Sunday, June 25, 2017

Selah June and I had an evening together by ourselves while Jeremy went to a work meeting. We had such a full week of playing and activity with Sebastian and then Satie and Sebastian that we were ready for some time to just be in the yard giggling while we kicked around our new big purple ball.

The weather was really mild, and we stayed on the porch until the mosquitoes got too bad.

She loves running, and she really likes to kick the ball. I think we might have a runner/soccer player on our hands. (Much to my chagrin. I’ve told Jeremy repeatedly how much I HATE organized sports because of the amount of time they suck up of every weekend and many weeknights.) How did this happen???

Now whenever I try to catch a picture of her, she turns her head away or keeps herself in constant motion.

But I’ll take that. It’s all the motion that brightens my life. She’s really developing both an imagination and the ability to crack herself up and be cracked up by others. She’s laughed when tickled and laughed when something slapstick has happened, but she’s now started laughing when people say something that is funny. It’s really nuanced the difference, but something is going on in that little brain of hers! She’s going to be a soccer-playing comedian.

We LOVE sidewalk chalk. And I don’t particularly care what we use it on. Consequently, I find chalk marks on the house, the furniture, my car, and of course all over her body.

I am so blessed.

June 22, 2017

After naptime, Selah June and Sebastian took me on an adventure to Sonic for a pineapple slush and a lemonade and then to Target for popcorn and toys we could play outside. We got a big purple ball to kick around, two sets of sidewalk chalk, a rocket launcher, a swimming turtle for the bath, and a new plastic pool.

They were really good the whole time. And we had a great time playing at Chic Fil-a in the late afternoon and then transitioned to our house before the sun went down to play with our new toys over a 30-count box of chicken nuggets.

Selah June wanted to hear the Shake It Off song. I found it on YouTube, and then she discovered it was a music video.

But of course she wouldn’t smile for a selfie.

I asked Sebastian if he also wanted to take a picture with a silly face. And this is what happened.

Wednesday, June 21, 2017

It finally let up a bit on Thursday, and we were able to get outside long enough to pick the blueberries off our bush (tree).

They each had a separate bucket, and wanted me to evenly drop blueberries from the top of the bush into each of the buckets. Selah June and Bastian really helped me pick all the green onions out of the front box garden too. And Holy Cow!!!  There were a lot. I spent the rest of the morning chopping and bagging them. By the time I was done, the whole house smelled for days like onions.

It started drizzling (AGAIN), and so we took the fruits of our labor inside and enjoyed them while watching a movie.

Tuesday, June 20, 2017

It rained the entire time Sebastian Jones was at our house. We had to get a little creative after a few days.

This week I was very happy that I had a large front porch.

June 20, 2017

With Bastian Jones at our house this week, we decided to plan an adventure to the theater for Selah June’s first movie in a theater experience. The weather was absolutely terrible, but that made it all the more adventurous to actually get there safe and sound and loaded up with tickets, apple juice, and popcorn in time for the movie previews.

Jeremy greeted us at the door with Cars hats for both of them. Selah June squealed with delight and hurriedly followed behind Bastian and her daddy.

it was dark in that theater!  You don’t realize how scary it all is until you experience it through the eyes and heart of a two year-old. The music was really loud, but nothing stopped her. She climbed up those stairs as quickly as she could, her Mickey water shoes drenched and her poor little turquoise pocket pants wet around the ankles.

She picked out her seat next to Bastian, and the rest of us just accommodated. She held on to both her drink and her popcorn for quite some time, but eventually decided to put her popcorn cup in the drink holder.

I was really proud of her. She hung in there through about 20 minutes of previews and then an hour and a half of the movie. She Sanger out loud to one of the songs she knew in a preview. Jeremy and I just laughed at her.

And of course she worried about the cars at the stressful parts of the movie. “What happened??”

Who makes these kid movies so long? Are they crazy??? Make a 45 minute movie and charge half as much!!!  No kid sits well through a 2+hour movie without A) falling asleep, B) having to potty, or C) losing interest and climbing all over the place.

They both did great, but I can’t say that we made it to the end. Ultimately Selah June had to go potty and then got distracted by the rides and games in the lobby.

I was with Bastian, and even he had to go potty eventually.

as a side note, I had the worst migraine I’ve ever had. I ended up leaving the kids with Jeremy to puke in the bathroom. Man, it was so bad. The weather is to blame, I’m sure.

Sunday, June 11, 2017

Selah June looked very patriotic for Sunday church.

and there were a lot of newly-planted beds in the courtyard. The flowers were beautiful, and the kids loved the new playground that had sprung up as well.

Selah June of course could be found in the playhouse with kitchen.

She was in a good mood on the way home and kept pretending to fall asleep. When we called her out on it – “You better not be going to sleep!!” – she just squealed and squealed.

Grammy and Grandpa celebrated their 45th wedding anniversary today. Dad asked that all of us go to dinner at Outback, and so we took Selah June to the park after her nap to wear her out a bit before trying to get her to sit still at the table with all the kids.

Given what we were asking them to do, they all did amazing. Maybe there is hope for calm family dinners once more…

June 10, 2017

We made the trek back home today from the mountains. Selah June was an absolute angel the whole way home. We had one or two little misadventures, but they were not her fault and she handled them like a champ. Of course we ate lunch at Chick-fil-A.

Even though I wore stretchy comfortable clothes, I still felt the need to wear my new treasure from Asheville publisher trip 2017…

June 8, 2017

After working for the day at Soomo and nap time, Selah June took us all on a roller coaster of a time to the nearby outlet mall. She didn’t really feel like shopping in Restoration Hardware Outlet. Go figure.

However, she did want to ride the rides in the food court when we passed them on our way to the potty. I told her I didn’t have a lot of money (coins) to put in the machine, so she needed to be very careful about picking which one she wanted to ride.

We tried out the school bus for a long time. She made me get in there with her.

She really liked the race car and decided it was the one she really wanted to ride.

There was also an ice cream truck, and SJ did not want to leave it AT ALL. That was a screaming fighting match for mommy to handle trying to drag her away from the center of the food court with lots of other mommies and kids watching.

While Grammy and Grandpa walked down to the West Elm Outlet, we went into the Vera Bradley Outlet to look for a new lunch bag for me. What I didn’t count on was Selah June picking out a new lunch bag that she had to have. It was purple, and she was dead set on it leaving the store with us. So now SJ has a beautiful lunch bag, and I’m still using the same old crappy one I always use.

She even wrote on the signature card to let people know it belongs to her.

After the mall, we went to eat at Tupelo Honey. It was a long wait, and we had a very sleepy (and thus fidgety) little one. The food was good, but we were all pretty wiped out.

June 9, 2017

SJ sat in her chair by the window for her morning oatmeal, and I just couldn’t stand how awesome the light was coming in the window. I wanted to take her picture, and she knew it. That little stinker would not cooperate for anything.

Tuesday, June 6, 2017

Sweet Selah June did an amazing job on our road trip to the mountains. She did not have a single accident the whole way. We took our little potty, and she used it all the way there, and she actually didn’t need it and used the big potty on the way home.

There were some really good naps in the back seat.

At lunch we took a long break to eat some lunch and stretch our legs. Selah June loved the pink flowers that looked like her shirt and shorts.

When we got to our little mountain cabin, Selah June found a little room just for her and her toys. And she found some great magazines and pamphlets on Asheville.

Mom and I went to Trader Joe’s across the street to get some dinner. The sunset was spectacular. This picture doesn’t do it justice.

Grammy made ravioli for supper. SJ was a big fan.

Sunday, June 4, 2017

Our blueberries have ripened to the point of providing us a harvest every few days.

Selah June and I make a point in the afternoons while Daddy is grilling for dinner to take a cup out to gather the ripest berries from the bush.

She gets all of the ones on the bottom, and I collect the ones that are too high for her to reach.

Sel

The hydrangeas in the backyard are coming into full bloom, and I really wanted to get her picture with them. This is about as close as I could coax her into getting to them and definitely is the best “say cheese” of the whole lot.

Monday, June 5, 2017

Mommy and Selah June went on an adventure with Grammy and Grandpa to the mountains to Asheville. I needed to work on textbook edits, and I thought it might be a fun adventure for Mom and Dad and would help me take SJ along.

We told SJ on Monday night that we would be going on a trip and that she needed to pack any toys she needed to take with her.

She said “OK!” And she ran off into her toy room. Jeremy went in to check on her to see how she was doing and what in the world could be making so much noise.

“Daddy, leave me alone. I need to pack my things. I’m putting everything.”

Jeremy asked where she was “putting” everything. And then he presented her with a small suitcase.

After a few minutes…

“Everything can fit, Daddy! The hat can fit too!”