Spring Break is this upcoming week, but one of the downsides of my sweet job is that I don’t get a break unless I take leave. So I decided to take leave. But, by the time I decided to take leave, everybody else in the office already had travel plans in place. So I decided Spring Break needed to come early. I took off Friday, and I’m taking off tomorrow to give us the space to have a little fun.

On Friday, we spent the day stopping by the garden workday out at the UWF Community Garden, eating Chick-a-lay, hanging out with Grammy while Grandpa went to his improv lesson, and then having dinner and a sleepover with Daddy at their house. SJ helped Grammy make a wonderful dinner. She loved putting all the fancy placemats on the table, as well as folding the napkins and placing them with silverware at each setting.

On Saturday, we went to the zoo. It was an experiment. The last couple of times we’ve taken her to the zoo, she’s really liked the train but not the animals so much. This time, however, she really got a kick out of feeding the goats out of her cup. The goats being so eager to get some of those pellets gave her the giggles.

And it was all fun and games until the pig.

After our nap, we woke up to a fun surprise — dinner with Mimi, Satie and Sebastian, Grammy and Grandpa!!!

Friday, March 2, 2018

This week was Dr. Seuss week at school. All the crafts were Seuss-themed. They read Dr. Seuss books. And there was a prop out in the lobby for people to take pics of their kids. (The staff made me get in there with her. Looking back, it’s not like me not to want to get in the photo. That was Aunt Flo being mean to me.)

We asked SJ all week whether she liked Dr. Seuss. She said she loves him. “He writes words for kids to learn.” In her little voice, it sounds like, “He writes words for kids to wearn” with all the emphasis that italics can portray.

Sunday, March 4, 2018

The weekends are my favorite time of the week. They are also sometimes really hard. We have a different rhythm to our days, and 3 year olds need to stick to their schedules. The extra treats we have, the later naps we take, and the different kind of play we do all serve as a recipe for a few fits.

But today we had a lot of fun. SJ likes watching Pinky Dinky Do. One of the parts of the show is time in the story box. Pinky leads everybody to the story box and then once inside tells make believe stories. So today Selah June and I made her a story box of her very own. We colored it’s walls and added stickers to its walls and floor. She added some books and toys to a corner of it and rolled around for a while enjoying her new little space.

The weather has been wonderful. We’ve enjoyed late afternoon play on our swing set. Each afternoon as we turn in the driveway to park, she exclaims,” Mom! Look! My park’s still here!.” I don’t know why she thinks Santa might take it back, but we’re really happy that the thought hasn’t occurred to him yet.

Much to her daddy’s chagrin, she really likes leaning backwards while she’s swinging. It freaks him out… which kind of makes her extra happy.

February 14, 2018

Selah June was really into Valentines Day this year. We went to Grammy’s on Monday and made cards for everyone in our class at school. We made more cards for more kids on Tuesday night at Grandpa’s jazz concert. And we took our Valentines cookies with us on Wednesday to share with our class.

But the biggest Valentines gift was the unexpected one Selah June gave me on Wednesday morning.

I found in the laundry basket of clean clothes a black skirt with white hearts on it. So I found a matching shirt for a perfect outfit for SJ for the day. And I fully expected that she wouldn’t want to wear it because she never wants to wear the first suggested option. When I showed it to her, of course she didn’t like it. So I left her watching cartoons to go blow dry my hair. About 5 minutes later, she threw open the doors to the bathroom and let out a big cackle. I looked over at her, and she had put her clothes on by herself!  WHAT??!!

It didn’t matter at all that she had her shirt on backwards. Who cares?

When we got to school, I bragged and bragged on her – telling everybody how happy it made me. Again she let out her signature cackles. The teachers all cracked up.

Friday, February 2, 2018

Selah June and I got to spend a lot of good quality time together over the weekend while Daddy was away. It was Chris’ birthday (the big 40), and they went on a guy trip to Vegas.

We tried to get Daddy on FaceTime, but we couldn’t. So we took some selfies instead.

Sunday, February 4, 2018

Mom and Dad had a Super Bowl Party, and everybody supported the Whole30 experiment I’ve been on with them. Jeremy was still out of town, so we were glad for the company.

1. The kids stayed upstairs most of the night, only occasionally coming down to see us. One trip down the stairs brought SJ in a big pink hat. Look at that mess…

Saturday, February 3, 2018

Selah June and I spent the day with Grammy and Grandpa because Daddy was out of town. We packed 2 big toys in our Frozen backpack to play at their house. We chose our Calico Critters and LEGO’s. And then Grammy had MORE sets of LEGO’S.

The only thing appropriate to wear for a special sleepover is jammies!!!

I want to just bottle everything Selah June says right now to keep it forever. Take the word “forever,” for example. Right now, she says “forebber.” Paw Patrol is “Haw T’ Troll” or “Haw B’ Troll.” I need to listen to her say it a little more closely. I told Jeremy that I thought she might have a cavity, and she overheard me. She said, “Do I have a cabitty???” And she said it like she was freaked out!

Yes! You eat too much junk food! You little monkey!

Her “th” sounds are also a little garbled at the moment. Sometimes “bath” is “baff.” I love it. I don’t dare correct her because I want to savor in her highly verbal three-year-old cuteness as long as it lasts.

Somewhere she heard “tally-ho,” and now that’s one of her pet expressions.

The other day, I was using the toilet, and I yelled out to Jeremy that I was really hungry. And she yelled back with attitude “You better eat girrrrl!” Made us both crack up.

Today, Jeremy told her that if she was good in the grocery store and listened on the way home, she could watch a video. In response, she said: “Hey Daddy, I already am good!”

Tuesday, January 16, 2018

Getting in the car is darn near impossible these days. She gets distracted by EVERY LITTLE THING. Here she found one of the PJ Masks from her birthday party. I get so impatient with her waiting to leave the house until she buckles herself in. But then I look back and see this little face.

UGGGGGGGGG

Here’s another heartbreaker.

It’s so hard to catch her standing still that I seized the opportunity when she was totally lost in some show.

She’s growing up too fast.

January 13-15, 2018 (MLK Day Weekend)

It was sooooo cold this weekend! The temperature dropped down into the 30s. Selah June really wanted to play on her playground, but it was so ridiculously cold. It’s impossible to get her to stand still. So most of our pictures end up looking a bit like this. We’ll call them “action shots.” She really liked running from me as I would peek at her with my camera.

Grammy and Grandpa came over a couple of times for dinner. Mom finally felt better after being really really sick. And Selah June told them she didn’t have a hat. So Grandpa of course asked Grammy and Mommy to pick up a hat and some mittens while we were out.

This is what happened.