Memories, old and new

Jake played a new song for Kennedy and Macy the other night after we got home from dinner at "The Club", Anne Murray's "Hey Daddy." They were singing and dancing together in the office, watching it on YouTube. I've never heard this one before, and Kennedy was amazed that there are actually things moms don't know.

The next day, Kennedy asked Grandma Sue if she knows the song that goes, "Hey daddy there's a dragon in the driveway, Mamma there's a grizzly on the lawn. You better come quick 'cause there's a hippo in the bathtub and it's going down the drain, oh no it's gone!" No surprise, she pretty much remembered all the words to the chorus (the girl has an amazing memory!) I think Grandma Sue was amazed, but she said, "Yes, I know that song. Would you like to listen to it? I have it on cd." This song was one that was played for Jake and his brother and sisters when they were little. When I picked up the girls, Kennedy and Grandpa Brent were singing, while Macy stood right in front and danced. Grandpa Brent said that Macy is exactly like Jake was at this age. He's always loved music, and so does she - singing and dancing to anything she hears. My favorite is when she claps and stomps along with "If You're Happy and You Know It." I think it made their day to get a little reminder of their own son, and to see his daughters sharing the same excitement for "Hey Daddy." Jake fondly remembers the record "concerts" that his dad would put on for the kids, so now he's continuing the tradition with his computer concerts.

As we ate dinner that night, Jake asked Kennedy if she wanted to run through the sprinklers. She was quite certain that she did not. He reminded her that when she was little, she used to love running through the sprinklers with him. He'd hold her in his arms, and she would laugh and laugh. (I don't remember this, but that's why I'm trying to write these things down now.) Finally, he resorted to a bribe - how about for an otter pop? I thought she'd turn that down for sure, but even though she wouldn't commit, there was interest. I washed the dishes and then here comes Kennedy, calling for daddy and wearing only her pirate boots. He was in the front yard, so she made a quick dash into the water - barely enough to tell that it was cold and wet, but enough for that otter pop!

Dinosaur song

This morning we were in the kitchen getting some breakfast, when Kennedy said, "Mom, the dinosaur song is on!" I had no idea what she was talking about. There isn't a song about dinosaurs on the kid cd we were playing. So I listen, and it's "I've Been Working on the Railroad."

Then I get it - Can't you hear the captain shouting, "Dinah, blow your horn!"

But Kennedy hears: Dino won't you blow, dino won't you blow, dino won't you blow your horn?

That made me smile for the rest of the day!

Father's Day

Jake is an amazing father. It hasn't always been easy for him with our two mama's girls, but it is obvious that he loves them so much. And they love him in return, especially when he...

reads them stories in funny voices.
holds them in his lap to play on the computer.
makes their favorite breakfast of Swedish pancakes on the weekend.
plays tickle attack or anything that makes Kennedy squeal with delight, "Daddy, try to get me!" and of course Macy loves to be part of all that silliness too.
builds forts and tents out of blankets.
dances with them in the kitchen to Disney songs or whatever is on the radio.
gives giant sandwich hugs and scratchy beard kisses.

I'm so glad that we're in this together. Happy Father's Day.

And Happy Father's Day to all the men in the family - Pamp, Grandpa Ray, Uncle Tim, Uncle Andrew (a great dad to his pets),

Grandpa Brent, Uncle Ira, and Uncle Ben (not a dad yet either, but I didn't want to leave him and his new Porsche out)! We got to celebrate with them all over the weekend (except Uncle Rainier). We're so fortunate to have these great men in our lives. They do so much for us and for our girls, and we love them all! We'll have to get a picture of all of them the next time we are together.

Animal sounds

Macy has been making animal sounds for about a month now, but she's added some new ones lately. She loves to play with the animal magnets on the fridge, and she'll take one off and make the sound. She also grabs stuffed animals to carry around the house and show everyone - of course making the appropriate sounds, too! She knows: cats meow, sheep baa, dogs woof, cows moo, lions roar, snakes hiss, and horses make kind of a snorting/spitting sound. I learned the hard way not to ask her what a horse says when she has a mouth full of cracker; she ended up spitting it all over her shirt and the floor. She also says hop, hop, hop for bunnies. And last night, she learned that owls say whooo and monkeys go oo, ooo.

Wait, how old are you?

Kennedy said to Jake, "Daddy, don't treat me like that ever again!" What was the serious offense? He wasn't there to catch her when she jumped off a chair and landed on her stomach. In his defense, he hadn't been warned that she was even going to jump. Then at dinner I got a similar comment, "Mom, you shouldn't have done that to me! It really hurt my feelings!" And what did I do? I left her alone in the bathroom to wash her hands so that I could go back to the table. It's really hard not to laugh at her when she gets all serious and stern like this. Jake was very happy that he wasn't the only one getting scolded. Macy was off the hook, this time at least.

Kennedy is getting pretty moody. I'm hoping it's just a phase. Lately the littlest things can set her into a fit. Like asking her to do something helpful, or to try to use the potty. Picking out the wrong pjs when she has something else in mind. Suggesting that she take a nap, when clearly she is exhausted.

Different day, similar story. Kennedy fell asleep in the car on our way home. I got her out of the car seat, she collapsed on my shoulder, but insisted, "mom, I'm awake!" I tried to put her in bed, but she immediately bolted upright and refused to lie down. I tried to shut her in the room. Then came the screaming, sobbing hysterics. I opened the door and told her to sit on the bed until she had calmed down. I took Macy downstairs to read a book. A few minutes later, here comes Kennedy shouting, whining and crying "MOM!" I wasn't going to let her interrupt our story, so I ignored her until we were finished. Then I said, "Yes, Kennedy?" She said, "Mom, I'm ready to be nice now." And she was. The rest of the afternoon and evening were just great, which was a huge relief because Jake didn't get home from work until 7:30. We played Go Fish, read books, played with her Mulan and Jasmine dolls, fixed and ate dinner, and then had bath time. I'm wondering if she misses the little bit of routine that school provided.

Make a wish

Kennedy and Daddy each hoping to be the lucky one as they break a wishbone from our chicken dinner.

Look who gets her wish...

And speaking of lucky, how nice for Macy to get a wagon ride from her big sister.

And a hug, too!

Then we went to the park, but it was a little too crowded for our tastes.

Summertime kick-off

What could be a better way to start the summer than a Memorial Day picnic at Grandma Lu's and fun with the cousins?

Grammie and Pamp brought these two adorable chairs back for Kennedy and Macy from their trip to Portland. Kennedy claimed the hippo, "because purple is my favorite color," and luckily Macy went right for the tiger.

Macy loves cats, as is evidenced by the giant hugs she gives to Loki. He is so good to put up with being chased all over the house and then basically collapsed upon whenever she can catch him.

Our first swim of the season was great! Kennedy has been talking about swimming at Grammie and Pamp's for the last few weeks, so when we finally got the word that it was warm enough, she was over the moon with excitement. I managed pretty well with both of them in the pool by myself. Macy was a bit unsure at first, but then saw how much fun her sister was having. Before long the two of them were happily splashing away.

My office had a party at the baseball park. After enjoying the picnic, we watched a few innings and chatted with some friends, but the girls were much more interested in riding the train and playing on the playground.

It was a late night for us, and both girls were up until 10:00. Sometime in the middle of the night, Kennedy came in to our room. I was dead tired and sent her back to bed. She cried because I wouldn't get up to help her use the potty, but this is something she does by herself all the time now. Then she cried because I wouldn't make room for her to get in bed with us. I did feel bad, but I just wanted to go back to sleep, and I know she was exhausted from her full day, too. This morning Macy was demanding for someone to get her out of the crib, and from our bed we could hear Kennedy shout in a very tired, threatening voice, "MACY, BE QUIET!" Maybe, just maybe, they will both take an afternoon nap today.

School's out

We've had several end of year activities with Kennedy's school, starting with a family time circle. Parents got to come early to see the kids in their end of the day routine: singing, dancing and playing the drums.

Next up was a picnic in the park for the three toddler classes. We got to sit with Kennedy's good friend Lucy and her family. School's about to end, and I'm just now getting to know some of the parents.


The kids all went wild on the playground and then assembled after dinner to sing songs and receive a T shirt and certificate. The classes sang a few songs together, including "Slippery Fish" and "Twinkle, Twinkle Traffic Light." Then the Stars performed "You are my Sunshine" and "I'm a Little Acorn." Kennedy was so cute, singing and doing the actions. Macy was loving the performance and she cheered and clapped for her big sister.

Kennedy's teachers made a tie dye shirt for each kid with an animal they thought represented them. Kennedy had a kangaroo because of her Halloween costume, but I found out later that they had originally thought of her as a parrot. I guess they left the list of animals at school when it came time to make the shirts, and they couldn't remember what had been picked for Kennedy. Why a parrot? Kennedy is very talkative and she sings quite often - usually made up, rambling songs with no real tune (and she loves crackers.) The other parents that heard this story all agreed with the teachers' pick.

We got to spend more time with the Stars families at a pizza party on the last day of school. After class we went to Lucy's where the kids got to play in her backyard.

I loved having another chance to talk to the teachers, moms and dads, especially because they all had such nice things to say about Kennedy! We're really hoping that Mae Mae and Lucy will be in Kennedy's class next year.

Miss Kate and Miss Diana made an amazing video to capture memories of the year. It was really fun to watch it with all the kids - they got so excited to see their friends and themselves on TV!

It's been a great school year. Hopefully we can arrange some play dates this summer to keep Kennedy in touch with her friends.

What's on her mind?

My dad relayed this story to me: Kennedy was looking very sad as they packed up to get ready for school this morning. He asked her if anything was wrong, and she said, "Pamp, can you tell me when Macy is going to die?" He reassured her that Macy is just a baby and she has a long time left to live. Hopefully that put her mind at ease. Then when they were in the car he said, "You're awfully quiet, are you thinking about something?" She replied, "No, I just wanted to be quiet today."

Over the weekend I found Kennedy playing alone in her room. She was sitting on the bed, surrounded by stuffed animals. Then she told me that Elmo had died. What??? She was holding him so tenderly in her little arms. We talked about how much we love him and how we will miss him. But it brought tears to my eyes. I want Kennedy to have happy play time, like when she says at night, "Tonight I'm going to dream about butterflies, and princesses, and puppies!"

After school, she seemed to be more cheerful because when I talked to her on the phone, they were playing cowgirls. Riding horses, chasing cows, doing ranch jobs. And, she was involving Macy in the play, which I am so thrilled about! Although, in the background I could hear Kennedy telling Macy, "I told you, no playing with toys! We're cowgirls!"