Bebe, the girls and sweating it out at the park

Bebe came to Tulsa a few weeks ago.  We decided to take the girls over to Woodward Park for pictures.  By the time Anna had a nap, we were all dressed and in the car, it was close to 11am.  Adeline's performance window was closing in on us quickly! 

 

 I tried not to get my hopes up to high for a good picture of the girls because with two little ladies ages 2 and 8 months, the expectations remain low.  I go into these things just hoping for one decent photo with at least one person smiling or better yet, at least one of them sitting still. 

So Bebe and I found ourselves running around the park at 11am in 88 degree temps sweating our tails off and chasing two cute little people.  Anna wanted to eat the grass, Adeline wanted to stand in the stream.  Bebe and I acted like circus rats behind the camera as we sweat bullets trying for a smile from the duo. 

About 5 minutes in, Adeline revolted.  She was done.  She wasn't gonna sit on that rock if we paid her in sparkle shoes.  She wasn't gonna hug her sissy even after we waved bags of fruit snacks in front of her face.  Nope.  The gal was finished.  And yes, there were tears.





And yes, lots of sweat.

But like every single day of my life, the nut house is a happy place.

I think Bebe and I did an ok job.....after we wiped our brow, dragged a sobbing toddler to the car and put a bottle to my baby.

naptime anyone?

Good-bye Kindergarten. Hello, First Grade!

Holy cow.  I have a first grader.

Today was the last day of Kindergarten for my smarty pants, airplane flyin', baseball playin', soccer kickin', teeth missin', fun lovin' little boy.......who just isn't so little anymore......sigh.....

Here's William on the last day of Kindergarten.  He's all smiles and full of excitement for the last day of school.


In years past, the last day of school has been VERY EMOTIONAL for William.   He's a boy who loves with his whole heart.  He adores his friends, his family, his teachers, the postman, the grocery clerk,  you name it.  Whoever it is and whatever moment of life he's living, William is invested 100%.

This loving nature can make bittersweet moments very hard for him.  Usually on the last day of school, William is crying and terribly put out with the thought that he'll never see "these people" (friends and teachers) again.  It kills me to watch him grieve the happiest moments of his life.  But, it also reminds me of how children's emotions are so raw and vividly real.  They are not afraid to cry whether it's because they are freaking out with joy or distraught with anguish.  And so, I take it to heart and try my best to prepare us both for moments like these.

That said, I left the girls at home with Amanda while I went to get William at school.  I was fully prepared for tears and I knew I needed to be there for William without any distractions.  He deserves my full and undivided attention on occasions like these.  I arrived at school with a vase of flowers for each teacher and a handwritten note that William had thoughtfully attached to the bouquets.  I stood back and watched the class interact before I said hi to William.

The kids were all wearing tshirts with a class photo on the front and their signatures on the back.  William was SO SO SO happy.  He was interacting with his friends and laughing and carrying on.  He looked so cute in his big over sized shirt and ran right up to me so I could see it.  He was so proud.  I gave him the vases and he gave each one to his teachers.  Then the class took their seats on the rug and music started.

The kids all held hands and sang the good-bye song that they sang every single day at the end of class.  "I say bye to you, you say bye to me.  Now our time together is threw.  Let's not be sad, but let's be glad, cuz we had fun today."  Those tiny little voices.  Those fingers hand in hand.  Yep.  There wasn't a dry eye in the place.  It was like watching William graduate from 8th grade or something......there I was with all these flash forward visions of William and his buddies singing the Good-Bye song at 17 years old.

To my surprise, William didn't cry.  I was relieved.  I really thought he'd fall apart (like the last couple of years) when we left Holland Hall and headed home.  But he didn't.  He talked about inviting his teachers for lunch over the summer break and his voice was excited at the mystery of sitting at a real desk in first grade.  We talked about how first grade would be different than Kindergarten.  His spirits were up and his little face was pleased at his progress.

We came to a stoplight and I glanced in the rear view mirror for a second.  I caught a glimpse of my big kid.  That little boy who doesn't see the imperfections of the world.  He lives by imagination alone.  He can write full sentences, read books, multiply, divide and carry numbers.  He loves to watch shows about UFOs but ends up at the foot of my bed almost every night.  He constantly hums a tune, isn't interested in playing basketball and leaves thank you notes for the Tooth Fairy.  He teaches me a lesson every single day.  He doesn't listen to his parents worth a darn, loves his sisters beyond the moon, and makes himself throw up at the thought of shots.  He's still trying to tie his shoes and bargains for Ipad minutes. He's logged time in the corner but reaped the rewards of good behavior.

 He's every ingredient of perfect.

William, you make me proud every single minute of every single day.  It has been a privilege to be your mom.  I am humbled by your unyielding love for your family.  I will never ever know how to thank you for letting me be your mom and walk through the last 6 years with you.  You are my first baby, my sidekick, my buddy and my biggest blessing.

Look out world, HERE COMES FIRST GRADER WILLIAM BARRON!

William's Kindergarten Class Party

On Tuesday, May 22nd, William's Kindergarten class gathered together for their class party.  The theme was "Bubbles and Balloons."  The kids wore their swim clothes to school and the party started at 1:30pm.  I signed up to help, so I knew I would get to watch William and his friends enjoy all the activities.

The teachers set up different stations behind the primary school.  The kids divided up into their color groups (William is yellow) and the color groups rotated through the various play stations.  I was at station #3, the "Goop" station.  My job was to mix corn starch and water into a paste the kids could play with....or shall we say, pour on each other, paint on their bodies and basically make a big mess!  WHAT FUN!

Other stations included: bubbles, a bounce house with water slides, sprinklers, water in the sandbox, sno cones, and shaving cream fights.

William had the best time ever.  He couldn't stop talking about how much fun it was to run around on the school playground doing "non school" things!  He had a blast on the water slide bounce house and thought the shaving cream was hilarious.

The whole ride home he was very sad......He was starting to realize that Kindergarten was over and summer was upon us.  For a little guy with a big spirit, the thought of "never seeing his friends again for 3 months" was terrible.  I assured him we would stay busy and also have time for his friends to come over and play.  That seemed to perk him up and the next thing ya know, we were discussing the thrill of first grade!

Time marches on!

Anna Baby Baptism and Mother's Day

Sunday, May 12th was Mother's Day.  This holiday was made more special this year because it was also Anna's baptism.

Dan and I were so thrilled to baptize Anna when Bubba and Gram would be in Oklahoma City.  They have had the chance to watch both girls be christened in the beautiful gown that Gram gave them.  I love the gorgeous lace detailing and sweet pearls sewn into the hemline.  The dress leaves me speechless and I am so blessed to have a treasured heirloom from the girls' grandmother.  Thank you Gram!

Although a holiday, Mother's Day was the perfect day for Anna's baptism because all the family was in town.  We gathered at St. Luke's in the church for the 10:50 service with Dr. Long.  Dr. Long married Dan and me, and he also baptized William and Adeline.  It was only fitting to keep up tradition with our Anna baby!

Anna performed like a pro!  She was all smiles during the ceremony and she didn't mind a bit when Dr. Long held her up for the congregation.  Adeline and William stood at the front with us too.  William was very eager to watch and see what a baptism was all about.  Adeline spent most of the time hugging my neck and kissing my face.  She didn't really understand what we were doing, but at least she wasn't crying or fighting me for holding her!

Once our part was done, Dan and I walked out of the church.  We knew Adeline and Anna would not last the entire service so we took advantage and headed home so we could get lunch ready for Anna's party.

Everyone came over for fried chicken after church.  I love keeping it simple during stressful events because by 11am, I was pooped from getting my family up, dressed, and out the door on time for Anna's day.

 

I got a cake for dessert and asked the same lady who made Adeline's cake to repeat it for Anna!  She changed it up a little bit so the girl's don't feel like they had the exact same baptism events.  It was as pretty as the first time I saw it for Adeline.  I just love the white on white detailing and the cross on top.

Anna's party was "Jesus Loves Me."' I didn't go too themeish, but I ended up with a darling piece of personalized artwork that matched the colors in the invitation.  We used linens from past parties and I ordered Anna her own pink personalized napkins.  They come in handy for birthday parties down the road!  I put Anna in the same pink dress that Adeline wore for her baptism lunch.  I thought it would be fun to have the matching pictures to look back on when the girls are older.  I also plan on saving the little dress too.

Everyone had a really good time.  It was refreshing to see Bubba and Gram after they had been gone for 6 months.  Anna's great grandparents got to hold her and love on her - a precious moment I will never get back.

Anna, you are a blessing from God and our answered prayer.  I look at you in pure awe and wonder of everything perfect in life.  You are a gift and JESUS LOVES YOU THIS I KNOW!

Anna Elizabeth is 8 months old!

 

 

Miss Anna Elizabeth, you are 8 months old! How can that be?!  8 months old sounds so grown up for my sweet Anna baby!

You wear a size 5 diaper and size 9-12m clothing.  I am guessing you weigh 18-19 pounds.  Your eyes are a pretty blue color and earn you loads of compliments from passing strangers.  Your hair is starting to sprout, but it is still very, very short.  So far, it looks like it is coming in blonde with some red undertones.  I can't want to see the end results!

Anna, you have yet to meet a food you don't like.  You gobble up all the baby food flavors I serve you.  I usually stick you in the high chair with a toy while I make your meal.  Most of the time, you get really loud and start screaming as if you are starving and have not tasted food in days.  I am use to it and roll with the loud screams, but Dada and other people sure have a hard time hearing you holler.  You sound so pathetic and know exactly how to win your Dada's heart!  He usually snaps you up out of the chair until I am absolutely ready to sit down and serve you.  Once you start eating, you move your hands around all over the place as if you are doing a happy dance to finally be eating! You moan and talk and simply enjoy your feast.  Most feedings consist of 2 baby food cartons.  You also love to be at the table during dinner time.  This is the one meal you get to eat with the entire family.  I think you enjoy the bird's eye view from your highchair and most evenings you will kick and scream and wave your hands while we all eat.

You still drink 6 ounce bottles.  I try to start your day with food and alternate food and milk after that.  You have not kicked the night bottle completely, but most evenings you will only take 4 ounces before you are ready to sleep.  I think this is because I give you baby food or cereal about 30 minutes before bedtime.

You sleep from 7:30pm until 5:00 am when you start to stir.  Dada usually gets you and tucks you in bed with us.  He gives you 4 ounces of milk which you drink and then you fall back asleep until 6:30am.  *UPDATE:  If I put you on your tummy around 5am, you sleep until 7:30am without a bottle!

8 months old has brought major milestones - YOU CRAWL!  Oh Anna baby, you have been wanting to crawl FOREVER.  You lay on your tummy and get so mad when you cannot get to where you want to be.  It's hard to watch and I will admit, it is kinda annoying because I have to sit you up every single time to appease you.  However, the last few weeks when this has happened, you have not screamed and cried.  Instead, you worked really hard at pushing your tummy up off the floor and looking around for your plan of attack.  I saw you scoot backwards a few times and then you figured out how to raise yourself into a seated position.

  Once you learned to pull yourself up from being on your tummy, you were a new woman.  At this point, you were ready to conquer the crawl.  For a few days, you would rock back and forth on all fours.  Now you tuck one leg under and leave the other leg straight out beside you.  Then you kinda push yourself across the room using the leg tucked under you.  It's kinda funny to watch but it gets the job done!  Now, you don't move super fast or crawl at full speed across the room.  But, you are well on your way because you are definitely mobile.  Adeline better look out when she sees you crawling towards her "pah-hee" or making a run for her dolls!  YIKES!

Aside from crawling, your exploration skills are booming.  You love, love, love to play with toys.  You study toys for the longest time, you like to shake toys, grab toys, eat toys, talk to the toys, listen to music, and it is so fun to watch.  I love seeing your face light up when you discover something new.  It's just the best!

 

 

I also love to watch your face when you hear William and Adeline.  Your eyes get HUGE and your head will not stay still.  You look and look until you can find them.  Oh my goodness, the bond leaves me speechless. You laugh the deepest belly laugh and smile from ear to ear whenever you are with your brother and sister.  They adore you.  Adeline is really into hugging you and getting you a pacifier. She asks to hold you too.  William is so proud of you.  He likes to teach you new things and sing songs right in your face.  It's funny and you laugh so hard!

You love to play with your toes and give us kisses with your mouth.  The kisses are one of my favorite things about you.  You are so lovable and just open your mouth against our cheeks all the time.  You bury your head in my chest to give me huge hugs.  When you are tired or over programmed, I can scoop you up into my arms and hold you tight against my chest.  You immediately calm down and hold my fingers.  I love it.

The days go so quickly.  I know you've heard me say that before, but it is so true.  I don't expect you to really understand the depth of fleeting time, and I get anxious just typing about it.  8 months.  It came and went so fast.  Our days are BUSY.  We are always on the go and you are such a trooper.  Any moment I can hold you, I don't let go.  Any moment I can study your face and watch you sleep, I do.  Any belly laugh I can tickle or any morning I can snuggle with you, I do.  I love to watch you.

You are the delight of my heart.  Your little body completes my life in so many ways.  I am in awe of you my Anna Baby.  Thank you for letting me be your mom.  You are my richest treasure.