Becky helped to get herself ready for our church conference this afternoon. My fashionista is at it again!
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My mom and the girls had one last group hug before she left today:
When I drove away from the airport departure curb, Susie started to cry and I knew just how she felt. I was so sad to say goodbye to my mom, and I knew I was going to be even sadder when I returned to an empty house. So what did I do? I met up with a dear friend and drowned my sorrows in a white chocolate mocha latte.
I felt much better after spending time with my friend and ingesting large quantities of sugary caffeinated goodness. The girls also seemed excited to be out and about…or maybe they were just getting juiced from all the coffee in the air. Either way, we went home a happy trio. And although I’m still missing my mom, I keep reminding myself that it will only be two months until she, my dad, and my sister are coming for Christmas. I cringe to think about all the mochas I’m going to have to drink to perk myself up after everyone leaves in December! I had grand hopes of taking the girls to a pumpkin patch today, but the weather stopped us cold. Literally.
If you look really closely, you can see snowflakes fallen among the leaves in our back yard.
I wasn’t quite ready to expose the girls to near-freezing temperatures (or my mom or myself, for that matter), all for the sake of a photo op among snow-dusted pumpkins. So instead, I took a picture of them admiring the view.
Becky (on left): “Mom, what’s that white stuff out there?â€
My mom graciously cooked us a scrumptious pot roast dinner while I spent time with the girls.
It felt like old times from my childhood – me playing on the floor, my mom cooking in the kitchen. Of course, at the time, I didn’t realize how much time and effort and love went into those meals. It’s only now that I’ve been in my mom’s shoes that I’ve started to appreciate all she did, and continues to do, throughout my life. I hope that one day my girls will fondly remember me preparing their meals while they play at my feet. And I hope they will fondly remember my pot roast as much as I do my mom’s! We took the girls to get their flu shots this evening, and I had planned on getting a picture of them crying at some point in the day to communicate their distress. However, besides the few tears they shed during the injection itself, the girls were all smiles today. So I asked Becky to smile for the camera so I could capture their mood of the moment, and this is what I got:
Part of the reason the girls were so smiley was because my mom let them play with our cat. Tommy’s been banished from the house for most of the past year (because I wasn’t sure if I could trust him with the girls), so although he may have been less than thrilled with getting poked and prodded by two very enthusiastic toddlers, he was so happy to be inside that his smile was just as wide as the girls’.
Becky must have sensed that the only way I would allow her to play with Tommy again was if Tommy behaved like a docile, child-friendly cat. To ensure his compliance, she walked over and tried to give him her two favorite toys. He calmly declined the peace offering, as well as her offer to sit on his head. I was so impressed with Tommy’s laid-back demeanor that I do intend to let them all play together again. I couldn’t help but be smitten with the girls’ love for their pet!
We took the girls to a story hour at a local library this morning. After they ignored the reading of a darling children’s book and ate the crayons for the craft project, they were rewarded with a romp outside in the leaves.
It was so nice to have my mom there to hold the girls’ hands and direct them toward the crackers instead of the leaves for their mid-morning snack. I wish I had two pairs of hands all the time! (Photos courtesy of my second pair of hands)
Becky (on left): “Grammie, I hope you know what you’re doing. We’re up awfully high.â€
Becky (on left): “I can’t even look down.â€
Susie: “I can’t hold on any tighter or grin any bigger!â€
Becky: “Why am I just sitting here? Push me!â€
Becky (on left)": “Psst…let’s figure out a way to make Grammie take us swinging every day.â€
Becky and Susie: “This couldn’t possibly be any more FUN!†I think my children are part chameleon. They have the special ability to change colors to blend into their environment Remember Susie waking up with pink cheeks to match her pink outfit? Well, Becky didn’t want to be left out. She must have known that I had red dresses picked out for today, because she woke up with bright red cheeks.
While Susie’s cheeks turned out to be a florescent warning sign that she was coming down with the flu, so far Becky’s health has held steady. In fact, she looks like she’s practicing for a Halloween role as a clown.
Let’s just hope that she doesn’t wake up green around the gills tomorrow! My mom flew into Connecticut today to spend the week with us. When I picked her up at the airport, she remarked that the view from the plane as it descended was spectacular. Given her appreciation of the New England scenery, I expected her to lavish praise on the fall foliage as we drove along the wooded back roads to our house. After all, people come from all over the country to go “leaf peeping†this time of year. But do you think I heard one comment from her about the autumn colors? Nope – all I heard on the way home was “Susie’s smile just lights up her whole face!†and “Becky’s grinning at me!" I guess she flew all the way across the country to enjoy a different part of God’s handiwork.
Susie is making a point. Literally. She’s started to point at objects and people around her, simultaneously emitting a low grunt to convey her seemingly obvious desires. But although it’s abundantly clear to her, it’s not always so obvious to me what she wants. For example, in the photo below she is either her expressing her wish for more green beans…
…or she wants me to help her recreate Michelangeo’s The Creation of Adam.
Here, she is either pointing out that I have something on my face (perhaps a nose), or she’s saying, “Hey, YOU – get me more food.â€
Or she wants me to enlist.
Here she’s probably reminding me that there’s a light on the ceiling, or that she has a question…
…or that she’s feeling patriotic.
I think this last picture’s pretty self-explanatory.
She’s obviously been watching too much Monday Night Football with her Dad. Touchdown, Steelers!
We had a wonderful visit this week from Jim’s Aunt Nancy, cousin Bonnie and Bonnie’s daughter, Emily. I was excited for the girls to get to know more of their extended relatives. The girls were just excited to have more playmates around!
Emily is a twin herself, and it was heartwarming (and reassuring) to hear her speak in such glowing terms of her sister. Emily told me all about how she and her sister play together and stick up for each other. I can only hope my girls will be such good friends later in life. As of right now, their interactions are characterized more by sticking each other in the ear than sticking up for each other! |
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