SK is two today. In honor of her special day, I’m posting the video of her eating her first cake, one year ago. Up until her big day, she had never been given anything sweet. Let’s say this girl has a sweet tooth! I have never seen another child attach a first birthday cake like she did. SK, may you attack all of life with the same enthusiasm and determination! Click here to see the birthday girl at work!
Most often seen with a huge smile on her face!
Last week, Baba was gone all week. So, we had to break up the week with some adventures, like Chick-Fil-A’s circus night. Dress like a circus performer and get a free kids meal. We had a Strong Man, a Trick Poodle and a Trapeze Girl.
I have a pet peeve with face painters. Many times, they are artists. Meaning that they want a perfect masterpiece on little Tommy’s face. Little that they know that little Tommy’s masterpiece will be ruined the first time he wipes his nose with his hand! I have stood in many eternal face paint lines for this reason which never coincides with my type A, just slap something on there, personality.
I have to say though, these works of art were worth the wait. Color fading. Glitter. Rhine stones. Dragon breath fire actually on your eyelid. A kid’s dream come true. And because, Chick-Fil-A is awesome about things being free, great for mom too!
Look at this detail!
Trick Poodle was happy to just enjoy her ice cream instead of waiting in line.
Both kids skipped baths so they could persevere their faces. We’ll see how they look tomorrow!
Road trip to Kansas a couple weekends ago for a super fun wedding. J flew back with SK and I drove with N and J. (I got to fly on the way up but we wanted J to make it back for church.)
10 hours in the car with 2 kiddos. I was truly exhausted when it was over. My favorite part was this conversation.
Things got quiet in the back seat. Too quiet. I knew J was asleep but what could N be doing?
Me: “N, whatcha doin?”
N: “Trying to see if I can eat a whole page of my coloring book.”
Indeed, he was succeeding.
The other day, I was pulling out of my driveway when I saw some men, across the bayou by our house, look up seemingly startled. If they hadn’t looked so guilty, I probably wouldn’t have had a second glance! There has been ongoing construction on the bayou for the past 6 months. This has been quite an annoyance but due to the frequency of the workers around our house, at second glance, I was able to determine that these guys weren’t on the regular work crew. They were thieves. Sod thieves. Pallets of sod had been laid the day before every few yards along the bayou. It had rained, causing a delay in the work. These clowns had backed their truck trailer up to the sod and were quickly loading it onto their own trailer!
Now, as you might remember, our house was broken into a few months ago. It has changed my outlook on some things. For example, when I used to hear sirens, sometimes I would pray for anyone who was injured to be ok. Post break-in, when I hear sirens, I think of only one thing: JUSTICE. And yes, I pray for justice! This healing process is a journey and I hope there will once again be a day when I pray for those who are injured. I’m just not there yet.
So, I did what any other stay at home mom with a car full of kids would do and took a picture of them with my phone. Then I called the police. Then I panicked because they saw me take a picture and could no doubt deduce that I had called the police. And, they knew exactly where I lived. We have plenty of thugs on our own street. What was I doing, inviting the thugs on the other side of the bayou to the thug party?
Well, they left as soon as I saw them. I later talked to the police and showed them the above picture. The officer showed me the ‘zoom’ feature on my phone, which I didn’t know existed. He recommended that next time I try to be a hero citizen, I zoom first. He also told me to call if I saw across-the-bayou-sod-thugs again.
Would you believe that they came back, later in the day, just when I happened to be leaving again! I called the police again but this time I didn’t bother attempting a picture.
Who steals grass? In the end, I concluded that although I’m all about justice at every turn these days, I probably should have stayed out of the whole thing.
N has wanted to participate in a triathlon for awhile now. We finally found the perfect one, at the YMCA close to our house. I bought him some biking shorts and he was super excited! Our dear camping friends came into town to race also. We had a transition practice the night before in the living room.
AWESOME friends came to cheer N on and even made signs for him!
Walking to the race start, where parents weren’t allowed, N looked so small. I was super nervous for him. I just wanted this to be a positive experience.
He did a great job in the little shy of 50 M swim, despite not having a lane rope to rest on like we had expected.
No more excuses for not yet having his shoes on when it is time to go somewhere. I saw with my own eyes how quickly he can put on his shoes when needed! 
We made signs for all of our racers.
Our super star athletes, after the race.
My favorite part of the entire day was when N was beginning the run and passed his most loyal fan, Isaac. When Isaac cheered, he turned and yelled, “Thanks Bud!” I find such joy in watching my kids develop their own friendships.
Second place trophy. Woo Hoo!
I sometimes lament the reality that for now, my personal triathlon days are over. But it was so much fun to watch my son enjoy something that I too love.
Did I mention how proud I am of this little guy?
This kid is so creative. He’s been interested in Indians for the past few months. It started when I read Little House on the Prairie out loud to him. He also loves costumes. So, imagine his excitement when he heard the Indian described in the book as only wearing a skunk skin in the front and another in the back with a string tied between the two, his tomahawk hanging on the string. He wanted that very costume. Oh he talked about skunk skins, strings and tomahawks. We theorized and debated and I held my ground on not helping him make such a costume. After he got over the let down of not having an actual skunk skin costume, he settled on this one. White fabric wrapped around his waist. A fabric head band with beads strung on one side. And of course, a tomahawk, made of cardboard. Mom says undergarments must be worn under the costume. This was another let down for the aspiring Indian but Mom won. Oh, what will he think of next?
Matching outfits. Matching dolls. Matching blankets. Sisters are fun!
We had a joint birthday celebration for N, J and SK a couple of weekends ago. Our dear friends allowed us to host the party at their beautiful home!
We had a hard time agreeing on a mutual theme this year so in the end, we had a Baseball, Supergirl, Monkey party! A friend made the cakes herself and did an AMAZING job!
The weather was perfect and everyone had a good time.
Next year, I’ve promised each child their own party. I wonder who will be there.
