A visit from the binky fairy

We've been talking to Miller about the binky fairy since before her third birthday, and she finally decided last week that she was ready for the binky fairy to come. She actually said at bed time "The binky fairy is coming tonight!" and I was totally caught off guard. This had little to do with her wanting to give up her binky, and everything to do with the fact that the binky fairy would bring colored marshamellows and pink cake. Miller's choice, of course.

We promptly went downstairs and decorated an envelope for the binkies...


and stuffed them inside.


Miller was very excited...


and carefully placed the envelope by the door. (meanwhile, Lee was running to the grocery store to pick up the goodies)


She went to bed ok, just a hint of crying, and then she woke up at 2AM just bubbling with excitement. I went into her room and laid down with her, and for four hours, she chatted. Every time I would close my eyes, and pretend to sleep, I'd peek and see her eyes wide open. I said "Miller, why don't you close your eyes and go to sleep?" and she said "Because I want to see the binky fairy!" At one point, I was almost asleep, and she whispered excitedly "You're my best friend, mommy!". Something tells me I need to write that down to re-read in about 10 years.


Miller finally fell asleep at 6 AM, and at 7:30, we had to wake her up for school.
She was not in a good mood.


In fact, she got up, looked around, and did a face plant.


But then her daddy reminded her that the binky fairy came, and she started to perk up.


The binky fairy did not disappoint....


it was Miller's dream come true.


and just like that, her bad mood turned to good.


She examined her loot very closely. Her card says "Congratulations! You are a big girl now. Love, the binky fairy."


Happy girl


Things have been going ok since then. For the first two nights afterwards, she woke up in the middle of the night crying, and I would lay with her. Now she's sleeping through the night, but she's crying at bedtime. It's an adjustment and hopefully thing will get easier for her.

While we are talking about Miller, I want to mention a new thing that she is doing. She walks around the house like a homeless person, carrying all her prized possessions in her stroller. (Here you can see her keyboard, a baby bottle, her pink dog, a bracelet, and her lunch bag full of plastic animals....the baby is on the bottom rack)


I must carry it up and down the stairs for her at least 10 times a day. She takes it everywhere.


And when I say everywhere, I mean everywhere.

Summer turns to Fall...

Let's see...where did I last leave off? Oh yeah, our trip to the lake. After our trip to see Nana and Granddaddy, Lee got a very bad cold, which turned into pneumonia. That lasted for 3 weeks, so we've been out of sorts around here. Not to mention my case of plantar fasciitis that has me basically not doing anything.....ok, that's not a good excuse for not updating the blog. But it's REALLY annoying.

Let me back up a little and post something I forgot to mention before we went on vacation. The dentist. It was Colby's second and Miller's first trip to the dentist. This is no ordinary dentist....there are movies on the ceiling. Toys. Themed blankets. Sunglasses. Flavored everything. It was like a trip to Disney World up in there.

Colby picked a Spiderman show...


and Miller couldn't take her eyes off of Dora to smile for the camera.


On the way to Nana and Granddaddy's house, we stopped at the Great Wolf Lodge for one night. It's an indoor water park for kids, and Colby and Miller had an absolute blast. Colby was a little hesitant at first, but by the end of the day he rode every slide there except for one that he was not tall enough for. I was proud of him for doing things that looked a little scary, like the slide that you go down head first. Miller mostly stayed in the kiddie area....except for that one attempt on the big water slide where she was tossed around in circles and bumped her head. Yeah, that didn't go over so well. Lee was mad at me the rest of the day for letting her do it. She was a trooper though, and got off and went right back to the kiddie area without any real tears.

The kids had their own little "camp" in our hotel room...


and they were up for quite a while whispering and giggling. Colby fell asleep first, and we could here Miller whispering "Colby! Colby!" for the next 10 minutes.


Finally, we made it to Nana and Granddaddy's. As usual, the kids had a wonderful time doing all their favorite lake activities.

Which include, but are not limited to:

Boat rides....


Driving the boat....


I'm sneaking in a self portrait here....photos of me are hard to come by.


Tubing (this is Colby)...


and this is Miller.


Jet skiing


Playing with daddy's toys from when he was a kid (this might have been the highlight for Colby)


and really, just relaxing and enjoying the beautiful scenery at the lake.


I don't have a picture for cupcake eating, but there was a whole lot of that going on, too. (I'd like to say I'm talking about the kids, but I'm actually talking about myself.)

Upon our return, Lee's cold really came on full force.

Thankfully, Dr. Miller and her medical kit were always close by.



The beginning of Fall means the start of sports and activities. Colby is taking Kung Fu, soccer and swimming. Miller is taking Ballet, Soccer and swimming.

I was one who used to scoff at Kung Fu or martial arts in the past. What is Kung Fu, you ask? Well, I still don't technically know what it is, but at the classes Colby is taking, the instructor takes the kids on imaginary adventures and they run their butts off. It's a whole lot of playing and running and a little big of Kung Fu. Which is just perfect.

This is the best shot I could get....Colby is the blur in the blue shirt.


Miller has started ballet, and she is really liking so far. The class is 3 and 4 year olds, and Miller is the youngest and tallest in the class. No surprise there. It's just adorable.....they stretch, point and flex, make choo choo trains, and jump over alligators. I hope to take some pictures of the class soon.


By the way, my three-year-old ballerina girl is letting me put a "pony tail" in her hair on most days. This is big progress.


Now, if she would just let me pick out her clothes and accessories, I'd be so happy. As of today, she will not let me pick out her clothes and it's a daily struggle. She has so many adorable outfits, especially for Fall, so I'm trying to figure out how to get control over this. Until then, she will combine her bunny shirts with her ghost barrettes. And I will still think she's completely adorable.


Lastly, with Fall comes new plantings and flowers. I'm very proud of my first really plantings....let's see if I can keep them alive.


Soon I will be posting an update on Miller.....the binky fairy is coming tonight. The binkies were put in an envelope, and she went to bed without one. She has already been up crying once. I am thinking that if it gets bad in the middle of the night, we will cave.....who knows. She is expecting great things at her door tomorrow. (her request was colored mini marshmallows and pink cake) The big question is....will we make it through the night?