Fairy wings

You found yourself some fair wings...

I do believe they made you fly...

Perfect way to begin summer

Oaks Park, Ice cream and COUSINS, of course.

Lucy and Sophie

Henry and giant kitty

Where did we go wrong?

Mama: "And the Velveteen rabbit went off into the forest to live as a real bunny. The End."

Lucy: "But where is the princess?"

Mama: Pause. Silently wondering "How did this happen?" and "Where is a pencil so I can stick it through my eye?"

I'm trying to take your princess obsession lightly - to quash my feeling that these perfect little damsels in distress are killing your free spirit and a large chunk of my soul.

But really? I read you this amazing, classical tale and you ask "Where is the princess?" Has it really come to this?

These fancy, bejeweled nutjobs are not the role models we want you to be obsessed with. And their mothers - the dead or maniacal women that are forcing them into slave labor or trying to KILL them! What is up with that?! How am I supposed to feel about playing "princess and queen" with you other than "Please God, no!"

But hey - you are 3. And I am told that you will grow out of this phase and onto better things in say, 5 or 6 YEARS. I really wish I found that comforting.

I'm guessing I have to leave the room to scream into a pillow a lot more than Walt Disney did when he was raising his kids.

So I'm saying absolutely no Barbies. My heart just can't take it.

Shoe-in for #1 Dad

Happy Father's Day my little babies. I'll tell you what, you hit the mother lode with the one you got. Best. Daddy. Ever. For example, I'll tell you a little bit about tonight which is much like every night in our house.

First, I take Henry upstairs for a quick bath and pajamas. I carry him to my bed for a final story and feeding while Daddy takes Lucy through her nighttime routine. It's amusing, and endearing, to nurse Henry while listening to the day's ending in the other room

First, I hear him using his jedi-talk to get you through washing and rinsing your hair and brushing your teeth (10 seconds each quadrant), vitamins, dental rinse, and potty.

Then it's time to get you into your favorite jammies (currently a Disney princess nightgown worn as a skirt along with a shirt, underwear, and absolutely NO pants).

Then, time for 2 long or 3 short stories. Sometimes it happens to be Beauty and the Beast for a 6th telling of the evening. Hooray.

Then, finally, into bed with just the right number of binkies, and the blankets arranged just so, and the goodnight kisses delivered to just the right pig on the shelf, and the moon light on and the overhead light off, and the fan going, and the shade shut tight, and the hugs, and the right words said just before leaving.

"Night, night, Lucy. I love you."

Then – miraculously – he goes downstairs to start into the kitchen mess, pick up the toys. and in various ways, undo the mayhem of the last few hours so we can start all over again tomorrow.

Every. Single. Night.

It goes and it goes. And it goes. And it goes.

Do you know how amazing this is? Do you have any idea?

I didn't grow up with anything like it and it BLOWS my mind how much he cares for you - how much he just LOVES to spend time with you.

I hope you will remember and treasure these moments. I hope his love will give you a big reason to reconsider - say - risking a ride on a motorcycle without a helmet or cheating on a test at school. And an even bigger reason to dream big and push yourself to grow.

And I hope you will appreciate his time and love as best you can. Yes, I expect at least 10 cheesy ties, a #1 Dad mug, some bad poetry, and a dozen "Dad, you're the best," phone calls in the upcoming decade.

Since you aren't paying up yet, I nudged him to get something he has wanted for years.

And some people might say 20k is too much to spend on a Father's Day gift. But I say, they don't know your dad.

Sorely tempted

Lucy has started prefacing almost every sentence with "Mom, you know what?"

I have to stop myself from replying "chicken butt" about 50 times a day.

Rose Festival fun

A year of art

Dear Lucy,

You have been at Wren's Nest preschool for a year this month. Over said year, I've collected about, let's say - a BIGILION - sand-covered, bejeweled, sweetness-infused art projects that I've been stashing in various corners of the house deemed safe from little hands and juice spills.

This week, I chose some favorites and put them into a shadow box.

I'm so happy to have these treasures. And it brightens my day to see them on display.

So my little prolific artist - keep it up. You are doing very well. And Ikea has a lot more shadowboxes we can fill.

Love,

Mama

A man on the move

Henry, you do not sit still! I should really loan you out as a bootcamp instructor. Keeping up with you is a full-on workout!

Here's a 2-minute sample we can use for the "Henry Workout" infomercial.