Where is Pook?

Since Pook's school was closed for several days over Christmas, she went for a visit to Gramma and Grampa all by herself for the first time. While she was gone, we took Beanie and Bitty to Pease Park one day to play. They enjoyed the playgrounds, but had more fun walking up and down the trail and creek bed, where we discovered a mermaid, snowbirding in Austin!

Merry Christmas!

At our house, Santa only brings one gift and one sweet to each child. This year the kids wanted a princess castle (Pook), a penguin snowglobe (Bean) and a train (Bit). Amazingly, and by the skin of his teeth, Santa managed to deliver each of these items along with a candy sugar maple leaf in each stocking. Beanie and Bitty were thrilled with their gifts, but Pook, whose wrapped box was biggest, seemed disappointed. I finally asked her what was wrong and she said, "I wanted a real castle, that I can play in!" She didn't realize that all she had to do was open the box!

Christmas Eve instructions

At 4:10 pm, Bitty suddenly realized the meaning of "Christmas Eve."

Bitty: "Santa Claus is coming TONIGHT! Cover up you head!"

We spent the evening spinning under the tree at Zilker Park and munching on kettle corn and hot chocolate. It was COLD!

An OK Christmas

We had a great time visiting Gramma, Grampa, Uncle Brian and Aunt Kim for Christmas, even though it was mostly too cold to play soccer. Yesterday, after we opened presents, we made four dozen tamales and two pecan pies. The tamales were really good, but the pie - Gramma's new ingredients make the best pecan pie I have ever had! It was quite late when we finished the pies but I really wanted to try one so I took a little bite. Bitty was still awake so of course he wanted a taste, too. I told him he could have just a little bite, and let him try the gooey filling. He immediately said, "My daddy said I could have a big bite!" Yummy!

Here are some pictures from after the frenzy.

Over the Hills and Through Fort Worth...

I have never been so glad to see the "Welcome to Oklahoma" sign in my entire life. Okay, maybe once, there was the trip we took to Duncan with Pook when she was six weeks old and nursing...and screaming...but I digress. Today, the Friday before Christmas, the kids and I trekked up to Gramma's and Grampa's for the weekend, along with, oh a million of our closest friends. I-35 never offers a pleasant experience, and today was even worse than usual. This trip, which can be done in less than 5 hours on a good, child-free, day, took about 7. Traffic flow alternated between parking lot and crawl for most of the trip. Admittedly, it did give the kids a chance to check out their first-ever live nativity scene at the baptist megalochurch in north Fort Worth. We were sitting there on the interstate and suddenly Beanie said, "Mommy, look! There's a camel!" Sure enough, they had the whole deal - camels, shepherds, sheep - and they were all lining up to go into the stable. Kind of a neat Christmas experience, in spite of the traffic.

Today was also the day that Pook's first tooth came out! This morning I was running around trying to get bags packed when she said, "Momma, I can push my loose tooth over and make it lay flat." I watched her do it, and then I told her that it was probably ready to come out. A few minutes later she came running into the bed room with the tooth in her hand! I still can't believe she pulled her own tooth out!

Stressed out? Me?

I would have been only twenty minutes late for work today instead of thirty, but when I turned off RR 620 onto Lakeway Boulevard, a little voice in the back of the vancar said, "Mommy, this is not the way to my school!" Oops. And then, "I am not big enough to go to your work, Mommy. You are crazy!" Sorry Beanie!

Last night the kids made Christmas cookies. They had a blast patting out the dough but it was a little sticky and sometimes the cookies broke when they tried to lift them onto the baking sheet. Bitty kept asking for "a lil tine bit more flour." Beanie figured it out pretty quickly, but one early attempt didn't work out so well. Pookie said, "What's that?" Beanie replied, "I tried to make a star. It's all jacked up!"

Party Time!

Today was school party day for Pook and Bean. Pookie's party was held after lunch. The kids got to do some crafts, and then exchanged wrapped books which was a lot of fun.

Beanie's party was in the evening and included performances by the two classes. Beanie is the only girl right now. She and her classmates did a super job of singing "We Wish You a Merry Christmas"!

Art by Bean

More stuff you can't see...but too cute not to publish! You can click on the pictures for larger images.

Pook is famous!

You probably can't read this, but I came across it this morning when I was cleaning up the kitchen and thought I would post it anyway. She is listed on the right, last one under "Native American Women." "Shhh! Shhh!"

A Day of Firsts

Yesterday when Pookie woke up she came wandering into the bathroom where I was getting ready for work. She pushed her hair out of her face and said, "Mommy, I have a loose tooth!" Knowing that several of her school friends, who are almost six, are losing teeth, I ignored her. A little later, after she had gotten dressed and eaten breakfast, she was telling Tracy goodbye and she said, "Daddy, I have a loose tooth! Feel it!" This time I decided I'd better check things out for myself. Sure enough, I pushed on her lower center right tooth and it wiggled! I am so not ready for this!

Last night, I was cleaning out the girls' backpacks and getting them ready for today. In Pookie's "FISH" folder there was a little photocopied book inside a ziploc bag labeled "Please return daily." I took it out and asked Pook about it. She said, very casually, "That's my book I have to read tonight."

I braced myself. I put her brother and sister in bed with some books to look at. I sat her up on the counter and handed her the book.

Pookie: "Cat sat. Cat...runs?"
Me: "Sound it out. R - a - n."
Pookie: "Cat r-a-n, ran. Cat ran over to the food."
Me: "No, look at the words and sound them out."
Pookie: "Cat ran in...to the pot...pan. Cat ran to the man. Cat runs and runs and runs."
Me: "No, that's the same word from before."
Pookie: "Cat ran, ran, ran. Cat sat! The end!"

I told her what a great job she did and then she read it again, on video for everyone to see, and then she read it to Beanie and Bitty. Yea! Pookie can read!

Pouty Pook

This week Tracy is working a late shift, so he was home when I left with the kids this morning. He buckled them in and told them goodbye and Pookie was very sad. To cheer her up, I told her that on Wednesday (pizza day) he would come to her school and have lunch with her.

Pook: "If Daddy comes to my school to eat lunch with me, that will make me feel a lot much more better!"

Happy Thanksgiving!

This year we traveled to Oklahoma to spend Thanksgiving with Gramma, Grampa, Uncle Brian, Aunt Kim, and a pack of dogs...not all of whom behaved themselves. We enjoyed our trip and our visit though! In spite of the arctic cold front that brought freezing temperatures and runny noses (and a little snow on Saturday) to southern Oklahoma, the kids and dogs had a blast playing soccer and chasing balls in the big backyard. My favorite Thanksgiving memory this year is from Pookie and Beanie setting the table. "Gramma, we need more plates." "Gramma, we need more forks." "Gramma..."

Pookie was very excited to see the tofurkey come out, while Beanie was thrilled to have unlimited refills of Gramma's sweet tea.

Here we have Jackson family history...a photo of Uncle Brian as an adult...smiling!

Missing "you"

Bitty's verbal skills are remarkable...he speaks clearly and in complete sentences, and, much to my dismay, has already lost most of his baby speech patterns. One that he still has, though, is his habit of omitting the word "you" from his requests. It is so cute! Some examples: "Will hold me, pease an' thank you? Will get me someting to dwink?" My other favorite thing is how he says the word "forgot," as in, "Mommy, you got-for 'bout get me some canny!" I hear that one pretty often.

"Shhh, shhh!"

Here is Pookie in her role as a "native 'merican lady" for her first Thanksgiving Play.

"The turkey is a funny bird,

its head goes wobble, wobble, wobble.

The turkey only says one word:

it's 'gobble, gobble, gobble!'"

Good dog!

Today, Tracy talked with the county animal control officer who responded to our neighbors' complaint that Oliver is a vicious, overly aggressive dog. Apparently, in their sworn affidavit, they stated that they were standing in the street with their unleashed dog when Oliver came trotting down the road toward them. One of them picked up the dog and yelled at Oliver to "Stop! Go home!" And...he did! So, let's review. First, they acknowledge that they allow their dog to roam the neighborhood off-leash (at least ours was accidental). Second, they prove that Oliver is not aggressive or vicious; he responded to the command that was given and did what he was told. The deputy who came to the door that night told me that the neighbors reported aggressive behavior, but that Oliver was just laying in the front yard with Marjan (!) when he arrived. What a good boy!

Finally, and best of all, the ACO actually said, "Your neighbors are just crazy!"

Ah...vindication!

The Sweet Pickle Bus

Last Friday, I had a workshop in Dallas and then went on to Wilson to spend the weekend (thanks to Gramma, Grampa and Uncle Brian for having me; I had a great time!). Pookie's class was scheduled to go on a field trip to a farm on Friday, and, since I couldn't pick her up, she also got to ride the bus to Cat's house after school. Today, I asked her whether she wanted to ride the bus again. She answered, emphatically, "No! On Friday when I rided the bus to Cat's house, I had one teardrop roll down my face Mommy, because I missed-ed you so much!"

Miss Julie's

Today Beanie started attending preschool at Miss Julie's. I took her by to visit earlier this week so that she would know what to expect. When we drove into the parking lot she informed me, "Mommy, you don't needa walk me in. You can just drop me off at the door!" I think she likes it.

Finally, Treats!

Thanks to Princess Jackie, we had the best Halloween ever! I deperately wanted the kids to go trick or treating, so I asked her if we could stop by and ring her doorbell. I even brought candy! When we got there, we discovered that her neighborhood had been transformed into Halloweenland! She put together some wonderful treat bags for the kids, full of good "canny" and some other great treats. After the kids explored everything in those bags, they were ready to head outside. We walked up and down the street for a half hour or so, ringing doorbells everywhere. Bitty lagged a bit behind his sisters. When the doors opened, the girls would say, "Trick or treat!" and wait patiently as the candy was handed out. Bitty always ended his visit with a wave of his fistful of candy and a "Hap Howween!"

Happy Halloween!

Today's first words:

Me: "Pook, it's time to get up! You have to eat breakfast and get ready for school."
Pook: "But no costumes allowed. Silly old teacher!"

Me: "Beanie, it's time to get up! We have to leave in a few minutes."
Bean: "But what about trick or treating?"

Me: "Bitty, it's time to get up!"
Bitty: "I wan' a cwoss...a cwoss...ant!"

Hungary is not a country

Bitty: "Momma, I hungary."
Me: "What do you want to eat?"
Bitty: "I wan' some noodleth an' bwoccoli an' soup an' a bell pepper!"

Day #2

The first thing Pook said when I picked her up from school yesterday was "Where is my sister?" She couldn't wait to share her adventures! She had a great day, in spite of a "forgot I had to go and couldn't get there fast enough" accident after lunch. I was really worried about that (the nurse called to tell me), afraid that the other kids might tease her. She was very matter of fact about the whole thing and assured me that "Sarah said she had an accident once, too." Okay!

Apparently the twenty minute lunch period passed too quickly for Pook to eat much of her food. No big surprise there, since she can easily linger for an hour or longer over a small bowl of spaghetti. When we got home last night she ate the rest of her lunch and then ate dinner...and I guess the nervous jitters from the first day and her empty tummy didn't get along too well with all the food she stuffed in because about 2:10am she woke me up. I had just enough time to realize I was awake before she vomited all over me. Yuck! She was really upset: "Why am I sick like this again?" She didn't feel badly though, so we showered and went back to bed. I let her sleep in a bit and when she woke up she was ready to go to school! We had to wait and make sure her breakfast wasn't going to come back up, but she seemed fine after eating.

On the way she asked if I could drop her off first "because I want to walk in by myself today." I explained that I had to sign her in because we were late. Once we got inside she told me that she wanted to walk to her room by herself. I let her go, once I had her pointed in the right direction, but halfway down the hall she turned around and waved for me to come on. We stopped by the girls' room just in case, and then she said, "I want to go in by myself." This is what it's going to be like in a few years when she wants me to drop her off down the street so she won't have to be seen with me. I handed her all of her things and stood back. She took a few steps and then turned around and said, "Is this my classroom?" It was, and in she went.

Beanerisms

Yesterday, I took Beanie to her new preschool for a tour. While we were stopped at an intersection, she saw a vehicle coming toward us. "Look, Mommy, there is a blue vancar just like ours!" As it got closer, she revised her report. "Oh no, it's a hiccup truck. Oh no, it's black." A few minutes later, we were waiting to turn right onto RR 620, but the truck was turning left, so we were stuck behind it.
Bean: "Why can't we go, Mommy?"
Me: "Because we have to wait for this truck to turn left first."
Bean: "Damn."

Brave Little Pookster

After lots of worrying over whether we are damaging our precious Pook by not sending, or sending, her to public school, we finally made the decision to enroll her in kindergarten at Lake Travis Elementary. Today is Pook's first day of school! She has been looking forward to it for a few weeks. Yesterday, though, she decided she wasn't quite ready.

Pook: "But I thought I was going to school in four days."

Me: "It's been four days. Now it's tomorrow!"

Pook: "But I thought I was going on Monday!"

Me: "Tomorrow is Monday."

Pook (mournfully): "I don't wanna go to school."

She was excited this morning though, and woke me up at 5 am to make her breakfast. I stayed with her in the classroom for about ten minutes, and then when it was time for a bathroom break, I sent her to join the line of kids...and take her first step into the outside world. And then I went to the car and cried.

Tricks Only

Today the Wildflower Center held its third annual "Goblins in the Garden" Halloween festival. It sounded like fun: face painting, pumpkin patch photos, crafts, "and of course, trick or treating!" Or so they said. We arrived about 5:20 - less than halfway through the 3 hour event - with two mermaids and spider man in tow. As soon as we walked in, a man directed us to the giftshop, where "they are handing out treats." A woman was giving out little notepads with animal photo covers. Cool, but, as Bitty put it, "I wan' some canny in my bag." Of course, the next thing we had to do was get a princess, a mermaid, and a spider painted on our faces. Then, we climbed to the top of the Haunted Tower, which was spooky enough for the kiddos, and stood in the "treat line" for something from the witch's cauldron. "Here. Throw this in," said the witch, handing the kids some fake bugs. They did, but clearly were expecting something in return. Nope, only a little cup of kool-aid here. The best part of the whole event came next, when we discovered the spiders and their web atop the tower. Finally, we headed to the garden and to the kids' house, where the crafts were located and where, surely, there would be candy. The garden was full of cute kids in costumes and cleverly decorated scarecrows, but no candy, and by the time we made it to the kids' house - at 6:30, half an hour before closing - it was locked up tight with no gourd crafts in sight. We did play with the rocks in the kids' garden for a minute, but Bitty still noted that "I don' have any canny in my bag!" It was thoroughly disappointing and I doubt we will go back. Fortunately, the HEb down the road had plenty of "canny," and the treat bags - and tummies - got filled before the night was over!

Welcome, Eva!

A friend of mine discovered this little beauty rummaging for food in a dumpster at a local shopping center. She was about 5 weeks old at the time. Initially, they intended to release her back into the local feral colony, but she displayed such affection that my friend felt she needed a "real" home. She looks so much like Edgar! I knew the minute I saw her that she belonged with us.

She has been with us for a week now and is starting to get comfortable with the girls, especially Pook, who has a very gentle, patient way with cats. Bean doesn't really have time to sit and wait for Eva to come to her and Bitty...well, Eva generally runs and hides whenever he comes in the room! I can't say I blame her.

Happy Birthday Mommy!

In spite of the fact that we are all sick and absolutely miserable, yesterday we drugged ourselves and the kids and headed out to Fredericksburg to meet some friends for Oktoberfest. Jason and Brenna came up from Orange, and Mike and Julie met us there. Marco, aka "Espagnol" came along as well. I sampled some Hill Country wine, which was good, but no match for the dark and refreshing Wersteiner Dunkel - on tap! Pook, Bean, and Bitty ate more than their share of curly fries and funnel cake. We all had a great time, but the face painting, jumbo slide, and climbing wall were definitely the highlights of the day!

A Boy and his Dog

Pookie generally claims Oliver as her own, but I think Bitty is more of a match for him in temperament.
Just like Eli was with Pook, "Ohvver" is big enough to withstand Bitty's assaults and gentle enough to allow them.

Run, Daddy, Run!

Today Tracy and all the APD cadets in his class participated in a marathon relay. He was lucky enough to be chosen to run the longest leg of the relay - a 12K (7+ miles)! He did incredibly well, finishing in about 68 minutes. Yea, Daddy!

The event was very family friendly, and we stayed for the whole thing. It was unbelievably hot and humid, though. The kids had a great time playing in the bounce house and bounce slide. Pookie wasn't so hip to the slide for some reason, but Beanie couldn't get enough of it! Fortunately, there were large tubs of ice holding water and sports drinks, which we took advantage of. Bitty just wanted to eat the ice. In fact, he also seemed to enjoy plunging his arms into the tubs, and might have just climbed right in if they hadn't been so tall. Thanks to Leslie for the photos, especially the one we like to refer to as "the essence of Pook." Lookin' a little grumpy there!

Milestones

I still can't decide whether I'm happy or sad about this...while Bitty was visiting Gramma and Grampa in Oklahoma, he stopped drinking his ba-ba AND decided to become completely potty trained! I am totally amazed. I am still using diapers at night, but he wakes up dry every morning. Wow! He is only 28 months old...miraculously, Beanie has decided to stop using diapers at night as well. Thank goodness, because 4 year-olds tend to pee quite a bit more than 2 year-olds!

Before the trip, Bitty refused to use the potty at Cat's house. He told her that he would if she got him a blue potty seat. Lo and behold, she found a potty seat with blue handles and apparently that is good enough. He is using it like a pro!

Welcome Autumn!

Yesterday we met Gramma and Grampa in Fort Worth to pick up the kids. Yea!! We really enjoyed having some time to ourselves this week, but we missed the kids, too. We celebrated by going to the Fort Worth Zoo which was a bit of a disappointment. A large portion of the zoo is under construction, and another large area closed early for a fundraising event (which they obviously need). We won’t be going back there any time soon. Today we have just lounged around and enjoyed being home.

The kids had a great time on their visit, in spite of Bean's getting "lost" the first night. Apparently she woke up in the night. When Gramma heard noises and got up to investigate, she found Bean wandering around in the den. She asked Bean what she was doing and Bean said, "I got lost! I couldn't find you!" So far we have heard about playing soccer with Uncle Brian, going to a football game ("We got to run around and run around!), and - most of all - going to Norman to see the dinosaurs. The kids are definitely tired from their travels, but I suspect they aren't the only ones!

City of Lost Children

Today Gramma left and took all three kiddos home with her for a week! At first I just felt lost…I couldn’t be still long enough to figure out what to do. I decided to go shopping and visit some stores that are not so kid-friendly. Finally, half-way through filling my list at Michael’s, I realized that I didn’t have to be anywhere, that nobody was waiting on me, and that I could…breathe! Relax! Browse! Things quickly improved. Gramma called to say that they had made it home – and that Bitty only peed in the potty the whole way! I headed off to Barnes & Noble…did anyone else know that they sell books for adults there?

A Visit with Gramma

Today we took a trip to the Natural Gardner with Gramma. We got to pet the kitty and the donkeys, and walked all over. The butterfly garden is full of flowers and butterflies right now, and we saw a little brown bunny outside the teepee. It got hot in the afternoon, so after eating at Magnolia Café, we headed to Town Lake Park to cool off in the fountains. This time we brought our bimmin suits, but Bitty still ended up nakey!

Pain and Pleasure

I finally got Bitty in to the doctor today for his…ahem…one year check up. Poor baby, he had to get four shots! All the way home he cried, and kept telling me, “I don' like dose shotsh! Dose shotsh are burning my legs!”

Later, we met Tracy at Central Market for dinner and some music. Pook and Bean danced with the band, though Bean was mostly enthralled with the instruments. I know she was thinking, “If I could just get my hands on that fiddle…”

"Not in the produce section!"

Poor Pookie has suffered through a rite of passage today.

Late Sunday night I woke up with terrible stomach cramps, cold sweat, the whole nine yards. I stayed home and was sick all day Monday…quite an adventure with three small demanding ankle biters. It took me about two hours to make breakfast! Anyway, this morning around 4:45, while I was putting my contacts in, I heard the unmistakable and always unwelcome sound of vomit splattering on the bed sheets. Eww!

At first I thought it was Beanie, who has been known to cough so much she spits up nasty lung products. But then the smell hit me and I knew that this was just good old fashioned throw up. When I opened the door to the bedroom, there was poor Pookie, long hair in her face and full of vomit, saying “Mommaaaaaa!”

For a variety of reasons and mostly because of the unexpected illness, we had to go to the grocery store later in the day. Like most kids her age, Pookie recovered almost completely in between bouts of vomiting. She was riding in the front seat of the shopping cart, and we were in the produce section buying our last few items, when she turned the color of cauliflower and began to whimper. I asked her if she needed to go to the bathroom and throw up and she said, very worriedly, "Uh-huh!" We high-tailed it to the bathroom. Just as we got to the door she really began to whine. I whisked her out of the cart with one arm (holding Bitty in the other because we had left his shoes at home), Beanie pushed the door open, and we raced into a stall…just in time! Pookie bravely held her little mouth closed until her bare feet touched the filthy floor and then she let it out...

Town Lake Park Renaming Contest

Last month, I kept seeing info about a new park downtown…unimaginatively called Town Lake Park. We met up with some friends of Tracy’s from the academy and headed down there today. It is AWESOME! There isn’t much to it right now…but there is a great waterscape that all kids (and adults) love. It is a circular plaza with lots of fountains and some small wading pools. At dusk, lights come on around the fountains and in the pools and the water show is accompanied by a light show. Okay, I am not doing it justice, it is just too much fun! The kids had a blast running around. Bitty, of course, ended up nakey pretty quick, and the girls went in their skivvies. Next time we will know to bring our “bimmin’ suits!”

Sleepless Nights

Hmm. And I wonder why I wake up exhausted every day. Total elapsed time: about 30 seconds.

Happy Birthday, Gramma!

Domestic Bliss

During my almost week at home, the kids have played in the back yard pool almost every day. This is what I found today when I went back out with drinks and snacks for them.



“Mommy, I go poop in duh gwass.”

Happy Birthday, Aunt Kim!

Today is the first day of my mini-vacation. I am taking three days off…added to the weekend and the Labor Day holiday, I will have six days off altogether. Yea! I am SO EXCITED!! We have been looking forward to this for a while. Last night, I reminded the kids that my “six days” start today, and Beanie said, “Mommy, when are you gonna stay home for ten days?” Aww!

Conquering the Playground

Pookspeak

Today, after lunch...

Me: "You can have one piece of chocolate and either a gummy orange slice or two gummy bears."
Pook: "Hmm. You're the mommy picker candier seller, huh?"

"Please accept my resignation..."

Bitty woke up while I was getting ready today. He wandered into the bathroom, rubbing his eyes, and said, "You...you go wort today mom?" I told him yes and then he said, "You not go wort today mom. You...you stay home. Pease?"

I had no idea, when Pookie was a baby, that it would only get harder to leave them!

Bean in Hiding

While I was drying my hair this morning, Beanie woke up and came wandering into the bathroom. Apparently she was having trouble seeing through her squinty eyes because she kept bumping into things. Finally she pulled her towel down off the rack, wrapped up in it, climbed into the laundry cupboard, and closed the door behind her. After a couple minutes, I heard a squeak and turned around. All I could see through the little hatch door was two squinty eyes and a big Beanie smile!

Later this morning, at Cat’s:

Me: “You can’t have Pig here unless you’re going to share him, and I don’t think you want to do that.”
Bean: “I will share Pig with Xi. (pause) But when Lo comes, I will hide him behind my back like this!”
Me: “Maybe Pig would like to go to work with me today.”
Bean: “He does want to go to your wort! But on'y Miss Joan can see him.”
Me: “Is Pig a boy or a girl?”
Bean (exasperated): “He is a girl!”

Whose kids are these?

The last time I checked, I had two little girls and a baby boy. Today when I looked around I found three big kids and no baby! Here's Bitty in his first centerfold shot of the summer. He is so big!

Tracy has drill this weekend so the kids and I have been hangin' out. Yesterday we went to the park for a couple hours to get out of the house.

I was completely amazed when Beanie climbed to the top of the wooden playscape, grabbed the fireman's pole, swung her legs out, and scooted down it. There is a new climbing wall at the big playscape, probably 7 feet tall or so. As soon as she spotted it, she ran over and climbed right up! She paused for a minute at the top, where she had to swing her legs over, but she quickly figured that out. I have photos and video from the playground coming soon.

There is also a new bench swing and all three kids enjoyed that. From the swing we had a great view of the high dive at the pool and they were amazed at the people who did flips and twists and fancy dives. On the phone last night, Bitty told Tracy "and don' forget to buy a dive board an' bring it home so we can dive!"

Pookie's favorite part of the outing was walking down the drainage ditch. It is dry and full of big rocks so it's fun to play in. There's a nice trail that runs alongside and she sprinted up and down that a few times. She really likes to run.

Here's a conversation that I just had with our mild-mannered eldest child.

She was holding Charro, who jumped down, leaving a scratch behind.

Pook: "Jesus!"
Me (cringing): "Don't say that please."
Pook: "Dammit!"

Lookin' for a milk bank...

Since Bitty started spending time with Xi, who still nurses some, he's become fascinated with "mum-mums." Every now and then he pulls up my shirt and says, "Where are you mum-mums?" or, "Wan' mum-mums!" I've told him that my mum-mums don't have any milk but that really doesn't seem to phase him! Last night he climbed into my lap and said, "Wan' lay lite a baby," and layed back in my arms. Then he tried to pull my shirt up and said, "Wan mum-mums!" I told him that I didn't have any milk for babies anymore. So then he said, "Wan mum-mums. You needa buy some!"

new 'dos

Here are all three, showing off their new 'dos, front...and back!

a hair-raising weekend

We had a very exciting weekend! On Saturday, Tracy joined his Army Reserve unit in Dallas and jumped from the back end of a C-130. He was the last guy out of the plane…and got dropped into a wind pattern that swept him right into the only stand of trees on the drop zone! This was his first arboreal landing in almost twenty years of airborne ops…luckily the only things that got broken were the tree limbs when he had to cut his parachute down.

Today, we decided it was time to pay a probably long overdue visit to the hair salon. Pook, Bean and Bitty enjoyed meeting Erica, who regularly cuts Tracy’s hair. We’ve been talking to Pookie about getting her hair cut for a couple weeks. This is a traumatic topic for her, so we’ve been trying to ease her into it. It seemed to work, and she said she was ready to go in for a trim.

A couple weeks ago, I told Beanie about Locks of Love. She equates it with sorting through her toys and clothes – “we can give our hair to kids who don’t have any!” Last week, I got my hair cut into a chin-length bob, so when we got ready to head to the salon and asked her about getting her hair cut, she said, “I want my hair like my momma’s!” She kept saying it, all day, the whole time Pookie was getting hers trimmed, and finally, once more, when her turn came. Erica was happy to oblige and I know the Locks of Love folks will be happy to have her ponytail!

Beanie in the chair

Pookie, who was happy with her trim when it was over, decided that she wanted her hair “like my sister’s!” Inevitably, Pookie is going to cry at the hair salon. Last time, she cried because we cut it. This time, she cried because we wouldn’t cut it! She begged and begged for us to let her cut it short. We explained that she wouldn’t be like Jasmine or Ariel if she cut her hair short. She cried and pouted and begged some more. We told her we would wait two weeks and then if she still wanted it cut, we would come back. She pouted, but agreed. Last night at bath time, she said, “I decided I will keep my hair long until I am six. Maybe then I will cut it.” Whew! Glad we got that one right.

Bitty was the scene stealer of the day. Summer finally hit Austin with a vengeance and we decided to cool him off with his first real hair cut. I don’t think anybody realized that his hair was halfway down his back! At first he didn’t want to sit in the chair and he told Erica, “I mad atchoo!” But then he realized he was getting all the attention and he enjoyed it.

Bitty before...

and after! What a heartbreaker!