Great Grandparents

My grandmother, "Meme," has a brother named John who is married Lou and they live in Virginia!  John is 93 years old and my Meme and Mac came for their annual visit to see him.  My grandparents, Mac and Meme, are in their 90s too.  Yes, at their age they braved the airport with luggage in towe and boarded the 3 hour flight to see all of us.  Never mind that a week earlier Mac and Meme road a bus to Branson, MO to see a play with a group of friends.  Did I mention they are really 90 and 92 years old?  





I pray every single day that God will bless me with the same good fortune my grandparents have been given.  They have seen their children grow up and marry, they have watched 5 grandchildren grow up and marry, and they have held 6 great grandbabies in their arms.  They've witnessed countless milestones in our world from the dust bowl days to the Iphone.  I am incredibly thankful for their health and their endless love for family.  






Like I said, this trip was to allow Meme and John another sweet visit with each other.  However, it was also the first time Mac and Meme got to meet Miss Adeline (baby number 6 on the great grandkid list).  I was so excited for them to hold Adeline and have time to play with her, talk with her and study her every move.  I remember the second I handed Adeline to Mac.  I don't think I was half way out of the car before he had his hands on her.  And, I remember telling myself to NEVER forget THIS MOMENT.  My grandpa, age 92, carrying Adeline into the house to meet my Meme, her great grandmother.  How often does anyone get this chance?








We had more fun taking loads of pictures and telling Mac, Meme, John and Lou a bunch of "Adeline stories."  William was right in the thick of things too.  He spent a lot of time telling them about airplanes and drew John a few pictures of intricate airport runways.  He took Lou outdoors to build an ant farm and Mac presented him with a cool glide that you fired off from a gun.

 
We stayed 3 hours and had a ball.  A few times I caught myself just staring at the scene.  4 adults 90+ years old who were playing and carrying on with my 4.5 year old and my 3 month old.  It was THAT MOMENT which reminded me how precious life is and how thankful I am for time.  

"WHHHOOO WANTS LEEEMMMONNNADEEE??!!"

This was a FOREVER MOMENT. 


Of all the times when a kid can be a kid and embrace the very essence of childhood, THIS was THAT MOMENT and I will never forget it.  

I have always said that there are definite phases in my childrens' lives that I never want to forget (the pilot costume, red sneakers, airplanes, discovering the outdoors, playing in the sprinkler, the imagination, etc.) .  

They are the moments that soak up every ounce of what being a child means.  They are the moments that take me back (if even for a split second) to being a kid and LOVING the very same activity that my kids are enjoying today.  They are moments permanently stamped into my heart when I have seen my child truly experience the joyful innocence and excitement of childhood.  This time was no exception.

I could almost taste the bittersweet feeling.......


it tasted something like LEMONADE.

The last few days William has been talking to me about having a lemonade stand.  He must have heard about lemonade stands from his friends, and he has asked me repeatedly to get the supplies so we could make one ourselves.  He understood the basic concept of a lemonade stand, but every night he would ask me to talk about what happens when you set up your stand and all the pieces that you need to make it work.  Then before I was out the door with "night night!," he's ask me how many more days until his very own lemonade stand.

Today was the day.  I picked Willam up from summer camp and showed him all the supplies that I gathered for the lemonade stand.  I explained that we'd have to wait until 5:30 p.m. to start our stand because that is when the cars start rolling in and we wanted tons of people to see him.   He was SO patient and anxiously waited all afternoon!  We decided to set up our stand at 5:00 p.m. because the anticipation was just too much for my ol' 4.5 year old.

Have you ever seen a more proud salesman?  He was SOOOO excited and the second we got down to the parking lot, he started shouting, "WHHHHOOOOOO wants LEEEMOOONADE!?? COME AND GET IT!"  I did everything I could to not bust out laughing.  But, by golly the people came and William took his job VERY seriously.

In the first 5 minutes, William made $2.50 and about 15 minutes into the event, we were half way out of lemonade!  I quickly added some water to the pitcher in order to let the show go on and give William a lot more time to sell his goods. 

He was holding court in the Windgate parking lot and LOVING EVERY SECOND.  This was one of his happiest days!  I also love this picture because it shows how seriously he took his job as Lemonade Stand leader.  He was SO proud when people would give him a dollar and he'd say, "excuse me, but you need change or is this whole dollar for me to keep?"  and he'd direct everyone over to his "trash area" where they could put their cups when they were done.   

William almost jumped out of his skin when the UPS man stopped and bought 2 glasses of lemonade from him AND tipped him a dollar.  This was definately the highlight of the whole adventure.  William even told me that next time he's gonna have a stand and invite the mailman to come buy lemonade.

Even his buddy Campbell stopped by for a refreshing beverage.  Thanks for coming Campbell!

It was also SO HOT outside.  Adeline was a trooper and drank her bottle while sweating bullets with her mom.  After about one hour, we were out of lemonade (thank goodness. did I mention it was HOT!) and William was very satisfied to wrap up his first lemonade stand. 

I estimate his profits to be around $6.50.  Not bad for this little boy's first day on the job!

Sweet Adeline is 3 months old

 I started taking Adeline's picture with her 3 month old sign when William said to me, "Mom Mom, she's having her picture taken and she is not dressed up in her beautiful dress."

 So, we had a quick costume change and William selected her yellow dress with smocked tulips.

Then later today, Adeline was feeling quick smiley, so we tried again.  Notice the sign is slightly crumpled and she's in her third outfit of the day.  A girl's gotta dress up as much as can!

Another month has come and gone!  My sweet Adeline is now 3 months old.  The last month has been full of growth for the little lady.  

Adeline, your smiles have gotten bigger and more frequent.  You LOVE to talk to me first thing in the morning and throughout the day.  There are times during the day that you get upset, but you are not hungry or sleepy.  You just need me to hold you in your signature cradle hold (head in the nook of my left arm and your body hanging over my chest), like you are saying to me, "hey, I need some lovin' and some attention!."  You will stare up at me and just smile away, talk to me, and hold onto the collar of my shirt.  This is also how you love to fall asleep for naps.  I don't mind a bit.  I will stop what I am doing and just sit on the couch so I can soak up these fleeting moments with you.  I cherish every second I get to hold you because I know that soon enough, you just won't be small enough to fit in my arms like this. 

Although I have not officially weighed you in awhile, I venture to guess that you are around 14 lbs or so. You wear size 3-6 clothing, but some size 6m depending on the brand.  Your hair is still pretty thick and can hold a bow, but it is thinning out in places where your head lays flat in the bed.  Your eyes are still blue (YIPPEE!) and Dada has taught you to hold his hands and stand up on your feet.  You LOVE this and make a lot of noise and smile a bunch when you perform this trick. 

You wear a size 2 diaper and drink about 4-5.5 ounces of formula per feeding.  Depending on the amount, you eat every 3-4 hours or so.   You LOVE your playmat and spend up to 30 minutes talking to the toys and batting around.  This activity wears you slick and when you are done, you go right to sleep!  You are also learning to ride in the swing and seem to enjoy that too.

You are also a good sleeper at night.  Your current routine is to go down around 7pm for the night.  Sometimes you sleep until 2am, but other times you might wake up around 10pm for a bottle.  Your night time feeding hinges on the last bottle before midnight, but more often than not, you wake up to eat around 4:45am.  So, you are giving me about 6+ hours of sleep a night (WAY TO GO!). 

William still adores you more than you will ever know.  He calls you "my baby" and "best friend ever."  He always wants to know where you are and if you are doing ok.  He is first to find you in the mornings and his affection for you makes my heart sing.  I know he will be your shield and always stand up for you.  You are so lucky to have a big brother like William!

 

You also took your first plane trip and did great.  You slept almost the entire flight and loved riding in the body carrier.  

I can't wait to see what milestones you hit as we watch you grow into 4 months old!

Just Talkin' WBB 4.5 years old

William pulls up a chair next to me at the table. It's 8:00 a.m.  "So Mom Mom, how is your day going?"

Me:  "So far so good William.  Thanks.  How about your day? How is it going?"

William:  "Well, not so great.  I am only 4 years old.  It's a long time before I get to be a control tower operator."
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Me:  "William, which grocery store should we go too?"
William: "Let's go to a far away grocery store so I can have a long time to visit with Adeline in the car."
Me:  "Ok, no problem.  What is on your list this time?"
William:  "I need the things that I like to eat for snacks.  My list is graham crackers, red grapes this time and not the green ones, gold fish, waffles, milk, green jello and.........hmmmm.  Well Mom Mom, I am not going to say it twice, but we are NOT getting any gummy snacks.  We are not."

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William:  "Mom Mom, what is something that you do in JK and not in preschool?"
Me: "Well, I bet kids in JK don't need their bed rail on the side of their bed. They might be brave enough not to fall out."
William:  "Ok Mom Mom.  Let's do it.  Take it off."
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Dada:  "William, sing Adeline a song."
William: "Adddellinnne, you are the sweetest Addddellline on earf.  You are my besssst frrriend and Addddeline you are growing so big and a girrrllllll.  You are my beeeest friend, Adddellline."

Next stop, the Olympics

William has been taking gymnastics since January.  He LOVES it.  He looks forward to going to class every week and he always asks me what I think the obstacle course will look like (they change it up every week).  Not only has the class been fun for him, but I also think it has given him confidence and strength training skills.  

There are about 8 kids in his class and over 45 minutes they rotate to various gymnastics stations - the pitt, the bars, the obstacle course, the trampoline and the tarzan swing. 

 he's on the bars in the blue shirt

I never bring my camera to class because I am lugging the infant carrier and my diaper bag.  So, I don't have that many picture on my Iphone.  I must have erased some.  Bummer.  But at least you can see a few.

One thing I have noticed about William while watching his class is how detailed he is and how determined he is to do something right the first time.  For example, the obstacle course is LONG and the teacher shows the kids what to do at every station.  William will do the entire obstacle course without a hitch, but if he forgets what he's suppose to do, he'll shout, "excuse me! (to the teacher) what do I do here?"  or "excuse me, how do I do this?" and he WILL NOT move until he gets it right.  Most kids just skip on over whatever the task is that they forgot and just keep moving, but not my boy.  I am glad he stops and thinks about everything.  That's his detail minded personality and his desire to do the task correctly....reminds me someone I know.....

Today was the last class and thus, the medal ceremony.  Each kiddo stood on the blue mat and did their best "ta-da" pose after receiving their ribbons.  William's class got "best all around" of the age groups.  Well done WBB!

A shot of Junior Kindergarten

 Good ol' WBB was due for his 4 year old check up at the doctor.  I tried to get him in around his birthday, but they were full and with Adeline arriving in March, it was all we could do to get there in June!  I heard through the grapevine that the 4 year check up is brutal because kids get 4 shots.  I was shocked, but I also get the fact that it's mandatory per the state of Virginia before children enter Kindergarten.  Many doctors are moving the requirement back a year so all kids are fully vaccinated by the age of 4.

Well, since William is just going to Junior Kindergarten and I am a mom who strongly believes in spacing out shots, I called ahead and asked the nurse exactly how many shots were "required" for TODAY.  The nurse told me he could get just ONE shot today and that honestly, he doesn't have to have any of them until he's 5.

Then I had to explain the situation to William.  I am big on warning him about what is to come and walking him through stuff before it actually happens.   I told him that he was going for his check up and he would probably get one shot today.  His eyes got pretty big and he told me he just didn't want to go in for the shot (in a very pathetic and on the brink of tears voice).  I explained to him that he needs these shots in order to back to school and that all of his friends have to go for the same shots so that they can go to Junior Kindergarten too.  To my surprise, he stepped up to the plate.

Then we got there.  All was well for the initial check up.  The boy rang in at 42 inches tall and 41 pounds.  His vision and hearing are perfect.  His vocabulary is advanced.  Well done WBB!  We enjoyed our high for about 20 minutes and then the nurse came in with the shot.

William lost it.  He freaked out and started kicking around and I had to pin him down on the table so the nurse could do her job.  Dan asked me if he was laying on the table when he got the shot and I basically told him that William was wrapped around my body and over my back with his eyes glued shut while he thrashed around.  Yet he never cried.

The shot was over in a millisecond.  William stopped dead in his tracks of thrashing around and bluntly said to the nurse and me, "well, that was easy."  I asked him if he'd go for one more (heck, we were in the moment!) and he told me I was crazy.

He was also  quick to point out that Adeline cried when she got her shots and he did not which meant he was more brave.  I rolled my eyes and thought, "yea right thrasher."

After a reward of Junior Mints, the kid was all smiles.

Here's to next time!

Dallas with Hollis and Boys Weekend

 On May 2nd, my cousin, Meredith, had a baby girl, Hollis Ranell Wrighton. I desperately wanted to meet little Hollis, so Adeline and I flew to Dallas last Thursday for a long weekend.  My parents, along with my brother, his wife and my sister, all joined in on the weekend extravaganza and drove the 3 hours to Dallas to meet up with us.  What a fun reunion!

This was Adeline's very first airplane trip and as you can imagine, her big brother was jumping out of his skin on her behalf.  "Mom Mom, call me when you are walking down the Jetway to get on the plane.  Is Adeline SOOOOOOO excited or what?"  William LOVES for me to recount the story of his very first plane trip and the special certificate he received from the pilots who flew him to OKC; therefore, he probably asked me a million times to make sure that she received her "First Flight" certificate upon landing in Dallas.   And for the record, she was P.E.R.F.E.C.T. on the flight.  She slept 2 hours and then she took a bottle and played for the rest of the flight.  I am SO thankful that I have kids who love to fly!

Ok, so we landed in Dallas on Thursday around noon and Pops and Bebe were there to pick us up.  We headed straight to lunch where we met up with Meredith and got our first glimpse of sweet baby Hollis!  She's a DOLL.  Seriously, she looks like a doll.  Meredith said she weighs 7 lbs 13 oz which is what Adeline was at birth.  It was a real hoot sizing them up against each other!  Hollis is so dainty and has such delicate, pretty little features.  You'd never guess such a loud voice could come out of such a tiny little girl.  I could just stare at her all day!

We got to go back to Meredith's house and see Hollis' adorable nursery.  We let the babies kick around and then we had some fun with a photo shoot in the living room.  It was hilarious to watch the girls sit on the couch and look at each other....well, Adeline spent a lot of time staring at Hollis and Hollis spent most of the time sleeping.  I am sure we'll treasure these pictures for years to come!  It is SO FUN to have baby girls just 7 weeks apart! LOVE the timing!

Our family troop spent the rest of the weekend knocking around Northpark, Snider Plaza and stuffing our faces with super tasty food!

While I was having a grand ol' time in Dallas, William and Dan were back in D.C. having "Boys Weekend 2011."  And man did they party hard.  I don't think my boys ever stopped moving!  William had the time of his life (despite me leaving town the morning of his 103 degree fever) and called me a few times to report on their adventures.  Here's a list of what they tackled in the 3 days I was gone.

• school
• spray park
• IMAXX movie downtown
• Air and Space museum
• jazz fest in the botanical gardens downtown
• Mexican food
• Chinese food
• jake's party in the park
• an afternoon of swimming with the Lungrens
• swim lessons
• doctor's appointment
• flew airplanes
• hung out around the fountains at Shirlington

 

I returned late Saturday night and my boys were so happy to see me....well, maybe Adeline stole the show.  William couldn't stop patting her.  He really missed her!  And then he told me this -

William: "Mom Mom, I missed you so much more than infinity."

Me:  "Oh William.  I missed you more than infinity google."

William: "Oh May May, infinity google is not a number!  You know what?  You are my best girl ever.  Do you know why?  It's because you have beautiful hair and you love me and you always tell me the best things." 

Me: (just smiling and hoping that I never forget this sweet, innocent conversation)

and then he says to me -

William: "So Mom Mom, can we do boys weekend again?  Can you please go away for a long time?"