Father's Day

Yesterday was Father's Day. We celebrated with a picnic and a hike in the mountains. The picnic party was comprised of Eric, the girls, me, my parents and youngest brother Sam. The mountain was just gorgeous with so many flowers blooming. It was a bit cooler on the mountain than down in town where it was 90+ F, which to us northern folk is mighty hot.

Gorgeous lupine was everywhere!

My husband and my father.

Elise giving her grandpa a flower.

Sam loves to have his photo taken.

My father with his granddaughters.

Piggy back ride.

Eric uprooting a tree with his bare hands.

My mother.

My dad and Cordelia looking out at the view.

Sam, looking mighty casual.

Our view on the return drive.

Yesterday

Yesterday was a pretty perfect day. I spent some frienniversary time with Sarah (more on that tomorrow). I went garden shopping with my mother and the girls (one of my all time favorite things in this life is looking at plants, chatting and being with my mother and daughters). Then I spent the evening out back trying to work through the explosive growth that we have had after a month of rain.















 



Today I have to get some groceries as our fridge is pretty much only condiments and I have made some weird meals (olive sandwich anyone) in an attempt to put off a trip to the grocery store. Then I plan to spend the rest of my day outside with the girls. I am going to work in the garden. I am sure there will be a lot of play. Some meals outside, some "cloud gazing" as Cordelia loves to throw out a blanket and look at the sky. Elise is happy to join her. I love this time of year.

One to Remember

Remember that week when Eric went to LA for his film premier and everything went crazy? Oh yes, I certainly do remember because it just happened. Let me fill you in....

So things were going normally for the first  few days that Eric was out of town. Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday were uneventful. Friday night my mother had planned to stay the night for a fun slumber party and then help with kids while I gave my Saturday art lessons. We had a fun Friday evening. We had dinner, took the girls to the park and the dogs for a walk. My mother put the girls to bed while I took a bath and then we chatted until it was time to go to bed. I lay my head down on my pillow and drifted off. 

Less than an hour later Elise woke up crying. I got her back to sleep and was just drifting off when she woke up again, needing to go the bathroom. I noticed she was a bit warm, but only her legs so I shrugged it off and put her back to bed. Just as I was drifting off she called again. I was starting to feel annoyed, when I walked into their room to discover...lots and lots of puke. Poor girl. So it was a midnight clean up. I had to wash her hair and clothes and bed and floor and myself. She definitely had a fever by then. So I gave her some meds and brought her to my bed. She was sick all night and into the morning.

Thankfully my mother was there to help. She continued to decline all day Saturday to the point that by Saturday night we found ourselves in the ER, but not before puking in the car. My awesome mother stayed home and put Cordelia  to bed. 

Elise was given an IV and some meds that took her from dehydrated and feverish to chatty and happy, at least temporarily. The hospital staff was super great, giving Elise special treatment. A security guard even brought her a Popsicle.

So we went home and got a little rest. She woke up the Sunday morning, still feverish and sick and miserable. My amazing mother took Cordelia to church with her while I stayed home and snuggled with Elise.

I also want to mention that poor Eric was just worried and miserable to be away from his sick girls. We kept in constant contact so he could be as informed as possible.

Anyway, later Sunday morning I received a text from my mother that she and Cordelia were coming home sooner than  expected. She said Cordelia wanted to tell me what had happened... So I waited. They returned home a short while later and Cordelia lifted her shirt to reveal hives. She was having an allergic reaction to the meds she was taking for an ear infection. It was almost funny at that point.

I had to send Eric an update, just as he was preparing to catch his flight home. 

I sent my mother home when things were under control. The girls and I spent the rest of the day muddling through all of the sick. Elise began to feel a bit better towards bedtime. I put them both to sleep feeling hopeful that the worst was over.

Eric returned home about an hour later and we had dinner, caught up and just sort of laughed it off.

This morning we woke up and Cordelia's hives were worse, but we are working through that and have a check up with the doctor later today. Elise is past the fever, just working through the last of the illness and staying hydrated. 

It was an intense weekend, but honestly I just feel so very thankful. I had so many friends checking in and offering to help. My mother was beyond helpful. I knew that, while it was difficult to watch my girls go through something unpleasant, the girls were going to be OK.

Growing Season

Yesterday it was over 50F in our town. The first really warm(ish) day of the season. What that means in this part of the country is that people pretty much freak out and act like it is the hottest day in July. People wear sandals. People rage around the neighborhood on 4wheelers (it is Wyoming). People barbecue. People wear sleeveless shirts. Some people wear no shirts. It is pretty crazy considering that there are still drifts of snow in every single shadow. Never mind all of that though, I saw the first flowers blooming this afternoon while we took a walk, and I knew it was time to plant.

The girls are old enough now that they can follow instruction pretty well, so I was able to talk them through the process.

 
Cordelia was a little more independent where Elise still needs close monitoring. She wanted to eat the seeds as a snack.


They took turns with everything. Both girls are very focused on fairness right now..and probably forever.


Cordelia insisted on wearing a strappy dress like the true Wyoming girl that she is.


Elise has entered the phase of worrying about dirt on her hands. Don't worry I will solve that problem in the coming days. We are going to get muddy as this snow continues to melt.


Cordelia was not satisfied with the holes that Elise poked in the soil and had to show her how it is done...


This one...


and that one.

When we were done we set the whole shebang onto a safe (from Lucy) shelf and will now wait for our seeds to sprout.

Bittersweet

Eric has been digging through old photos for a retrospective show of his photography. He has to mine through years of photos and in doing so we have been uncovering a lot of baby photos of the girls. Last night we got sidetracked and ended up looking at baby photos, our hearts aching a bit. How is it that life has moved so quickly?

It hit me that Elise is no longer a baby. That we are done with having a baby in our home. That is fine, people can't and shouldn't just have kids because they can, but it is sad sometimes to realize that another chapter of our life has closed.

I have been focused on helping each girl advance and grow. Crawling, walking, talking, weaning, potty training, sleeping through the night, dressing themselves, reading, etc. All of these things are so good and come with freedoms for both our children and for us as parents. Honestly the idea of going back to sleepless newborn nights could make me cry from exhaustion. However, my heart also knows that it will forever miss those two in the morning snuggles with a tiny baby in my arms, no matter how tired I may have been.


Elise

Last night after we finished looking at photos I went quietly upstairs and watched those girls sleep. Cordelia on the top bunk of her bed, Elise in her big girl bed. I could see the girls and someday the women they will become, but I can still see the baby that they were. I imagine that it will always be this way.


Cordelia

Parenting is a bittersweet business. Each new development means letting go of something that was so precious. I am very happy to be on this journey as a family, but oh how it makes my heart ache as we pass into each new phase. On the one hand I have slept through the night several times in recent months, I am able to communicate with sick children (so much easier than trying to figure out what is bothering a baby). The girls are more independent and confident in themselves, not leaning so hard on us--which is good, really it is so important. I love watching these girls become who they are, letting them follow their dreams and passions is the real gift here. Though I will always have a tear or two to shed for those babies who will never nestle into the crook of my arm at two in the morning. For now it is such a treasure to accept hand-made hearts inscribed with Cordelia's five-year old handwriting, "To Mom I love you. Cordelia" or to have Elise tell me that she just needs a "Mommy nuggle (that is snuggle)." That is just about as sweet as can be.

Winter

We have had an unusually mild winter this year. Lots of temps in the 50s, not a ton of snow, rain even. I hate winter driving and the wind here where we live is generally intense this time of year, so winter is not always my most favorite season in Wyoming. This year has been different. We have gotten to spend a lot of time outside. Temps that aren't in the below zero range means that the girls can spend time outside too.

Yesterday we got quite a lot of snow, but the temperatures stayed pretty warm at or just below freezing. This meant that outside play was an option and we definitely took advantage of it and enjoyed ourselves outside.

Ballet

Last night was fiiiiinally the first night of ballet for Cordelia. She received ballet lessons and clothes (including vegan ballet slippers) from my parents for Christmas. Since then she has requested a daily countdown and today was the big day. Of course the lessons were at the end of the day, so there was a lot of built up energy by the time we were ready to go. She put on her clothes, twirling them and practicing the ballet moves she has learned from friends. She asked, "Does this mean I am a real ballerina now?" 

On the drive over she was quiet, thinking. Elise tried to talk and play, but Cordelia was laser focused.

When we arrived she bravely walked in and began introducing herself to the other ballerinas. Like me she is extremely outgoing, Eric was uncomfortable just watching the socialization. Oh, and I should mention that the whole family came along as we all wanted to watch this first lesson. 

Class was called into session and they all started off in a circle before stretching, doing some barre work, then practicing their toe-heel walk.

It was about this time that I started looking around at the other parents. We unexpectedly ran into a friend there, a nice surprise. There was a mix of people, but one family stood out. There was a burly man, covered in oil or grease. His son, maybe ten was also pretty grubby. I could easily spot his daughter who had a big smear of grease on her ballet tights and generally looked like she had been playing in a shop before she came. 

I loved that her father had clearly gone straight from work with the kids to make sure his girl got to ballet. I also noticed that his daughter stood a bit off from the other girls.

So I couldn't have been more proud when Cordelia held hands with her and tip toed along with the others. It isn't that she noticed the girl was a bit different, but rather that she didn't notice or didn't care. I love that about her, she looks right past the nonsense and sees the person for who they are.

When her new friend fell behind because her too big ballet slippers were falling off, Cordelia stopped and waited so her friend wouldn't finish alone.

This girl is something else I tell you.

She had a great time and we spent the rest of the night talking about the experience, her teacher, what her teacher wore, etc.

Thursday is Elise's class, so prep for some more adorable photos.

Life as it is now