September left-overs

Boiler Up! Outfit courtesy of Melanie, one of our professors at Purdue

Piglet, from Aunt Beverly

From the garden ...

E had to be right there with us while Lydia nursed ... literally in my lap with Lydia on top of her.

things she said, part iv

Momma, when I'm old I want to be a mommy just like you.
... and maybe a cheerleader.


I'm the sweetest girl in the world. ... Ask me how I know that.
How do you know that?
Because you told me.
Yes, baby, I do think you are the sweetest girl in the world.

From the back seat of the car while I was driving, she whispered,
I have a secret to tell you.
What, baby?
You are the sweetest Mommy in the world.

Is God over us?
How come I can't see him?
Because he is a spirit.
But I can see him in my heart ... ?
Yes.
[looking down at her chest] How do I do that? How do I see in my heart?
You think about it in your mind.
Does he love me when I'm sad?
Yes, he loves you even when you are sad.
Ok.

T.A.R.G.E.T.

Oh my word.

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I'm Grace.

Almost every day, Eden at some point announces nonchalantly, "I'm Grace." It could be as a response to us leaving for school when I say "Come on, Eden." It could be a reaction to my enthusiastic "Hi Eden" when I get home from the office. Or, it could be unprovoked alltogether.

We never know how long it's going to last, but for the next little while she is completely Grace, and we have to engage her as such.

Some things we know about Grace:

• She's 5.
• She can drive a car; her mom sits in the back.
• She has a baby sister named Lydia Laurence. Grace's Lydia is 5 months old.
• She has just about everything Eden has.
• Her mom and dad often look just like Eden's mom and dad.
• She likes to ask lots of questions about Eden.
• She knows where the bathroom is, but only because she asked the first time she visited.

Indeed, Grace asks alot about Eden - what she likes to do, where her room is, if Eden cries alot, if Eden sleeps in "that bed in there when I'm not here," what Eden eats for lunch, where Eden goes to school. And she reminds us that she is only visiting for a little while - sometimes it is going to be over night, but mostly it is just while her mom or dad is at the store or at work.

And Grace is sometimes with us but we cannot see her. Little Grace went with Eden to swim lessons this summer, and she sometimes comes with us to the grocery store. In all, we like Grace, but we often miss Eden when she is gone.

When Eden tells us we are Grace's Mom or Grace's Dad, we like to mess with her a bit and tell her that we really just like being Eden's Mom or Eden's Dad and that Eden is really our favorite. We often say, "I really like you Grace, but I miss my Eden. When is she coming back?" Sometimes, Eden comes back right away, after Grace leaves the room to go look for her, but sometimes it takes a while for her to return. One time, when Eden had returned, she nonchalantly asked, "Who was here when I was gone?" and then we had a conversation about what "Grace" had done while she was here.

This child is nuts, but we think it definitely just shows her brilliance. Maybe if she's still doing this at age 13 we'll have to consider it something other than brilliance [or at least get her into acting], but for now we're going with it.

Here are some photos of Grace doing her yoga and practicing her letters.

storm weekend

A few weekends ago we were stuck inside due to tropical storm Lee. So, we got creative (and Eden merely remained that way).

First...dress up time - nothing better than a mix of cowhand and ballerina.

Then, time for a little art ... making the family out of extra rug backing -

... and pretty much cutting anything that we allow her to - magazines, junk mail, tags off all her animals, whatever! Girl LOVES sissors.

And, finally, drawing - this particular piece of work is titled "Mommy Monster." Eden drew Ashley in the form of a monster.

 When things got really old, we decided to go "outside" or at least pretend like we were ... nothing like a little painter's tape hop-scotch!!

 We had various versions - the normal, one square/two squares; but also sqaures with an X inside that you had to jump over. The two person version was the most fun.

 Even Lydia got in on the action.

Although we did not go outside for 36 hours, we found ways to make the time go by fast.

just because

Two weekends ago, CC and Granddaddy came for a visit just because they hadn't seen their girls in a while. During their visit, we made it to Picadilly, church, and McAlister's and thankfully got at least one photo during their reunion.

The above photo is CC and Granddaddy's favorite from the weekend.

It is also the first evidence of Lydia reaping the rewards of being the baby of the family -- the pink dress was E's first monogrammed dress and the striped dress is Lydia's first. Miss L has a three year head start on her sister. When I was growing up, we always joked about Whit's first car being an Accord and my first car being a Cavalier [which I was blown away by because it was brand new and I expected to get my dad's old camry when I got my license]. Guess, it's bound to happen at some point.

Oh, Lydia, you're sister really just wants you to get in on the fun. Hopefully, L will enjoy it more as she gets older. 

war eagle!

yesterday

hanging out at the park with her best bud eating bread -- life is good

Keegan's parents have a loaner minivan for a bit, so we checked it out in the parking lot. After hopping in all by herself and walking around inside, she leaned over and whispered to me, "Momma, I want a miniman."

We'll just have to see about that one.