Happy Birthday and so much more

If I would blog once or twice a week, it would be so much less overwhelming and so much more easy to pick what to put on each post.  But that's not life right now, so I guess I'll just be grateful that I have so much I WANT to put in my highly-irregular posts because that means that there is so much I want to remember about this time in my life.  Also, I should take more pictures.  But I'll just go with what I've got for now.  Here we go...

The 4th Birthday

So we now have a 4 year old in the house, and let me tell you, she knows she's 4.  She sat in a big-girl chair at Grandma's house today, she can do things herself (like scoop an enchillada out of the pan), and she thinks she ought to be able to boss her little brother around.  We'll be working on that last one for a while, I'm sure.  

Lily's 4th birthday celebration has been spread all through the month.  It started earlier this month with a Francl cousin birthday party that started at the river and ended at Chase's brother's house...

The weather and water were perfect, and the river was SO MUCH FUN!!!

Not 4 yet, but we celebrated anyway.  She didn't mind!

The birthday cousins (plus photo-bombing BJ).

She got the candles out without a problem.  Whew!

Presents are ALWAYS exciting!

We also celebrated at play group with Lily's friends, on the day before her birthday at our friend's house in Texas, on her birthday on the trip home from Texas, and on the day after her birthday when Mommy and Daddy gave her her BIG present:

Let's Go Fly a Kite

The other day was terribly windy, and, fortuitously, I cleaned out the cupboard that held the kite one of the kids got for Easter or something.  So we went and flew a kite, and it was the perfect day for it!

It was such a perfect, windy, blustery day
that even Connor could get the kite up in the air.

A Trip to Texas

What do you do when you're 35 weeks pregnant, have 2 children already, and have tons to do?  Leave for a week and go to Texas!  A college girlfriend got married last weekend, and we couldn't miss it.  That, and we had other friends with a big house, big hearts, and great hospitality waiting for us.  If not for the great gathering of those we love there, I wouldn't have tempted fate with the trip.  But since the group of us hadn't been together since college graduation 8 years ago, wild horses (or pregnancy, or a 13 hour drive with small children) couldn't keep me away.

Starting out, we were all optimistic!  Reality set in about 2 hours later,
and 8 hours from our destination that night.  We made it, and made it
home better than we did going down, but I would not recommend a trip
with a 4 year old and 18 month old and pregnant wife and patient husband
unless it's absolutely necessary.  In this case, it was absolutely necessary,
and we made the best of it.  The DVD player in the car helped immensely!

Finally together again, after just 8 years...  Seriously, we need to do this more often!

We had delicious food while we were there -
these are desserts I had with the girls at a chocolate
bakery nearby the wedding venue.

The ceremony was outside and it was beautiful.  We sat in the 2nd row, but Lily really wanted to be in the first row.  Since it was outside and we were on the outside of the row, we scooted her chair up to give her a front-row view.  With her recent concerns about picking out a husband, Lily was very attentive to this whole wedding-business whereby a boy and girl become a husband and a wife.  After the processional, Lily leaned back to ask her dad, "Why are there so many husbands up there?"  ...I should have explained groomsmen to her before hand.

As they prepared for the ring exchange portion of the ceremony, I leaned forward and let Lily know that they were going to give each other rings like Mommy and Daddy have that let everyone know they are husband and wife.  Lily's eyes got big and she sat up in her chair and turned her FULL attention to what was going on up front.  It was very sweet!

Connor had a little to add to the ceremony too.  Mostly loud toots that he let out during the prayers.  I guess I can be thankful he didn't laugh after he let them, right?

The wedding was a blast, and my favorite part
was having my college friends meet my kids.  They have
loved my kids from afar, and they finally got to see
what wonderful little creatures I get to spend my days with.

And who doesn't love a little dancing?

Reality check: when on a long car trip with kids, screen time rules
go out the window.  We did read books, play with stuff from busy bags
that I carefully packed after some extensive Pinterest research, and we
ate endless snacks.  But seriously.  DVD players rock.

She's 4! Can you even believe it? Taken in a McDonalds
somewhere in Oklahoma, this picture is now one of my
favorites of her.  She is amazing!

Habits to Remember

Lately, Connor has become terribly cuddly.  I don't know if he knows there's a tiny baby coming who will take up much cuddle time, so he's getting his in now.  Or maybe he's just hit an age or stage where snuggling is more fun because his attention span is longer.  Or maybe he's just realizing how much he loves us and uses cuddles and snuggles to show it rather than putting it into words.  I don't really know.  But in any case, he's been WAY more snuggly lately.  Especially to Lily.

For especially the last 2 weeks, he's needed her to snuggle him in order to be content in the evenings.  We sit down to read or the kids sit with their dad to watch a few minutes of football, and Connor climbs off of my lap or Chase's and onto Lily's. These 3 pictures were taken 3 days in a row...

Day 1

Day 2

Day 3

As I look at these all together, he also needs his bear with him and his blanket and his plug.  These are his comfort things - his plug, his blanket, his bear and his sister.  Isn't that marvelous?!?

Ok, this next one is about Lily, and it's the funniest thing.  My kids get to spend every Thursday with their Grandma while I work.  They love it.  I'm often shooed out Grandma's door when I drop them off with Lily commenting, "Mom, go to work."  Obviously, Grandma's house is a wonderful place where much fun is had.

Grandma started doing these "puppet shows" with a bunch of random stuffed animals and beanie babies that she found in a tote in the garage of my sister's stuff she had saved.  Among the animals was a beanie raccoon that loved to go to the "park" and go down the "slide" in the puppet shows.  The shows were so common and repetitive that Connor could do the actions for them with the appropriate animal looooong before he could actually talk.

The raccoon, though, became a favorite, and grew a personality outside of the puppet shows.  Raccoon now goes everywhere with the kids when they're at Gram's house and has much to say (via Gram's interpretation) about activity.  Except last week they lost racoon!  Mom was getting seriously worried because she couldn't find raccoon after almost a full week of waiting for him to turn up.  However, we stopped by one afternoon when Gram wasn't there, and Lily spotted the devious little raccoon in a corner...

Lily and raccoon when she found him.  Whew!

I love how little brains attach onto some random thing - something simple and usually free - and it becomes a whole new world of exploration and adventure that occupies hours.  Cardboard boxes, playdoh, paper and crayons, a stick and a bug, rocks thrown into water, a stuffed animal, a blanket, a pillow - these and many more are magical things to children whose imaginations aren't yet spoiled by reality.  What a blessing and what fun!

Remembering the Day

Lily was born 30 years, to the day, after my older brother, Chet.  My mother and I became mothers on the same day 30 years apart, and I will always cherish that for many reasons.  It may seem like a silly little thing, but since my brother has been gone for 16 years now, this is one way he lives on every year.  He and Lily share their day - it turns sweet and celebratory a day that might otherwise be somewhat bitter and melancholy to remember.

Lily helped put flowers on Uncle Chet's grave this year.