A Great Big Kentucky Post. Y’all.

Last week we went to Kentucky to spend the week with my parents. I have virtually no internet access there, so I couldn’t post while we were gone. Somehow we have been home for three days, and I am just now getting around to posting about our fabulous trip. I would say with all the holiday craziness I haven’t had the time to post. However, I am a firm believer that you have time for what you make time for. So. Sorry, I haven’t made time for this. But if it makes up for it, I’m posting right now during naptime instead of taking a shower…

Anyway. Our trip was really wonderful, though it was unfortunately delayed for a day. Remember how I posted that we had all managed to escape the stomach bug except for Lass’s very brief encounter with it? I typed too soon. Friday night, the night before we were supposed to leave, I was up all night sick and ended up going to the emergency department for fluids around 4am, right about the time Miss woke up crying and asking for “new jammies,” meaning of course that she had thrown up all over the ones she was wearing. So, needless to say, she and I were under the weather for the day that was supposed to be our travel day, and we didn’t make it to Kentucky until Sunday. But the visit was so worth the trip. My parents rock. They are so awesome with my girls and give them so much love and attention it just makes my heart melt to watch them together. I love that my girls are the center of attention with my parents for a whole week. And they eat it up. Miss just glows with happiness when playing with my Mom, and Lass got there too, though it took her a bit longer to warm up. Little girls can just never have too much love and attention from their grandparents. I only wish my parents lived close, so my girls could have the experience of spending time with them more often.

Here’s a big, huge photo tour of our week in the south:

We went to story time at the library where my Mom is the children’s librarian. I was so proud of my girls. Both of them sat nicely and listened to the story, even though there was a good bit of chaos going on around them.

Then Santa showed up…

Miss got all shy and scrambled for my lap

where she clung to me for dear life

until Santa called her name to come up for her present.

She was so shy!

But my shy girl braved giving the big guy a hug.

Lass was surprisingly calm about the process of seeing Santa too.

Probably because I didn’t even attempt to get her any closer than this.

The story time was great. We colored and had a snack and crafted a paper chain.

All the kids got in a circle with my mom at the end to sing a song, which was very cute.

Then it was time to go.

We did stop upstairs to check out some books, which Miss had fun reading to her baby doll when we got back to my parents’ house.

The day of the story time was also my husband’s birthday. This year I let Miss pick out a few presents for him in addition to what I got for him. A couple of weeks ago I took her to the dollar store (the real one where everything costs $1), gave her a $5 bill and told her she could pick five things that she thought her Daddy would like for his birthday. She walked around the store clutching the $5 bill in her hand, selecting things at her eye level. It was so fun to watch her make her choices and then to pack them up when we got them home. In addition to the five presents, she was also allowed to pick a card and a gift bag for him.

And all on her own, she also picked this hat as a must-have for her Daddy.

So what were the gifts? A Winnie the Pooh chalkboard set,

a pink jumprope, blue safety scissors, and a pen with a bobbling dog on top, set into a suction cup base (not pictured here, but shown above).

My personal favorite? Floral foam.

Miss had no idea what it was when she saw it at the store, but she thought it was awesome and knew her Daddy would just love it. It was great to watch her getting so excited about her Daddy’s presents.

We also got to visit with my brother and his family for an afternoon. We went to their house to do our Christmas with them.

A good time was had by all, I think.

And a great holiday tradition was passed to the next generation during this visit. Every year my mom and I watch the movie “Heidi” with Shirley Temple. Some people watch, “Miracle on 34th Street,” maybe even “A Christmas Story” or some other traditional holiday movie. Our movie is “Heidi.” We know the dialog by heart. This year, my girls watched it for the first time.

Okay, so the above photos are a little misleading. They really only paid attention to the movie for about the first 10 minutes. But I didn’t expect much more for the first viewing. This movie takes time to appreciate. My husband and brother, even my Dad, still don’t quite appreciate it yet. The girls will get there. Of that I am sure.

One other movie experience we had while in Kentucky, that Miss did greatly appreciate (to the point that we watched the movie 3 times in 24 hours), was her first viewing of “Snow White.” I hadn’t seen the movie in many, many years, so I probably enjoyed watching it with her almost as much as she did.

The still photos don’t quite do justice to our enjoyment of the movie.

I’m glad to be home, though I miss my family. I can’t believe Christmas is already almost here. Tomorrow is Miss’s school party. I have way too much gift-wrapping left to do. This weekend we’ll go to the Farm to “do Christmas” with my husband’s family. It’s the most wonderful time of the year.

Motherhood and Miscellany

A Great Big Kentucky Post. Y’all.

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