We’ve had another very full 24 hours. After naps yesterday (during which I enjoyed my time with Harry Potter and “Chuck,â€) we headed into town to explore a little park and a beach full of driftwood. We intended to stay 30 minutes or so. After an hour and a half we finally headed home! The kids spent the first chunk of time cutting up and “singing†songs and making “music†by banging on the driftwood, all captured on video. Shortly before we planned to leave Hallie started playing with a 6-year-old girl who was there with her family. This turned into an hour of tag and chase and “push over the Daddies†and “tackle the Mommies†and all sorts of fun and laughter. Hallie and Anna played a lot while Travis enjoyed Sophie, a four-year-old who was quite a bit smaller than T. They chased each other all over the place while the grownups got a little time to chat. As we finally took our leave, after several attempts, they called to us from their car that Sophie had decided she was going to marry Travis. I’m sure she won’t be the last!:-)
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We’re enjoying our first full day here on Orcas Island. It seems almost a week since Saturday morning, when we left home at the crack of dawn. It sure did take a lot of work to get out here. And I wouldn’t say the kids were perfect. But given what they (and we) were going through, we really can’t complain. And we just had to laugh when Travis started his first nap of the day 5 minutes before our second flight landed in Seattle. Typical!
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I was cleaning up after dinner last night when I watched a sweet scene. Travis picked up a copy of Are You My Mother? and handed it to Hallie. “Do you want me to read this to you?” she asked him. “Yep!” he said. And she proceeded to do just that! Read the rest of this entry »
For the last few weeks, Hallie’s gone back to being a pretty regular napper. In fact on a couple of days Travis has woken up before she has. I have to say that’s been a big help to me for getting work done and getting ready for our trip. And I’m not minding the nearly 8 am wakeups, either. But I think after our vacation we’re going to have to work on adjusting our schedule. Read the rest of this entry »
We’re doing another week of swimming lessons for both kids. Hallie’s doing a great job. She’s very comfortable in the water and has the kicking and stroking down pretty well. She just can’t get out of the habit of putting her legs down and standing to take a breath. Her teacher is working really hard with her on this. I think if she gets over this hump she’ll be cruising all over the pool by herself. Read the rest of this entry »
At the lake house last weekend Mark was downstairs with the kids when Ralph put on some Credence Clearwater Revival upstairs. The kids love CCR, and Travis came racing up as soon as he heard it. We listened to several songs and they sang and danced along. Then, as we were pulling out of the driveway on our way home, Travis started singing his own version of “Bad Moon Rising.” Read the rest of this entry »
I can’t remember if I’ve ever posted about “I mam,” but I need to before it’s gone for good. For several months, Travis has substituted “I mam” for “I am.” He used to say it right and then switched to this version. I’m not sure if he decided we think it’s cute or if he just likes his version better. Either way, I’m not noticing it so much lately so I think it’s on its way out. Just one more thing we need to capture on video before it’s gone! Read the rest of this entry »
It seems odd to consider Hallie calling last Friday “the saddest day of my life” a positive thing. But that’s how I see it. Friday was the last day of her two-week summer camp at Millbrook Baptist. She had a ball, and she told me several times during the session how she wanted to go to that camp every day for ever and ever. Read the rest of this entry »
One night last week, while Mark was gone, we got pummeled by some really severe thunderstorms. The first round came through right around bedtime. Most of the time Travis likes thunder, but he was getting kind of spooked by this storm and I really couldn’t blame him. I let them both stay up with me a while extra, since trying to put Travis to bed seemed pointless, and Travis was glued to me the whole time. Read the rest of this entry »
Over the last week or two Travis has had some tough naptimes and bedtimes. He’d be just fine right until I was about to leave. He’d be sweet and snuggly, given me lots of cute little pats and stroked and murmurs while I’d read and sing to him. But as soon as I’d make a move to leave he’d panic and get clingy and waily. A couple of nights I had to put him back in bed several times and put the gate on his door to let him know I was serious about him staying in his room. Read the rest of this entry »
