Tiny Dancer

My singing, dancing, entertaining daughter is on her way to becoming an official ballerina.  She is 3 weeks into a 6 week class at the Peoria Ballet where she takes ballet and tap dancing lessons.  The parents don't get to go into the classroom, but we watch the class on a TV screen.  Even on the small screen, I can see Staley doing everything the teacher asks her to do, holding hands with her new friends, and dancing her little heart out.  She may not yet be exhibiting grace and poise, but she's definitely got the enthusiasm.

Action shot

Showing off her skills

My tiny dancer

Adelie "Quote" of the Day

The other night I was reading a book to Adelie.  It had various objects on each page and I was asking Adelie to identify the objects.  I said, "Adelie, where's the strawberry?"  She pointed to the strawberry.  I asked, "Adelie, where's the ladybug?"  She pointed to the ladybug.  I asked, "Adelie, where's the button?"  And she patted her belly button.

I think she's one smart cookie!!

He Loves His Family

He sure does love his family.  He loves them so much that he takes days off work to have extra family time.  He loves them so much that he is always coming home with special treats.  He loves them so much that he doesn't even take a moment to unwind after work before jumping into 'Daddy-mode.'  He loves them so much that he makes sure his free time is kept especially for them.

I have always known that his little girls are his world.  I have always known he would do anything for us.  I have no doubt that his family is his top priority.  But when Zach told me with tears in his eyes that he has decided to sell his motorcycle because he just couldn't take the risk that his daughters might have to grow up without a father, his love for his family had never been more evident to me.

Just as being a Chicago Bear's fan has defined Zach for most of his life, so has his love for motorcycles.  His dad likes to tell me (probably just to see the shock and disapproval on my face) about how he would drive Zach around on the front of his motorcycle as an infant.  Zach may not remember his first motorcycle rides, but can tell you with enthusiasm about the bikes he's had, the trips he's taken, the blissful feeling that riding gives him.  And the fact that the joy that riding gives Zach no longer outweighs the risks of that distracted driver, that texting teen, that startled deer...well, that speaks volumes to how Zach feels about his family.

This decision was Zach's and Zach's alone.  And all I can say is...he sure does love his family.  And his family sure loves him too!!

The early days

Zach and Greg in the Black Hills

4th of July

We had another wonderful 4th of July.  Apart from the "incident" mentioned in yesterday's post, it was an otherwise perfect day.  Beautiful weather, fun activities, cute outfits, family, food, fireworks.  All the things I love about the 4th of July wrapped up into the perfect little package of yesterday.

Happy about 4th of July festivities

We started our day with the annual 4th of July parade at Uma and Papa's house.  Both girls LOVED the parade.  Adelie waved at each and every float that drove past.  And although Staley covered her ears for the fire trucks, at least she didn't cover her ears for the whole parade in anticipation of the fire trucks like she did last year.  Progress!!

Here comes the parade!!

Adelie is pretty serious about her parade watching...and parade candy.

After the parade, we stayed at Zach's parents house to enjoy a 4th of July feast with Zach's extended family. Although the Bradford cousins were in St. Louis this year, the girls were excited that Liam and baby Caroline could enjoy the parade and lunch with us this year.  

I guess it takes more than a parade and a wonderful fried chicken lunch to get Caroline excited.

After lunch and some fun play time at Uma and Papa's, we headed home for naps.  I was holding out hope that both girls would take good naps in anticipation of staying up a few hours past bedtime.  And miracle of miracles, they did.  Even Staley fell asleep and took a nice little nap.  After naps, we played outside, took some more 4th of July pictures, ate dinner, took a walk, and then went back to Uma and Papa's for another little visit before the fireworks.

All decked out in red, white, and blue.

So glad that we had time to wash and dry her special dress before the parade.

And then, the fireworks.  Last year, Staley only lasted 2 minutes into the fireworks before wanting to leave.  (I think it was a combination of the late hour and the loud noise.)  She was adamant that she wanted to go again this year, but told us she was nervous about the noise.  Staley's idea to help with the noise was to have Adelie scream so that the fireworks wouldn't sound so loud.  She didn't quite understand her flawed logic (or the fact that we are really trying to encourage Adelie in the other direction).  But Zach had this great idea...

Staley borrowed Zach's ear protection...and she LOVED the fireworks.  After each firework went off, she would exclaim, "I really liked that one!"  "I liked that one too!"  "I liked both of those!"  "Oooh.  I REALLY liked that one!"  After every.single.one.  And although she wore her ear protection until we were safely back in the car (just in case there were more fireworks), the fireworks were a roaring success.

Adelie, being Adelie, was not bothered in the least by the loud fireworks.  She sat perfectly still for the first 10-15 minutes, just watching.  (Oh, if we could only have fireworks every day!!)  After the initial awe wore off, she continued to watch the fireworks while climbing on and off Zach, wandering around the blanket, and playing with her glow bracelets.

After the fireworks, we went straight home and both girls went to bed without a peep...and slept until 9:00 this morning.

What a wonderful 4th!!!

Not Quite Rocking It

Being a mother of two can be a bumpy ride.  Some days I feel like I'm in the driver's seat just cruising along with my family, totally in control and enjoying a beautiful ride.  And then there are times that I feel just like the passenger who is starting to fall out of the car and is just hanging on for dear life.

This morning, Zach went to run in a 4th of July road race.  The girls were up and dressed and playing nicely in Staley's room, so I decided to take a shower.  I was about halfway through my shower, shampoo in my hair, when I heard Staley come running into the bathroom saying, "I have to go potty.  I have to go potty."  Staley takes herself to the bathroom without problem, so I just told her to go ahead and go while I finished my shower.  A few seconds later, I heard a panicked voice saying, "I'm going.  I'm going."  I looked out of the shower to see Staley, pants half down, climbing onto the potty while leaving a puddle on the floor at the base of the toilet... AND to see Adelie (who of course followed her big sister into the bathroom) bending down and playing in the puddle that her sister had just made.  So, with shampoo still in my hair, I jumped out of the shower, picked up Adelie, cleaned off her hands, and put her out in the hall, shutting the bathroom door so that I could attend to Staley and clean up the bathroom floor.  By this time, Staley is crying about having an accident AND about getting pee pee on her 4th of July dress, Adelie is screaming in the hallway about being locked out, and I'm dripping water and shampoo all over the bathroom floor, just adding to the mess that I'm trying to clean up.  In that moment, I did not feel like I was rocking this mother-of-two business.

There are some moments that make you feel like you've got it all together, that you're doing something right.  And then you have those moments when you daughter is playing in a puddle of pee.

Happy 4th of July!

She Says...

On Monday, Staley stayed with our friend Libby (and got to help her take care of her 3 real horses) while I took Adelie to the doctor.  When I came back to pick her up, Staley said, "Next time I want to stay at Libby's house for a longer time.  I know!  Maybe you could go shopping."  (Honestly, that sounded like a pretty good idea to me too.)

Staley lately has plenty of requests for me during rest time.  The other day, she called through the monitor, "Mommy.  I'm lonely."  I replied, "You have Yellow Bear and Goldie in your bed.  They can keep you company."  She responded, "I'm lonely for people, not stuffed animals."

The other night at dinner, Zach asked Staley if she liked her dinner.  She responded, "What's not to like?"

Today before rest time, Staley was sitting on her bed and I was standing by her bookshelf.  I asked her what book she wanted to read.  Getting off her bed, she walked over and said, "I want to pick out my book with my hands, not my voice."

During rest time today, Staley called to me through the monitor, "Mommy.  Can you come get my pen that I dropped?"  I asked if she could just get it herself.  Her response?  "I can't.  I'm too busy."

Life with Staley always keeps me laughing.