Ava Mae

While I'm at it, I thought I better post a little note on my sweet little baby Ava Mae, who is not much of a baby anymore! She is a walking talking little bundle of toddler joy! She insists on drinking out of big kid cups without lids, which is a maid's (that's me) worst nightmare, she eats cereal and milk quite impressively with a spoon (I think Kiara was 3 before she did that!), and she can carry on a long nonsensical conversation with anyone. She is saying a lot of real words too though. The other day I offered her some yogurt at breakfast, but she pointed insistently at the pantry and said, "Cereal." She is very good at communicating clearly what she wants and needs! For her husband's sake, I hope that remains with her for a long, long time.

My Kate

Congratulations to Kate for earning her purple dress! We went through a little phase (cross fingers it’s over) where she was writing with markers on things (such as sofas, floors, walls) and sticking stickers and the same such items. One morning when I was letting her have “unstructured playtime” I came upstairs to find my postage stamps stuck all over her shirt and my address labels stuck on everything and colorful drawings on my kitchen floor. Mom (as in me) had some words with Kate. Kate started sneaking her markers and stickers around until Mom put an end to it by gathering up stickers and markers into the “gobble bag.” Grandma pitched in and told Kate that she could earn a new dress if she could go 2 days without writing on or sticking stickers on anything but paper. It took a couple of tries, but she earned the dress!

Bless her little free spirit heart, there is just something inside of her that wants to make the world more beautiful by "decorating" it!

What Hope Sounds Like

Hope sounds like going to your daughter's elementary school and hearing the entire school reciting the pledge of allegiance with their hand over their heart and going straight into singing the Star Spangled Banner, first and fourth verses. What percentage of the American population knows the fourth verse? Here it is, for the 99% of us that don't recall ever hearing it:

Oh! thus be it ever, when freemen shall stand
Between their loved home and the war's desolation!
Blest with victory and peace, may the heav'n rescued land
Praise the Power that hath made and preserved us a nation.
Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just,
And this be our motto: "In God is our trust."
And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

This makes me a crying mess every time! I was also really proud of Kiara for getting "Builder of the Month" for her grade at this month's assembly. She is in the lower group for reading, but her teacher expressed how hard she tries and she does it with a smile. (Kiara let me in on her little secret that might give meaning to the smile. She came home the other day saying that a boy, whom shall remain anonymous, is in "oneth" grade and comes to her reading group and that she wants to kiss him and marry him. We'll just let her teacher continue to think she just has a really great attitude.) She has come a long, long way on her reading and I am really happy for her new confidence.

Her whole school has the theme of being a builder from this great poem that even my little kindergartner has memorized:

I saw them tearing a building down

a dozen men in a busy town,

with a ho-heave-ho and a lusty yell

they swung the beam and the side wall fell.

I asked the foreman if these men were skilled

Are these men you hire when you have to build?

He gave a laugh and said, "No indeed,

Common labor is all I need"

I can easily wreck in a day or two

what it took a builder a year to do.

I thought to myself as I walked away

"Which of these roles have I tried to play?"

Am I a builder who works with care,

measuring life with rule and square?

Am I shaping my life to a well made plan,

patiently doing the best I can?

Or, am I a wrecker who walks the town

content with the labor of tearing down

I've made my decision; I'll start today.

I'll be a builder in every way.

What a great theme for a school. Are you a builder or a wrecker? By the looks of my house most of the time, we are wreckers!

Happy

Tonight we went to the Chik-Fil-A Kids Night, where all the splendor of fast food dining is laid before you in child friendly fashion complete with helium balloons, free kids meals and ice cream, cheerios while you wait, and yes, even face painting. Face painting is not a parent's choice of activities. Your child is so excited to be transformed into some creature that you then have to come home and scrub off as your child cries because their disguise is being washed down the drain. As we drove home tonight I was contemplating how I would break the news to them that although, yes, they look splendid as a kitty and a poodle, you can't sleep with that stuff on!

I was happily surprised, however, when I told Kiara to go wash her face while I put Ava to bed, and she was actually excited to wash her face. After laying Ava in her crib, I went into the bathroom to examine if I could tell Kiara, "Well done" on her face washing and she was just staring contentedly in the mirror at her newly cleaned face. She said, "I wanted to wash my face, Mom, because I would rather be me." I told her, "You are a beautiful girl. Do you know that?" She said, "I don't want to be beautiful. Barbies are beautiful and I hate Barbies!"

I came away from the exchange feeling happy that my daughter would rather be herself than a kitty or a floozie Barbie. There is no one else I would rather have my daughters be than themselves because I love them just the way they came!