Dance Central

I, admittedly, do not know anything about pop-culture, do not know the correct words to any songs, sing out of tune, combine song lyrics ((I like to say mix) (Jump by Kriss Kross and Jump Around by House of Pain, tend to get a little muddled, for example), and am a horrid dancer.  I also, admittedly, love to sing and dance - especially in the car and while cooking.  Henni and Oliver are innocent bystanders and will, unfortunately be scarred for life.

Henni, perhaps because of her accepting and supportive personality, will car dance with me at the drop of a hat.  Oliver on the other hand- he carefully chooses his song(s) - his current "I will only car dance to this song" is "Ice Ice Baby" (oh yea, I have an awesome mix).

Our last trip to Maine went wonderfully.  Out car ride home was fantastic.  And then...30 minutes from home (2 hours into the trip) we hit a dead stop.  The five of us (Charlie being the fifth) are NOT car trip people/animals.  We have mad flying skills, but car trips...I give each and every one of us an F.  One look at my favorite new car app (Waze) and it was clear that prolonged was not quite the word to describe the rest of our way home.  Part of me wanted to pop in Dive Olly Dive for the billionth time, but another part of me knew that I would have to locate any and all emergency exits my Honda Pilot may or may not have.  I therefore took a deep breath and embraced the opportunity - the five of us trapped in the car, on a hot highway, at dinnertime...

The next hour and forty minutes turned out to be fun and hysterical.  We played our rainbow car game, we played charades (Henni is an incredible "Big girl wolf" and Oliver stumped us by being a "fire breathing dragon with scales that, when touched, make him invisible, and features that include flying infinity high, being the fastest swimmer ever, and being able to run faster than a cheetah" (Not sure how we didn't get that.)), and we did a contest to see who could scream the loudest (I killed that one). Then we broke out the disco ball.  Oh yea- we downloaded a disco ball app to the iPad, held it up high and proud out the sunroof, turned up the volume, rolled down all the windows, and partied like it was 1994 (Davis says I keep getting that phrase wrong, but it feels so right).  By the time we rolled down our street I was ready to click buy on the chrome disco rims (a hard to find item for a Pilot), upgrade my running lights, and have a real disco ball installed in the car. Davis - well, I think he was ready to enroll me in some lyrics subscription club.

While an hours and 40 minutes of traffic was horrid, as our friend Vanilla Ice says - taking time to "stop, collaborate and listen" is invaluable.  And having a mom that "rocks the mic like a vandal" - that is just plain priceless.

Fish, Friends, Birds, Bikes - and Big Girls!

The summer has been flying by and I have been remiss about sharing (and documenting) our crazy adventures.  

One milestone which I have been desperate to document is that Henni now wears "big girl pants"!  It has been almost 2 months now that Henni has been diaper/pull-up free.  Henni has declared herself a "big girl" because of this amazing feat and happily tells anyone and everyone that she is a big girl.  I am so happy that diapers are behind us - it is one thing I know I will not miss.

Big girl Henni has also become an expert at fishing.  About a month ago Papa bought her a little fishing pole.  She plopped the bobber in the water and - bam! - the girl caught herself a pretty incredible rainbow trout.  A good show for her first go at fishing!

A couple weekends ago we went to the Compound with the Stockwells.  This is a trip that our family looks forward to every year.  This year the weather was just perfect, the kids loved being together, and Davis and I got to spend quality time with Liz and Ben.  It truly is/was a special weekend.

Oliver had Boat Camp last week and loved every minute of it.  One of the activities was to make a duck mask - Oliver decided a duck was too passive and decided to be an osprey - hence the crazy stance with the duck beak.

Hollie took a well-deserved vacation last week, and so my mom came down to watch the kids while I worked.  She stayed an extra day so that I can join Oliver on the boat for his last day of camp.  Oliver and I have very few opportunities to spend just the two of us.  I am grateful to my mom for giving us this opportunity - we had a great time.

Last weekend we headed to Maine where Oliver got to borrow a kid's sized paddle board.  Since he had previously been using an adult SUP, the kid's one made it so he could zoom off - we were constantly chasing him down the lake - his balance is amazing!

While I was at my sister's baby shower, the kids, Davis, and Papa went to the Owls Head Transportation Museum.  Henni has decided she wants this bike ... " I want that!"  And so it begins...

We've been having lots of fun!

Vacation

We were lucky to be able to spend the long 4th of July weekend in Maine.  The weather was hot and perfect - perfect for being on the water.

We took the boat out to Calderwood Island and spent the day on the beach and exploring the island trails. The ocean was calm and it really was just a wonderful day.

The next day we went out to Birch Island and spent another incredible day exploring, and resting.

The next couple days we spent on the lake playing on the dock, swimming, kayaking, and paddle boarding - Oliver even paddle boarded on his own.  

Oliver and Henni also got to spend an evening with Papa and LeLe while Davis and I enjoyed a night out.

Our vacation also included a lot of time with Jon.  The kids love their uncle so much and he is amazing with them.

And, time in Maine wouldn't we complete with some projects for Oliver.

Five

Oliver is five.  I am blown away by how quickly this has happened.  It really does seem like yesterday that I went to bed on July 1st with no idea that a few hours later Oliver would arrive - a week early.  

Oliver continues to surprise, to try and be as speedy as possible, and is quick to tackle just about anything.  He is a fish, he is a ski racer, a bike rider, a digger, and a boogie boarder.  He loves boats, science, exploring, and family.  His sister is his best friend, Nemo and a rather large snake are his bed fellows, and he has a ridiculous shoe fetish.  He is interested in retiring soon, he wants to buy a jet, and is disappointed that one can no longer fly a Concorde.  He loves doing work and has helped me mulch, landscape, and seed the yard.  He is also a committed night-time migrator - still making the trek from his room to ours at some point in the night.

He is also five and so he adores potty talk, making up stories (blatantly lying), and not listening - at all.

Oliver is one of the sweetest people I know and one of the smartest people I know.  He asks questions and refuses simple answers.  He wants to know what is going on, how things work, why they work - and a million other thinks.  He makes me smarter.

I love Oliver to pieces and am so happy to be his mother.

I was also happy that Oliver settled on an Eastern Diamondback Rattle Snake cake.  In the weeks leading up to his birthday other ideas included a combine harvester (made from mint ice cream), an aircraft carrier complete with Blue Angels, and a Blue Angel.  I embraced the snake.

Oliver was very clear about his birthday party.  He gave me a list of people, primarily neighbors, and refused to let me alter it.  He was also clear that he wanted a BBQ and to play in the yard - nothing else.  While I love the simplicity, I have to admit I was a bit panicked because the age range of people invited was 5 months to 40 - with only two kids his age.  Oliver was so happy at his party that he could rarely be found - he was racing around in circles, or hiding in the house - opening presents he was not supposed to.  It was a really fun time.

And an event could not be complete without new shoes.  Oliver spent more than an hour looking at Pumas on Zappos.  He looked at every angle, every tread, every bit  of every Puma - and he decided on Ferrari Pumas - because of the tread, the color, and because Ferrari's are fast.

Amazing  Le Le did come through with mint cupcakes (albeit not ice cream).  She actually steeped mint leaves in cream for the birthday boy's creation.

And - for the books.  Oliver is 42.25 inches and 42.5 pounds.  In the past year he has grown 2.5 inches - no wonder he needed new pants!

Ovulation and nail polish

I never truly understood nature v nurture until Henni arrived and I was able to watch the two of them evolve, grow, and develop their own selves.  And they really are their own selves.

Yesterday afternoon I was painting the bathroom and Oliver comes in holding a tampon.  "Mommy," he asks, "if you are still ovulating, why are you not having any more babies?"  I respond the way that any responsible parent in my shoes would - "Hey, would you like some mint ice cream?"  And Oliver, being Oliver, says: "Let's not get by this.  I want to know."  So I say: "How about mint ice cream in a cone!?"  He gives me a look.  So I put down my brush and we talk.  And I wonder what other big life questions I am going to have to prepare myself for next.

And that is when we decide we'll head out to go swimming.  Getting ready takes more time than it should because just as I am about to get the towels - someone is hungry.  I get food.  I go to get the towels, someone spills their milk.  I go to get the towels, I open the door to the closet, forget what I am doing, go downstairs, and then remember...towels.  Finally we are ready.  Just as we are about to leave, Henni shrieks and shriek that could wake the dead - on Mars.  I turn, sure she's seriously injured herself.  No.  She has realized that her nails, painted a week ago, are no longer nicely painted.  Before we can leave the house we must paint her nails. (Really?!)

We make it to the pool.  We swim, then we throw on clothes and go into the club for dinner.  Our club is very casual, and I really did just throw clothes on and run my fingers through my hair.  Part way through dinner Henni looks at me and denounces my hair.  

And so their own selves emerge and I am excited, yet terrified, of things to come.

And so I turn to pictures of our recent escapades.  Escapades which do show their personalities, but which also show me that they are still really little, lovely, children.