Our Brave Little Girl

Yesterday was Emma's turn to get her ears pierced. Our policy on ear piercing is that we're happy to take them when they decide they want to go (no age restrictions or anything) . . . but we very openly and honestly tell them that it's going to hurt like a shot. Ali had hers done last fall and Emma has been contemplating it ever since. Well, she finally decided she was ready and yesterday was the big day. She chose little pink gemstone earings and did a great job. No crying, but she was surprised at how much it hurt. I think she was almost mad about it. As soon as they were in I said "Great job honey! Do you want to get up and look in the mirror?" to which she replied "No." pause "That hurt." It took all I had to not laugh at her. I kept my composure, told her to get up and look in the mirror and that it won't hurt so bad in a little bit.

Afterwards we stopped by the Alligoods house to show them and Emma was very subdued . . . it was really strange. She was certainly not your typical little girl who is excited that she got her ears pierced. Fortunately the excitement has set in since then. I have now heard her talking about how excited she is many different times.

Kicking Off the Fourth

One of our family traditions is that we make Tshirts for the 4th of July. This year I almost "forgot" about it . . . I just really wasn't feeling up for dealing with the hassle. Well, I decided to go for it after all and keep it simple. We just used shirt paint to put red and blue handprints on white shirts. In the past Aaron and I have made shirts too, but I've decided to begin a new tradition: no shirts for Mommy and Daddy . . . they're fun for the fourth, but we never wear them again, so it's just not worth it to me!

It really was quick and easy and all 4 girls got to participate. I didn't know how Julie would react to the paint, but she actually loved it. She thought it was wonderful to rub her hands in that gooey stuff. I was worried that I wouldn't be able to keep her hands open to print on her shirt without making a mess, but she seemed to understand what was happening and thought it was very cool.

Piano Lessons

Ali offically began piano lessons today! She is very excited about them . . . especially since they are being given by her Grandma Patton.

A Trip Down Memory Lane

Last night I sat down at the computer and looked through my entire blog. There are 6 months worth of life documented there right now - 85 posts. It was so fun to look back over all of the memories I've documented there. Similar to looking back through my scrapbooks, but even more detailed as I post things that I wouldn't usually think to put in a scrapbook.

My pathetic couch - it is still under construction. It's funny to think that I wanted to finish it by summertime. I'll be lucky to finish it by fall. It's going well, but moving slowly.

Julie's spill down the stairs! I feel sick just thinking about it.

My poor little Emma has had some really ragamuffin haircuts (courtesy of mommy!) This is a pet peeve of mine. I like my children to not look like rats . . . Emma is going to hate some of these pictures once she's older! Right now we're growing her hair out and I'm SO glad . . . big improvement!

My little Julie has gone from being a bald little baby to being such a big girl! Learning to crawl, learning to pull-up, taking away the paci and the bottle, surgery, first steps . . . She has changed so much!

Meg has just been Meg! Always keeping us laughing. She'll be ready to join the circus any day now.

Ali has finished first grade. Scary. I feel like Middle School is right around the corner.

I'm sure this little trip isn't nearly as enjoyable for all of you as it is for me, but it's wild for me to look over all that has happened and just laugh! Life in the Patton home is certainly not dull or drab . . . it's been quite a whirlwind.

Four Girls

Megan (almost 3), Emma (almost 6), Julie (14 mos) & Alison (7)

Taking Julie to get her picture taken today has motivated me. I decided to take them all out into the back yard and try for a shot of the four girls together. Thanks to a little Photoshop action I was able to get 3 of the 4 smiling. My little Julie is sporting the previously mentioned "curiously annoyed" look. Oh well, she's still adorable!

1 Year Picture

We went to Potrait Innovations today to have Julie's 1 yr picture taken (2 mos late). It was a zoo. I wasn't thinking about the fact that every mom in the Greater St. Louis area would be in there getting her picture taken with her kids for Father's Day. Next time when I call to make an appt. I will specifically request a low traffic time and be willing to flex my schedule a bit. It was a 2 hour process from beginning to end.

Really Julie did a great job. She's not so crazy about strangers right now, so she didn't smile for the photographer a whole lot. She wasn't crabby or anything, but she was just kind of looking at the lady with a sort of annoyed curiosity. Anytime she tried to get a pic of Julie standing up she would try to run off and play - so I was standing right next to her ready to grab at a moment's notice. I have to admit that I'm a bit disappointed with this shot. She is certainly a doll, but they just didn't capture the big Julie smile.

The actual photo shoot went pretty quick, then we had to wait awhile to see our photos. During that time Julie was having a blast playing with the lego table and interacting with some other kids. Then she managed to fall flat on her face and bust her lip open. At least it happened after her pictures were taken. Unfortunately, I don't keep burp cloths in the diaper bag anymore and all I had to stop the bleeding was the dress that she wore to the studio. It did the trick, but she had a nice fat lip for a while.

Diagnosis: Acute Separation Anxiety

I know that all of my girls have gone through this at some point, however brief. Mostly it happened on Sunday mornings in the nursery. It always struck me a strange because they were in the nursery every week from the time they were 4 weeks old, but then suddenly, one day (usually b/w 12 and 18 mos) they would freak out when we would leave.

Well, Julie seems to have expanded the horizons of her separation anxiety. Basically she freaks out anytime I'm out of her sight. If a door closes between us, it's an immediate tantrum. The funny thing is that she has roomtime every day for an hour. During that time she plays with toys, in the Pack 'n' Play, in my room, with the door shut. She never freaks out. Anytime I put her in her crib for a nap or bedtime, she usually bounces for a while then goes to sleep - no crying. But yesterday I put her in roomtime in her bedroom, on the floor, with the gate closing her in. (You'd think she'd love that - a whole room to explore, many more toys to choose from). She wigged out. It all seems very strange and inconsistent to me - but, since when are babies logical and consistent?

Now the task at hand is to get her over this. I suddenly realized yesterday that I can't have her in the playroom screaming while trying to do school with Ali & Emma this fall. I'm counting on her playing happily in there for at least a little while. So, as I write I am listening to a screaming banshee upstairs in her room. It's bringing me back to the days when we took away the paci. It's amazing how humbling motherhood can be . . . just when I think I've got things running smoothly God sends a screaming Julie to remind me of my dependence upon Him.

Sleeping Beauty Party

Today the girls had a blast at Grace's Sleeping Beauty birthday party! Maggie (a teenager from church ) came dressed up as Aurora and the girls were enamoured with her! They decorated picture frames and had a "tea party" complete with personalized tea cups and saucers, chocolate milk, and tea pot and tea cup shaped PB&J sandwiches! With the extra time left over at the end Mr. Richardson stepped in as the one-man entertainment staff and played all kinds of fun games! Needless to say, Meg and Julie are now enjoying sound nap! (and I'm ready to join them!)

She Eats!

Today Meg is in the Patton family news! The child has been eating like a pig! If that isn't shocking to you, then you obviously don't know my child. She has never been a good eater - Never! Not even as an infant. Now, don't misunderstand me . . . it's not that she's a picky eater . . . the only food that she really dislikes is tomatoes. She just eats very little as far as quantity goes. (i.e. Julie consistently eats more than she does!) So, no it really isn't shocking to us that she is in the 7th percentile for weight!

Well this past week or so she has been packing away food like a teenage boy . . . it hasn't mattered what we've given her . . . she has been strangely silent during mealtimes - it's hard to talk with split-pea soup in your mouth! So, I'm hoping that we are turning a corner here and that she will actually continue to eat - and GROW!

Counting Down to July 21

I've decided to be festive for the next month and a half. (Thanks to Mugglenet for the countdown!) I've been reading back through Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (and plan to read through the next two before the release of book 7). It's been awhile since I've visited the world of Harry Potter and I am, once again, thoroughly enjoying it. It's so fun to look back on all of the little things I've forgotten and eagerly await the answers to all of my questions!

Cause and Effect

Here's Julie enjoying her latest form of entertainment! She just realized that if she lets go of a ball on the driveway it will roll down into the road. She could go at this for hours. Aaron will stand at the bottom of the driveway and kick the balls back up into the garage and she persistently goes after them . . . she has even gone after them under the car!

A Baby Girl on the Way!

No, I'm not making an announcement! : ) We just found out that Aaron's sister (who is expecting baby #3) is having a girl. We are all giddy about that as we are rather partial to girls in our home!

Little bits will be welcomed by big sister, Bekah (9) and big brother, Blake (5). She is due in Mid-October and we are all eager to meet her!