Monday, September 26, 2016

You probably expected the title to be something about a 2-year-old’s birthday.  But that’s the thing! It is!  Selah Juney had an amazing, adventure-full day with all the adrenaline that sharks and lightening as well as cupcakes and bubbles bring.

She woke up excited to go to the beach!  – A promise I made last week that she never once wavered from seeing to fruition. I’ve been sick, so I didn’t know how it would go, but the weather was beautiful… at least for the first 45 minutes we were out there.  I’m glad her birthday is in late September.  It doesn’t compete against any other birthdays.  I’ll never have scheduling conflicts with work obligations.  The weather I perfect this time of year.  And there’s always the possibility of hurricane days.

We had a delicious breakfast of BBQ chips and picked up Mimi, Satie, and Sebastian for our adventure. We got out there at about 10, saw baby sharks (about 18 -24 inches), saw a HUGE pink jellyfish, played with a new Disney’s Little Mermaid bubble wand, and got shewed off the beach by a thunder storm.  I haven’t been soaked like that out at the beach and not by the ocean in a very long time.

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beach

We came home and all took baths and got cleaned up for birthday lunch at Chick-fila.  Selah June wanted to play her bubble wand in the car on the way to lunch, so I said “what the heck.”  Bubbles never hurt anything, right?  (Let’s hope so…because a lot of bubble juice is now in my car.)

I ordered a family pack of 30 nuggets, and this little munchkin chowed down.  She ate more than both the other kids combined.  They went and played, and she kept on eating nuggets.  I have no idea how many she ended up eating.  It was A LOT! She’s a growing girl!  Apparently, 2-year-olds eat more than 1-year-olds.

When SJ started to hit her nap time wall, we hurried over to Jessica’s house for some birthday cupcakes.  Little Miss had a unique way of eating them.

birthday cupcakes

I might not have felt very well, but it did my heart a lot of good to spend this special day with this very special little girl.  This is definitely going to be a Mommy tradition.  What a FULL day!!

p.s. – I guess I should mention the Zika.  A very suspicious mosquito made it into the car after lunch, and we all thought it looked a lot like a Zika carrier.  We can neither confirm nor deny the facts.  The mosquito is no longer of this world.

The light wasn’t great inside the restaurant, so my pictures are blurry.  But Satie and Selah June had no trouble entertaining themselves at La Hacienda.  Satie let SJ wear her headband, and SJ thought that was the coolest thing ever.  She was such a big girl!

She insisted on sitting in the chair on the end, and she wanted Satie to sit next to her.  I got her her own kid’s meal of chicken fingers and fries.  The chicken was huge!  And she managed to eat two of the three big tenders.  That was a bigger dent than Sebastian made.

As they finished up their meals, they started venturing over to the fountain.  It was very difficult for them to keep their hands out of it.

So cute…

Tuesday, September 20, 2016

I picked up this adorable monkey from school, and she was sacked out before we made it home.  She learned how to drink from a water fountain!  How amazing is that?  It required her to stand on a step stool, push down on the lever, and stick her face in the water.  All of those things are things in an of themselves.  I was so impressed with my little girl.  Of course, when I arrived all the kids were just coming in from the playground.  They were all so hot and thirsty.  The teachers had successfully gotten them to sit down lined up against the brick wall to wait for their turn to get to go to the water fountain.  When Selah June saw me, she jumped up and ran inside…and her first stop was the water fountain.  I think we seriously cut the line.  (Yikes!)

I am just amazed that those teachers manage order among a whole group of 1-2 year-olds. How is that even possible?  I can’t manage order with one 2-year-old.

That’s probably what I find so enchanting about these quiet moments in the car.  There’s a certain mystifying magic about the calm in the eye of the storm.

Jeremy and I are really trying to make our family time together count.  I know everybody says that, and who am I to think I’m any different.  But with all the technology in our lives, there’s a certain need to tune in to each other and tune out from the rest of the world for a while.

We decided to do something together as a family before dinner.  So when Selah June expressed some interest in play-doh, I grabbed all of them and steered us all to the table. She really just wanted to stack them all, but it gave us a great opportunity to talk to each other and explore new uses for regular kitchen items. We mushed play-doh with spatulas and tongs and stacked up our mini play-dohs as high as we could before they toppled down.

Saturday, September 17, 2016

Daddy bought Miss Selah June her very own OU cheerleader uniform while he was in Oklahoma.  She was sported it like a champ for Saturday football. We tried to get her to yell “Boomer Sooner!”  But her little jokester self kept saying with pursed lips under her breath “boomer sooner.”  All you could hear were some random consonants that kind of sounded familiar.

Satie Isabella lost her front tooth (FINALLY)….  We’ve been wiggling the stew out of that tooth for at least a week, and it finally came out!  She also got a new swim cap and pair of goggles.  She is an Olympic swimmer!

Sunday, September 18, 2016

We went to church Sunday morning and then joined Mom and Dad at Santino’s for lunch.  SJ got to sit next to her Grandpa, who notably was wearing a white blazer.  I think it was probably some variant of linen.  Jeremy strongly advised him to take it off before handing SJ her plate of pizza.  And it was a solid idea.  She’s been a little sick with a cold, and not long after starting her pizza he had a coughing fit and hurled all over Grandpa’s hands and lap.  (Bluhhhhh)

We brought her home (after grossing out the entire restaurant and it’s staff.  She seemed fine but had another round of it at the end of her nap. I think it was just her gag reflex being triggered by her cough, but we watched her closely for the rest of the evening.  Jeremy went in early Monday morning to make sure that we were covered in case I had to stay home in the morning with her.

She’s a little bossy…

But Grandpa will still give her anything she wants…

Including the pepper.

Because who doesn’t need some pepper on their pre-pizza-lunch cookie?

Spoiled?  Just a wee bit.

Friday, September 16, 2016

Mommy took Selah June to school today to give Daddy some more time at work before he had to leave for “Doughnuts with Daddy.” We spent our time snuggling and breaking into a set of flower gel decals we got as a surprise in the mountains.  She was really into it, and I hated having to interrupt our fun to take her to school.

She woke up wanting to play her toy trumpet, and she wouldn’t leave it at home.  It had to go to school with us. (And I wasn’t sure how I would protect all the little kids from SJ’s wheezy cold.) We later found out that the music teacher was thrilled to hear that Selah June had insisted on bringing her trumpet.

On the way we talked about our plan to go to Satie’s house for the afternoon.

Jessica picked her up and took her home for a snack and a nap.  And she slept really hard.  It’s definitely been a recovery day.  She returned to the decals and pretty quickly ripped one in half.  That made her mad, and she wanted me to fix it.  I explained that we couldn’t put it back together, but we could put both pieces on the window to look like it was not torn. She seemed okay with that option.  (Crisis averted.)

Over dinner, Jeremy and I started talking about the news, and all of a sudden we noticed that every mention of “Trump” was followed by “trumpet? trumpet? trumpet??”  So cute….Much cuter than Trump.

We moved into the living room after dinner and found Cars on tv. Of course we had to watch.  Jeremy looked over and asked SJ, “Are you picking your nose?”  And sincerely she replied “yes.”

Tuesday, September 13, 2016

Jeremy has really wanted to break the routine up just a bit by incorporating some family activities other than watching cartoons into our time together at home in the evenings after her nap.  We were going to go to the library during his Republican meeting but decided to try that adventure on another day. Tonight, when Jeremy got home, we started talking about options.  When we mentioned calling Grammy and Grandpa to see what their plans were, SJ piped up “Grandpa’s house? Bathing Suits? Down? Okay!”  She really doesn’t need anybody else’s contribution to develop and execute a plan. And she assumes that Jeremy will assent to her request.  With speedy tacit consent, she moves on to the charge for action.  “Okay!”  It’s really adorable.  I hope that somewhere along the way I’ve captured it on video.

We went to Grandpa’s house, and she knocked on the door.  Tap, tap, tap.  “Mommy! Knock on the door!” I helped.  Grammy came to the door, and SJ ran right by her screaming.  When she didn’t find Grandpa in the living room, it was “Where’d Grandpa go?” Then she saw him in the kitchen and the screaming started up again.  Here’s the two reunited at last.

Sickening, isn’t it?

She immediately wanted everyone to put their bathing suits on.  THANK GOODNESS DAD PAID FOR SOLAR!!!!! Dad and Jeremy made it into the pool before Mom and I did.  And they warned us that she has started just running along the pool and jumping into the water regardless of whether or not you’re ready. I perhaps already knew that because of our recent adventures at the indoor and outdoor pools in the mountains.  She’s completely fearless.

She likes to use the noodle to float so that she can kick and “swim” on her own. The only problem is that noodles are a little precarious.

You can easily flip over while holding onto a noodle.

As you can see, she doesn’t seem to mind.

Jeremy noted that she seems to have changed just over the last week.  It’s so true.  Every single day there is something different.  She now really knows her colors.  She’s singing songs more and more.  Her favorite at the moment is Old Mac Donald, but every verse she wants to be about a duck.  We have to plead for more diversity.  A cow? A cat? A pig? Always a duck.

Monday, September 12, 2016

Monday morning came all too quickly for the little Evans family.  Our weekend away was so awesome and I was so able to check out that the return to work was a brutal one.  Selah June was excited to go to school, but she really wanted to go see Grandpa.

Jeremy had Escambia County Republican meeting, and so Selah June and I took a trip to the store to buy groceries.  She really likes riding in the cart with the steering wheels, and she also likes going to the bakery and getting a cookie.  She surprised me by asking for the sugar cookie with sprinkles rather than the chocolate chip cookie. Here’s a video (while the car was stopped) of her trying to keep her feet from me. It’s tough being nearly 2.

Monday struggles

She entertained herself while I put away groceries.  Before I knew it she had pulled everything out of my purse on the table and was having herself a grand old time.

Thursday, September 8, 2016 – Sunday, September 11, 2016

We went on an adventure to the Smoky Mountains for a family gathering of the 2911 (donor) half-siblings – or diblings as we fondly call them. A total of 9 families were able to join us this time.  A few of the families made a trip to Chicago previously, but we didn’t make than one. After this trip, I think I’m fully prepared to travel with her.  She’s a real trooper.  She did GREAT!!  I’m super proud of her.  All she needed was a steady stream of favorite cartoons, and she was good to go. Both going there and coming home, she didn’t get restless until about 7 hours in.

As we headed into north Georgia, the kids started squealing about seeing the mountains. I think I caught a little bit of the spirit on camera.

The view from the cabin was beautiful.  The kids were very good and didn’t climb where they shouldn’t or go outside without an adult.  We could have used a whole lot more time just being outside, reading, going on walks, taking advantage of all the amenities, and resting. Three nights was great, but I would have gladly stayed longer.

Satie and Sebastian loved the cabin and all the kids.  Sebastian was the oldest one there, so he didn’t have much trouble carving out a space with the toys he wanted to use.  And he loved the theater room and all the kid movies playing throughout the weekend.

One night we went out (because I’m lame and forgot to get certain essential items for the guft exchange).  We saw Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge at night and marveled at all the random people sitting along the main drag in folding chairs just tailgating for no apparent reason. There was an old car show going on, but it didn’t appear to be related to that.  So odd…

The kids had glow in the dark sticks that kept them very preoccupied.  We think Bastian might have confiscated these from all the diblings’ gift bags. They didn’t seem to notice…  SJ had to have the purple one – apparently her new favorite color.

After a long adventure, we returned home with only one sleeping kid. And it wasn’t Selah June. It was a late night for sure. While the adults played Cards Against Humanity, we put the little ones to bed.  I fell asleep with Miss Selah June and was down for the night.

Here’s communal eating experienced by the kids and then the adults.

This is Lily, one of the few other girls in the group.

On the last night, Jackie led the kids in a craft activity.  SJ wanted to get into those “colors” SO BADLY!!!!

We asked the kids to say “cheese!”  You can see Satie’s reaction.

One of the moms had the idea to get the kids to frame their little faces with the picture frames.  SJ was on board, but coordinating that with saying “cheese” was a lot of pressure!

This is Willow, the last of the three little girls there. She was so sweet, and she seemed to be exactly at the same verbal place with Selah June.  They sang songs to each other.  It was too precious for words.

Here is the little artist hard at work!

The boys…

This was the only group shot we got of everybody. What a gang!

The lst morning we woke up to this view.  Jess explained to Satie why they are called the Smoky Mountains. Really beautiful…

We got on the road early and made great time.  Grammy’s DVD player for the win!!  As long as SJ could hold it, she was content to ride and ride and ride.  We discovered that we really like Dinosaur Train.  We really really really like it.

And this little monkey is losing her front tooth.  She worked it all weekend, and now it’s just a snaggly hot mess.  We joked that she looked like a hillbilly zombie.

One of the funniest moments of the trip was after we made our last stop.  The kids ate McDonalds, and SJ snacked on her french fries later in the car.  About 10 minutes after her snack, I turned around to see how things were going.  She got this glassy-eyed look on her face and then concentrated with all her mental and physical might.  I asked her, “Are you pooping?”  And she calmly and stoically said, “Yes.” We all bursted into laughter. So funny…

Monday, September 5, 2016

Today we went to our first River Gardens neighborhood event. Miss Glenda invited us to her annual Labor Day Pancake Breakfast. Apparently it’s only for those neighbors who have been personally invited.  Her children’s children come into town to see their parents and all the friends’ families that have grown up together over the years.  It’s pretty neat.

We met Ron and Vickie who live right behind us.  She is a master gardener and gave us homemade chocolates with cayenne pepper.  Jeremy’s a huge fan of Miss Vickie. Apparently nobody really liked Dr. Brooks.  He worked in his workshop with power tools until all hours of the night.

Selah June didn’t really have an interest in sitting at the table eating pancakes.  She probably wanted to be out in Miss Glenda’s driveway running on the rocks. And ultimately that’s where she ended up.  After trying to keep her entertained and under control inside for over a half hour, Jeremy eventually told me they’d be waiting for me outside. Ron visited with him while they both watched SJ run like a crazy person.

Selah June and I left from there and went to Satie’s house.  While Jess and I (but really Jess) put together gift bags for the half-sib families, Selah June and Satie swirled about the living area making musical messes with a fantastic Disney toy Satie brought back from their trip.

bubbles video

This evening over dinner, SJ was claiming all of Daddy’s attention.  If he even tried to respond to a question I asked of him, she would crane her head around to give him direct eye contact and distract him from our conversation.  I told her that Daddy was “MY daddy.”  (Weird, I know.)  She smiled and said with a knowing tone, “Noooooooooo…..  My Daddy!  Selah June’s Daddy.”  She waved her hand dismissively for dramatic effect.  What a mess.

In other news, she chowed down on some polish sausage tonight!

And she asked to hold my hand while we all snuggled in bed…? And then promptly suggested cupcakes.

publix movie

Sunday, September 4, 2016

After our Sunday afternoon ritualistic nap, we all loaded up in the car and headed out to our neighborhood Publix to bag groceries for the week.  Selah June loves to ride in the cart that looks like a car, so Jeremy makes sure to hunt one down for her each and every trip.  He also takes her back to the bakery so she can ask nicely for a cookie.  It usually sounds like “Pleeeeeeeaaaaaasssseeeeee.”  And the lady says “what kind would you like?” And in a deep goofy voice she says “chocolate.”  By the time we make it to the other side of the store, she’s one big sticky chocolate mess.

She’s started really trying to engage people (and things) she meets out and about. She told some college kids while we were in Publix to “go guys!”  And then asked “how you today?”

Every time we drive up to the house now, she says “hey Daddy’s car! How you today?  I’m good…” And today she tried to tell the carhop at Sonic all about taking her shoes off and her stinky feet.

The funniest things today were while we were just sitting around the house.  After nap time, Jeremy brought her upstairs.  We were all laying on the bed.  Jeremy let one rip…and then so did she.  “Daddy poop; Selah June poop.”