Wordless Wednesday: Splish Splash

Celebrating the Red, White, and Blue

The 4th of July was always my favorite holiday growing up.

It was usually spent at the lake soaking up as much sunshine as possible.

Our lake house was definitely my favorite place throughout childhood.

The week of the 4th was basically a week long celebration with the whole family.

Mattresses and couch cushions spanned the entire upstairs floor so all of us cousins

had a place to sleep.  Lunch time was spent eating sandwiches and chips as quickly and as quietly

as we could.  We ate quickly so we could get back down to the dock as soon as possible.  

That was our choice, but we ate quietly so my Grandpa could hear his soap operas.

That wasn't really our choice, but he never missed a day of his beloved shows

and it wouldn't have been the same without them on in the background.

Who would have thought that years later I would find myself watching one of the same

soap operas?  Silly, special, or maybe a little bit of both?

Being at the lake house also meant countless games of dominies played in the sunroom

with a certain cousin peeking under the glass table before picking his next domino.

Quieter games of 31 were also a good source of entertainment during the evenings

or on a rainy day.  Boat rides usually involved arguments over who was going to sit in the tip

and who was going to have to be stuck in the back with the adults.  None of us cousins

ever seemed to get enough turns on the wave runner and the railings of the dock

were always lined with towels, ski belts, and life jackets.  Many paddle boat rides were taken 

so we could sneak off and jump in the water without our life jackets on.  Yes, parents,

aunts and uncles, this happened on a regular basis.  Weren't we clever? 

Going to eat Mickey Mouse pancakes or to Shooters was a special treat, while trips

to Buck Creek (or Butt Crack as we called it) were a regular occurrence.

Adventures on the golf cart were just that, adventures.  If Grandma, Grandpa, 

or Uncle Jeff would have known how many times we got that thing stuck 

we would have been in so much trouble.  Tubing was loved by far more than skiing was.

The tube was often tied to the dock so we could wrestle in it and try to knock each other out

while singing "teeter totter, pee in the water."  Toads, lightning bugs, and sunfish

were caught and released.  Bigger fish were caught by Nick and Justin.

If not as many people were down for the weekend and a few of the kids were lucky

enough to get a room, we always wanted the duck room.  There were several attempted swims

across the cove or efforts to keep up with Aunt Jenni on her laps.  Pee island was our exit

from the Main Channel and the sign that our boat ride was coming to an end, 

which was sometimes a relief when it was the slow kind of boat ride when it seemed 

like all we did was look at houses.  My aunt spent ungodly amounts of money on fireworks

and my Grandpa made sure us kids picked up every last piece of trash off the boat ramp.

That was my childhood 4th of Julys and this is a glimpse of what 

4th of July looks like now that I'm an adult with a family of my own.

She can't go anywhere without doing the Hotdog Dance.

These pictures do not truly capture Emma's excitement over the fireworks,

but I will always remember her pure joy.  She absolutely loved the big splashes of color in the sky.

Every time the sky lit up with the magic of fireworks she clapped her hands and asked for more.

Her smile and happiness will forever be one of my favorite 4th of July memories.

As the pictures show, Jude didn't exactly share his big sissy's excitement.

He was less than impressed with the loud booms, but I think this mostly had to do with

the fact that he was really sleepy instead of the actual fireworks themselves.

I'm hoping he will find the joy in them next year.

I hope I am able to make the 4th of July as special for my kids as it was for me.

I want them to enjoy the family time, but also recognize and appreciate the true meaning

behind the holiday.  Here's to the first year of making that dream a reality.

Longing Eyes

Little J,

I think you and I would both really like it if you just took off crawling today.

It seems as if you are starting to get frustrated that you are not cruising 

right along side your sister yet.  You have started watching her like a hawk

with what appear to be longing eyes.  Longing to be running wild with your Sissy

and into your Momma's open arms for a big hug and squeeze.

But don't worry little boy, you will get there one day very soon and then

you will have plenty of time for adventures with all three of your big sisters.  

The memories the four of you will create together will be so special.

Turning Insignificance into Treasure

What's the best thing to do with a random piece of wood you have laying around the house?  

Give your toddler some paint and some brushes and let her have at it.

That's what went on in our house Saturday morning and it was so much fun.

Emma is getting more intentional with her painting and coloring

and I am absolutely loving all of her creations.  

I haven't figured out what I'm going to do with this masterpiece yet,

but it is definitely going to be displayed some how.  I absolutely love it.  It is beautiful. 

I love it when something so insignificant turns into such an incredible treasure.

Ways to Tame my Wild Thing

My Emma Claire is a wild girl full of energy.
She is always bouncing all over the house and running from room to room.
She fills every inch of our house with laughter, screeches, and the pitter patter of her little feet.
I embrace her free spirit and encourage her love to play, but there are times when
I need her to be a little calmer, a little less crazy, and a little more focused on one particular thing
so I can get a couple of chores done around the house or cook dinner.
I include her in my chores as much as possible, but there are some things that just aren't
compatible with my Wild Thing.  Now that she is tall enough to reach the countertops I don't
like her to be in the kitchen while I'm cooking as much.  Knives and a hot stove
are easily within her reach now so I often set her up with some sort of activity that I know
will keep her entertained for an extended period of time.  This usually gives me
just enough time to complete whatever task I am trying to tackle.


Here are three things I've been using lately that Emma seems to really enjoy...

A bucket full of dry beans, spoons, scoops, and cups.
She loves scooping and pouring the beans from one cup to the next.
Another one of her favorite things to do with the beans is to bury one of her
little Minnie Mouse figures under the beans.  I always hear her saying
"Where'd Minnie go?" and then I hear the sound of the beans being moved around
followed by her little squeaky voice saying "There she is!"

And for some reason, she always ends up standing in the bucket.  

I think she likes the way it feels under her feet.

Another activity I have been using lately simply involves a colander and a bunch of pipe cleaners.
I give her everything and then let her loose with it.  She twists and folds the pipe cleaners,
sticks them in the colander, and pulls them out.  Sometimes she puts both ends of one pipe cleaner
into two different holes and sometimes she only puts one end in leaving the other one
sticking out any which direction.  Sometimes she sticks two different pipe cleaners into one hole.
Sometimes she pulls each pipe cleaner out one by one and sometimes she flips the bowl over
and shakes them all out.  Whatever she does she has a good time with it and that's all that matters. 

Another way I keep my wild girl occupied is with a couple of bowls, 

some spoons, and several ice cubes.  Emma absolutely loves this.

The first time I gave her these things she kept running over to me every few minutes

and saying "Brrrrr, cold."  It was so cute and I couldn't help but laugh at her

every single time.  She likes to shake the ice cubes around in the bowl

and hear the sound of them circling around it or clanking into each other.

She likes to pour the ice from one bowl to the other and she likes to try to scoop

the cubes up with a spoon, but that is a little more difficult for her.

Another thing she did the first time I set her up with this activity was bring 

the bowl over to me after she had been playing for awhile with a very confused look on her face.

She held the bowl out to me and said "water bowl Momma."  She was so perplexed

and I thought it was the cutest thing in the world.

Providing Emma with these kinds of activities 

gives her the opportunity to tinker with things and discover all the

different ways she can use them and play with them.  

I love seeing her engrossed in and learning from these type of activities

Wordless Wednesday: I Want them to Always be Best Friends

Jude Scott: 6 Months

My Sweet Little J Bird,

I'm still not used to the fact that you, my baby boy, are half a year old.
I've had a week and a half to get used to the idea, but it's still unbelievable to me.
I find myself wondering where the time has gone since I first held you in my arms
and I realize that it has been nestled up during middle of the night feedings, it has been
shrieking with laughter during countless tickle sessions, it has been gobbled up with the taste of
your tiny baby feet, it has been splashed upon with great joy during bath time, and it has
steadily moved forward with every turn of the page during bedtime stories.
Six months full of these wonderful moments that I cherish and love have come and gone,
and although it makes me a little sad to watch your days as a baby soar past me,
I know these memories will last forever in my heart.  They will rest easy
knowing that you are a happy, healthy, and sweet boy and because
I find a new reason to love you even more every single day.

Jude Scott, you amaze me and truly capture my heart on a daily basis.
You are such an affectionate little boy and I love every hug and squeeze
you share with me.  I love laying next to you and talking to you because you always
wiggle and twist your way right up against me and bury your head in my chest.
Although you are mobile now thanks to your crazy rolling, scooting, and spinning you
still love to be cuddled just as much as you did as a newborn and that makes me
happier than you will ever know.  Even if they only last a few seconds at a time,
our special snuggles bring me the greatest joy.  There is nothing else like them in the world.

You have grown and developed a lot this past month.  You finally decided
that it's okay to consistently roll from your tummy to your back so now you move yourself
from one end of the room to the other.  If I put you down on a blanket to play you are off of it
within a few minutes.  I don't know why I even still bother with the blankets.
You can sit up by yourself and you are starting to intentionally get yourself out of
the sitting position by leaning forward and then kicking your legs out behind you instead of
just falling over to one side or the other.  You get up on your hands and knees and rock
all the time.  You are trying so hard to crawl and as a result of this you have taken your first
face plant into the floor.  You are able to get your knees moving, but your arms are still holding
you back from being a completely mobile little man, but I don't think that will be the case
for much longer.  You get stronger every day.  You are also so close to waving hi.
When I wave to you you raise up and open your hand.  You don't quite have
the motion down yet, but I think you are just days away from getting there.

I have loved every single moment of these past six months Little J,
even the ones that have occurred when you awaken me from my sleep in the middle of the night.
I absolutely love taking care of you.  It is my most important responsibility and my
most rewarding job.  Thank you for your sweet smiles and your gentle hugs.
They make my job as your Momma so easy.  I love you Little Man.

My big boy wants to be crawling so bad.

I call these last two "Trying to go Home."

Six Month Photo Comparison