2008 Election

In honor of the first presidential election in Kate's life, we decided to let her stay up a little later than her usual bedtime tonight. I get all nostalgic during times like this remembering how four years ago we had no idea how we'd be blessed with our precious girl, or that we'd be living back in DFW, and so many other things... and eight years ago Cody and I were watching the election results in our apartment while munching on some fresh homemade snow ice cream after braving the weather to go vote - and who knows where we'll be in four more years!

Kate enjoyed watching the red and blue colors pop up on the tv screen and finding lots of Rs and Ds. She also was very excited when she saw John McCain's face on the screen since she met him at the mall a month or so ago and has been talking about him ever since (click here to see a picture as definitive proof!). Eventually our girl got tired of waiting on all the votes to come in to see who will make it to the 270 mark first, so we let her go on to bed instead of waiting with us on the couch. But it's starting to look like this may be the first year since Cody and I have been old enough to vote that we have a good chance of going to bed knowing who the next president will be.

Have any election night memories to share?

The Conversations of a Two Year Old...

On our way home from church last night Kate asked with incredible politeness to hold my hand so I did what any momma would do, I wrenched my shoulder practically out of socket so I could hold her hand from the driver's seat. As my arm started going to sleep Kate said, "Momma, I need to ask you a question." She's been saying that a lot lately, but usually after she says that it's clear that she's just wanting my attention for a minute because she 95% of the time doesn't ask any questions. I thought last night would be no different, so I just asked her what she wanted to know. But she DID have a few questions, here's a run-down on our conversation:

K: Momma, where does Moses live?
M: He lived in Egypt for a while and then in the desert.
K: Oh, where does Jesus live?
M: In heaven and in our hearts.
K: Okay, where does God live?
M: He lives in heaven too.
K: He lives with Jesus?
M: Yes.
K: Can we go to heaven and see them?
M: We can.
K: On the freeway?
M: Not really...

My mind was spinning out of control at this point because I was wondering how I was going to answer her if she asked if we could go now (like she does about Mamaw's house) or how you get there. I know how I'd answer an older child or adult, but how to do it on a two year old level isn't something I know the best way to do! But, as often happens in two year old world, her mind was done with that line of questioning and she was on to another topic...
K: Can we play games when we get home?

I can't believe how much she seems to be growing up these past few weeks. Her thoughts and questions are getting more complex. I'm so excited to watch her grow and learn, but I'm also thrilled when she still wants to snuggle with me before bed or wants me to just hold her for a while like she's done since she was a baby!

FBC Euless Trunkfest 2008

Kate had so much fun last night at our church's Trunkfest! She wore a "pretty, pretty princess fairy" outfit (Kate's words) and loved every second of it. Here is a quick run-down on the pictures which pretty much sums up our evening:
1) We saw Avery dressed as Dorothy from The Wizard of Oz - when Avery walked up to say hi, Kate just stared at her for a few seconds... she didn't recognize her sweet friend under that wig! Even once she knew it was her she still stared at her with curiosity.
2) Seeing Granmomma: We picked out Kate's fabric and costume pattern, but Granmomma did the real magic of sewing my costume together for us. All night long people kept saying how pretty Kate's costume was - an older lady even asked Cody if she could take a picture of Kate since she was so cute!
3) We found Hudson's parent's trunk and hung out with them for a bit. Hudson was dressed as a boxer and Kate stared him down just like she did Avery! She loves to dress up these days, but she wasn't sure why everyone else was dressed up too!!
4) Cody let Kate sit on his shoulders to watch the children's choir perform. I was having a hard time getting her up high enough to see the children sing over the people in front of us, but when Daddy came around the corner at the perfect moment our temporary problem was solved!
5) Even though this was our third year to attend Trunkfest, this was the first year we let Kate go around to get candy. She's been talking about getting candy in her pumpkin for WEEKS and she was SO EXCITED! We took her by a few trunks and when she was done I let her pick a piece to eat. She stared into her pumpkin for the longest time and finally picked a Twizzler. She savored each bite!
6) Kate posing for her annual picture with Aunt Cassandra - we have a picture of Kate in her chicken suit from the first year, in last year's Texas Tech cheerleading uniform, and now as a "pretty, pretty princess fairy"!
7) We took a turn in the preschool trunk near the end of the night and helped Granmomma pass out candy and information on the preschool program - this may have been her favorite thing of the night (next to enjoying a bite of candy!).

Now the countdown to Christmas really begins!!

Insight from a Bubble

What is the magic in that soapy water that causes people of all ages to be amazed by the bubble? I definitely don't understand it, but it's undeniable that Kate LOVES the bubbles! From the first time she saw a bubble up close, to being able to make bubbles using large objects you wave in the air, to now being able to blow gently through the bubble wand on her own, her relationship with the bubble has definitely grown over these past two years. Even though her bubble skills have grown through the zillions of times she's been around bubbles in her two year old life, it's unbelievable to see how amazed and awestruck she still is when she sees those iridescent spheres floating through the air. It doesn't matter how often she sees bubbles, each new time seems like the first -- she's so filled with wonder and joy!

Thinking about Kate's bubble appreciation makes me realize there are definitely two very distinct categories in my life: the bubble stuff and the non-bubble stuff. Things like watching Kate learn something new, snow falling and newborn babies are definitely in my bubble category -- each time I see those sorts of things I look with fresh eyes, wonder, and genuine happiness. But I realize this morning that sadly most of the things in my life have been relegated to the non-bubble area -- they are things I don't really take time to see anymore because I mistakenly assume they're just the way they've always been, and I fail to be impressed with even impressive things just because they have grown so familiar to me. There are so many things in my non-bubble catagory that don't belong there.

What a sad way to live my life! Today I'm going to make a conscious effort to look at my world the way Kate looks at those bubbles. Each day I have is such a gift and not something to be taken for granted the way I've slipped into doing. I want to try to enjoy every ounce of each day possible and find ways to appreciate even the mundane, day in & day out things. While that sounds wonderful, it also sounds like a lot of effort... but I imagine if I can really find a way to live that way the benefits of that sort of joy and contentment would heavily outweigh the cost of the work required to get there. It's at least worth a shot!

Great-Grandparent Love

This weekend Cody's grandparents came into town for a couple days and we were able to spend some time with them. Kate absolutely LOVES her Mamaw & Papaw and I'm so glad they're in her life - I just wish we lived closer together so we could see them more often! When I told her we were going to go see them she got so excited she literally jumped up and down and screamed a very high pitched, squeally little girl sort of yelp! Her pure love for them is so obvious and their love for her is equally as transparent. Great-Grandparent love is something so unique and precious to watch develop and build. She's such a blessed girl to have a Mamaw & Papaw (as well as so many other special people) in her life who love her so much -- as am I!!