The Two's

They don’t call it the terrible twos for nothin’. Little Miss Kate gave me a run for my money yesterday. First it was a potty accident. Those used to just be a bit annoying, but now they are truly maddening, since she used the potty flawlessly while we were away for two entire weeks. This was quickly followed by her telling me to be quiet when I scolded her, which of course went over well… She lost her beloved Sesame Street, which of course means I lost my beloved hour. We both survived though. She picked and fussed until nap time. Ah, what a wonderful time of day that can be when we’re having a rough spot. It’s a break for both of us and a new start.

The afternoon was marginally better. She dumped the bin of toys I gave her sister, stole Gabby’s plastic keys, and refused to pick up her puzzle that she dumped while I was trying to quiet Gabby down. She wet her diaper—twice. I took away two toys. This is war. As I always told my students, you can be stubborn, but I’m better at it and I will win. I even left her with Justin when I went to the grocery. The girl loves to shop.

She finally fell asleep after my bed time last night. She kept crying for the Welcome Inn—the place we stayed when we were visiting Justin’s parents. At first we thought she was missing her Nan and Pop or the constant on the go life style, but we finally found out that she liked that the room had two twin beds (one for her and one for Gabby, when she gets bigger) and that her mattress was put on the floor because we didn’t have a bed rail for her. There was nothing we could do—there's not enough room here to put her mattress beside the bed and even if there were it was just silly. We hugged, kissed, and comforted to no avail. So we gave up and eventually so did she.

It was a long day.

I suppose I did it to myself. I named her after my most stubborn student and what did I get? I just hope that this tenacity will serve her well as she grows older. She can use it to hold on tightly to those things she values and those she loves.

Old Friends

Okay, so I’m sure I’m not alone in loosing track of people over the years, but it’s really been on my mind lately. I’m not sure if it was looking through all the old pictures for the slide show I’m making for my Grannie or visiting with Justin’s old high school buddies, but I’ve been wondering about getting in touch with some old friends.

I’ve kept track of a few close friends, but for the most part those people I spent my high school and college years with have faded from my life. I find myself wondering about them from time to time. I’ve even tried ‘Googling’ some of them. I missed my ten year reunion because it was held the weekend that Gabby was due, so that added to my disappointment. I had so looked forward to meeting up with everyone and reconnecting, even if it was just for a little while.

It all came crashing in today though. When I was in middle school the high schoolers boarded the bus first, and we had to find seats where ever they were available. I was shy, timid, and quiet, so having to search for a seat was torture. I often got stuck in the back with some rowdy boys who thought that it was fun to speak lewdly and make general nuisances of themselves. One day a guy who sat up front offered me the seat next to him. He was courteous, kind, and four years my senior. We became friends and talked about everything—his girlfriends, grades, politics, families, religion.

I’ll never forget the day he showed up at my door step though. I had accidentally left my report card on the bus and he ran it over to me. My mother was worried that any young man that was willing to do that would be interested in more than friendship. In all honesty a year later he asked what my parents would say if I were asked to prom. I knew they would say no, so he didn’t ask me formally. We kept in touch after he graduated from high school and joined the service. He came by to visit and talked with my family. He even called me and told me that he had met the girl he was going to marry. It was bitter sweet. I was so great to know he was happy, that he cared enough to tell me, but then again I had thought perhaps when I was grown our friendship might be able to blossom. That was the last time we spoke. I tried to find him two years later when I was engaged, but couldn’t find him. Over the years I’ve tried a few times, but not had any luck. It can be quite hard to track down someone who has a common name and serves in the military, thus moving frequently. Today I found out where he was. His obit was in the local paper where we grew up. So in memory of my friend Ron, I think I’ll send out a few extra emails and try to stay in touch.

Home Again

Vacation. Justin and I used to be able to pack up on a whim and run off to visit some friends or go camping. Now that we have two beautiful little girls it’s a bit more challenging. We took our longest trip ever and had the two little people with us. Two weeks away from home. We planned, schemed, and made lists. All in all, I don’t think I forgot anything of any importance, a pretty grand accomplishment.

Two weeks ago we left in the wee morning hours to drive to Kentucky to visit my parents. The girls did great on the drive over. It’s about eleven hours over, including all the stops for the bathroom and eating. The time there is spent mostly hanging around the house and scanning an obscene number of pictures of my dad’s side of the family. I’m getting pictures together for a reunion for the fall and I literally spent hours scanning in old snap shots. I spent a quiet evening with my dad’s mom going through all of her photo albums. It was nice to have a visit with her, just the two of us, even if I did have to sneak out of the house after the girls went to bed.

My little sister was able two be with us three of the evenings. Our last night there was so fun though. Kate talked Aunt Holly into playing hide-and-go-seek. It was Kate’s first attempt at the game. As most two year olds are, she was horrible at it. We all laughed so hard. First we’d hide—she’s okay with seeking, but it was even better when we had her hide.

“Is she out on the porch?” Justin asked in mock shouting as he searched.

“No!” called a little voice, “I’m in the kitchen. Under the table.”

Then we traveled to Ohio to see Justin’s parents. We had planned to stop just outside of Cincinnati to see an old friend of mine, but her step daughter had gone into labor causing a change of plans. We still ate in our old town at Justin’s favorite chili restaurant. Kate thought it was odd, but she eventually ate some of her chili cheese sandwich.

We spent our time in Ohio going from one activity to another. There were parks to visit, pools to swim in, and paths to walk. We were able to visit with Justin’s grandmother while we were there too. With our family of four we couldn’t comfortably stay with his parents at night, so we had a little house in the village where they live that we stayed in. It was really nice. I enjoyed having a place where we could retire at night and put the girls down.

On our way back we were able to see my friend Miss Margie and have breakfast with her. It was so good to see her. We weren’t able to visit long, but it was wonderful to spend some time with her. Margie and I had worked together for several years and we always had a great time. She’s a wonderful lady. We chatted about the school where we used to work and her new grandbaby.

We drove on to Evansville to visit with some of Justin’s high school buddies. One of them has two little girls that are each a year older than Kate and Gabby. The girls got to play for awhile, before we headed off to dinner with Ryan and the littlest one. Then we met up with another fella and his fiancé for ice cream. Miss Emily was a big hit with Kate. Kate demanded to sit with Emily and hold her hand as we walked back to the car. We’re so happy that our friends are doing well and are happy. It had been a long time since we had been with everyone. We got back to our hotel and put the girls down at about ten-thirty that evening. We would have loved to have spent more time visiting, but after two weeks we were anxious to get home. We had a long day, but finally made it home at about five-thirty yesterday evening.

Then came the crazy part of being away… When we pulled up, our driveway has been cordoned off. The city tore it up to replace a water line a few weeks ago and they had newly cemented it. We couldn’t pull in to unload and Justin’s car was stuck on the driveway. We get inside and the clocks are flashing. We wonder if everything in our fridge and freezer need to be tossed. I opened our mail and found a notice that we owe over $700 in taxes to the state of Kansas. Next as I’m carrying things upstairs and find that the shelf that holds my jewelry box and some books fell off the wall and dumped it’s contents all over the floor. Great. Well, my dad says that we can drive over the concrete, just not park on it tomorrow. We talked to the neighbor and found out that the power was out for just a couple of minutes. The state of Kansas, who has already deposited our check, must not have correctly credited the check I sent—because that’s the amount we already paid. The only one of our little disasters that didn’t work out as soon as we discovered it is the shelf. I’ve cleaned it all up. Now to find the other half of the three sets of ear rings that seem to have disappeared and our return home will have been a success.

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Some of my favorite quotes from Kate while we were gone…

Justin was trying to get Kate to let him give her a bath (she always wants my mom to do it). “Maybe she needs a break,” Justin quipped.

Our little fireball squared her shoulders and looked him in the eye before she said, “You need a break.”

Gam gave the bath.

***

“Kate, are you holding Gabby’s hand?”

“No, Gabby’s holding my hand. She keeps it safe, like a band-aid.”

***
As we were preparing to go out, Nan wasn’t moving fast enough to suit Kate, so she went and got her sandals for her. As she handed her one, Nan asked, “Is this a hint?”

Kate didn’t miss a beat. She handed her the other sandal and said, “Here’s another one.”

The First Word

Miss Gabby said her first word--the long awaited, much anticipated chance to know what she's thinking. She started babbling yesterday, so I figured it would be a few weeks. Was it Mama, no. It wasn't even Dada. No my precious baby girl said 'Elmo.' As in that fuzzy red monster on Sesame Street. Justin heard it too. I looked at him and said, "If she doesn't say it again, I'm not going to count it." Of course she said it again. By the time I got the video camera surely it would stop. I taped it. It wasn't as clear that time, but I have video of her holding (her sister's) Elmo and calling him by name. Our girls like to do this to us. We take care of them and love them. We expect that first word will probably be Dada, maybe Mama, and then we're disappointed. Kate said 'kitty cat'. They must love the fuzzy things...

Surprised

Today I was truly surprised. I got a notice in my mailbox last night that I had a package waiting for me at the post office. Justin’s birthday is on Monday, so I thought perhaps it was a gift for him sent into my care. When I was given the box, it was from my dear friend in Maryland. We had talked recently about a book that she would send me when she was finished, but surely she hadn’t sent me this many books. I couldn’t wait to get home to open it. She’s a very thoughtful lady and anything she sent must be wonderful, but I had no idea.

I had written to several of my friends, and requested that they be praying for my back to recover. She shared my difficulties with her Bible study group and I knew they had been praying for me. They put together a beautiful care package and sent it to me. It’s full of wonderful things, a bath set, books, a CD, coffee, chocolate, kleenxes, and much more. These ladies, whom I’ve never met, gave me the gift of their prayers and then this gift too. I feel truly blessed.

Bath Time

We had a great evening. I had bought a bath seat for Gabby so we could bathe the girls together. I was so excited. I had done this last week without one and it was rather difficult, but I thought this would be fun. I had found that Kate didn’t like to share her ducky, so we went to get a separate one for Gabby. Standing in the aisle at the store we found on that was too perfect for Kate to pass up, so they each got a new ducky—Kate’s is a pirate and Gabby’s is a princess.

We put the girls in the tub together. They had a great time. I was taking pictures and enjoying the splashing. Then I noticed it. Ugh. Gabby must have pooped. As I started to pull her out I realized, nope it wasn’t Gabby it was our nearly completely potty trained two year-old who was responsible. Bath time rapidly ended. We got the girls cleaned up and off to bed, and the bathroom has been cleaned and sanitized. I know someday we’ll look back and laugh, but that day is not today.

Her name is George

We're at the end of Justin's first year as a professor, so we decided to celebrate by going out to brunch after his last final was given. The girls and I went to pick him up today. When the waitress came by to take our order she asked Kate what her name was. She answered, "Kath'rine 'Lizabeth." Then the waitress asked her what her little sister's name was and she said, "George." George?!? We all had a good laugh though. When I asked Kate why she said that she said, "Because it's funny." Is she really only two? She finally gave the right answer with, "Gabri-bella." She also introduced Justin and me, but I don't think the waitress cared about much of anything after George. It was so funny the waitress was telling her co-workers. I'm glad that we could brighten someone's day with our two girls--Kate and "George."