Barnes Family Beach Trip

Katie and I were so fortunate this year to have not 1, but 2 beach weeks!!!  The Barnes Family headed to Topsail this past week and we had a wonderful time.  Unfortunately, Matt had to stay in Roanoke for school.  But Katie and I had a great time with Popa, Abu, Uncle Jake, Auntie Katherine, Uncle Rob, Cousin Fielder, and Cousin Claire.

It had been 2 years since we all headed to the beach together.  Last trip Auntie Katherine was pregnant with Fielder.  Somehow, he adds a great deal of chaos into the mix.  Fielder is a little guy who can find trouble!  Personally, I think we need to rename him Wild Thing (WT for short), but Auntie Kat and Uncle Rob probably aren't on board with that.  As crazy as the little man is, he smiles at you once and you melt.  Of all the pictures I got during the week, some of the best were of his cute little face.

Claire and Katie were together constantly.  They wanted to wake up together each day, and go to bed together each night.  One of my favorite memories from this week was reading books to the girls before bed --- Katie on my right and Claire on my left --- all snuggled up in my bed.  Don't get me wrong, it wasn't all sunshine and roses.  They did fight some over toys, what pretend games to play, the iPad, etc.  However, for a 3.5 and 5.5 year old --- I think they play together remarkably well.  After all, Claire is the closest thing to a sister that Katie has.

 

*** One special note on the picture below....Big Thank You to Auntie MaryLynn who gave the girls these matching pajamas.  Don't they look so cute?!?! 

Abu helped keep the girls occupied with several gifts throughout the week.  (Thanks so much Abu!!!).  First, there were water guns.  The next day was a paint by numbers kit (probably Katie's favorite).  The third day was a beach/sea creature Play-Doh set.  Day four was seashell bracelets.  And finally --- CANDYLAND!!!  :-)  Who doesn't love CandyLand??

 

All in all, it was a great week.  Thank you so much to Popa and Abu for treating us to the trip.  My hope is that for our next one Matt can actually attend and enjoy the fun with us. 

I'm working on a video from this week's beach trip too.  But, considering it took me one month to finish the last one....don't expect results anytime soon.  :-)

Oh, The Difference a Year Makes

Katie's 4th birthday is quickly approaching.  This milestone always makes reflect on what has changed for our daughter in the course of the year.  And while sometimes I feel like Katie hasn't changed much between 3 and 4.  Other times I realize there is a world of difference.

Changes in a child from birth to 1 year are vast in very quantifiable metrics.  For example, she quadrupled her birth weight and went from a blob who couldn't hold up her own head, to walking, babbling one year old.  Changes between 3 and 4 are different.  They are less tangible, harder to immediately identify.  Sure, she has grown in height and weight.  But the personality changes are much more significant than the physical.  Katie's shy, timid nature has altered.  Its certainly still there --- and in crowds, or new/unusual environments she is as clingy as ever.  But its improved significantly.  I credit a great deal of this change to her preschool teacher and director.  Sometimes I feel the school isn't as focused on academics as I'd prefer.  However, they provide a loving/caring environment like nothing we expected.  Preschool has helped Katie come out of her shell and really develop friendships with her classmates.  As an only child, I feel this socialization is unbelievably important for her.

There is a big maturity shift between 3 and 4 (and I'm sure the years to come).  Katie has fever tantrums.  And when they occur, I can usually say "Hey, let's talk about this."  Amazingly, she will stop and listen.  Well --- most of the time that's true.  Usually those sessions end in some kind of "negotiation", which I see as somewhat positive.  She is learning to find compromise when we don't agree on things. 

And if I want REAL tangible differences in Katie's changes between 3 and 4, I look at her "artwork" (as much as you can call a 3, almost 4 year old's drawings artwork).  She loves to draw!  Each day, in place of naptime, Katie has quiet time.  She basically lays down, or plays in her room alone --- so mommy can have a little break.  Most days, she spends the time drawing on the white board.  I took a picture last week of her drawing because I thought it was pretty good.  When quiet time is over, she enjoys telling us about what she drew and what's happening in the pictures.  Today, she is in the bottom left box.  She said she was playing outside in the sunshine, with the flowers on the ground nearby.  She also said that she was eating her pear, but dropped it.  LOL!  FYI - that's me on the bottom right with the super long legs (ha --- wish that was true), and Matt in the top left. 

Now, look at her self portrait from almost exactly 1 year ago --- when she was 2 years 11 months old.  Its just crazy the difference. 

This little one of ours is growing entirely too fast.  Some days I want to slow things down.  Other days, I'm dying to know what she'll be like one year from now....and what type of changes we will see between 4 and 5. 

 

July 4th

 

What a rainy, soggy mess this past week has been!  The whole Roanoke area is officially saturated (like much of Virginia).  On the morning of the 4th, Matt and I woke and checked the news.  We found out that the Roanoke River had flooded entire sections of the city, Bent Mountain had multiple mud slides and road closures, and the 4th of July celebration was tentative at best. 

We stayed inside for the morning because it was --- you guessed it --- raining!  Finally around 11, the rain stopped.  I looked at him and said, "if we don't get Katie outside right now, it might not happen again for the next couple of days."  So, we headed out to the park for a couple hours of amazingly wonderful SUNSHINE!!!  Katie was thrilled to be outside playing for the first time in a couple days.  We "fished" in the puddles at the playground, slid down the slides, and swung on the swings.  After 2.5 hours we decided to head back to the house because clouds were forming again.

For those of you who know Matt well, you know he is a bit of a weather bug.  Any sort of extreme weather scenario in our area and he MUST see it in person --- and usually take commemorative photos/videos of the event.  So, on the way home from the park, we stopped by my usual running route (The Greenway) to see how bad the flooding damage was.  It was unbelievable.  See picture below.  My normal running route is between the parking lot and the line of trees on the left (the river is supposed to be to the LEFT of the trees). 

Finally, Thursday night we met up with one of Katie's preschool classmates, Carter, and his parents.  Together, we sat outside in the rain and watched the fireworks show together.  I didn't even realize you could launch fireworks in the rain, but they managed to pull it off!  Katie loved the fireworks, but she was so exhausted by the end of the show (10:00) that she actually asked to go home.  We said good-bye to Carter and wished them all a Happy 4th of July.

Brooke's Graduation

June is the graduation month.  In the past 2 years, we surprisingly haven't had any graduations to celebrate in our family.  This year, Matt's cousin Brooke graduated from Fairfax High School and we all traveled north to celebrate.  We don't get together often enough with Matt's mother's side of the family, so it was wonderful to see everyone and celebrate Brooke's special day.

Brooke is on her way to JMU this fall and so very excited about starting college.  I have to admit, I was a little disappointed that no new Hokie blood would be joining the family.  But, Auntie Katherine is thrilled to have another Duke among us.  Among other talents, Brooke has played the violin since she was 4.  She gave us a little concert before opening her gifts (Les Miserables --- in case you can't recognize it).

Brooke, we are so proud of you and know that your successes are only now beginning.  All the best as you begin college.  And remember --- Roanoke is not too far from Harisonburg.  You are welcome at our house anytime you need a little break and a home cooked meal.