Savoring Three

Dear Caroline,

At three years old, you love being with your Mommy so much.

During our history learning co-op this year, you often choose to stay with me while I teach.  You draw, suck your thumb and listen intently, smile at the high-school kids, and occasionally wander out into the hall before coming back to Mommy's classroom.  You have your own class you could go to, but you are quite content to stay put.  :)  One particular Friday, as the high school students worked on a small project on their laptops, I taught while you did this in my lap:


 
At three, you've decided you prefer to sleep with me.  In my bed.  You've started telling Daddy, "you can go sleep in your bed now. " (his bed is actually your bed, which Daddy goes to in order to avoid middle-of-the-night kicks and punches).  "Mommy," you say, "I want to lay close to you so that I can feel you against me."

 

At three, crowds of kids give you pause.  At a birthday tea party for one of your sister's friends, the temptation to the tea party table was enough to overcome a dislike of being in crowd. This is how you took your tea (my hand never leaving your hand for a second).  One of the moms nearby whose children are now older, smiled at me and said, "just enjoy it."  I actually didn't need her reminder.  I am enjoying it. 

Caroline, I am savoring three.  :)

Love and hugs and kisses my sweet girl,

Mama

More Adventuring

Missed a couple of Adventure Sundays lately. Here is a three week re-cap.

Faced with cold temperatures and wind, we decided to adventure....down the driveway. We lit some need-to-burn-anyway stacks of wood and hung out by the creek for a couple of hours. Firing up the jet boil for some Ramen noodles made it even more adventure-y. It was just as much fun as "going" somewhere; the point, after all, is to be outside, for an extended period of time, together.

It was really cold and windy the following week as well (and cloudy), so we didn't mind being in the car for awhile. We headed to Cave in Rock (about an hour drive away). The girls were fascinated by the cave. Despite being slightly disappointed she didn't find any real pirate treasure, Jenna said, "I wish we could live here."





The girls packed lots of Barbies in their packs and got them all out to play with as Daddy prepared lunch in the jet boil (we are all loving that!). We think it likely it's the first time Barbies have entered the cave.  The girls were in no rush to go, but it started getting cold. We took the ferry across to Kentucky and then rode it back again. Everybody enjoyed that !

Me helping Caroline across a gap, Jenna on far left of picture

And then this last Sunday, temperatures were near 60 degrees. We worked in the garden for awhile and then hit the Fort Massac Bike Trail. Jenna has tons of confidence on a bike now and she shot off. We have never seen anybody's legs pump as hard on a trike as Caroline's were pumping to keep up with Jenna. She would pump until her legs couldn't possibly keep up with the pedals anymore and then splay her legs wide until the pedals were back to a manageable speed. She rode a long way considering she was on a little trike, but eventually wore out trying to keep up with big sister's bigger bike. Bryan and I realized that both kids are much too fast for us to ever try walking next to their bikes anymore. We ended up doing lots of running and hearing, "C,moooooonnnn!" We had a blast!

Happy Anniversary!! part Deux

Ok. So I have commandeered your blog to give you a little "Anniversary Present". Funny how writing in this format causes one to say things in ways and use words that one would not typically do! Come on, you know I love the word commandeer. Of course I couldn't spell it...but I did know how to use it. Anyway, I thought I would get on here and put my own post up for you for posterity's sake. So, here we go.

This is one of the many reasons that I am absolutely in LOVE with you!

No, not because you posed for a family photo in front of a graffiti laced rock (this photo was taken just to the side of the entrance to Cave In Rock on 2/19/12). But because you have pushed for a "family adventure" day every Sunday! I look forward to this day every week now. The only thing I love more than this day is the fact that I am married to a woman who values our family enough to push us to have this day. If it were left up to me, the kids and I would just lay on the couch all weekend eating spoonfuls of peanut butter and watching "Martha Speaks" over and over. "Hey Girl. I love the way you get our family out of the house and spending quality time together outdoors. We really are at our best when we do this. I get it."

Here is another reason why I am so madly in LOVE with you after almost 12 years.

(Who knew that you could balance on your side, while holding the girls, on Tucker's paws, while he was standing on his back?!)

You are an absolutely incredible mother! I think I tell you this frequently, but I REALLY do mean it. Your maternal instincts are beyond anything I could ever imagine. Truly, you never cease to amaze me with your level of caring, patience, attention, empathy, love and understanding that you provide our girls. I am a lucky man to have married such a phenomenal mother! I think the thing I appreciate most about your mothering skills is right when I am beginning to develop a massive inferiority complex over my relative lack of parental aptitude, I hear you "mini" lose it with the girls and say something that I swear could have just come out of my mouth. Through all the crying and screaming I can't help but smile inside and think, "Damn I love that woman!". "Hey Girl. I understand you didn't have time to shower today because you were busy taking the girls outside, playing people and teaching them life lessons, massaging hurt feelings, fixing breakfast-snacks-lunch-snacks-dinner, doing laundry, playing the violin with Jenna, reading to Caroline and a couple other things. I like the way you smell."

A few other reasons I Love you and feel like I won the life partner lottery!

You love to run, bike, push yourself, compete and soak up the beautiful outdoors as much as I do. How many men can say that about their wife? I'll tell you. A big frickin' NONE! That's how many.

You get fired up about projects! I love your passion and enthusiasm for everything from gardening to homeschooling to parenting to traveling to teaching to life in general. You are the engine that keeps me and this family moving in the right direction. "Hey girl. I know you didn't sleep much last night because you were up until 2:00 am on Pintrist looking for new ways to think about new ways. I'll fix the girls breakfast."

You are Smoking Ass Hot!! I mean come on. Is it really fair to other women to look that good? I would hate you if I was a girl. I think you are 10 times hotter now than you were when we were in high school (you were hot then too!). "Hey girl. You are fine! Mmmm Mmmmm!"

And finally, you have been willing to keep this guy around for a few years.

What more could I ask for?

Happy Anniversary!
Love,
b

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Just in case we ever forget why my thoughtful and funny husband was talking like a Valley Girl with his, "Hey Girl..." comments in his Happy Anniversary Post....

There are several of these floating around the internet right now and they crack us up. We've been texting occasionally in the "hey girl" and "hey boy" format.