Celebrate good times!

Happy Birthday Auntie Sunshine!
And Happy 5th Anniversary to my husband!
To celebrate our Saturday anniversary, we spent a night at The Bro@dmoor in C-Springs. So beautiful, and so relaxing. And I forgot my camera!!!!

KK got to have a sleepover with Cousin C, and she loved every second of it. They slept in sleeping bags and had a great time playing and wearing each other out. (You can see how tired K is in the video above!) Thanks again Uncle Ry and Auntie Kar! BuddyBuddy also had a good time, and we met his new "cousin." Introducing Rory, C's new puppy dog: Welcome to the family, Rory!
(pictures from Auntie Kar. Thank you!)

TEQUILA!

On Friday, we celebrated our cousin Paula's 42nd birthday by going to a yummy Mexican restaurant. This place had the best Mariachi band ever! They were so good, they had KK shouting "Tequila!" like a pro. I wish I had a picture of Paula while they were singing Happy Birthday to her - she was smiling from ear to ear.
KK was also smiling, because she got to snuggle with cousin Janet and swipe several bites of her fried ice cream.
Speaking of ice cream, KK did so good* at soccer that morning, we celebrated by going out for "pink ice cream." Ice cream twice in one day - that's the life! Good to the very last drop!
(*Definition of "so good": she kicked the ball from one side of the field to the other several times, per the direction of her coach. Yahoo!)

For KK's birthday, we got her a little tent and set it up in the house. She sometimes hides in it when she's supposed to be getting dressed or picking up her toys, but otherwise doesn't pay much attention to it. The other night, I was thrilled to see that it wasn't a complete waste of money:Daddy's been gone for a week on various trips. I sent him this picture on his cell phone and threatened to paint Buddy's toes pink. It would be a better way to spend time than watching TV these days!

Crazy H0rse, Crazy Me

In three weeks, I hope to complete my first half-marathon: The Crazy H0rse in SoDak. Please note that I did not mention the word "run." I do hope to run some of it, but my goal is only to finish. I'll be walking most of the course, and I'm okay with that!

I've been training with another friend, and we've done our best to keep each other motivated all summer. It's been up and down - my training was siderailed when I had to have a biopsy a month-or-so ago and took it easy for a couple of weeks. Oh, okay, fine - so I wasn't completely into the training even before that little scare (benign, btw, thank God). Some weeks I've done great, and others I've just not put the time in that I needed to. I'm still moving towards the goal, though, so GO ME! There. I put it on the Internets so now I have to do it.

Wish me luck!

Sparkles and Soccer

KK's hair keeps getting thicker, but it hasn't gotten much longer. It's been looking a bit messy lately, though, so I brought her to another kids' salon today hoping they could clean it up a little. After about three minutes and eight scissor-snips, it was all over and I was $25 in the hole.
Before:
After: Just like last time, it wasn't a bad experience - just not worth the money. KK did get little sparkles sprayed in her hair, which I thought was cute, but the free clips broke and fell out before we even got to the car. Next time, we will give it a try at home and use our $25 on ice cream!

In other news, KK is still the birthday cake watchdog. At a party this weekend, all of the kids happily worked on making crafts while she diligently supervised the cutting of the cake. That's my girl! (Don't you love her sparkly "rock star" jewelry?! Too bad we didn't have hair sparkles on Saturday to match.)
Then there is soccer. Three-year-old soccer.
The first five minutes:
The last fifty-five minutes:
*Sigh*

Gone Baby Gone

I remember very vividly what the days and nights were like after we brought our little miracle baby home. I spent hours and hours snuggling and nursing her in bed. Daddy would come home for lunch and be discouraged that we hadn't really gotten up for the day yet. He didn't fully grasp that days and nights all become the same, and he worried that I was going to sleep until 1pm forever and ever. I was tired, but mostly I just loved being next to her, feeding her and taking care of her. I loved watching episodes of Little H0use on the Pr@irie while she slept next to me in bed. I loved being right there for her when she woke up. There was nothing better than being with her, cuddling her, looking at her pretty little fingers, toes, nose, lips, eyes, every little piece of her. I remember it well, because I knew. I knew those special days and moments would slip by fast and so I enjoyed every second. Suddenly we have a young lady in our family. A three year old going on thirty. She's smart, silly, clever, loving, stubborn, and fun. She can do somersaults, count to twenty-five before she loses interest, and she can hop "really, really high!" She loves to make silly faces that I try not to laugh at. She tells stories and makes up words. She demands things, throws temper tantrums, pushes buttons, and tests limits. And she loooooves going to her new pre-school!!! I don't think either Daddy or I realized just how fast our lives would go from sleepy cuddles to pre-school, soccer, music, dance, playgroups, and parties. It's not the same as it was during those first weeks, but I love it just the same. Our little one has gone from a sleepy snuggle-bug to a big school-girl in the blink of an eye. She may not be a baby anymore, but she will always be my baby...and I am so proud and lucky to be her Mommy!