey and fiesty, sweet and coy. You love a party and are thrilled when you can engage people. You never - EVER - are still, and at the end of the day you love to cuddle up, bury your head on us, and coo. Aaaahhh....

All dressed and ready for her birthday lunch. Doing "more".... thanks, Tori! =)

This is the face of a little girl ELATED to find out that she is walking home with Daddy and doesn't have to get in the carseat. That was her present from us... no buckles that day. =)

That's right... it's my party.

Mmmm... first taste of cake. Granny was horrified that we turned her loose with the cake. Oh well!

That's pretty delicious.

Playing in Sitter's yard...

Margaritaville on Sitter's patio!

Lemme back in!

....Love their Bandaddy!

Memphis...

So here we are... back in Memphis! We are so glad to be here, and are slowly (very slowly it seems) getting settled and unpacked. It was heart-breaking to move further away from family, but we really feel right at home here and it is great to be back. It has been a soft landing in a lot of ways because of our dear friends here, and we are sooooo thankful for them and for the ways they have helped us and the kids during this time of transition!

One thing that has been tough is how much Kate is missing Naomi. We knew that would happen since they are such tight buds, but she has really had a hard time without her best little friend and talks about Na all the time. Everything seems to remind her of Naomi, from chocolate milk ("chocolicious") to riding bikes. We are going to have to visit Na very soon! But we also definitely see how much Kate is going love her new friends here and she is already THA-RILLED to be so close to Griffin, Mary Paige and Austin. She rides her bike down the sidewalk and waves at everyone's homes and says "There's a tree in my new neighborhood," and "there's a sprinkler in my new neighborhood" and it is just all so exciting!

The girls...

Memphis buds...

With sweet Griffin...

And in other news, Carter Caroline is walking! Two days ago we were playing with Britt and Austin on the floor and she just stood up and walked right to me, about 5 or 6 steps. She has been very tentative about doing it again but has taken some steps here and there. We are headed to Princeton tomorrow to celebrate her #1 birthday with the family. We cannot believe our baby is 1! Time flies!

Carter Caroline with Austin S...

Jenny's Wedding

The Hayes crew arrived in Nashville in high style last weekend for Jenny's wedding. It was a really fun weekend, and despite the fact that we all almost MELTED in the heat, it was beautiful and relaxing. THANK YOU THANK YOU to Meme and Papa and Lauren and Chad who took in our children on Saturday. They had a *blast* with their cousins! Bonus: Betty Ashton was the harpist!

The highlight of our Saturday (well, besides Jenny and Blake saying "I Do") was Scout showing up to the ceremony in Hayes' boots because he forgot his dress shoes and had to borrow some. We were all already at the church and when he walked in we all sang "Rhinestone Cowboy" and cracked ourselves up, of course. (No one else, mind you.) Now he just needs a huge Ford truck and he's one of the crew. Lookin' goooooood...

Russ and the boys brought up trailers full of Florida plants from the nursery and after the service he gave us all the green light to take whatever. It was a free for all! Wait... boo... we drive a Toyota Camry and have 2 children we should probably take back, too. Oh well. No tropical rainforest in the back yard this year.

I cannot say the same for everyone else.

Jeremy got Granny out on the dance floor and she showed us all what she's made of...

And A Partridge In A Pear Tree...

Shew, so we are almost caught up. ...Otherwise, the past couple months have been full of:

1. Swimming with the girls and putting Carter Caroline in the pool for the first time. She wasn't sure what to think, but swimming with Kate and Michael made her think it was ok.

2. Staying in Cinci one extra night to squeeze in another round of laughs with the Cudz.

Thanks, Jess, for the super cool editing job!

Yeah, that's me... sucking face with some Strawberry Chip... I can own it.

No comment

Cudz, we love y'all. ...Because you are exactly who you are.

I'm sorry, Kate and Carter Caroline. I don't know what's wrong with us.

We are so serious. So, so, serious.

3. Enjoying the warm weather (finally!)

4. Squeezing-in visits to all our favorite Cinci hot spots like the zoo, the aquarium, storytimes, the CSC pool, the library, Graeters, the splash parks and playgrounds at Ault Park, Armledder, and Beech Acres.

5. Spending time with dear Cinci friends and saying our see-you-laters...

No one but dear Miss Janine can get Kate to sit still to do her hair!

Cutie little Colin Hastings... of course Natalie and I didn't get a pic!

'Zan and Naomi

...With Daniel and Drew

The crew - watch out!

Eastsiders...

6. Making a couple hurried trips to Memphis and buying our first house! We did not think we would jump into home ownership just yet (we are happy renters!) but here we are in our first home and enjoying it so much. THANK YOU to MeMe & Papa, Momsie & Bandaddy, Tom, Julie, Brittany, and Betsy for all your travelling, guidance, and childcare while we were on the hunt. It really does take a village!

Scout was not able to make it back for the second Memphis trip so I picked out the house without him and was soooooooooo glad that he liked it when we arrived on move-in day!

7. Packing, packing, and more packing. Then loading, loading, and, well, you get it... wrapping things up at 3326 Eastside Avenue.

Oops. I wanted to get some pics for Kate and CC of their Ohio home and I probably should have cleaned-up before I started. Oh well, girls, this is really what it looked like most of the time, anyway!

Kate enjoyed the packing process. That is, she enjoyed clipping the Sharpie on her dress, putting her hands on her hips, and sighing loudly with exhaustion. It is so hard being 3...

....She also enjoyed the huge mountains of packing paper.

8. A fun-filled weekend with the family right before we moved to celebrate Scout's graduation (boo! The Robinsons and I forgot cameras!), Kate's 1st dance recital (hilarious), and Brendan's 3rd birthday!

Scout's graduation was a great evening and a nice treat for all the residents who have worked their tails off over the past 3-4 years. Ssshhh... I have to brag.... Scout won an award from the Neonatology Department for his service there. He was totally shocked. As I told his parents, when we were in the hospital having Carter Caroline I thought it felt an awful lot like the Scout Fan Club around the baby floor. I wish I could be a fly on the wall and see him in action with those teeny-weenies.

Kate's recital was great fun, and getting to wear the Tinkerbell costume was definitely her favorite part.

The ballerina loves her papa.

Brendan's 3rd birthday party

Party time!

Scout, Julie, and baby Garrett

Aunt Julie picked out this flower just for Carter Caroline, because she thought it looked a lot like her, with her spiky 'do and all. It's perfect! We sometimes call her "The Tufted Egrit," because her hair stands straight up like her bird cousin. C.C., we love your soft blonde spikes. =)

9. Spending a few days in Ashland and a few days in Princeton waiting for the closing on our house to come through. After the moving truck pulled out in Ohio there were some problems pop up with the closing so we waited it out in transit. It was actually nice to have a little break from the move.

10. Somewhere in there there was also a Bigger Loser finale during which we ate chocolate and sipped wine and watched them work out. Hm.... how long 'til the next premiere?

11. And a partridge in a pear tree...