First tooth

You lost your first tooth today Bumpkin. You have been working on it for awhile but you lost it tonight in the car on the way home from a tball game. You are so excited and proud of yourself. Actually, you wanted to go over to E's house and show her but I wouldn't let you because it was too late.

The tooth has been coming for awhile but I am so glad it finally fell out. Your adult tooth was already up and behind your baby tooth. It has been for a few weeks. I actually got worried enough that it wasn't going to fall out that I took you to the dentist yesterday because I didn't want any damage to be done. The dentist told me to give it a little bit more time to fall out on its own before we have it pulled. Apparently this is pretty common for the bottom front teeth. So glad you got it out on your own. Now the tooth fairy gets to visit our house for the first time! Exciting!

Branson 2012

Last year Daddy and I asked if we could use grandma and Nana's timeshare to celebrate our anniversary in Branson.  Then, for various reasons, daddy couldn't go so grandma and grandpa were going to come, then daddy could go again, so we went as a whole family.  It was only for the weekend though and we didn't have any idea how much there was to do.  So during last years vacation we booked a vacation for this year as well.  We convinced them to get a big cabin though and invited Grammie and Aunt Janet, and some friends.  Unfortunately, Aunt Janet broke her leg just days before the trip so she couldn't come but the rest of us are here having a good time.

Here is the cabin.  I tried to get pictures before we "made ourselves at home" but it didn't work out the best. 

We also took some family pictures.  I wish we would have gotten more during the week but atleast we got one at the very beginning.  The girls wanted to be unicorns so I told them if they did a good picture we could also be unicorns.  I think it worked out ok. :) 

After getting settled into our cabin and taking a look around we got ready and headed to our first show. It was Joseph. Last year I wanted to go to Noah but for a variety of reasons we weren't able to go so I wanted to make sure and go this year. The theater is huge and beautiful and I have heard that the productions they put on are amazing.  So, we went.

Mimi stayed back at the cabin because she wouldn't appreciate it like the rest of us but the other two loved it. Well Troublemaker loved the first half, she feel asleep during the very beginning of the second half. But Bumpkin loved the whole thing. After being there over three hours she asked if "that was all" when it was finished! Crazy!

The next day we did a whole lot of swimming. It was beautiful outside and the weather was perfect. Then, at night, daddy and I went on the Branson Showboat Belle for our anniversary. We had a nice surprise too because it was Memorial Day Weekend so there were fireworks while we were on the boat. It was a good time.

On Monday and Wednesday we went to Silver Dollar City. I love how many businesses in Branson (and most other places actually) support the troops. But Silver Dollar City's deal was pretty great. We bought a two day pass for the cost of a one day pass, and got the kids in free.

It was great not having to rush around and try to fit everything into one day. Instead, we could take our time, enjoy some rides, see some shows, and come back in a couple days to do anything we missed. It was great to have that ability! So, we visited the kiddie ride area a couple different times then took breaks and did other activities.

I was so excited to convince the older girls to go on the river raft ride. I didn't think they would do it but they were excited and love it. It is actually one of the few rides that we went on both days. Unfortunately, there are no pictures of them riding the ride for obvious reasons but they had a blast. On the second day Troublemaker was tired though and chose not to ride again. Instead, we stood at the area were you could pay to shoot the riders with water guns. She thought that was the greatest.... and of course we had to get in a few practice rounds before our group came by. On the first day at the very end we took a ride around the park on the train.

It was a 20 minute, site seeing, entertainment ride where at the middle the train ran into some robbers. Troublemaker was having a good time but once we stopped for the robbers she lost interest. Apparently she wasn't very concerned about them.....

On the second day we went to a saloon show. It was pretty cute and the girls thought it was funny. I was amazed but Bumpkin didn't want to take her picture with the girls. Troublemaker did though. Oh wow, she is cute!

Another thing that I was so excited that the girls tried was an indoor roller coaster. For indoor roller coasters it was pretty tame, most of it was riding around looking at different scenes, but there were three dips that were done completely in the dark. The girls talked about it nonstop when they got off and told everything they needed to go, but I couldn't get them to go with anyone again. haha

Stay tune for Branson 2012 Part 2

Troublemakers T-ball

Troublemaker has started T-ball now like her sister. She has been so excited and had her first game last night. She hit off her first at ball. I couldn't believe it.  (When I got home I couldn't believe I actually got a picture of her hitting the ball as well.... :)

She does enjoy practicing with daddy in the yard but I was impressed with her being able to do it in a game. She doesn't like being in the field as much as hitting the ball (I'm not surprised) but she is pretty good at both. I know she is only four but she seems to be pretty gifted in the area of physical sports like tball and soccer. I am curious to see what she is interested in down the line. Right now, gymnastics is her "thing", she waits all week for it, but I could see her doing well at other active sports as well. 

Bumpkin's Tball

Both of the other girls are in Tball this year. Bumpkin's league is an older league so it is a little longer and started about a month before Troublemaker's. I'm not sure Bumpkin will ever be a star softball player or anything but she is enjoying it; mainly because she gets to be on the team with a bunch of neighborhood friends and play in the dirt (which I discourage).

Ohh, and she also loves her team color/name.  They are the Pink Flamingo's!  They are in pink and black, complete with pink tie dye socks.  The mothers also got together and had a bow making party and made cute matching bows for the girls hair.  They love it!  Here is the best picture I have of it.  I can't believe I don't have a better picture.  I will have to update again later with an actual picture of her.  But from this angle you can see the bow.  :)  This day she was watching out the window because our friends across the street were skipping the game (because they were doing something) and we told her she couldn't because her team was counting on her.  We found her like this....

I really like the league.  I don't know anything about Tball but it seems they are learning a lot as they go and have fun.  They are thrown to three time and if they don't hit the ball then the umpire brings the T out.  Bumpkin hadn't hit the ball yet from the pitch but she hit it twice on Tuesday night.  She was sooooo proud of herself.  It was all she could talk about.  What made it even better was it was the game her Grammy and some friends game to watch. 



Click Clack Moo

Bumpkin had another play this past week.  She was in Click Clack Moo with a local community theaters kids program.  She is so artsy.  The play was based on a book.  Bumpkin was Cow #1 and so excited that she started the whole play off.  Nothing more can really be said other than I am so proud of her.  She knew all her lines by heart even though it looks like the teachers are feeding them to her.  I think she was somewhat waiting for permission to say them.....

Bumpkin also had some friends come to the show to see her.  We met up afterwards with them.  She thinks it is so cool.  I thought she might be more nervous having them in the crowd but I guess I should know better by now.  :) 

And finally, Anna.  This little girls has done everything Bumpkin has been in this year.  Not because we planned it but sheer dumb luck.  She must be artsy too.  haha  I meant to get her contact information so we could get together sometime but I forgot.  I'm sure we will run into her again some time though. 

Troublemaker and her gymnastics

Troublemaker,

I knew what sport you would like from the moment you got your wheels.  I don't particularly remember having much trouble when you started crawling but once you started walking it was nonstop.  Daddy was going overseas at the end of Jan 2009 so I thought you would give me a little time to learn how to be a single parent before you started walking.  You, on the otherhand, had different ideas and wanted to show Daddy you could walk before he left because you started walking right around the end of Dec/beginning of Jan.  And once you started you never stopped.  By the time Daddy left you were walking everywhere and I swear you had already figured out how to climb on things.  I don't really remember the first time I called you Troublemaker, but it stuck.  Nowadays you aren't too keen on the nickname; you want me to call you Hunny Bunny because you think Troublemaker means that I think you are a naughty girl.  But really, you are my Troublemaker because I always need to keep an extra eye on you.  You aren't scared of getting hurt/trying something new.  You are the sweetest little girl, and a mama's girl, but you are willing to try just about anything that looks fun.  And that is why you are my Troublemaker. 

Your personality explains your sport of choice.  You love gymnastics.  Bumpkin loves anything revolving around dance and drama but you only care for gymnastics.  Right now your lessons are on friday's and you start wearing your leotards on Wednesdays.  You practice your moves at home all the time and have the best cartwheel I have ever seen from a three year old (ok you turned four since I started writing this post).  Now you have started working on handstands. 

I recently found some lost footage of you at your first gymnastics class in North Carolina.  I thought your daddy was crazy when he signed up a two year old for gymnastics but you took to it like I never would have imagined.  I can't wait to see how much you learn!

And here is another one from when we first moved here. 

Mother's Day 2009

Today is Mother's Day and I am in a rare mood.  I don't want to say a bad mood because nothing bad has happened but I can't go so far as to say it is a good mood either.  I am on edge, waiting for something to happen, annoyed that it is just another day.  Daddy is once again gone.  I'm not sure how it works out but he literally hasn't been home for a Mother's Day since 2008... at least.  Maybe he wasn't home that year either but 2009 is when I started keeping track.  So instead of talking about todays mood why don't I take a trip down memory lane and explain why I believe Mother's Day (atleast for me) is cursed. 

It was Mother's Day 2009 and daddy was overseas.  He had been gone for awhile and was actually due to come back soon.  Instead of torturing myself with taking 2 year old Bumpkin and 13 month old Troublemaker to church by myself (I wish I didn't have to use the words torture and church in the same sentence but this one is unavoidable) I decided to skip church and make my Mother's Day as fun and peaceful as I could.  So we skipped church and went to the park.  We were having a dandy old time playing and had been there quiet a while when we started going down the slide.  Now, here is when I wish I would have seen the Dateline special that was on about two weeks ago about kids breaking their legs while riding down slides on their parents laps.  I'm not sure it would have stopped me but it would have atleast made me consider not letting the girls ride on my lap. 

Instead, I put Bumpkin on my lap, Troublemaker on top of her and headed down the slide.  Then we got to the curve.  Bumpkins leg slide right off and got caught between my leg and the slide.  It happened in a flash and then we were at the bottom of the slide.  I think she maybe let out a yelp when it happened but she really started crying when we got to the bottom of the slide.  I did the customary mother duty of cuddling her and trying to make her feel better but after what I considered to be the normal amount of crying I told her to buck up or we were going home.  Now, I put it so "gently" because even at the young age of 2 I knew Bumpkin was a drama queen through and through.  She sat there for a couple more minutes by herself and continued to whine then after another threat from me about going home she tried to walk.  She made it half a step before collapsing on the ground and screaming in pain.  I was sure it was all drama but didn't want to deal with it at the park so we loaded up and headed home. 

Bumpkin cried the whole walk home and for about two episodes of Dora before I started to take her seriously.  I had already checked her ankle a few times but I was starting to get worried that there was something deeper that I couldn't see.  So I called my parents at church until they finally answered (four or five times?) and they came right away.  Bumpkin was still crying when they got to our house, they didn't see anything that I couldn't see, so dad and I loaded Bumpkin up and went to the E.R. 

After telling my story over and over to nursing, doctors, social workers, etc I finally convinced everyone that the story really happened the way it did.  But as annoying as it was to have to be silently investigated (I knew why so many people were asking me to tell my story but nobody ever said "we are making sure this isn't child abuse) I was more annoyed that they still hadn't found anything wrong with my daughter.  Finally, after what my memory tells me was hours of testing a doctor came in and ordered a second set of X-Ray's of the whole leg.  Originally, the X-Rays were just of her ankle area because that was what bent backwards.  But he said his daughter had had something similar happen when she was a kid and the break had happened much further up the leg.  Thank goodness he did that because he found the break.  Actually, he called it a fracture.  I don't remember the difference anymore, all I knew is we had finally figured out the problem and a course of action was established.   Bumpkin got a removable cast, I got a long list of instructions, and we were finally on our way. 

This whole time I hadn't mentioned that it was actually Mother's Day to my kids.  It seems a little backwards to be like "it is Mother's Day, please tell me how much you love me".  So I'm not quiet sure how Bumpkin put it together but during one of the many times we were sitting in our room waiting for a doctor she turned to me (she was on my lap), took my face in both of her hands, and said "Happy Mother's Day Mommy".  I immediately started crying.  It was so sweet and is still one of my favorite memories.  Somehow, her little 2 year old mind was able to remember that it was Mother's Day, even though we were in the E.R., waiting for her cast to be put on, and she had been crying/wimpering for hours. 

Once she had pain medicine Bumpkin liked what happened next.  She was the center of attention and eating it all up.  The daycare wasn't sure they were able to take care of her properly so for the first week Nana took Bumpkin.  She ate up the one-on-one attention and after a few days learned how to do a modified crawl.  Grandma even made her some special undies that velcro'ed at the side because she had just been potty trained and it was difficult to pull her undies over her cast.  The next week the daycare took her back and after a couple more weeks daddy came home.  We even made sure nobody else signed her cast so daddy could be the first one. 

Thank goodness there is no permanent problems.  She walks fine and happily tells the story like it is a badge of honor.  For awhile she claimed to be "scared" of the slide but that was all just drama.  The daycare told me she figured out how to climb up the stairs while dragging her cast and would go down the slide; so I knew not to believe her.  It seems the biggest residual effect we still have with Mother's Day is my apprehension.  Daddy is still gone; it still doesn't "click" for the kids that they should be nice, not argue, bring me breakfast in bed :), etc; and I am still scared to do anything fun with them for fear that something bad would happen.  Maybe in another four years....