Friday, August 29, 2008

A Girl and Her Daddy

I'm feeling a little sentimental this morning and wanted to take a trip down memory lane. Please forgive my indulgence.



What spurred this sudden emotional trip? I went over to a girlfriend's house last night so Mr. Reserved and Miss G went on a date. There's something about a daddy and his daughter on a date that tugs at your heartstrings.



They have always been close. They have a bond that was initially grown through their love of napping. No...seriously...their hearts are just connected by that strong Daddy/Daughter bond.



Mr. Reserved has always been good with her.



Last night they went to dinner and ice cream followed up by a healthy dose of football.



I have been indoctrinating Miss G into the ins and outs of tennis, especially some of my favorite pros. Mr. Reserved has some catching up to do with his favorite sport...football.





I love watching them together.



Especially when they're both asleep.



They snore in unison.



And Miss G snores louder than Mr. Reserved.



They love to wash the Jeep and go for a drive together. Doors off, top down and wind in their hair is their favorite ride.



Mr. Reserved has passed on his love of computers to Miss G. They spend hours playing computer games together.




What a blessing they are to me. What a blessing they are to each other.

Monday, August 25, 2008

The Ant Killer



From Miss G's bedroom....

"Oh...my...stars! It's an ant!"


I hear little feet running down the hall to the kitchen. The pantry door opens. After much rummaging, the pantry door shuts and the little feet return down the hall.

From Miss G's bedroom...

"Smack. Smack, smack, smack."


Evidently, she has found the fly swatter. Then she says,

"That's my first one. MOMMY, I killed my first ant!"


More running feet enter the study.

"Mommy, I killed my first ant and it's my first one. Isn't that great?"

"Way to go, baby! Where was this ant?"

"It was in my room on my armoire. I killed it dead."

"Excellent. You'll make a great ant hunter."

"Yeah...I will. Watch my moves."







An overabundance of self confidence in a four year old is a good thing. Right?




That's what I'll keep telling myself.

Sunday, August 24, 2008

A Day at the Water Park

Our church group had a wonderful day at the water park this Saturday. We stayed the entire day and despite the layers of sunscreen, all had slight sunburns to show for it. It was the good kind of sunburn. The sun kissed checks and noses that remind people of God's golden creation. Our youth group plus the younger children played and laughed and reveled in the day.

Thank you to all who went and all who made the day possible. It was a great day!





















Friday, August 22, 2008

Sea World

We had a great day at Sea World. Miss G was amazed by all the animals, especially the playful dolphins. They swam curiously close to us. I think they were checking us out just as much as we were checking them out.



This guy obliged and stopped by for a photo op.



Miss G didn't want to touch them but she was fascinated by them. She went to see them twice.






We also went to the aquarium. It was full of sharks and other exotic wildlife.



These are poison dart frogs. They are tiny.





The sea lions at the next show were so funny. I was amazed at their speed in the water and how quickly they could jump from the water to the stage.



One of the trainers kicked back and let the sea lion swim in circles.



After the sea lion show Miss G ventured on her first roller coaster ride. She has pronounced that it will be her last. Mr. Reserved said that she never even looked up.



We also went to the water skiing show. Personally, I am in awe of anyone who can water ski. I like to think of myself as pretty athletic, but I could never water ski. I couldn't get up out of the water and on to the skis. Needless to say I was amazed by these performers.



Before the performance they asked all the kids to come down and play on the beach. Miss G ran down and quickly made a friend. She didn't want the playtime to end but the show soon started with some amazing tricks.








One of the last things we did before heading to their water park was to see the big man himself. The great Shamu and associates gave a great performance. In your mind, you know that these are big killer whales. I just didn't realize how BIG they truly are.



By the way, the title "Splash Zone" is a little misleading. Those tails can displace more water than a Sumo wrestler doing a canonball. Thank goodness we sat above that zone. The people below us were completly soaked.

Wednesday, August 20, 2008

Uno



It's such a joy to watch your children grow and learn...until they start beating the pants off of you. Miss G and I played 8 games of Uno in a row. I am 0 for 8. I don't know how she does it, but she's good.

I grew up in a very competitive family. We played tons of games and everyone, parents included, were out to win. I'm not one of the moms who just lets their children win all the time. I believe children should be gracious in winning and losing and they need to experience both sides. What I'm trying to say is I don't let her win on purpose. I really try to win. I just can't seem to beat her.

You want to know what's really sad. We've lost her card holder and I can see all her cards and I still can't win. I really try not to use her cards against her, but I still find myself reaching for cards she doesn't have. I guess the old adage is right. Cheaters never prosper.

We're going to move on to a game where I might have a chance. I'll let you know how Candy Land goes.

Friday, August 15, 2008

Gaining Confidence

We are safely home from our vacation. It was our first family vacation together and we had a wonderful time. It's not often that Miss G and I get Mr. Reserved all to ourselves for such an extended time. We reveled in the experience. Miss G especially enjoyed her Daddy and I know that Mr. Reserved's arms are sore from so much carrying and catching of our little diva.

The two made quite a pair. Watching them interact, Mr. Reserved always patient and instructive, Miss G completely inexperienced and unsure, was one of the highlights of my trip. The following sequence of pictures shows how the complete trust of a little girl in her Daddy's love can within one day transform her from a scared, teary-eyed, stand on the ladder holding up the line shrieker into a confident, self assured, cutting in line bulldozer.




This frog's mouth was her first attempt at a water slide. She actually stood up and went back down the ladder. After watching other kids on the slide and a lot of coaching from her Daddy, she finally made the leap straight into her Daddy's arms.




This was another slide with another petrified look.




After several times down the frog slide, Daddy convinced her to slide with him on the big blue slide. The water depth in this pool was 2' 6" so she was able to stand up, head above water, for any slide going into this pool.



I think she had her eyes closed the whole time.



Daddy made sure she didn't go under water.




Although we had tears, after a few minutes she was ready to go again.

She continued to go down the slides and Daddy continued to catch her. Her confidence grew all day long and by the end of the day she didn't want us to catch her. We were relegated to the grown-up chairs at the edge of the pool not even near her. I realized watching her from so far away that we had made a fundamental switch that day. Our little baby was not a baby anymore. She was big enough to catch herself.




I know as parents it is our goal and responsibility to grow our children to become independent.




I just didn't realize that it could happen so fast.




What a wonder it is to watch them bloom.