Love/Hate

My conflicted relationship with Legos remains...conflicted.

This morning, Bud and I completed his X-Wing Fighter. It has more than 400 pieces. It has been an adventure we've done together. He's started asking recently, "Will we finish it before my birthday?" (July!!)

I wish you could have heard his voice this morning as we approached the end, and he realized: "Mom, I think we are going to finish it TODAY!!"

Absolute delight...on both sides.



And I don't say this about many toys, but...Legos are actually worth their price (not that I bought this one. Thanks, DD and Nona, for this one in particular!).

The Hate part? One of the wings keeps breaking off, and I've spent most of QT trying to get it back together. So disappointing/frustrating! Aaaggghh! Also, still looking for ways to keep those little Legos organized. Ideas? 'Cause Legos ain't leaving town for a long while yet. We need to learn to coexist peacefully...

Side note: I am listening to the Ben Harper Pandora station. I can't recommend it enough. Currently, Trace Bundy's playing "Canon"...and Pixie came in to ask me something. It's Quiet Time, and she knows it's bedroom time. But, as she said (after asking me about the music), "It's so hard to tear myself away from this music."

I totally agree. Stay, Pixie! Sit down and enjoy the magic!

No Use Crying Over...Milk

The time had come. With my return to teaching afterschool Spanish classes quickly approaching, Nutmeg had to learn to take a bottle.

J is the bottle-giver, as we assumed she would not take a bottle from me. We probably shouldn't have thought that she would gladly take it from him, either. Maybe she wasn't hungry enough.



I wish you could hear the audio for this shot. {Not Really} After taking some pictures, I came and hid in the office where I couldn't hear her screaming. Homegirl was angry.



Eventually, though, Daddy love prevailed. See that bottle? It's almost empty! He had his hand on her face and sang to her over and over one of the songs we sang to Pixie when she was upset.

And now I know she can be nourished while I'm away! So happy. And so sweet to watch...when she's not screaming.

I start teaching again on Wednesday. Here's hoping!

And I can't wait to catch you up on the past week--wow!

Soooo sleepy,
H

Happy Birthday Daddy!

Today is my Dad's birthday.

There have not been many times in recent years when I've been able to celebrate with him on the day.

We were a week off in 2005, when I was expecting Bud, and Dad spoiled Pixie rotten.


He cut down a regular broom to her size, for Pete's sake.


The next time I celebrated Dad's birthday with him in person was in 2007. That time, he taught Pixie and Bud how to make s'mores inside. Do you think that made him a hero?


Well, it did with the target audience, anyway.

Come to think of it, that time I was expecting Wombles. I am sensing a trend here! Yikes! I hope I can celebrate Dad's birthday with him again without a little boy coming! Not that there's anything wrong with little boys. At all. But it'd be nice to celebrate Dad's birthday with him without having to run throw up in the bathroom every 5 minutes feeling the effects of early pregnancy.

But I was talking about Dad! And how even though I'm rarely there to celebrate with him on his birthday, I am always thinking of him.

And of how he coached our T-ball team after work. We never won games, and it must have been a pain to have something else to do after work, but I loved that he was at all the practices and that he knew everything.

And of how he taught me how to body surf in the Gulf of Mexico.

And of how he's the one who took me shopping for a dress for my first high school dance--Homecoming. And how he was the one to think that I needed to go ahead and get the jewelry to match it, too.

And how he and mom dropped me off at UGA for my freshman year. He made sure I had a safe place to park my car close to the dorm (bought the pass for the parking garage--THANK YOU); bought me a sweatshirt for what would soon be our shared alma mater; and told me to not to spend too much time studying--to really get the most out of my college experience (maybe I took him a little too seriously on that last bit).

And now he wrestles with my boys (or challenges them to light saber battles). He totally gets (and exploits) the psychological element of "King in the Corner." And I can count on him to pull for the SEC, even when it's Spurrier.

OK, maybe I don't exactly admire that last trait. But at least he's consistent!


He is also consistently good at holding babies.

I wish we could be in the same place to celebrate his birthday. Since we can't, this is my birthday card to Dad: I wish you the very best today, and send you my love. Love for who you are, and for who you've been to me.

Grateful for you.

Grateful for who you have been,


Who you are, and who you're growing to be!

Instead, we will speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church. Ephesians 4:15


Onward and Upward! I love you, Dad--Happy Birthday!

Cause and Effect

I'm not sure that Nutmeg REALLY gets cause and effect yet, but it seems like it. We have a little play gym where you can set music and light on "motion," meaning she has to kick it or pull on something to keep it going.

In the last two days, Nutmeg has come to LOVE it. Here is a shot (from 5 minutes ago) with a bad angle and a great grin, taken soon after the music started:


The growing up of my babies would KILL me if every new stage wasn't so sweet!

Happy Sunday,
H

In the Spotlight...?

Today during quiet time, Pixie had a little fun with her face and some markers.

(LOVE those Crayola washables!!)

Her explanation to J? She was an actress after her show who still had her makeup on.


Seriously? What goes on during Quiet Time is a mystery to me, but it's fun. And no, her glasses are not tinted green...her skin is, behind them.

And it reminded me of one fall day four (gulp--four?!?) years ago when Pixie also used markers for make-up.


She was the artist and I was the canvas...I give you only the artist. Love. Her.

I need to go squeeze my babies,
H

Update to "Cartoon Strip"

I just thought you should know that the aforementioned activities took place yesterday MORNING.

Yesterday afternoon included such highlights for our protagonist (antagonist??) as:

--skipping music class (playing outside with friends instead)
--fighting with a girl (she asked him, a la Laura Ingalls, "Wanna Fight?" and wrestling is one of favorite pastimes)
--turning a water spigot on other children at the park. You know, the children who were awaiting their music class or had just finished their music class.

There is no photo evidence of any of these, however.

And I had a GREAT three course dinner down at the Harbor, with my sweetheart, and a 6-week-old who was quiet or sleeping the whole time! YES!!

Happy Friday,
H

A Cartoon Strip

Instead of one picture today, I give you a comic strip: three pictures, each followed by its caption. Enjoy.



You know, it's been over a year since Bud gave himself a haircut. He did so well with his art project yesterday; I think he's mature enough now to have this back in his school pencil box.





"Bud, you've been in here such a long time. Haven't you finished your task?--Bud, what were you trying to do to the window screen?"
"I was trying to cut a hole in it so that I could ESCAPE out of the window to the front room."





{while composing herself, mother's eye falls on the hair}
'Bud, where did you cut your hair?"
"How do you KNOW I cut my hair?"
"Because I'm looking at the pile of hair on the floor. Where did you cut your hair??"
"Right there, where the pile is."
"I MEAN-- WHERE ON YOUR HEAD DID YOU CUT YOUR HAIR?!?"
"Oh, everywhere."

Sooo glad I have a date tonight,
H