She Fought the Bike...

And the bike won!

Last Sunday had major potential to be a great day.  After church, the girls and I headed to Smith Lake to help our sweet friend Emma celebrate her 7th birthday.  Emma's sort of like family.  We've been to every birthday party she's had since she and Towns were three, so even her aunts, uncles, cousins and grandparents feel like family.  Towns and Cate were pretty excited to see Emma's cousin Piper who's two years old because they like to pretend she's their baby. We'd talked about it for weeks.  The girls absolutely couldn't wait to get there, and if I'm being honest, I couldn't wait to have zero cell service for a whole day.  Hello relaxation!

It was all going as smooth as silk until the kids decided they wanted to ride their bikes.  Little did I know, this would be the last time I saw Towns in one piece...

If you've ever been to a lake house of any kind, you know the driveways are long and steep.  The driveway down to Emma's lake house wins the award for both of those.  They were told numerous times that riding a bike down such a driveway was completely off limits.  Towns has always been our child who plays by the rules and is scared to death to get in trouble.  But she's also a closeted thrill seeker, much like her father.  So as she walked her bike to the top of the huge hill, I told my friend Jennifer that there was no way she was about to come back down it on her bike.  Conner even ran as fast as he could to the top to make sure that's not what she was about to do.  I ate my words right then and there when I saw blondie slowly accelerate on her way down.  That slow acceleration turned to down right fast acceleration. Before I knew what was happening she was flying about 15 mph down that hill.  That's when someone flipped the slow motion switch.  I knew exactly what was going to happen, but I felt like my feet were glued to the concrete and I couldn't run towards her fast enough.  As she got closer all I could think about was that if I could jump out in front of her I'd be able to stop her before the pavement did.  I didn't get the chance.  She started wobbling and I knew that it was over for her.  Her eyes were huge and she had the fear of God in her.  She'd made it all the way to the bottom...almost.  I felt totally helpless.  I've truly never been that scared for anyone in my life.  I threw my camera down as I tried to get to her as fast I could.  She and her bike tangled up and then it sent her sliding across the concrete face down.  As I bent down to scoop her up I was literally praying that she still had teeth.  It was hands down the worst bicycle wreck a person could possibly get themselves into.  And it was my sweet, rule-following Towns.  I was shaking like a leaf and so was she.  I picked her up and she repeatedly said, "I'm ok, I'm ok" and never once did she cry.  Seconds later all she could do was apologize to me over and over again because she knew she'd done what I told her not to do and it didn't end up so great.  At that point I didn't even care.  My heart physically hurt just looking at her.  I knew she'd learned her lesson, albeit an extremely painful one.  But isn't that usually how lessons are learned?  Standing on my own two feet was out of the question.  I sat right there in the driveway and held her in my lap.  I wanted to cry hysterically as I surveyed the damage on my baby girl.  When I say it was awful, I do mean it was awful.  Everywhere I looked there was missing skin with blood in its place.  Jennifer was so sweet to fetch my camera and Towns' bicycle.  And poor Conner, Emma and Cate.  You could tell they wanted to do something to help but they didn't know what.  So for the next hour or so they made sure Towns had a handful of Hershey kisses at all times.  When she'd run low, they'd go get more.  Precious.  My husband has been in enough motorcycle accidents to know exactly what Towns was feeling.  I was so worried about her lack of emotion.  I didn't know if she'd knocked herself out or what!  He informed me that the adrenaline in her body was taking over and keeping her from feeling all the pain.  We got her cleaned up, gave her some Tylenol, and for the rest of the day she insisted that she was fine but rarely said much of anything else.  She didn't have any skin on her knees, her toes and one foot, her stomach, her arms, and her chin.  It was pretty pitiful.  But she wasn't letting that ruin Emma's birthday fun...

For the longest time she wouldn't smile for fear of her chin hurting.  I can't say that I blame her!

Later in the afternoon she started fading fast, but the talk of a boat ride perked her up.  Even if it doesn't exactly look like it...

One person who thoroughly enjoyed it was Cate. She felt like such a big shot sitting in the front of the boat with the older kids...

Townsy had a good time watching Emma and Conner wake board.  I could tell she wanted to try it, but I wasn't about to let her out there in her condition...

It was Conner's first time to try it and he looked like an old pro. And it was fun to watch Emma showing us her dance moves while she was wake boarding.  Such fun little loves they are!

After a full day, it was time to get back to reality.  And that included sleeping most of the way home...

Bless her little heart, she couldn't take it a second longer.

I walked her into school Monday so that I could tell Mrs. Propst what happened.  Otherwise I'm sure she'd have one hand on the phone ready to call DHR. Slowly, but surely, her wounds are healing.  I keep asking her if I need to write a note to keep her from having to play in PE or participate in dance, but she continues to tell me that she's fine...

She calls it fine, I call it tough as nails!
The moral of this story is twofold...
Steer clear of steep driveways and never, ever disobey your mother!
Unfortunately, Towns had to learn the hard way...

Four!

Saturday was Cate's birthday, and all day I was left wondering where on earth the last four years have gone.  They've seemed to fly by much too fast for my liking.  I remember when Towns turned four and I felt like she was so old.  But part of me still feels like Cate's a baby.  My baby.  Jonathan tells me quite frequently that I baby her more than I need to.  But if she's my last one, then I reserve every right to do so.  Deep down I know I'm not doing her any favors by carrying her around everywhere or feeding her like she's still eating baby food.  It's justified by the fact that her personality, vocabulary, ability to rationalize, and the way she has an answer for everything resembles a mini adult.  If she acted like a baby, I'd stop the babying immediately.  But she doesn't, so if she's still small enough to fit on my hip then that's exactly where she's going to stay.  End of discussion.

She's definitely a force to be reckoned with.  She makes me laugh more times a day than I can keep count of, and no matter what you say she can one-up you.  She's quick witted and can think on her feet like no other child I've ever seen before.  She might be tough on the outside, but she's as tender-hearted as they come.  Her favorite thing in the world is a baby.  She prefers a real one, but will settle for fake ones in the event she can't get her hands on the real thing.  With every passing birthday and Christmas, a 'real live baby' is the number one thing on her wish list.  When we go into a store she tells me that if she sees someone drop a baby on the ground she's going to run grab it and bring it home with her.  Never mind the fact that picking up a dropped baby isn't really like picking up a penny off the ground.  She's pretty serious about it and still has hope that one day it will work out for her.  When her belly hurts, she thinks it's because she's got a baby in it.  I'm not ready to have that discussion yet, so I usually just tell her that that only happens to mommies and change the subject.  To say she's motherly and nurturing is an understatement.  She even calls Towns 'sweetie' and 'honey' when she's talking to her.  There's no place she'd rather be than right up under me.  And if we're cuddling then that's all the better.  She's such a snuggle bug.  She'd rather have yogurt, strawberries, and milk than anything else you could put in front of her.  Grilled chicken or steak and a Greek salad is her idea of a perfect meal.  I don't know where she got her tastes, but it certainly wasn't from her sisters who are junk food junkies!  She's pure joy and keeps us on our toes...but I don't think we'd want it any other way!

When I looked back at these pictures of a little 5 pound baby that was just a few days old, it made me smile and want to cry at the same time...

She was so tiny.  Preemie clothes were entirely too big for her, and most of Towns' baby dolls looked like giants up next to her.  She was born with a little strawberry on her right hand that's still there, and her fourth toe on her left foot is still curled under like it is in this picture...

What I wouldn't give to rewind the years and hold that sweet little thing who was barely big enough to fill up both of my hands again.  I tend to forget just how small she was.  And now, well, she's such a big girl! 

She woke up Saturday morning to chocolate chip pancakes and strawberries...

We stuck four candles in her pancakes and sang to her, naturally!

After a quick shower, we had to get the show on the road.  There were presents and cupcakes that both possessed an apparent magnetic force that Cate couldn't overcome!
She's such a clown...

 The girl loves Olivia with a passion, so that was the theme of her little birthday bash.
She had a blast ripping her presents open...


Towns really got into it, too...

I think she knew that whatever Cate got for her birthday was pretty much hers too...if only they were good about sharing it all!
One thing Buggy wasn't letting go of?
This new toy...

And what would a party be without cupcakes from Corner Bakery?

Delicious and color coordinated!
She must have been doing some sort of birthday cheer here...

And blowing out the candles always takes a few dozen tries...

But the end result is totally worth it...

If it's hard to eat with your hands, just put it down and eat it like an animal...

I promise she does have manners!
After she devoured her cupcake, the birthday girl decided on lunch at Bob Gibson's and wouldn't even think of leaving the house without babies in tow...

Speaking of babies, I had to hop in there between my two...

We told Cate she could pick whatever she wanted to do for the rest of the day.  That included a trip to the park for sure...


 Where she watched her monkey of a sister intently and declared she could probably do the monkey bars since she was officially four...

She gave it a whirl and made it across two hoops before she said she'd try it again when she was five.
The rest of the afternoon was spent putting our imagination to good use in the back yard.  Did you know that wrenches, screwdrivers and a funnel are perfect for a make believe ice cream shop?  Well, they are...

Buggy's a homebody and refused to entertain the idea of going out for a fun birthday dinner.  Pizza Hut and a movie at home equals perfection for such a simple girl.  And with that, we rounded out the 4th birthday of a special little lovey!

Pool Party

We went out on a limb this year with Cate's birthday party and kept it sweet and simple.  I didn't think it was in my genetic make up to do such a thing (ha!), but I do believe it was one of the most relaxing, laid back party days we've ever had.  I'm pretty sure that's because the whole party wasn't on my shoulders.  My friend Amanda asked if Cate wanted to join in on Brock's birthday party (they're only a week apart) at the clubhouse pool in their neighborhood.  It didn't take long for me to answer that!  We'd contemplated having another gymnastics party which is what Cate really wanted, but once I mentioned having a pool party with Brock she was game.  It was a bit of a last minute thing, so we let our families off the hook.  Other than missing them being there, it was perfect.

This is one of the only pictures I took of the birthday girl and boy...

 

They don't look like they're 7 days apart, do they?  Brock's so tall for his age and Cate's vertically challenged!  Regardless, she still makes him pretend he's her baby and he'll sit in her lap and play along.  He's the sweetest, funniest thing!  Cate loves him dearly.

We had a cold snap last week which had us worried that it would be entirely too cold to swim.  The children were good sports and didn't let the cold water bother them, though.  J got it kicked off by throwing everyone in...

That didn't so much help the shoulder injury from his motorcycle accident, but he's the biggest kid of 'em all and wasn't letting that stop him!

You can tell by Buggy's face that the chilly water took her breath away...

By the end of the party they were all shaking and had blue lips.  All in the name of fun, of course!

Bethany brought her friend Ellie to the party.  Cate thinks they are total rock stars which in turn makes her think she's one as well for having them at her party...

 

These two girls really make me laugh...

 

And these three, well they're just plain sweet...

Those who stopped long enough to eat wouldn't dine anywhere else other than by the pool, naturally...

And then Amanda brought out the very impressive cakes she made.  Monster trucks for Brock and princess for Cate.  I told her she might just need to go into business for herself!
Cate got so shy when it was time to sing Happy Birthday...


The kids all thoroughly enjoyed their cake and cupcakes.  I know this because they were covered in icing from head to toe.  That's the beauty of a pool party...make 'em all jump in and they come out as clean as a whistle!  The only thing that could get them out of the freezing cold water was talk of opening presents.  Buggy got in my lap and wanted to snuggle so I could keep her warm.
How could I say no to that?

Someone gave Brock a music set that included drums, spoons, a harmonica, and all kinds of fun things that kept everyone making music for a while.  Quite entertaining to watch, no less.  But Cate busied herself with her new friend Ashley...

Ashley is a very bright-eyed little girl, wouldn't you say?!
Cate is completely smitten with her and this has been the scene since last Saturday... 

We take her everywhere and don't let her out of our sight!

I'll leave you with this one just because I like it...

It's hard to believe that as of tomorrow, September 24th, my baby of all babies will be four years old.  One thing's for sure...we do love a birthday around here!  Let the festivities begin...

Early Birthday Surprise

There's nothing like getting an early birthday surprise in the mail.  Wouldn't you agree?  Yesterday Cate got just that from her Grandmommy and Pop. I tried to get her to save it and open it on her birthday, but she didn't give that notion a second though.  She couldn't believe her eyes when she tore into her package and discovered what was inside...

A box full of preemie sized clothes for her baby dolls - a whole new winter wardrobe for them!
How fun is that?!

If she said, "Mommy, isn't this so amazing?" once, she asked me twenty times! 

For a girl who loves a baby doll as much as Buggy does, I can't think of a better gift...

Of course, we immediately had to pick the babies of choice who would get to wear such fine clothing.  Then she gathered them in her "house" which is a huge princess tent in her room filled with all of her baby stuff.  I told her I just had to get the camera so J's parents could see how much she loved their gift.  She was all about that idea...

I just noticed what a wild looking bunch of bambinos she has...

Now that's one happy (almost) birthday girl!

Thank you, thank you, thank you Grandmommy and Pop!