Britt- "Momma, how do you spell LOVE?" me- "L O V E" Britt- "hey, how do you spell so much?" me- "well, I've been spelling for a long time." Britt- "yeah, but how do you spell so much?" me- "like I said, when you practice spelling so often, you get better and better at it." Britt- "no... how do you spell SO MUCH." me- "oh... S O then a space, then M U C H." {sheepish grin}
"...to take this Dilly Bar away from me! I waited patiently for Britt to leave it unattended, and then climbed all the way up here to get it... just TRY to stop me!"
We celebrated Justin's last day of school (and a day of beautiful weather) with a game of baseball. Britt was up to bat for about 95% of the game, Justin and Jordan took turns pitching, and Marnie (and her baby doll) played second base. I was the photographer/Marnie's baby-holder. By the time Britt is old enough for T-ball, he's going to be ready for fast-pitch!
Britt's about to tag second base here, as Justin chases the ball into left field. I think this one was an in-field home run.
He hits so hard that he broke a ball!
It wasn't too long before Marnie remembered about the hole in the fence and decided to quit playing ball and start watching chickens.
Now my words: We were in Justin's Mom and Dad's backyard when we saw his uncle coming in from a ride on his horse. (Justin's folks share a HUGE backyard with his Grandma and two of his Dad's siblings. It's about a third grass and the rest is garden and dirt.) Anyway, Britt ran over to say hello. We visited and the kids pet the horse for a few minutes, then Britt climbed into the saddle to ride the 50 feet to the horse's pen. After just a few steps, something stuck up out of the dirt and hooked around the horse's foot. He started bucking to get it off (this is the point at which Britt's hair went UUUUP and DOOOWN) He held on really good, but at the end of the bucking, the horse did a little spin and that's when he was thrown off. I couldn't see how he landed, so those 4 or 5 seconds that it took me to get to him were the scariest of my entire life. (You never think things like that are going to happen to your own kids...) I had a pants-less and shoe-less Marnie in my arms, so I had a hard time picking him up. Justin's uncle tied the horse up and we got Britt back to the grass to make sure he was okay. My fears were eased when I asked him where it hurt and he replied, "my shoes fell off, did my Spider-man band-aid come off my toe?!?" {ah, relief, it hadn't} He got a few very small scrapes and a sore noggin, but other than that, he's perfectly fine. Grandpa Kenny (who is an RN) checked him from head to toe while Justin told him the story of when HE was young and got bucked off of a horse, and that helped Britt realize that it's kind of a rite of passage. He was still a little shaken-up, but after a phone call to tell Granny and Grandpa all about it, he was back his normal happy self. I've gone over and over all the horrible things that could have happened, and it just about kills me each time. I kept thinking about when we were walking out of the backdoor and Justin joked, "don't let it kick you or anything." Well...technically he listened, it didn't kick him. :) I thought about the stupid things I had gotten upset at Britt for that day (painting his sister's pants, not putting his pajamas away, playing in the sink when he told me he was getting a drink...). All those things seem SO pointless and miniscule when you realize how fragile life is and how quickly things can change. The day could have had a much more grim ending, but it didn't. As scary as it was, I think it was a blessing to me, because it reminded me that we have no idea how long we'll be able to love our little ones. It could all change in an instant. It's made me realize that when all is said and done, I just want to know that I was the best mom I could be, and that my kids were told and showed constantly how much I love them. I think that's what I'm going to think about all day this Mother's Day... just how grateful I am to have my sweet, happy, beautiful, smart, healthy, funny, little ones.
Lately Britt and Marnie have been doing everything together. A few days ago, Britt had Daddy help him make a few sets of The Flash symbols, helped get Marnie dressed in her red hoodie, and voila! matching costumes.
Marnie didn't keep the chest emblem on for very long, but even without it, she could run at incredible speeds.
...As could her brother.
Today, as I was cleaning up after our lunch, both kids disappeared to Britt's room. A few minutes later, Marnie came running into the living room, grabbed two hats, then ran back to Britt's room. Curious, I tiptoed down the hall to spy and found this...
Britt just talked and talked, and MJ laid quietly (which she NEVER does!) and snuggled by him for a good 10 minutes. Oh, and when I asked Britt about the hats, he said, "I asked her to get us some night caps, so she did."
I'm just glad they like each other...even if that means I have bigger messes to clean up sometimes.
We played at the park every single nice day this week... and that was only 2 days. Oh well, we had fun while we could.
Abbi especially enjoyed burying her face in holes she dug in the sand... and man, oh man, can she dig!
Britt was thrilled at the opportunity to swim in "Grandma Sarita's kah-juzzi" with Kaitlynn's niece, Mallory. He's pretty much in love. :)
This day wasn't as nice though... 40 mph winds made for lots of dust and squinty eyes.
Meanwhile, Marnie was happy to join Abbi in chasing chickens around Grandma Sarita's yard. :)
Every once in a while I like to take my flat iron to Britt's hair, just to see how long it is. He looks so different without his curls. He went to bed with straight hair, but when he walked in this morning he told me, "momma, look, my hair turned curly again while I was sleepin." :) He was in the mood to strike a pose or two, last night, to show off his long hair and his new "Clark Kent" glasses. In the interest of saving time, I narrowed it down from 25 silly pictures to just 4. (Which happens to be his favorite number right now.)
