Her Cup is Always Half Full

This little sweetheart has mastered the art of drinking from a cup. She'd much rather be able to drink her milk from a big girl cup like she sees her Big Sister doing so our days of sippy cup drinking are behind us...for the time being anyway.

I love to watch her while she is drinking. The way those little hands grasp the cup.

The way her top lip curls over the rim.

The milk moustache and the dribbles down her chin.

Best of all, the grin of accomplishment! Funny to think that at age two, the Girl was still drinking her milk warm and out of a bottle.

My Crazies

We stayed with J's Mom this past weekend. She recently moved into a new home and it was our first time visiting since the big move. Her new house boasts a 36' long in-ground pool and a hot tub. Both of which the Girl was dying to try out. She got to dip her feet in on Friday night but Saturday was spent at the football game so her first opportunity to get all wet was on Sunday and she was not going to wait. So at 9:30 on

Sunday morning with an outdoor temperature of just 55 degrees and the water at a chilly 68, she jumped right in. I've never seen her

dog-paddle so fast. She swam around the entire perimeter of the pool until she reached the ladder not far from where she started, immediately climbed out and headed for the warmer waters of the hot tub.

Not to be outdone, Little Sister also took a dip, although she stayed on the steps and did not get more than waist deep before deciding that she'd had enough.

The Girl did do some back-and-forth maneuvering between the hot tub and the pool. As for me, I thought they were all just plain ol' crazy. It has to be pretty balmy outside, say at least 80 degrees (with a water temp to match) before I even consider dipping my big toe into a pool.

Is it any wonder where they get this crazy-gene from? The apples don't fall far from the tree. This kid spent more time in the pool than

anyone. Crazy, crazy, crazy!

Go COUGS!!!!!

Yesterday we were here. Whenever I return it feels a lot like coming home and in a way it always will. This was my home for five years, the beginning of my adulthood. I met my soulmate here. Cherished friendships began here. Many lessons were learned here. To see the Girl running across this expansive lawn, the one that I myself crossed nearly every day for five years, filled my heart with joy. Back then I couldn't have imagined how rich my life would be now and that I would come back here with precious little ones. Of course I had dreamed and aspired but did not know then what my life would be in ten years. To share this campus and it's beautiful, stately brick buildings with my Girls means so much to me. To walk up the

main thoroughfare through campus, clutching their small hands in mine instead of a stack of books was foreign yet comfortably familiar.

And this particular spot, in front of the library, is just steps away from the spot where J was standing when he first noticed me

all those years ago (fourteen to be exact) and the same place where he proposed to me four years later. We were here, with the rest of

my family (also alumni) to watch the first home football game of the season. Of course that was after a trip to the Bookie to get all

decked out in the latest Cougar apparel. The sun was shining, the weather was absolutely gorgeous. Little Sister basked in one-on-one Aunt B time and quickly became proficient in the traditions of college football and had enthusiastically mastered the shark-jaw-clap (for lack of a better term - I'm sure there is one, I just don't know it) in no time at all. As for the Girl, well, what can I say...she was just being

her goofy, Knucklehead, little self as captured perfectly in this photo - one of my favorites among the multitude taken.

After a rocky start, the entire first half really, our boys...or I should say, our boys on defense pulled it together and made for an exciting if

not nail-biting fourth quarter.

We had a fabulous day and the Cougar victory, well that was just the icing on the cake.

Day 2: Escort

Day 2 of kindergarten arrived and we have acquired a new bus stop escort...our poor, beleaguered, attention-starved cat. He led

us all the way down the street and to the corner. The Girl took her place in line sandwiched between the four boys at our bus stop. The little

guy in front of her is in her class. It's surreal to see her looking so big, yet still so small, boarding the bus. Off to school and completely

independent of me...if only for a few hours. And I know that as she sits on the bus, a seat to herself, watching Little Sister and I through the bus window

that she wholly embraces that independence. That recognition makes it easier for me to watch her go, that and the knowledge that I still have one (and soon to be two) little at home to keep me company. That and a personal escort.

School Girl up in da' house!

Finally, the day that the Girl had been anticipating for some time now has arrived! She has been looking forward to kindergarten even before she was out of preschool and the anticipation and excitement have been building all summer long. Although, in the past few weeks I don't know if she's been more excited for the actuality of kindergarten or getting to wear all of the new school clothes that

been hanging untouched (not by choice on her part and tightly enforced by me) in her closet. But even more than the prospect of kindergarten and the appeal of new clothes, the Girl desperately wanted to ride the bus and has been insisting for months that she should and would. Much to the dismay of her Daddy who met her requests with an unrelenting 'no-way' attitude. But this morning she was so

excited and wanted it so badly that there was no way he could deny her. Besides, as I reasoned, it won't be realistic for me to take and pick her up every

single day...especially once Baby Miss arrives and wouldn't it be better to get it figured out now while it is new for all of her peers and there are plenty of people in place to help them (and us) figure it out rather than waiting until November. When the Girl realized that she was actually going to get to do it, to ride the bus, she became even more giddy with excitement. So we all waited at the bus stop and waited and waited.

Apparently all the kinks are indeed still being worked out as the bus was late. Once we saw her board, find a seat and the bus rumble off down the street we all piled into the car with Little Sister exclaiming, "I wanna ride da bus. I wanna ride da bus." As I was buckling her into her seat I explained that Big Sister has been waiting a long time to ride the bus and that she would have to wait too. "Ok," she

replied, followed by, "I wanna ride da bus." Then we sped off to the school and managed to beat the bus there. We wanted to see the Girl get off and also what measures had been put in place to make sure that the kindergarteners made it to their classrooms. We were relieved to find that there was a teacher's aide there waiting for the bus and it's littlest passengers. The parents were invited to come into the

classroom and stay for awhile, although I'm sure that we lingered longer than necessary and definitely longer than the Girl wanted us
to as was clearly seen on her face in the above picture. Ha, ha. We got to hear the morning announcements given by the principal
over the intercom and participate with the students in the flag salute. By that point, Little Sister had had enough of being told that she

couldn't get down from her perch in my arms and be involved with everything the big kids were doing and so with her kicking and screaming in protest we "slipped" out. In a few short hours we were back to pick the Girl up and spy on the remaining few minutes of class. When the teacher had all the kids lined up at the door, the Girl spied us and waved happily, a look of pure elation illuminating her entire face. Kindergarten day one: a rip-roaring success!!! To celebrate such a huge milestone, we suprised the Girl with lunch out. Red Robin, not her favorite restaurant (which happens to be Applebees - we have no idea why) but a close second.

No laboring here.

On this Labor Day weekend we were anything but...laborious that is. In fact, we spent a lazy Saturday morning taking a 70-mile drive through lush landscapes in search of a little hole-in-the-wall cafe and their famous cinnamon rolls. Arriving at 10:00 we were much too late to snag a much sought after cinnamon roll. Our waitress informed us that they are usually gone by 8:00. Lucky for us though, they were still serving breakfast. Unlucky for us, the Girl had her heart set on one of those cinnamon rolls and was unwilling to order anything else. So I ordered her french toast and she begrudgingly ate the first few bites before admitting that indeed, yes, it was good. As for Little Sister, she dove into the warm apple crisp that we ordered for her. Hey, it was on their breakfast menu and it came with a side of vanilla yogurt so that makes it a breakfast item and not dessert, right?! She
thoroughly enjoyed it. On the way home we basked in the early afternoon sunshine and stopped at an organic farm to pick blueberries.

Ten and a half pounds worth!! The minimum u-pick amount was ten pounds and at $2.25 per pound on organic berries, we just couldn't pass up the opportunity. Besides, our Girls can put blueberries away like nobody's business. Even the littlest was a pickin' although she wasn't selective...red, shriveled, smooshed - she picked em all. Fresh berries = the perfect reason to make a cobbler. Came across a

recipe online called Best Ever Blueberry Cobbler and was sold.

Ingredients:

3 cups fresh blueberries 3 Tbsp white sugar

1/3 cup orange juice

2/3 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 tsp baking powder pinch salt

1/2 cup butter, softened

1/2 cup white sugar

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla extract
Directions:

Preheat oven to 375. Mix blueberries, 3 Tbsp sugar and orange juice in an 8-

inch square baking dish. Set aside. In a small bowl thoroughly mix flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside. In a medium bowl cream butter and 1/2 cup sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in egg and vanilla extract. Gradually add flour mixture, stirring just until ingredients are combined. Drop batter by rounded tablespoons over blueberry mixture. Try to cover as much of filling as possible. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, until topping is golden brown and filling is bubbling. Prepare to enjoy, immensely. I'm not much of a cobbler fan but I was hooked and J said that it was the best cobbler he's ever had. Totally loved it. Best Ever for sure. I did make a few substitutions, I did not have orange juice and I was out of vanilla so I replaced the oj with cranberry juice and the vanilla with coconut extract. I was worried that I had ruined it and that J would not like it as he's not into weird flavor combinations and let's face it coconut and cobbler don't exactly go hand-in-hand (Except for in my perfect world where everything is flavored with a hint of coconut. Ha, ha!!) but you couldn't even taste the coconut. Definitely a new favorite dessert in our house.

Kindergarten Open House

This afternoon we went to the kindergarten open house at the Girl's soon-to-be school.

She took her community supplies and distributed them to the appropriate boxes in her classroom.

Met her teacher, Mrs. Carter.

Little Sister made herself right at home.

The Girls wasted no time in getting down to the business of playing.

We were treated to a BBQ lunch with the works - burgers, watermelon, potato salad, chips, chocolate milk and oreos - cafeteria style.

Afterwards there was a bus ride. Definitely the most anticipated event of the Girl's day. Less than a week now until school starts.