Kinder Awards

Amazingly, I managed to get through the entire Kinder awards ceremony without crying. Believe me, it was tough. I nearly had a nervous breakdown when Pook turned five, and I suspect that when I pick her up from her last day of Kinder next Wednesday, I may have to take a few minutes to get it together. These pictures aren't very good, but still worth sharing!

Bitty, The Violent

Last night I had a big knot of tension between my shoulder blades and Tracy was rubbing my back while we layed in bed. Bitty was next to me, almost asleep. He said, "Momma, whassa matter wif your back?" And when I told him that it just hurt, he said, oh so sleepily, "Mayge you got gun shoot...maybe you got hurt wif a sword...maybe a bad man got you...maybe you got cut wif a sword..." and then he was out, no doubt kicking somebody's ass in his dreams.

Memorial Day 2008

I am so thankful for this holiday. Not because I necessarily get excited about memorializing fallen heroes, although I do think there is value in it, but because by the time the end of May rolls around, I desperately need a long weekend and don't usually have any vacation time to spare! We had a fairly quiet weekend. We did go to the splash park on Sunday, but it was too hot and too crowded, so we left after about 20 minutes and headed to the snowcone stand instead!

One of my favorite weekend rituals is drinking coffee on the deck in the morning. This morning, I treated the girls and let them indulge, too. They are so grown up!

One of Bitty's favorite birthday "plesents" is the dalmatian that Gramma and Grampa got him. ("Bitty, what is this?" "It's a dalmashy dog." "What's it's name?" "Dalmashy Dog (duh)!") As it turns out, he is not the only one who loves Dalmashy Dog!

Here is a great picture of Pookie, relaxing with Eva. Just before I took this, Pook was hugging her and I thought I had missed the picture. It turned out even better than I was hoping!

Happy Birthday, Bitty!

Today Bitty is three years old. It's hard to believe we've gone from this

to this in just three short years!

Now that everyone's birthday has passed, we can compare heights. Bitty is six months ahead of Beanie and one year ahead of Pookie in height. Wow!

If I had known how much harder it is to keep track of three kids instead of two, I might have reconsidered on having a third one...three babies in four years was a little tough! But Bitty is such a joy to have around. He has characteristics of both his sisters and plays well with either or both of them. He is usually happy and is always ready to give hugs and kisses. He loves to cuddle, but is also just as likely to smack you with a foam sword or dare you to chase him. He loves spiderman and his stuffed frog, he loves his train, he loves mud, he loves it when Daddy tickles him, and he loves weapons. We love him!

Kid-isms

Yesterday morning when I woke Beanie up, the first words out of her mouth were, "Where am I?" This was quickly followed by "I'm hungry!"

Lately we've been having a problem with Pookie being grumpy when I pick her up at the end of the day. When she stays at school in the afternoon, she plays outside and is overtired. Yesterday, I had a talk with her about being polite and thoughtful and greeting her siblings nicely. I made her go through the process ("It's nice to see you! How was your day?"), crying, with her sister, and then she promptly fell asleep. A few minutes later, Bitty said to me, "How was your day Momma? I am so glad to see you!" I said my day was good and that I was glad to see him also, and asked how his day was. He said, "It was great! We played outside and Hunter frowed a rock at me and then he got sand in my eye! I will not be his fwiend. I love you Momma!"

Track and Field Day

Yesterday was Pookie's Track and Field Day. Tracy and I went along to help with some of the activities (we were assigned to the sack race) and mostly to hang out with the Pook. It was incredibly hot, of course, but everyone had a great time. Pook was so much fun to watch! While waiting for her turn at any one of the events, she was just off in dream land. Tracy ran the 4 minute run with her and when they blew the whistle to start them off, I had to tell her to get up and go! She was sitting down, busily collecting acorns in the shade. I think her favorite parts of the day were the egg race, running with Daddy, and having snacks!

Beanie's Holiday

Beanie had a great time visiting Gramma, Grampa, Uncle Brian and Aunt Cheryl in Oklahoma. She was very excited about having taken a picture with "the big rat, but he was a very nice rat. He was very quiet and he did not bite me!" at Chuck E. Cheese.

Learning from a pro!

Beanie also really enjoyed the Lorikeet exhibit at "Aunt Cheryl and Uncle Brian's zoo."

Here is a funny story about their zoo visit from Aunt Cheryl. "The picture of me and her in the circle thing...we were looking at the otters. We sat there for a little bit looking at the otters and I was having a hard time getting out of the hole and Bean was trying to help me up and I told her that I was too big and fat for her to help me. She looked at a complete stranger and said my Aunt Cheryl isnt fat she is pregnant. I thought it was cute and I got all embarassed because the guy was laughing!"

She also talked and talked about working in the garden and hanging out with Gramma and Grampa. They went to the park and visited the cow and had a great time. They got back to Austin Friday night. I heard a little voice at the door saying, "Momma? Momma!" When I opened the door, Beanie just exploded off the porch and jumped into my arms! I'm not sure which of us missed the other more, but I sure am glad to have her back!

Little Girl Lost

Oh where, oh where has my Sena-Bean gone, oh where, oh where can she be?
With her nails cut short and her hair cut long, oh where, oh where can she be?

This is Beanie's week to stay in Oklahoma and I miss her so much! Bitty is very much an even combination of the two girls, and tends to mimic the behavior of whichever one he is with. So, with only him and Pookie at home this week, things have been...sort of calm and quiet! It's not just us; Beanie is the life of the party at her school, too. Every day when I drop Bitty off, the other kids want to know when she is coming back! {sigh} Two more days!

Congrats, Aunt Kim!

This weekend, we went to Oklahoma for Aunt Kim's college graduation. Yea! The event was quite an adventure. The ceremony itself was very nice, but the traffic control was...lacking. On the long tromp from the car to the stadium, first Bitty stepped in red ants, and then Beanie splashed right into an overflowing manhole, of the sewer variety! We were walking along (along a very busy street, holding hands like ducks in a row) when I heard someone wail. When I turned around, she was standing there, one sandal, foot and ankle and the back of her dress all covered in thick, dark brown goop. Yuck! Fortunately, the bathrooms in the concession buildings were open, so we were able to scrub her with soap and water and salvage both shoe and dress (and foot)! I suspect this may not have been the highlight of Aunt Kim's evening, but it was the most memorable part for Beanie!

On Saturday we stayed at Gramma's and Grampa's. Aunt Kim, Uncle Brian and Aunt Cheryl came over, Gramma made a birthday cake for the three nogs, and we cooked out and played in the yard. On Sunday, Grampa took us out to lunch before we left to come home. We had a great visit and it was a super Mother's Day weekend!

Beanie's Cake

One of the fun things about having three birthdays that are close, but not too close, is getting to eat birthday cake three times! Beanie chose a chocolate, heart-shaped cake with chocolate and pink frosting. Mommy made this one; not quite as fancy as Princess Jackie's! It was very yummy, though, and Beanie enjoyed it.

Happy Birthday Beanie!

Bean, "Birthday Fancy"

Today, Beanie is five years old! After Pook's solo visit to Gramma's and Grampa's over Christmas, Gramma told Beanie that when she turned five, she could come and stay by herself for "five whole days." Last night when I picked her up from preschool on Beanie Eve, she told her teacher that she was going home to pack for her trip! She was a little disappointed to learn that the trip doesn't start for another week.



In some ways, Beanie is a classic middle child and she definitely challenges us to be better parents. Her existence was the biggest surprise of my life and she keeps me guessing every day. She is very smart, passionate and fiery, with a lovely singsong voice and a contagious giggle. Life will always be an exciting adventure for her and we are so thankful that she is part of our own adventure!