What I Will Miss....

I wrote a few of these posts back when Sophie was three/four years old.  I came across them recently and they made me feel all soft and squishy on the inside.  Clara is always making me giggle with the adorable things she does and says and I realized I should write a little about it before it slips my mind.

Last week Sophie went to the movies with some neighbors so Alain & I took Clara out to eat Indian.  She packed up some bags and a small suitcase before we left home. We had no idea what was inside and couldn't wait to find out once we got to the table and she started unloading. As we walked across the parking lot, she looked so cute that we couldn't help but stop and take a picture.

Another day.  Mexican restaurant.  We all turned around at some point to find that Clara was wearing our chip bowl like a hat.  Her expression make all three of us laugh!

On a recent toy store visit, Clara tried on the new beach hats and sunglasses.  She also collected a few toys.  I had to take a picture!

It was so cute, I had to take a second.

The girl loves FROYO.

She sleeps in the car quite often.  You have no idea how many pictures I have just like this one.  I chose this one because of the "fancy" glasses.  She loves to get "fancy" by trying on all of our dress-up clothes and accessories.

She recently filled up a rewards chart because of her good choices and good behavior.  Her reward was that I took her to the toy store and let her pick out a new toy.  Out of literally thousands of toys, she chose this hairdresser costume.  I've had at least 100 haircuts in the past week.  The hair dryer makes a drying sound when you press the button and it makes me giggle every time!

And some cute things she's said recently:

One day, Clara came home from school and said she knew all the planets.  I asked her to name them.  She started...."Mars, Earth, Saturn, Uranus, Stupider."

Clara is just as obsessed with Trader Joe's Coconut Body Butter as I am.  Each night we sit on my bed and massage some into our feet.  She said to me, "This lotion smells so good" as she buried her face in the container.  "What does it smell like?", I asked.  She replied, "Pinecones."

Yesterday I overheard her say to Sophie, "Your face is truly beautiful."

Just writing this post melts my heart.  Clara is a sweet, affectionate, bright, very well spoken three year old!  She can be quite challenging but is also incredibly charming and silly.  I love hanging out with her and I know I will miss all these things when she gets bigger!

Daddy's Girl

Overprotected Kids Go "Wild"

In early April, we received the most recent issue of The Atlantic.  The cover story was one titled "The Overprotected Kid".  I couldn't break the magazine open quickly enough.  This is a topic I think about A LOT.....I know my kids don't have enough freedom and I worry how about how it will affect them in the long run.  Like most people my age, I had WAY more freedom than my own children.  My parents let me loose in the neighborhood and I was only called in for dinner or when it got dark.  

I LIVED in the woods and I am well aware that the amount of time I spent surrounded by nature shaped me in a HUGE way.  I played in the creek daily.  Didn't Mom & Dad worry I'd fall, hit my head on a rock and drown?  Weren't they concerned that some weirdo would walk into the woods and steal me?  What about the poison ivy and the snakes and my dirt-covered clothes and shoes?They never seemed worried.  Neither did the parents of my friends.  But letting me loose was one of the most fantastic gifts my parents could give me.  I have such beautiful memories of swinging over the creek on a long vine, building forts, chasing each other through the woods, perfecting our dam building....need I go on?  No one was looking over my shoulders.  Not one afternoon had a planned activity.  

I finished reading the article and I was upset.  But what could I do?  We don't live in an area where I can let my kids loose.  No way.  So what did I do?  I filled the girls' water bottles, packed a few snacks, jumped in the car with Clara, picked Sophie up from the bus stop and headed straight to a nature path near home.  When we got there, I told the girls to go and do whatever they wanted. You should have seen the way they looked at me!!!  It's so sad but they didn't even know what to do.  Go, walk in the woods, play in the creek, get dirty, find some bugs......these are the things I told them.  It took a while and there was some trepidation but they eventually took tentative first steps into the woods.  

And I have to admit that it wasn't easy for me.  These kids weren't raised in the woods.  I was nervous.  I followed them around from a distance as they ventured.  I tried to pretend like I wasn't paying attention to them (yeah right!).  A couple of times I even let them out of my sight (GASP!) but immediately panicked and called them back.  Still, I do get points for trying, right?  As they played and went "wild" (ha!), I took photos.

Of course Harry had to follow along and help protect the girls.

The girls played at this rotted log for about 1/2 an hour until a massive bug ran out and made Sophie jump a foot into the air.  She is not afraid of bugs so that just tells you something about the size and "scary factor" of this particular bug!

I kept going back for more pictures because, as you may remember, towhees are my favorite (sssshhhh, don't tell Harry!).

If I still did my Suburban Field Journal posts, I'd include this picture.  I love when we go somewhere in the suburbs and find a reminder that this used to be someone's large piece of property. Well, I shouldn't say I love it because it actually makes me sad.

My kids are still overprotected.  I want to be positive but I just don't think there's any way around that these days.  Even a laid back parent like me has a hard time letting go.  I will always search for opportunities to give the girls freedom to roam and explore.  Until I find them, I'm happy I had this lovely afternoon with two of my favorite people and I was glad to have a little of my own freedom to take some nature photos!  

Instantaneous Happiness

Earlier today I uploaded a month's worth of photos.  As I flipped through them, I came across the photos below and knew I had to post them right away before I forget!  

At the end of April, Sophie attended a friend's birthday party.  Right before we left the house, I finished wrapping the gift and went to collect the birthday card that Sophie had been working on.  When I glanced down at the card, my heart just melted. 

{Even though I didn't get a close-up, I'm pretty sure that green dot hanging from the bottom branch is an inchworm ~ we've seen so many of those lately!}

Lately I've had a lot of moments when I questioned my parenting abilities.  But when I saw the innocent, sweet drawings that Sophie had made ~ full of nature ~ I realized I was just being terribly hard on myself.  This is not at all unusual!  As Alain always reminds me, this is a marathon.

 

When I picked Sophie up from school the following Monday, she told me that the birthday girl relayed that her Mom's favorite present from the entire party was Sophie's card and that it made her heart happy.  "That's exactly what you said, Mom!", Sophie said.  Yes, it does make my heart happy.  As we drove towards home, I peeked at Sophie in the rearview mirror and was delighted to find that she was smiling to herself.

Several years ago, I published a post entitled Instantaneous Happiness.  I still melt into a puddle whenever I see those pictures. Especially these days!  Every once in a while, someone will arrive at my blog because they've GOOGLED "Instantaneous Happiness".  I love that!  The very second I saw this card and when I came across the pictures today those words were the first to enter my mind.  The innocence and creativity and sweetness of childhood will forever make me happy.....instantaneously.  

Little Girls' Room

One morning, during our Kiawah vacation, Alain took the girls out to the beach to build sandcastles (it was too cold to swim).  I stayed behind as I needed some down time to buy groceries, clean a little, etc. When I walked into the bedroom that Sophie and Clara were sharing, I was overcome by the girlishness of the room and all the things they'd brought from home to make them comfortable. They'd definitely made the room their own. I felt this strong need to capture a few things....

This is the shared dresser that separated their two beds.  By next year Sophie will surely have moved on from Critter Club books but I love the glittery letters and soft colors of the covers.  Each night she'd sneak her flashlight under the covers to read while Clara fell asleep.  And Clara's little ladybug nightlight.....one day soon she won't want or need that anymore.  I know because Sophie just gave up her nightlight a couple of months ago. Gulp.

A bunch of shells the girls collected on the beach were lined up on the dresser.  I'm sure Sophie did that.  It really warmed my heart.

I know it won't be long before Sophie stops carting her stuffed animals on our travels.  I only allow three on each trip ~ otherwise she'd bring twenty.  I still get sad that Blue Man, the infamous Blue Man, gets left behind nowadays.

And Clara's loveys.....all three of them....they go everywhere with us.  How much longer will this last?  On this trip, our first attempt at having Clara share a room with Sophie and sleep in a "big girl bed", her bed was covered in extra pillows that we used to buffer her and hopefully prevent any falls from the bed. I'm insanely excited to report success!

The girls are growing so quickly.  Yes, they can drive me totally insane.  Oh my, yes, they fight way too much.  They can be really messy.  But I love, LoVe, LOVE  having two daughters. I've made my peace with pink.  I embrace their interests and do my best to soak up the best moments.  It won't be long before teeny magazines cover the dresser and no stuffed animals, loveys or nightlights will be necessary to comfort the girls away from home.  

In the future I know I will miss these days and just seeing photos of their favorite possessions on that long-ago vacation to Kiawah will melt my heart!

We are HARD CORE, people.

So our week at the beach turned out.....COLD.  We had ONE day of really nice beach weather and the rest.....not so much.  Did we make the most of it?  Hell yeah we did.  And we had a blast. 

Yesterday, our last day, was butt cold but we decided we HAD to go to the beach and soak it up (before the massive rainfall a few hours later!).  Let me tell you.....this beach was EMPTY except for a lone biker now and then.

Our umbrella and chairs were the only ones in sight. The wind beat at us and tangled our curls.    The chill cut right to the bone (and I had on three layers!).  The girls (and Alain) built a sandcastle with a long gully that led down to the ocean.  

After dropping Alain and the kids at the beach, I went to the store to pick up some coffees for Alain and I.  While there, I passed by the Krispy Kreme display and noticed the bags of mini white powdered donuts. Well, you have no idea how much white powdered donuts remind me of going to the beach with my family when I was little.  My Dad always bought them.  Isn't it amazing what sticks with you? Of course I picked up a bag, purchased it and took it the beach to surprise the girls.  And surprised they were!  It occurred to me that maybe they've never eaten white powdered donuts. They went NUTS.  Especially Clara.  She seriously ate about 1/2 the bag by herself.  She didn't want to share with anybody else.  

There we sat, all cuddled up under the umbrella, eating white powdered donuts. In the freezing cold. On an empty beach. And it was pure bliss!

Just for fun......we took these few pictures for you, Dad.....hope you like them!!!  

We're back home now but already missing the beach.  Cold weather and all.

Happiness is.....

......watching Sophie play soccer.  Seriously, she is always smiling when she plays soccer.

....this little goofball.

.....being a Girl Scout leader.

......this little goofball.

......scootering with Dad.

......roasting marshmallows.

.....this little goofball.

......sending Sophie & Alain off to the Father/Daughter Dance.

{Whew, these pictures make me emotional!}

.....this little goofball.

.....the first strawberry blossoms.

......and this little goofball!

Hope you're all well, happy and healthy!

XOXO,

Audrey