Brave

We went to the AMC at Town Center and saw Brave this last, hot Sunday afternoon.  We really liked it, but the big ol' bear kind of scared Jack.  He was about to crawl underneath his seat when Daddy took him up into his lap.  Thank goodness for popcorn and candy to take the edge off.

Greta drew Merida, the wisp, the bear and the dark sky above....with her name and age.

Jack drew Merida, the wisp and a little bear.

And now they shoot arrows throughout our house. Only, they aren't arrows, they are princess and cars underwear with elastic waistbands.  Pray you are not the target.

Wiggle It

She got her very first tooth on Mother's Day when she was 5 months old.  She lost her very first tooth on Father's Day when she was 5 years old.

She ran up to me in a panic (which isn't abnormal for Miss Drama). My tooth is broken! Can we glue it? She showed me a wiggley tooth.  I lost my composure and slapped my hands on my cheeks and screamed as tears filled up my eyes.  I  didn't mean to, I just, at that moment saw my sweet baby girl grow up a little.  Her new smile is coming.  Big girl teeth.  I am happy/sad.  I just love her.

So we wiggled it and wiggled it and tried dental floss on it and big red apples and big green apples and corn on the cob.  But she was in no hurry.  I am in no hurry.  A week and a half later, on the night of Father's Day, she let Derek try with a tissue.  Not coming out.  Then she let me.

I got that tooth out just as she was telling me to stop, it popped out in my fingers! We put it in her little Toothfairy jar.  We listened to her hop out of bed and check to see if the fairy had come for hours after bedtime.  Finally she slept.  I made Derek go to the ATM.

In the morning she woke up and her little first tooth was gone and ten whole dollars was in it's place! (Apparently that is too much, but it was her first tooth, after all.)  And, low and behold, the next tooth is already wiggling now that it's neighbor is gone.

By Halloween we will have a Jackolantern!

Dad

Derek is a really, really good dad. I mean it. I don't want to sound like I am inflating the truth.  He is present in so much of what these kids are.  He wakes with them before the sun comes up to spend some special time every morning.  He works so hard to finish his day at VML and comes home to see us and play....even if he is tired.  He values being a dad, I can tell.  He knows it means a lot of things.  I hope he knows how much he means to us.

We woke up early, as usual, and made this day one just for Dad.  Greta and Jack picked out presents for Dad, all by themselves.  They must have seen somewhere that Dads get neck ties on Father's Day, because that is what they insisted upon.  I thought it was kind of cute to give a traditional gift this year.  They picked out a really snazzy tie...Jack wanted to give him one that was navy blue with orange diagonal stripes (hunter orange) and Greta liked the one that was navy blue with aqua diagonal stripes. But we compromised on something that would match his wardrobe a little better.  Might as well get to wear the tie, you know.  (J Crew has some really cool ties...more casual.  This fits Derek well.)  They also picked out a new wallet for him. And then they drew special pictures of Hello Kitty for him.  (Because he loves Hello Kitty.)  (Really.)  (Sarcasm) We ate biscuits and gravy and made plans to go somewhere fun....

It was a great day for the zoo.  It was hot, but it had been years since we had been, so we didn't mind.

The polar bear was my favorite to see. He was a show off.  I could have watched him all day as he did flips in the water and blew bubbles with his big bear nose.

We walked by the elephants just in time to see them working with trainers.  They are all female African elephants.  Very smart and very big. The biggest, Leia, weighs 10,500.  She even got angry with her girls and blew her trumpet and ran at them.  They all peed! Here is some advice....Stand back.

Jack insisted he was riding a flamingo.  Either way, it was a wild ride on the zoo carousel.

Greta is a peacock.

And, Greta is also a red panda.

Don't feed the animals.

Applause is Welcome

If you ask her to pose....

She will....

And you won't be disappointed.

I promise.

And, she loves an audience.

And she loves to make friends back stage.

She is now obsessed with lipstick.

Brother Jack is very proud of her.

He wanted to give her flowers.

She told Derek on his last trip to NY, "Tell Broadway I'm coming." And, I believe her.

Uptown Girl

The Pulse Performing Arts Company performed two recitals last weekend.  Greta's class tapped to Uptown Girl and were dancing as girls in finishing school in NYC.  Saturday night Greta made me cry - big tears.  I am so proud and so amazed by her.  On Sunday, Derek, Jack and I were there again with flowers, very eager to see her on stage.  Derek was even very sneaky and got a little recording.  I will cherish it because the professional recording that we purchased was taken the evening before and didn't catch Greta seeing us in the crowd!  She is a star to me.

Country Air

One of the biggest perks of having kids and living in Overland Park is that there is a farm down the street that you can breathe in deeply, that country air.  Last Friday, Derek was home from a week of shooting lifestyle photographs for a company called Navistar, and he took the babies to Deanna Rose Farmstead so I could have a little "break". (I vacuumed.)  They enjoyed the sunshine and animals and I enjoyed finishing a task as mundane as....vacuuming.

I have visions of what 16 will be like.

"Welcome to my garden..."

One More Star

God Bless, originally uploaded by DerekandRebecca.

Greta was invited to sing for the Veteran's ceremony on Memorial Day. There were many more people there than we expected. She was very quiet and I wasn't sure she would go through with it. I told her that I would sing if she didn't want to, and even if she got infront of the audience and changed her mind, I would be there for her. So this clip starts in the middle because I was holding my breath to see what would happen... She sang and she made many people very happy. She made Papa so proud...actually, I don't think there is even a word for what she made Papa. Out of Greta comes a sweet little voice with a big impact.