Wedding Bells

Here's a photo of the latest obsession for Beth and Amy. They are both going to be acting as flower girls for Aunt Mary's wedding on Saturday, and the excitement is reaching a fever pitch. Their concept of time is a bit blurry, but they both are well aware of the fact that the event they have been waiting for is almost here. Amy asks constantly "how many more tomorrows until I am going to be walking down the aisle with my flower basket?"

But the shoes. Allow me to explain. The girls have been begging for "very dressy white shoes" to wear with their flower girl dresses, so we searched long and hard to find the perfect ones. On Tuesday morning we finally located them. The inside of the shoe has a sparkling silver lining, and although I have warned them that no one will really see that part of the shoe, it remains their favorite part. "We GLITTER!" they exclaim with glee.

The shoes have been on their feet continuously since yesterday morning. They slept with the shoes at the foot of their beds for the past two nights. The shoes sit on the kitchen chairs next to them during meals. They are never more than 3 feet away from their "wedding shoes". It's true love.

The shoes have a 1-inch heel, and I will confess to feeling more than a little nervous about their ability to walk in them on Saturday without tripping. But they certainly have been getting a lot of practice, so hopefully it all goes well. Wish us luck!

We're back!

We've returned from a wonderful week at Uncle Tom and Aunt Audrey's beach house. The weather was absolutely perfect, and the girls made some wonderful memories, swimming at the beach, resting and playing at the house, and eating delicious food. We even took sunset walks on the beach, enjoying the chilly evening air. The highlight of the week was Friday night. Cousins Jack, Ella and Charlie all came to their beach house for the night, and Beth, Amy, Jack and Ella had a "slumber party". The all piled into one bedroom with their sleeping bags and pillows, and laughed and giggled for a few hours before finally drifting off to sleep. Erin and Charlie slept in their playpens in separate rooms, so they missed out on the "party", but maybe by next year they will be big enough to join in! We returned yesterday afternoon, and the girls seemed happy to curl up into their beds after their busy week.

Today was Nana and Grampy's 40th wedding anniversary party! Uncle John is home from Rome, so he said a beautiful Mass, where Nana and Grampy renewed their wedding vows. We then headed over to Tom and Audrey's for an amazing clambake out in their gorgeous backyard gardens. I don't eat seafood, but Dan tells me that the lobsters and clams were incredible, and luckily there was also chicken and steak for the meat-eaters in the group! The afternoon was filled with laughter from all the cousins, as the kids romped and played. New friendships were made with some second cousins, and Beth, Amy and Erin fell into bed once again, exhausted but full of chatter about their exciting day. What a wonderful way to honor 40 years of marriage and commitment.

And now, the laundry awaits. Going away to the beach for a week produces an incredible amount of sandy laundry, and it's time to start folding. Hopefully I'll find the bottom of the basket sometime tonight.

Baby love

Okay, I'll admit it. These last few months of constant nausea have not been easy.

But watching our new baby on ultrasound yesterday made it all worthwhile. Grampy graciously offered to watch the three girls all morning so that Dan could come to the ultrasound appointment with me (his first since I was pregnant with Beth!) Being AMA (Advanced Maternal Age, for those of you unfamiliar with the terminology!), and also because this will be my fourth c-section, I am now considered "high risk". Therefore, we had to travel over an hour to have a level two ultrasound with a physician. It was a long appointment, but we had so much time to just watch in amazement. We saw perfectly formed little fingers and toes. We saw the four-chambered heart beating away. We watched the baby stretch and turn, roll and wiggle. It was truly amazing.

We're almost half-way there! Now that the sickness has abated slightly, we're both starting to get so excited about our new little addition. Please continue to keep all of us in your prayers as the baby grows and develops and gets ready to meet his/her new family!

She's getting too smart for me

AMY (as we were leaving the pharmacy): Mommy, that door is so cool. It opens up all by itself when we get near it. How does that work?

ME: Oh, it's a magic door, Amy. When we get near it, it just magically knows that it's time to open. Isn't that cool?

BETH (scornfully): That's not true at all. It's not magic. I saw it on Mr. Rogers once. There's an electronic piece on the top of the door, and it senses us coming. That piece makes the door open when we get there. People make that electronic piece. There isn't anything magic about it.

Yes, I think we're ready...

BETH (with a very worried look on her face): Mommy, I just remembered something awful. When Erin was a new baby, she used to spit up this white stuff all over the place. It could happen at any time, even when you didn't have a cloth nearby. Are you sure we're ready for that again?!

Camera shy

This was definitely Beth's big weekend to shine. This afternoon she was in a small gymnastics "show" at the YMCA. It was a very informal event, where the girls could show up any time of the day to demonstrate their routines. So at 11am we happily arrived at the gym, where we immediately realized that we were the ONLY parents there without a camera.

You're probably aware of the fact that Dan and I are notorious for forgetting a camera at major Kodak moments. We're usually lucky enough to have another camera-happy friend or family member at most events, and they are often generous enough to give us copies of the pictures. But today we were out of luck. So as the girls danced on the beam, swung on the bars, and did their cartwheels on the floor, flashes were popping all around us. Unfortunately we don't have a single picture of Beth swinging upside-down on the bars with a panicked look on her face.

After the show, the girls trooped next door to receive their medals. After each girl had a medal placed around her neck, she would climb to the top of the award stand, throw her hands up over her head, and pose for a few pictures. Her happy family would gather at the front of the crowd, snapping away.

When Beth's turn came, she proudly jumped up to the top of the podium. Her arms shot up, and she smiled out at the crowd. And smiled. And smiled. She was clearly waiting for someone to snap a photo of her big moment, but no cameras seemed to be facing her way. Finally, her friend's mother grabbed a photo of Beth, and she then climbed down.

We finished up with a celebratory lunch at McDonald's with Nana and Grampy. The girls played happily on the slides in the playroom, while Mommy stood below getting more and more nervous as they disappeared into the tunnels high above. Erin was very glad to climb into bed for a nap after her busy day!

And, after we arrived home I finally managed to grab a photo of Beth wearing her new medal.

Graduation Day

If I am teary-eyed at a preschool graduation, I wonder how emotional I'll be when college graduation rolls around?

Today Beth finished up her preschool years with an adorable graduation ceremony. Our family sat together on our assigned "picnic blanket", while the school director read a story to the children. We looked over Beth's "me" book, containing pictures of her throughout the year, along with drawings and paintings she has created. She's changed quite a bit since September! The class then sang songs for us, and they all received diplomas. We headed outside for refreshments, and Beth spent some time saying good-bye to her beloved teachers and friends.

We have been so thrilled with the cozy and loving atmosphere at her school. She has grown so much more confident over the past two years, and think it's due in large part to her amazing school. So, it was emotional for Dan and I today as well, but it helped to remember that we'll be returning again in September with Amy! We have years of fun to look forward to there, although if Beth's experience is any indication, it's certain to fly by!!

Congratulations little Beth. Daddy and I are so proud of you. You're a kindergarten student now! Summer vacation, here we come!!

Keeping your balance

AMY: Mommy, why do we have feet?

ME: Well, they help us stand up and keep our balance. Without feet, we would probably keep falling down.

(Silence for a few minutes)...

AMY: Well, that's not really true. Weeble-wobbles don't have any feet, and they never fall down. They just bounce right back up again.

Rain, rain go away

Today was a rainy, rainy day. The downpours were so heavy that I simply decided that we would remain house-bound for the entire day. Cabin fever takes on a whole new meaning, when you're stuck in the house with three cranky girls. By 10am, all three of them were fighting over toys, whining for more snacks, and the house was nearly destroyed.

I suppose you think that now I'll describe how I swooped in and saved the day with a wonderful, engaging activity. The girls began smiling, and we enjoyed the rest of our rainy Monday.

Nope. By 4pm, the girls were even crankier, and the house was messier than ever. They were still whining for more snacks.

Thankfully, they did eventually go to bed. The house is now clean. The house is now quiet. The snacks are put away.

And I'm praying for some sunshine for tomorrow.

Friendships

Today the girls and I went to visit my high school friend, Margaret. Amy and Beth love playing with her 4-year-old daughter, and Erin is just starting to notice and enjoy her 1-year-old son's company. They all had a wonderful time playing dress-up, sharing lunch together, and riding bikes outside. Amy actually managed to make it through the entire play-date without a meltdown, which is very rare for her. But when the time came to say good-bye, Amy's tears began to flow.

"I don't want to go!" she cried. And cried. And cried. All the way to the car, she sobbed and begged to stay for a bit longer. She continued to cry for the first couple of minutes in the car, and then she slowly stopped.

After a bit, she piped up from the back seat.

"Mommy, what did you do with your tears?", she asked.

I asked her what she meant by this question, and she elaborated.

"I know you must have been really, really sad to say good-bye to your friend. But you didn't even cry. Did you just swallow the tears all up, or are you just going to wait, and cry tonight?"

An interesting question, don't you think? In a way, it makes me understand her tears just a little bit better. Of course I enjoyed my friend's company, but an adult perspective on life helps me to understand the fact that I will see her again sometime soon. But 3-year-olds live in the moment. And for her, the "moment" was so enjoyable that she didn't want it to end.

I'm glad that she realizes how important friends really are. She made me realize just how special it is to spend time with good friends. So, Amy, I promise we'll get together with Anna again soon...very, very soon.