Family at Heart

We made plans to meet up with Hubby’s business partner and his family for a celebratory dinner last night. They were so gracious to bring A’s birthday present with them. Pictures follow my little narrative. We were celebrating some spectacular milestones on a big contract. Both Hubby and Mr.T have been tirelessly working and traveling and coming closer and closer to their goals. I continue to be amazed at what they have accomplished and I am convinced that there are no limits to where they can take this business. I’m just happy to be a part of it and to watch what their minds create. Great job guys Know that your families are very proud of you and will be here to support you every step of the way.

We were mostly finished with dinner when the rain came. But we still had a great time, and the rain probably is the only thing that prevented us from having some sinful desserts. Next time though, I promised myself

They have their very own spaceship sitting outside now. A was excited to explore this thing.

They really did a great job rebuilding this place. I loved it before, but now it is even better.

So many photo ops, so little time…

On Friday afternoon, I decided to take A to that same toy store where we saw Bonzo Crunch.  They have Friday Family Fun Nights there each week at 6:30.  Lucas Miller was the featured performer and he was amazing!  A loved every second.  He was so entertaining and his music and puppet act actually taught the kiddos something.  He talked about where animals lived, what they ate, how they protected themselves, their place in the food chain, very educational stuff without being at all boring.  Z and his mom and dad were there too.  We had made it a play group event, but A and Z were the only two from our little group who made it.  No offense to Bonzo, but Lucas rocked!!!!!!!  We just might become groupies and follow him around watching his performances

On Friday, A and I made a day of it and headed down to Austin. We spent the better part of our day roaming around Barton Creek Mall. We had lunch at California Pizza Kitchen, played around in Pottery Barn Kids, and Nordstrom’s, and just had a great time. We were also able to pick up some great little finds for a friend’s baby shower, so it was a productive trip. We only went down there because A’s pediatrician is down in Austin and we had her well check appointment at 2:15. We’ve had this pediatrician since birth and she is great. She’s written books and graduated from Harvard, so I feel it’s totally worth my drive down there. We have been very lucky with A in that she’s not been there many times outside of well checks anyway. So here are her stats. Get ready….43 inches and 50 pounds. She’s at the 97th percentile for height and weight. She’s actually slowing down a bit. For the longest time, she wasn’t even on the charts But she’s always been height-weight proportionate, so the doctor has never made a big deal of it. She just insists that A will be about 5′10″

When the doctor asked about any questions that I had, I showed her an old scar on A’s knee. It healed kinda pinkish and puffy. She agreed that it felt puffy and thought it probably had some fluid in there, so today Hubby and I took A for her very first X-ray. A did not like the X-ray machine. I admit, it was huge and intimidating, especially when it was moving over top of her and she was lying down. Anyway, I just got a call from the doctor’s office and everything was completely normal. So big sigh there. I’m so glad we won’t be facing a needle to the knee to draw out fluid.

The only other thing of note was the vision screening. A tried to cheat when she was reading with one of her eyes. So the doctor wants me to have a follow-up screening for that. We weren’t sure if she was just tired, not concentrating, or if she was truly having trouble seeing. I have a friend who is state-certified to do vision screenings, so I plan to ask her to do a little informal screening to see what’s really up.  The visit ended with four vaccines.  That wasn’t pleasant for any of us, but at least she’s finished with those things until she’s 11.  A trip to our favorite ice cream place with some extra goodies seemed to ease her pain a bit though.

So those are the highlights of the visit. She is a happy, healthy four-year-old. The latter is still a stat that I can’t believe. My baby is actually four!!!!!

Tomorrow is mine and Hubby’s 18th wedding anniversary. We have been together for so many milestones – births, deaths, graduations, jobs, moves, you name it and we’ve pretty much been through it. We’ve lost our fathers, left everyone and everything we ever knew and moved halfway across the country, and have had the privilege to be A’s parents for the last four years. We’ve had incredible highs and lows along the way. We’ve seen days when we had no money and days that we felt on top of the world. We’ve traveled and experienced some wonderful things together – Vegas, the Red Rider concert, flying in airplanes and helicopters – we’ve sure had some fun The biggest constant in all of that is the way we have felt about and treated one another. Sure we have our little squabbles, everyone does. But at the end of every day, I know that he will always be there and he knows that I will always be there. We are honest with one another, no secrets with us. We meant our vows all those years ago, and frankly are proud that we made and continue to make the decision to stick together and to keep building our lives together. We have seen so many friends and family members end marriages and relationships. I have my own identity, but I have always felt proud and privileged to call him my husband and to be called his wife.  And just like I said it almost 18 years ago, it’s still true. “To have and to hold from this day forward, for better for worse, for richer for poorer, till death us do part.” I love you, and I’ll always be the one standing there beside you.

A and I were visiting with a friend of ours on Thursday afternoon. A is inviting her to bring her little girl to our house and she says so confidently, “It’s really easy to find our house. We live right beside our neighbor.” 

I came clean about being a water phobe on a post a few days back. In fact, it was one week ago today that I was so happy about letting A play in 18 inches of water without hovering over her. Well, I must say that I’ve come a million miles in just a week. I am very proud too, if I must say so. This is how it all went down.

We have scheduled a standing pool play date with our play group every Thursday morning at one of our neighborhood pools. Since A has so dramatically shown me that she loves the water, I vowed to attend these play dates and do the very best that I could to let her have fun. So this morning I got us all ready, packed our bag of snacks, sunscreen, beach towel, camera, and other necessities and off we went. We were the first ones there and I admit I was nervous to be in the big pool. We made it to the second step and then I suggested the kiddie pool. That thing was just plain COLD, but A didn’t mind much and she played in there for a few minutes. Then our friends started arriving, and I was relieved that I wouldn’t be alone. I was pretty nervous for those few minutes we were alone and I figured that today would go like every other day I’ve had at a pool, with me being nervous and A not getting to do much at all.

But after M and Z got water-ready with sunscreen and gear, M took A in the water. I stood there snapping pictures and thinking about how I would love to be in there having fun like M and the other mommas. If only I could get a handle on this stupid water fear. Then I just got fed up with myself and with watching someone else have fun with A when it could be and should be me. M is my best friend and I love her like a sister, but I was jealous of their fun. So in I went. It was 3 ft. 6 in., and I could be on my knees and be fine. It’s embarrassing, but truly when you have this kind of fear, it can be scary to be in just this much water. I made it down the stairs and then the fear set in. It’s really the feeling of the water being all around me and the feeling of it trying to move me or knock me off balance. That’s my biggest issue. So I got out, grabbed Anna’s little pool floatie and proceeded to walk around, jump around, carry and throw A, and have the best time I’ve ever had in the water. A and I had such fun. I loved every second. It felt so good and liberating to let go of some of that fear. We broke out the new swimming Ariel that A had gotten for her birthday and chased that thing around the pool. A became pretty confident in the water too and surprised us all by riding by herself down the water slide. M caught her just fine, but the experience scared her. She came down pretty fast and water got all on her face. She didn’t go under at all though. She just hates water in her face and was complaining of getting splashed quite a bit while we were in the pool.

I explained to M that she was my motivation. She truly was and also the fact that I had great friends there that I trust and that I knew would be to mine or A’s aid in a split second. I have been so happy all day thinking about what fun we had, and I actually find myself looking forward to our next pool outing. That has truly never happened. I’ve always dreaded them. Yes, today I definitely took some huge steps around that pool.

Look at us Daddy. I had M take some pictures. I didn’t think you’d believe it if you didn’t see it

A just loves her new princess swim suit

We had yet another full day on Saturday. At noon, the Kidgits Club held an event at the mall. We are members so off we went. This event was very crowded, but it was worth fighting the crowd, at least in my opinion it was. The kiddos got a basket of fake fruit as a gift. Then they were to visit each of four stations and get a stamp by the person working that station. The first station was to play with Mr. Potato Head, then the second was to color a dry-erase placemat that they got to keep. This thing can be colored and erased over and over. A loves hers. I thought the third station was pretty cool. The kiddos got to play with pretzel dough, but A wanted nothing to do with that. So the young girl gladly stamped our paper, gave us a coupon for the pretzel place in the mall, and sent us on our way. The fourth station was a big hit with A. At one end of the long table, they made pasta art, just gluing dry pasta to construction paper. Then on the end of that table, they made pasta necklaces. A wore hers ALL day. After all of the stamps were collected, you went to stand in line for the kiddos to spin the prize wheel. So we did. A spun hers and it landed on 8. The girls working the wheel got all excited and said, “That’s the lucky number. You win a Mr. Potato Head.” YAY!!!! A was so excited. She didn’t put that thing down all day. Very fun time for our entire family.

So after Kidgits was over, A went to stay at Z’s house for the afternoon while Hubby and I went to a movie for our anniversary outing. We’re not really sure of his travel schedule sometimes, so M being the fantastic friend that she is, offered to give us a movie outing with no strings attached as she called it. However, I would watch Z with no hesitation any time of the day or night. ANY TIME if you’re reading this M!!! And by the way, thanks again. We had a lovely afternoon out.

That night, we had scrap night at Hubby’s office. It was a play group event and we had four mommas there. What a great time we had! Loved every second and got very caught up! A and Daddy went out to dinner and had a lovely time as well.

That is my Saturday in a nutshell. Enjoy the Kidgits pictures. Notice A’s Kidgits t-shirt. It was the first time she ever wore it. I foresee a scrapbook layout about this day in my near future

A loved this placemat. This is a great idea for the kiddos.

You can never have too much play food

Pasta art creations!

Love that necklace!

Lucky spin….

and the prize

A had lunch at her most favorite restaurant in the world before she went to Z’s house.

I was on the receiving end of this beautiful creature’s gaze. Lucky Momma

We had Daddy home last Friday, so I wasn’t sure if we were going to catch the Bonzo Crunch show at a local toy store.  I thought Daddy might just want to have a family evening together which would have been fine.  But he agreed that A would enjoy this show so off we went.  Admission was a non-perishable food item per person.  Love that!

The show was really cute.  This too was a play group event.  We had four mommas total, two daddies (ours was one ), and six kiddos there.  The kids had a great time, definitely a great time with friends and family.

We browsed and played with some toys after the show.

Wow, I look up and another week has gone by.  A and I are staying super busy this summer with something on our calendar almost every day, and sometimes even two things in a day.  Couple that schedule with laundry, grocery shopping, and trying to keep the house clean and I find myself copying pictures over to the computer and blogging at 1:00 and 2:00 in the morning sometimes.  But today I have vowed to catch back up from last week, so here is the first post of probably three for the evening.

Last Friday, A and I went to a sprinkler park that we hadn’t been to before.  It was an event for our play group, and two other mommas and their kiddos were supposed to be there.  Only one other momma made it, but we had a great time.  We packed a lunch and had a good visit with our friends.  A was playing for a full two hours.  I loved this place. It was completely fenced in and small so I never had to worry about losing sight of A.  We were both totally  relaxed and having fun   No beating that!

Our friend M, C, and C hosted Thursday play group today at their pool in their neighborhood. I am completely water phobic, a fact that I am not proud of. This is my first pool experience with A alone (i.e. without Daddy) this year. I’m not proud of that fact either. But today, we went and we both had so much fun. Keep reading to find out the story behind my water issues. Back to today though, the pool was only 1 foot 6 inches so A could stand up at any point. She could actually sit on the bottom and be just fine too. She was so excited to go today. When we were grocery shopping earlier, I picked up a little inflatable vest and a little ring float that just fits around her body. It’s not a complete ring. I didn’t want her to feel constricted and want it off. I had never been to this pool, so I didn’t even know how deep it was. I wanted to be prepared. She loved both of those things and stayed in the water for almost 2 full hours. We had such a wonderful time with our friends. I was surprised at how relaxed I was and I didn’t hover. That is such a huge step for me around the water. We didn’t venture in to the big pool though. I’m not ready for that yet. Small steps

So here’s the story behind my water issues. When I was around 10, I was in my cousin’s swimming pool. It was my first time in at all (we were very sheltered and never had a pool of our own), and I finally got comfortable enough to start walking without holding on to the sides. I slipped and went under. My aunts realized what happened and pulled me out. It probably wasn’t that big of a deal, but everyone flipped out. That just made me even more scared. My mom NEVER let me in a pool again. I think the next time I was in a pool at all was on my honeymoon. Hubby just recalled the experience for me. He said I was hanging on to him like crazy and that I wouldn’t let go of the sides. My mom’s and everyone else’s fear just multiplied my own fear. Like I told my friend M today, it’s not fear anymore. It’s a phobia. At one point a few years after Hubby and I had been married, I tried to let him teach me to swim. I trust him more than anyone on this planet, but I just couldn’t let go enough to do it. So now that I have A, my fear of her getting hurt or in trouble in the water is almost paralyzing. I’m fine if Hubby is with me. He’s a fish, no problem there. My fear lies with the thought of her needing me and my not being able to help her. So today was good for both of us. I want her to be relaxed in the water and I want her to learn to swim. I don’t know if I want to watch though.  Some people probably would think that my feeling like I took a huge step today is silly when there was only 18 inches of water. But for me to relax and not hover over A and for her to have that much fun in the water was a big deal for me and for her. I just never want to pass my fear to her. That is so unfair. And only now do I wish that my mom would have just put me right back in the water that day.

Here are some shots of A’s fun today…