Sunday, August 23, 2009

on the eve of kindergarten


*hold, please. i need some kleenex.

hi. i'm janet. i'm that girl. the girl who rolled her eyes at all of the people who said, "time flies when your children are young. you will want the time back. you will miss being needed. blah blah blah."

they would tell me these things when big h's diaper rash was so bad that we had to take him to the ER for bleeding. or when my friend weentrab had to take her child and child's friend (who just so happened to my friend sarah's kid) home because big h screamed so loud in their faces. or when big h went through years of speech therapy, occupational therapy, and (ahem) behavior therapy. and i would cry myself to sleep at night.

because people, life was hard. it was. and in the moment, i couldn't imagine that life would ever get easier. and i realized life doesn't get easier. but those moments pass. when my great-aunt lucy used to say, "this too shall pass, " frankly, it annoyed me. and when my dad would say, "janet, this (really yucky/frustrating/disappointing) thing will build your character," i would roll my eyes and feel anger towards him.

but tonight? all of those things make sense?

because tomorrow? my little man is going to kindergarten.

(consider yourself warned: i am fully aware that my feelings are a 'tad' on the dramatic side. *cough cough*)

someone said the other day that sending their first to kindergarten was like putting them on a one-way train to 12th grade. and i have to be honest, i feel the same way. i look at him in two different ways. on one hand, he looks so grown up lately. his hair looks different. NONE of his clothes fit because dude has been going through a 'bit' of a growth spurt. new shoes. different looking fingers. (i know...fingers? what in the world?) he just looks big lately. like he's ready. on the other hand, when i took him to meet his teacher on friday, he looked like he was eighteen months old in a sea of high school juniors. everything seemed overwhelming to me. he will use the restroom down the hall from his actual classroom. the water fountain is also down the hall. he has a LOCKER. mind you, there is no combination or aynthing. but it is metal. just like the ones i had in high school. he was elated because peter parker (of spiderman) has a locker in the old spiderman cartoons. big h thought he was hot snot. and i was doing fine. just trying to be attentive. answer any questions for him. of course, he had none.

and then.

it hit me. like a ton of bricks.

the cafeteria.

people, do you know how HUGE an elementary school cafeteria is? well, i'll tell you. it's enourmous. gigantic. bigger than anything i've ever seen before. and picturing big h in there? with absolutely NO ONE he knows? just about did me in.

so we finished our morning of meeting the teacher and touring the school. and i wanted to do something special for him. and since it was day one of tax free weekend, i offered to get him something new. and he chose...underwear. i love that kid. transformers, batman, spiderman and his amazing friends. and he was elated and couldn't wait to tell dad and goo. and surprisingly, goo was so pumped for him.

as a bold statement, yesterday was one of the best days i've ever had as a parent. all four of us went swimming. we ordered a pizza while we were at the pool. we had such a great time. we came home, took naps, and when everyone got up, we headed to a mall. one that is fun for everyone. we walked around different stores just playing and enjoying one another. we had dinner there. and just had a great time being together. they both went to sleep almost immediately. and buz and i talked most of the night. i know it doesn't sound like much, but it really was one of the best days for our family.

so tonight, i'm trying to mentally prepare for tomorrow. big h and i are going to walk to his school together. goo won't be up yet (that should be interesting the rest of the year), and daddy is going to stay home in the morning. so it will just be the two of us. surely, i can keep it together, right? surely.

(but don't think for a minute i don't want to do a video montage to "find your wings" by mark harris. refraining. you're welcome.)

dear big h,

wow. tomorrow is a big day. for you. for me. for daddy. and oh my, for goo. i can't believe it. you're starting kindergarten. i've been dreaming of and dreading this day for almost six years. and i can't believe it's finally here. i have been praying non-stop for you and this transition. this transition of being at a new school. where you don't know anyone. i pray that your personality would shine through. that other kids would be drawn to you. that they would be drawn to your heart. your kindess. your sensitivity. i pray that others wouldn't take advantage of that sensitivity. that God would immediately bring a boy or girl right into your life. a friend who either knows Jesus or is learning about Him. i pray that you would make good decisions. i pray that you would show respect to your teacher, Mrs. B. i pray that you would encourage her and that she would encourage you. i pray that God would give you an amazing first day. the kind that sparks a love for learning. i know these things are lofty, but our God is so big. so strong and so mighty. there's nothing our God will not do. huh? :)

i love you, little buddy. i pray that i will see a HUGE smile when i come to get you tomorrow afternoon. i pray that your zest for life will be contagious. God has created in you an amazing heart and spirit. i pray others notice. i pray that you are kind to the children that you meet and show them Jesus.

big h, i love you and am so proud of you. go get 'em, dude.

love, mama










Wednesday, August 19, 2009

goo

as usual. should you be interested in reading this. be prepared with some time, something yummy and some caffeine.


sweet G.


this is almost to-the-day one month late. but there has been so much to remember about where you are right now. and i wanted to capture it all.


first thing i'd like to say is...goo.


i adore you, sweet girl. just seeing your face makes me so happy. those eyes. oh my, those eyes.


i can't believe you are THREE YEARS OLD. what in the world? i am officially that mom who says in kind of a dorky voice, "land sakes, where has all the time gone?" (for the record, not sure mama has ever said land sakes. just clarifying.)


i can remember the night before you were born. i could NOT sleep. not due to discomfort. but to excitement and adrenalin. i could NOT WAIT to meet you. couldn't wait to find out if big h was going to have a sister or brother. and then, the doc said, "hello sweetheart." and i cried. just ask weentrab. i couldn't believe you were a girl. i was thrilled for me. for your daddy. for your brother.


anyway...you're three. and i L-O-V-E this age. the day your brother turned three, your daddy and i were very happy people. such is the case with you as well.


you are such a delight. we are definitely starting to see what your personality will look like. and the words that pop into my head are sassy, stubborn, funny, compassionate, mischevious. we have our work cut out for us. :)


you love all things "pin-tess." (princess) for your birthday party, we had five of your "friends" over to our house in their princess dresses. i believe you changed dresses six times. you ADORE princess shoes. the cheap, plastic ones. the cheap, plastic ones that give you blisters because you wear them to the playground. in the summertime. ouch. you love crowns, necklaces, wands, and you want to love earrings but the toy ones we get you break the minute you put them on. you've all but given up. me too, sister. you call cinderella "boo pin-tess" and sleeping beauty "pink pin-tess." you want to have nothing to do with snow white. hmmm...not sure about that. you call tinkerbell "kinkybell," and we routinely ask you about her just so we can listen to you say her name. it is hilarious. note to self: daddy and i find kinkybell and her friends to be very slut*y and sk*nky. and you call brides "white pin-tesses." we went to my cousin's wedding, and she tickled you at the reception. i thought you were going to faint.


but your favorite pin-tess of ALL TIME is ay-yuhl. you love little mermaid so much. you love all of the songs, and you can spot an ariel from MILES away. we have the polly pocket version of ay-yuhl. you have two pairs of ay-yuhl jammies. you have an ay-yuhl bath toy. but your ALL TIME ay-yuhl toy is the ay-yuhl diving toy that came in a pack. we've lost one ay-yuhl bath toy at church. but this second one has been around for a while. (fyi: it bothers daddy and me that ariel wears the least amount of clothing out of all of the princesses. sigh.)


you used to love doh-ruh a lot too. you had dora socks. a dora nightie (which you were adamant about wearing pants with). a dora skirt. and plenty of dora "trinkets." we watch dora storytime theaters. you love the $3 dora books we can get at wal-mart. you love the dora "theme song." you love boots and all of dora's friends (tico, benny, "gumpy old toll," isa, and swiper.)


for a long time, you were smitten with diego and moreso baby da-dar (jaguar). you made the rair rair noise all. the. time. you would say his sister's alicia's name all the time and talk about how she would show up on diego's "bideo wash." diego's kind of gone by the wayside. poor diego. however, one animal that has NOT been phased out is tapir. you adore tapir. and from the looks of your imaginary play, so do all of your other toys. he's quite popular with the ladies.


your favorite superhero (yes...in THIS house, everyone is required to have a favorite superhero) is wumberwun. you love that she wears a crown. but when you talk about being a superhero yourself, you always say you're "fash tomsun." and then you say "super PAST" constantly for about ten minutes. you have a wumberwun t-shirt and a pink biterman t-shirt. you LOVE wearing them.


oh, and speaking of superheroes, when we ask you what your super power would be, you always respond, "a t*tty tat who can walk." aim for the stars, sister. aim for the stars.


one of your favorite phrases is "you make me so____." lately it's been "big h makes me so angry." that breaks mama's heart so mcuh. daddy and i pray constantly that you and big h would be the best of friends. that you would be each other's sidekick. and for the most part, that's true. but my favorite is when something is funny, you laugh and laugh and laugh (kind of a fake, forced laugh) and say, "that make me so sih-wee." you are your own best crowd. you find yourself quite amusing.


one of your favorite things to do (as well as big h) is to sit in my computer chair with big h right when you wake up while he plays computer games. you love to provide running commentary of everything he does. and he loves "showing off."


when you don't get your way or you get sad, you literally throw yourself on the couch or at the odd chair at the dining room table and cry until one of us "yubs" on you.


after a meal or really anytime, you do NOT like to have your hands "ticky." even though you are a royal mess everywhere else.


you can drink a juicebox faster than a frat boy can chug a beer. and you absolutely MANGLE the top of a straw. we always know which drink is yours because of the completely smashed straw. the straw NEVER wins with you.


when you put your shoes on, you put them on the wrong feet. every. time. and you used to get really, really mad when i would tell you to put them on the right feet. now you put them on, smile, and say, "mama, these on the right feet?" and you clap for yourself when you do them the right way.


interesting to daddy and me...your hair does NOT grow. and if it does, it does so at a snail's pace. oh my. by this point, your brother was getting haircuts regularly. you've had two. and since we've gotten it cut, it no longer goes in ponytails. which makes me mommy very, very sad. if it's not in a bow, it is in your face. to the point of you not being able to see. you're like our very own cousin it.


potty training. i talked it several times when we started. and then i was determined NOT to talk about it again. your brother potty trained in three days. not you. you were not motivated. didn't care about getting doh-ruh wet or ay-yuhl wet. didn't care about having "anything else" in your doh-ruhs or ay-yuhls. didn't care about m'n'm's or skittles. didn't care about our applause. you weren't toy motivated (like your brother, oh my word). basically you got excited to tell us that you "made water" and "made bown poopoos." and even big h was excited. still to this day, you tell us about both. you don't stay dry at night very often. but you are still in your crib, so we attribute some of it to that. you stay dry at naps, though. i will go on record stating you have the bladder of a camel. you don't go often but when you do, oh my. 'nuff said.


you love puzzles. floor puzzles. you still love the wooden piece puzzles. big ones, small ones. you're not the #1 puzzle girl in your district by any stretch, but they sure do bring you a lot of joy.


you love polly pockets. i have no idea why because all of us are the ones putting on the shoes the size of a hang nail. and you're not very delicate with the dresses or heads. we have had several decapitated PPs and some ripped dresses. it's tough being a PP around our house. (shhh...big h loves to play them with you. don't tell his friends.)


your favorite drink is orange juice. and you would take it by IV if we'd let you. we limit it to morning (not very much) and sometimes lunchtime. you don't mind other drinks (milk, apple juice, lemonade, water, etc.) but OJ is definitely your drink of choice.


foods? interesting. because you don't eat very often. we joke that if you have lunch, we assume you won't touch your dinner. or if you don't eat lunch, you'll enjoy quite a hearty dinner. it used to frustrate us and cause us to talk about discipline with you. but then we realized what was the case. you also don't really like breakfast. you'll eat donuts on friday mornings. but you kind of pick at it and then go look at the book of baskin robbins ice cream pin-tess cakes. you like bacon and sausage. but really? just some orange juice is fine with you. you LOVE chick-fil-a and literally eat the crumbs of your 4-pc nuggets, fruit, adn lemonade. most times you ask big h if you can have some of his chicken. you love grapes, cherry tomatoes, cherries, blueberries, can-uh-yope, mango, basically any fruit (or fruit-uh, as you call it), edamame beans, pei wei rice and chicken, spaghetti, green beans, meatloaf, corn, mashed potatoes, sweets (ice cream, brownies, cookies, candy). you love fruit gummies, and you ADORE the dried flat fruit we get from sprouts or central market. you do NOT like deli meat, hamburgers, or grilled cheese sandwiches. you love cheese cubes, black olives (ah-yubs), hot dogs, green trees (brocolli) only made at pei wei (you're a bit of a food snob), pah-cor (popcorn), pah-cuhls (popsicles), my smart start cereal only if it's in my bowl with my spoon, and you're sitting in my lap.


you are obsessed with boo boos, bandages (bandaids), and meh-sin and talk about these things constantly.


i am still madly in love with the third toe on your left foot. it's just a tad bit raised, and i feel like it has its own personality.


you had your second eye surgery this year, and now your eyes are very sensitive to light. EVERY TIME we go outside when it is bright, you immediately ask me for your "sungyasses." and you will wear them until i make you take them off.


you are an extraordinarily healthy kid.


your sleep is UH-MAZING! you go to sleep about 730pm and wake up anywhere between 730-9am. it's crazy. you wake up in a good mood every morning. unless big h comes in first and BLASTS on the light. that turns your mood FOUL very quickly. bless his heart, he rockets out of bed in the mornign and assumes everyone else does too. you still take a two-hour nap everyday too. nuts.


at night, you take your bath with big h still. that'll probably end soon. but most nights, you guys have so much fun together playing with your toys. when you get out, you skip to your room, put on your own pull up and your jammies. we read stories, and when we say, "ok, goo, it's time to go to bed," you say, "ok." you hug daddy and say night night to him. then, you hug big h and push him over while saying night night. crazy. then, it's our time. and i look forward to this every night. i hold you and whatever toy you decide to bring to bed. usually ay-yuhl dive toy. we sing "pwinkle pwinkle." (actually i make you sing it so i can smile from ear to ear.) then, you sing the abc's which sound like this "a,b,d,d,e,f,d,q,r,s,t,u,b,w,s,y,z..." it is freaking hilarious. then we sing the "glad to read the bible"song. those are our three staples. depending on how tired you are, we'll rotate in "go tell it on the mountain," "jesus loves me," "jesus loves the little children," and "if you're happy and you know it." then, i kiss you and lay you in bed. usually with a pin-tess dress on. we talk to jesus, and i always cross my fingers that you'll be the one to pray because they're awesome. "dear dezus, tank you for uh day. tank you for mommy. tank you for priends. and tank you for cinderayuh. amen." then, i turn on baby tad for him to sing you his six minutes 'til nighttime. "i love you, goo." "i yub you too, mama." and i close the door. and come close to crying every night.


you love going to church. when we get out of the car, you run up to the greeters and give them high fives. then, we walk into the nursery area and you comment on all the animals. (it's a jungle theme.) big h runs to your class, and you follow him. and every morning (because i'm a bit of a creature of habit), i say to all of the nursery workers, "it's a shame they lack enthusiasm." that line probably gets old to everyone. but i adore watching you chase after your brother and love church. you proudly put your name tag on and walk right in. no crying. nothing. "see ya, goo." we pick you up, and you show us your craft. we walk through the lobby, out the door, and immediately start smelling the flowers. then, you like to try to walk the curb as well as try to find a roly poly. and if one of you finds one and the other doesn't, well then the day can be classified a disaster in your eyes and in big h's.


you will be in a new class this year at school. last year was your first year or preschool (or children's day out), and you loved it. your speech skyrocketed, you learned to use the potty, and you learned to be with other authority figures who loved you as their own. you were right across the hall from big h, and you loved that. this year is going to be tough because big h starts "big school" on monday. that's a different post for a different day. (deep breath in, deep breath out. pass the DP.) you don't know your numbers or letters as well as your brother did at this age, but you'll pick them up in no time. i'm praying you have the same teachers big h did. we adore them.


when you smile really big, you squint with your right eye.


when you hear music, you get your groove on IMMEDIATELY and IMMEDIATELY say loudly "look, mama. i'm shaking my bobbum." you're classy like that. delicate flower, we always call you. :)


you LOVE to color. on anything. emphasis on anything. and everything. couch...check. walls...check. yourself...check, check, check. and you are ONLY content with markers. not crayons (crair-rins). not colored pencils. just markers. and i think you'd prefer them all to be sharpies.


we're signing you up for ballet this fall. God help us. actually, God help your teacher. but you talk about "doing bah-yay" all. the. time. so we're taking the plunge. i'm probably going to cry the first day.


you did gymnastics for the first time with big h this summer. he's been doing since he was one. we decided it was time to let you in on the fun. you LOVE it. love the teacher. love everything about it. but for the life of you, you cannot jump. at least not with both feet together. so watching you "jump" on the trampoline is freaking hilarious. you basically gallop around the edges. i love it. and i laugh out loud.


goo, you're awesome. you make our life so rich. i cannot wait to meet your freshman roommate. i can't wait to meet your best friend in seventh grade. and i sure can't wait to meet that spouse of yours. oh my. he's in for it. :) you are a beautiful girl, inside and out. i pray the very best for you EVERY NIGHT. i smile when i think about you. i smile when i look at your picture on my phone. i smile when i look at you on the monitor at night. i smile when i hear you talking to big h about superheroes.


i love you, sweet girl. happy birthday.




















(oh, blogger...why do you mock me with your spacing issues and spellchecking error? it's late, and i'm heading to bed. i detest spelling or grammar errors, but i'm sleepy. would you kindly overlook all of the misfortunate issues? thanks.)

Sunday, August 16, 2009

baby sydney (aka my bff's new kid)

sooo...i have this friend.

we'll call her bff. because i always call her bff. because she's my bff. big h calls her bff. my mom and dad call her bff. she's bff.

and she rocks the house. i met her a LONG time ago.

like...BEFORE CHILDREN. she loves Jesus which is why we're bff's. her husband and buz are pals. i had big h. she had her first boy. i had goo. she had a daughter. i...am done having children. she was/is not.

and so i'd like to introduce you to baby sydney.





um, check out mama's bling. give from dad. diamonds from bff's grandmother. three of them for her three children. good work, dad.










cannot get enough of her middle child, georgia. home girl had her finger in her nose most of the morning. i LOVE her. :)





Tuesday, August 04, 2009

for posterity's sake

i'm not writing for any other reason.

just to keep a record of this week.

last week brought some tough times for buz and me. not tough times between us. tough times for us to go/grow through together. we are definitely not at the point where we can look back and say, "oh honey (wait...we don't call each other honey anyway), wasn't that such a wonderful time of growth for us? i'm so glad God built our character during that time." we are definitely NOT at that place. yet.

i know we will be. because surprisingly, the two of us have felt a peace about our situation. it's barely there. but it IS there. because HE is there.

amen?

oh, and remember that job that we almost took several months ago? and we decided not to take it because of our community here? that community?

has walked with us this past week. God totally showered us with people -- physical presence, email, FB, twitter, texts, etc.

sometimes i moan and groan about FB and twitter. that they are just places for me to spend my time instead of being with my kiddos or spouse.

but lately...they have been so comforting and encouraging.

anyway...point of the story.

saturday was good. nothing too fancy. we went to the mall to let big h look around the lego store. goo has a new favorite store. surprisingly, i've kept her out for this long. she literally hugged one of the mannequins and said, "mama, i yub this dress because it's so bee-uh-ful." normally, i go in by myself. but this time, she came to realize the wonder that is this store.

saturday night, we put them to bed and buz played his playstation and i piddled around on the computer. we had iTunes on, and we had a great night just talking to each other and reminiscing about songs. we both finally got in bed around 2am.

you've met buz, right? you know he's an early-to-bed/early-to-rise guy, right? 2am is UNHEARD OF.

at 215, we heard groaning followed by, "oh no. i don't peel so way-uhl."

you other parents, please tell me you know what we walked into.

the smell. oh my word, the smell. buz took the laundry shift. i took the cleaning off the child shift. good times.

big h slept in my bed and buz took the couch. (ironically, buz had taken tylenol that night because he had a headache.)

4-ish. big h to the bathroom again. get him cleaned up again.

630. big h to the bathroom. rinse. repeat.

8-something. big h still sleeping. buz starts to wake up. sunday a low-key day.

sunday night at 10. i get the call that my friend bitsy is going to the hospital to deliver her sweet little girl. she wants me to photograph. totally honored.

get there. bad light. oh well. stay up from 1030-7. so worth it. witness my friend give birth to little (not so much -- 8#) baby annie. still bad lighting. very small delivery room. complications at the end of delivery require many hospital staff members to attend her delivery. i am NOT one of the important hospital staff members. which means i do not get a "good spot." all of this -= not proving to be best setting for rocked out photos. seems that my friend bitsy is not near as concerned with rocked out photos as she is with her friend janet being there as well as the health of her brand new baby.

come home at 9am. eyes burning with fatigue. buz not feeling well. he finally tells me to go take a nap, and he'll put goo down for her nap. she goes down. buz tries to take a nap. but is visiting the restroom a LOT. i wake up not feeling so well but don't think anything of it. i get goo up, and big h, goo, and i head to grocery store for saltines, sprite, chicken noodle soup, and Imodium AD. good times.

we come home. i feel hot. but it's hot outside, i tell myself. i turn the tv on because at this point i can't stop feeling yucky. i walk to my bedroom, pass buz in bed, head for the restroom, pull my hair back, and surely you know the rest.

i am here to tell you. I WILL NEVER BECOME BULIMIC! NEVER.

and then, because i'm a mom (here's my request for sympathy), i walk back into the kitchen and begin fixing dinner. and then, bathed the kiddos, read them their stories, and put them to bed. and then went to sleep. AT SEVEN-THIRTY. you understand what that means for a night owl? it means mama was dog tired.

when i got up this morning, big h had gone into goo's room and was yelling to me about something. normally, he taddles on her in the morning. trust me -- we've been working on that lately. can't think of anything worse than someone starting your day by telling on you FIRST THING. when i went to lay into him about taddling, i realized by THE SMELL what he wanted to tell me. that goo had become the 4th victim of this wisner illness. and sister was as happy as a lark. the only thing she said was "oh mama, you need to clean muh. her is dirty. and i had yuckies come out of my mouth."

i love that girl with every ounce of my being.

today was boring. and we may or may not have watched a LOT of television. and had the most boring lunch and dinner. i will take boring over "eventful" any day.

but tomorrow is a new day. house is clean. linens are clean. jammies are clean. mama is clean. we're good to go.

see how fun this will be to read when big h and goo are in their teens? :)



and because it's virtually impossible not to post without a picture, here are some from fourth of july.

it has come to my attention that i have "virgin hair." meaning HOLY COW! LOOK AT ALL OF THAT GREY HAIR! YIKES!







Saturday, August 01, 2009

summer vacation

we just got back from my "cousin's" wedding. actually, she's my mom's cousin's daughter. what does that make her? my second cousin? i can never keep that straight. so she's my CUZ. dawg.

my parents took the four of us, and we made this our summer vacation. such a fun time to get away from normal everyday.

this was the third airplane ride for big h and second for goo. big h's first was when he was ten months old, and we flew to montana to see kelly. by ourselves. without buz. and he had an ear infection the entire WEEK we were there. good times. i was sad that our time there wasn't as fun as it could've been. and kelly and i vowed to be with each other without kiddos for a couple of years. we're selfish like that.

his second plane trip was two years when he, goo, and i flew to see my brother and his family in birmingham. we went just the three of us. without buz. i know...you'd think i'd learn. big h LOVED it. goo did not want ANY PART OF IT on the flight there. she was sick. (clearly, a wisner theme.)

this time. third time's a charm. big h LOVED it. goo thought it was fairly cool. she's aloof.

we had wonderful flight attendants. my MIL was THRILLED to hear this as she was a flight attendant (stewardess) for american for many years and loved it.

we got there and rented this sweet ride.



bow chicka bow bow.

oh. you know it.

any of you who know my dad are laughing right now. because this car does NOT fit his cute, little conservative personality.

other than the lack of cargo space, we loved riding in this kickin' vehicle. if you are reading this, and you have a ford flex, i am not mocking this. it's just not quite the vanilla minivan we were expecting. it had a bit more spice.

we enjoyed everything about the weekend. my mom and i got to be a part of the bridesmaids luncheon, which was such an honor. the wedding was beautiful. time with extended family that we don't see often was absolutely incredible.

meet the beautiful bride.



and the happy couple.



we did some sightseeing. hung out together. went swimming. thankfully, i do NOT have photos from that. whew. and just spent time being a little family. it was perfect.


how much do i love this kid? um, a LOT.


what a family picture looks like when you have a three year old and an almost five year old. good times. hey, at least goo is smiling.



sister rockin' out the ping pong. she's got several more years until she'll really get the hang of it. see how thrilled she is?


this makes me cry just looking at it.


my "aunt (pronounced ont)" ginny, goo, and my mom. she's really my mom's cousin. see how confusing it all is?


daddy and daughter ripping it up at the reception.


please don't dog on my photo skillz. i love the magic of this photo. even if it's TOTALLY out of focus.


goo getting to meet "white princess." never mind the fact that she's actually, you know, RELATED to white princess. she talked about it all night. as though it was a celeb sighting.


again...family picture. see goo? thrilled, as usual. and the sweet backdrop of the construction vehicles. makes for a lovely photograph. one that may go in the christmas cards?


on the campus of UVA. so much history. we loved the architecture.




big h's best friend. ever.


big h and papa.



goo at the school section of the children's museum, which was INCREDIBLE. totally amazing. we could've stayed the entire day.



goo handing out nana's lunch.






goo excited.






this was a little wooden barn where you could put wooden eggs in the top, release the little door, and the eggs would roll to the bottom. i feared for the lives of those who even tried to play with this while she was. a bit possessive.





big h loved playing with the boats and water.


and goo could've stayed at this table full of way easy puzzles all. day. long. and could've done the same puzzles over and over again.


see?


daddy and goo in the ambulance.


big h on the velcro wall. he loved this.

fun times had by all. thanks, nana and papa, for a great trip!