A New School

Kate's first day at her new school is tomorrow. She is so excited and spent tonight organizing her school supplies with Daddy (such a Kate and Scout activity!) and decorating her new school bag. I figured that when she heard she gets to take Spanish she would be thrilled because she is constantly speaking to us in "Spanish" and wants to be fluent like Dora! =)

This convo went down today...
RR: "Kate, at your new school they are going to teach you some Spanish. Isn't that neat?"
Kate: "But Mommy, I already know how to speak Spanish."
RR: "You do? Well, how do you say 'I can speak Spanish' in Spanish?"
Kate: "C'mon Cabana........ That also means....... trash can."

So clearly, as you can see, school is really just a formality.

Her back-to-school haircut...

And yes, we are still expressing ourselves with fashion these days...

Walking, Talking, Dramatizing, Oh My!

C.C. continues to just make us laugh constantly. Her personality is so spunky, but she has such a sweet and cuddly side that makes an appearance right when it's needed to keep her out of too much trouble! She is walking in full force and toddles around the house everywhere... there is no keeping her contained at all and baby gates and closed doors are just totally offensive. When I lose her (momentarily!) I usually find her at her high chair trying to get in, and shouting "Eeeee!"

Keeping an eye on the neighborhood for us...



She is also talking like crazy now and new words are emerging every day. The far-and-away favorite word at the moment is "mama" and it's the the one that she uses for pretty much any and all requests. It is usually the first word that I hear coming from her crib in the morning and she sometimes mumbles it while cuddling up before we put her down at night. She also says "dada" lots and gets soooooo excited when he walks through the door in the evening and she starts her routine of holding up her hands like she's wondering where he is and saying "dada" with gusto over and over. She is working so hard on "Kate" and has been since before she could say either of our names. For now it just sounds like a loud gargling K sound. Getting there! Her favorite trick is picking up a phone and holding it to her ear and shouting "Hello!" (Which sounds a lot like the British " 'Allo!") But lately she's really expanded the realm of possibility with the phone and I've seen her shouting hello while holding balls, food, her own hand, and diapers up to her head.

Always chewing on something... we are teaching the "just make sure that it's not another child you chew" lesson right now.

And.... the drama is kicking in. Big time. Poor Daddy - so outnumbered! When Carter is not happy or not getting her way she now throws her head back and waaaails, then snaps it forward and throws her head down on the ground for some more wailing. Oh, the humanity of it all!!!!! I think that in the Old Testament days when folks would wail and tear their garments it probably looked a lot like this. Of course, after the whole production she peeks up to see who is watching her in agony. =) When she's *really* crying we don't get the theatrics. Just cuddling.

This is her sobbing demonstration this afternoon after being redirected from the electrical outlet. Is it cruel to take a picture? Just couldn't resist!

Dora!

My mom came to town for a few days last weekend and we had such fun. One of the MAJOR highlights was the Dora Live show that we went to see at The Orpheum. Kate loved that she got to have a special night out of Dora and dinner with just Mommy and Momsie at a neat place like the Orpheum and she loooooved getting to see Dora in person, dancing and singing! She has talked about it a lot since then, and still remembers every single little detail of the plot - it clearly made an impression. I was actually impressed - it was a good show! If you have a Dora lover as we do, I recommend it for sure!

She sat on Momsie's lap during the show and did not move a muscle... may not have blinked the whole show!


On occasion, Dora's performance was so magnificient that Kate's jaw dropped. =) I think this was the arrival of Swiper on stage.

Kate's friend Sara Catherine went too and they had fun sitting together and comparing their Dora and Diego gear...

And after the show the girls wanted to "explore" the Orpheum and snuck off to go in the hallway that was off limits. Clearly, that is the only one that is interesting! (Yes, I see who is leading the way!)

With Catherine and Sara Catherine...

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...