Bubbles in the bath

Madelynn loves to blow bubbles in the bath now. I hope she will do this well when we start swim lessons.

Play time...

Madelynn got ahold of her laundry basket and had a great time. She keeps saying "cheese." We took pictures last Saturday and I think that is what she learned from the experience. And yes, she is carrying around my birth control pills. They are her "make-up". She stands on a stool in the bathroom in the morning and "puts on her make-up" with me. I just can't believe how big she is getting.

Just fishin'...

I'm lost with her there holding that pink rod and reel.

She's doing almost everything but sitting still.

Talkin' 'bout her ballet shoes and training wheels..and her kittens.

And she thinks we're just fishin'.

I say "Daddy loves you, baby" one more time.
She says, "I know, I think I've got a bite."
And all this laughing, crying, smiling, dying here inside is what I call living.
And she thinks we're just fishin' by the riverside, throwing back what we could fry, drowning worms and killing time.

Nothing too ambitious.

She ain't even thinkin' 'bout what's really going on right now

but I guarantee this memory's a big'un.

And she thinks were just fishin'

I heard this song the other day for the 1st time. It brought tears to my eyes and I thought about my dad and I fishing together. Then my mom reminded me of this story:

Your dad took you fishing when we were camping. You kept wanting his help and he said "Kelsey, quit bothering me." You got big crocodile tears. He felt so bad, he put down his pole, picked up yours and taught you had to fish. When you came back to camp he told me what happend and how badly he felt. He said "I"ve caught fish before, and I'll catch them again" I don't ever want to say that again. I'm sure there were times we both put "us " first, but I know that we always tried to put you girls first---Mom

And this is what I remember about my dad. He and my mom always put us 1st and that is how they raised us and it was very evident in all their actions. When dad took us out on the boat he would drag us aroud that lake until we couldn't stand anymore. Then and only then did he get out his fishing pole. He never told us to hurry and finish sking because he was ready to fish.

Those moments on the boat and sitting on the side of a river bank weren't just about fishing, which I didn't learn until I was older and had a baby girl of my own. It is not about the things we do, it is about being together and knowing, beyond a shadow of a doubt that you are loved by your parents. That love and those lessons are now being passed on to our kids through us and it is amazing how I realize the sacrifices my parents made for us as we were growing up. But I also see as a parent, you don't even care, you are thankful and grateful to make those sacrifices. I am so thankful to experience those important moments with Madelynn and know that it is more than just "fishing."

(Song - She thinks were just fishin" by Trace Atkins")

http://www.azsongs.com/Trace-Adkins-lyrics/Just-Fishin%27-lyrics.html

It's not time yet...

I realized today that I often write about my dad but there is some great advice my mom has given over the year and maybe I should share those stories while she is still here to read them.

So, back to what led me down the thought path...

I took Madelynn for her 1st hair cut today (no, she doesn't have much hair, but it was just sticking out everywhere). She did fantastic. Her babysitter Julie and Lollie (her mom) where there to take pictures and then they took her while I got my hair done. Sandi getting started...
she loved it

All done and big smiles!

The finished product...just a little trim but she looks so cute. I hope it will be thicker now.

She was so happy and didn't even cry and neither did I. Then I got to thinking about these little milestones and I don't really ever cry when they occur. I reflected on my sisters' stories about some of their kids' first; and same as me, no tears. Is there something wrong with us? Should we be crying? Should we be more emotional about these stepping stones in life? Maybe it was the way we were raised. My parents never seemed to get very emotional (not that there is anything wrong with it, they just seemed to be happy for us during these moments) as we approached new challenges, stages, and risks in life. Even when they left me at college; none of us cried.

My mom just seemed to have a good outlook on life and taking it as it came. I remember when I was about 9 or 10 I was very upset one night and my mom asked what was wrong. "I am afraid to go to middle school." She said, "Of course you are, you are only 9, it's not time yet. When you are 11 it will be time for middle school and you will be ready. You don't have to worry about it until then." Sure enough, when I got to middle school and I totally ready (not that I wasn't a little nervous that day) and I did great.

I guess I didn't learn my lesson because a few years later when I was 12 I was upset and I told my mom I was scared to go to high school (typical me, always planning ahead and not just happy to live in today) and worried about doing well. Again she said, "Of course you are, you are only 12, it's not time yet. When you are 14 you will be ready and you will do great." She was right. When the time came I was ready.

Maybe that is where our outlook came from. As things come we just enjoy it and realize that it is time for that event in our life. Not that getting her 1st hair cut wasn't nostalgic and sweet, but I was ready for it, it was time.