How To Shine

Welp, she's finally made it. Lil' has waited and waited for her birthday and it finally came. On Thursday, we had a little family dinner at her favorite spot in town. She's a big soup eater that one. Loves it. Miso, Chicken, Clear, you name it...she's a fan. So that's what she had.

She's also a big Barbie fan. And a pink fan. And an anything small fan. Oh and a makeup, dress-up, let your inner girliest girl out fan. So we had that type of party. And it was fun... oh, yes friends. It.Was.Fun. Let's start at the beginning. Shall we?

There was a little jewlery involved.

 Just a touch of makeup...

A few other details...

Some Nettie French Twists...

 

And a few really good friends...

Of course some friends may have gotten more carried away than others....

get it?

Yes, in this crazy world, sometimes we all need to pretend for a while because....

the truth is never too far behind. Had to ;)

Happy 5th Birthday to my sweetest little Lil'. You are my star and I watch you every single day to learn how to shine.

Close By

I don't even know how to say what I want to say about Warren. I've started and stopped over and over. I've thought that maybe I shouldn't write anything at all. But then I realized that I want to remember. I don't want to forget. To say how much I loved him out loud is the least I can do for him. Especially after all he did for me.

Last week was gut wrenching. Horribly sad and unforgettable all for the wrong reasons. To make the decision about when my best friend's life should stop was as another friend put it, "ridiculous".

He lived a lifetime with me. He was quite simply, the first member of my own little family. He was there before Daddy. There before I even began to think mature, adult thoughts. There before I ever grew up. So we did it together and he was patient.

I keep looking for him. He is everywhere and no where all at the same time. He's watching me in the garden. He's sleeping in the yard. He magically appears on the porch and is propped up in a box in the garage. He is alive in my mind and close by in my heart.

The Big is big.

Big is big. No doubt about it. He doesn't pee in the bed or sleep with a blanket. He takes a shower and bathes himself. He makes his own breakfast. He ties his shoes and is learning to multiply. He has chores and takes the trash out.

I miss the days when he was little and needed me for everything. He was a happy baby that never really got riled up over anything.



Now he's 8 and he doesn't need me as much. But every now and again, I'll catch a glimpse of my baby. My baby that is Big.



That baby wasn't around this weekend though when he and 6 friends went to the waterpark for his birthday. No, no. There was no denying it. My baby was big.



Even though a hurricane threatened to ruin our day, and Mother Nature gave him his first birthday gift of canceled school, we managed to get his party done. He had a blast and is on his way with his Daddy to see the Panthers vs. Greenbay Packers game in Charlotte on Sept. 18th.

Pickin' Up What I'm Puttin' Down

I like to lay my kids' clothes out the night before school. I find that this eliminates early morning tiffs, questions, whining, and searching for things. It just makes my mornin' a whole lot more do-able.

Last night, when I went upstairs to start the bedtime stuff, I came across this little diddy in Lil's room. Looks like somebody's pickin' up what I'm puttin' down...

Take it all in folks. Get a good look at perfection.

She had even decided on a clip for her hair...

After I had a moment to soak up and explore the sheer loveliness, I looked harder and inside the skirt, I found a pair of panties that she laid out. Thorough is the word that came to mind.

Yes, it's true I guess. She's definitely pickin' up what I'm puttin' down.

My Lil'

Lil' had a big day today. She started 4K.

She's big.
Not little.

But I still think she is.

She's my Lil'.

Sleepy Grey Saturday Night

I'm in the lucky seat. I've got a little sweet head resting on each shoulder. Sweet kiddo heads that smell sleepy and cuddly. Like your blankets and lambies do. 2 little heads that grunt and breathe and wiggle around.

Little droopy eyelids. So tired and heavy. Heavy little arms wrapped around mine. Another moment that I'll miss when you grow up. This.is.it. This.is.what.I'll.miss. A sleepy grey Saturday night.

Rolling Around In It

Hold on a second summer! Before you go flying out the door, there are couple of things I wanted to talk about.

I really appreciate the fact that in spite of all the work I had to do, I still managed to squeeze every last drop out of you. The day trips to Edisto, the quick trips to great grandparents, the beach days, and swimming lessons, having Miss E. come and stay at Camp She-She, fireworks in the field, the vacation in the mountains, the week in Chapin, having my besties visit, the boat trip to Beaufort, bike rides, lightning bugs, fishing, jellyfish stings, throwin' my cast net. Yes, I accomplished all that I set out to do. It was epic and I'm thankful.

There are some pictures that I want to make sure we have in the book.

And this one that has two of the kindest, sweetest people in one shot. Together on their shared special birthday. The day they were born and brightened so many other people lives. A day that has nothing to do with me and everything to do with me all at the same time.

Then the final picture of the summer. That one that sums it up. You can tell how unhappy we all were about it. His face. My lack of caring that its a terrible picture. We were all sad to see this summer roll out. But man, it was so fun rolling around in it.