Why Am I Talking about Boys to My 5-Year-Old?

Last day of PreK

You guys, I can't believe I'm writing this story! But I figured those of you who have already launched humans will laugh ... and laugh ... and laugh. And those of you who still have littles, please ... suffer with me!

Bugs has a sweet little friend, Makai. You may remember him from skating lessons or as the friend who visited her after her surgery. They went to preschool together and he also used to go to new Ms. A's for day care. His sister is old enough to watch him this summer, but he has been coming on occasion to Ms. A's. Bugs could not be happier on those days.

Until yesterday ...

Let me rewind a touch. Since the end of preschool, apparently Makai has been referring to Fiona at home as "my girlfriend." The whole boyfriend/girlfriend thing at this age is so innocent, so Mike and I have chosen to treat the terms with intentional neutrality. My neutrality was tested on Monday night, when Bugs, for the first time, told me that Makai was her "boyfriend."

Which brings us to pick up yesterday. Where I walked to in to find a tear-stained Fiona who was also drawing a picture of someone crying. When I asked her what was wrong, she burst into tears and told me that she had drawn a picture for Makai and, when she gave it to him, he ripped it, laughed, and winked at her. Ms. A and I tried to explain to her that sometimes boys do that when they think someone is cool. She looked at us with disbelief and rubbed my leg with a look that said, "mom, if you don't start making sense, I may need to put you in the home."

As we drove home, she told me that Makai was also lying during the day. Like when she drew a chalk picture, he would say that he drew it, while laughing. I tried to explain that he was teasing, not lying - like Daddy does to me. She finally said, "So he ripped my picture, teased, and hurt my feelings because he LIKES me?" When I answered, "yep," she sighed and said, "Mom, I don't get it!"

Tonight at gymnastics, he brought her a picture that he had drawn. And all was right in her world. For now. Also, the parenting books did not say that I had to navigate conversations about boys at age 5. I'm NOT ready!!!

The Trip North: Part 3

I've managed to sneak out of the piles of laundry to finish our adventures from the 4th of July. We just got back from a weekend of camping ... and if thickness of dirt plus height of laundry piles equates to fun, then we totally crushed this weekend. I'll tell you about it ...someday ... after I catch up on our other stories!

Mila was in D's space ...
so he thought

We finished our days up north with one more trip to the lake. On Tuesday morning, we went out to my dad's cousin's lakehouse. Their granddaughter and great-granddaughter were in town visiting from California and the sweet little great-grand was just about Dec's age. They have a beautiful sandy beach and it was a much warmer, sunnier day than the 4th. We had a great time splashing around the water with the littles. Quinn was a dock-jumping machine and Fiona had a great time playing with little Mila. Dec was more nervous of the water than he was the day before. He still had fun, but was definitely more hesitant.

Jack and Audrey had rented a couple paddleboards, so Mike, Em, and I took turns taking them out on the bay. The last time I was on one was shortly after D was born ... and I only had a few minutes before we needed to leave, so I only got up on my knees. I was able to test it out standing this time, which was pretty fun.

We left around lunch time to get naps in for the very very tired littles and to send Mike, my dad, and sister off to go fishing for the afternoon. The kids and I headed to the park after rest to get our climbing out, we had our favorite pizza for dinner, and we got to see sweet new baby Micah. It was a power-packed final day!

Wednesday morning, we packed up and made it about halfway home before we needed to stop for lunch. The kids were pretty good on the way home and were so happy to get out of the car in our driveway!

We were all definitely a little cranky on Thursday morning when we had an alarm clock and had to wear real pants instead of swimsuits!

**A couple other bonus ones from the weekend that are too good not to share**

The Trip North: Part 2

Auntie and Fiona

Days 1 and 2 up north were lake time teasers. Days 3, 4, and 5 saw us getting serious about this vacation to the lake business! And then serious about cleaning sand out of suits and trying to get them dry for the next watery outing ...

After church and a quick nap for Declan on Sunday, we met Mike's sister and her family at Tioga beach. My dad graciously offered to let us use his boat ... and the new tube that my sister and I gave him as a birthday gift (purely for his enjoyment ...). My sister joined as well and we found Tracey and the gang with a spot already staked out by the water. The kids got serious about sand castles and our nephews happily joined in.

Dock jumping

Mike drove the boat over from the landing and we hooked up the tube. Emmy and Fiona took the first ride and had a great time. They were buzzing all over and Fiona was super brave ... she even waved as they drove by our beach spot! Declan and I went next; it was his first ride on a tube, as he was too small last summer. We had a great time, but I was struggling to position the two of us in a way where we didn't feel like we would flip over backwards.

Ben tested the tube next and the kids, Auntie, and I had a fun time cheering him on from the boat! Unlike Em and I, he wasn't sore from the beating of the tube on the wake (slightly jealous)! I took Quinn out for a short trip, but we really need to work on our positioning game. And then D took one more ride before Mike and Ben returned the boat to the landing. We had the best time! And somehow, social butterfly Fiona charmed a group of girls next to us so much that they left their very cool squirt gun in her possession because "she's just having so much fun."

Professional sandcastle
builder

Then on 4th of July proper, we headed out to Johnson Lake. We got there early enough to get some sand time before the annual flotilla (boat parade around the lake). My cousin Anna brought treat bags for Otto and our gang. Treats, boat ride, and waving from a parade equaled much fun for the short Vs (and tall ones)!

We returned to the cabin to find the rest of the gang had shown up, including sweet baby Huxon and Tracey, Nate, and Ben. We headed up the hill (oh, that hill ...) for lunch and then popped on the swimming suits for the afternoon at the beach. It was a little chilly for the 4th - but that didn't stop us from splashing around the water, jumping off the dock (Q and D jumped repeatedly. Q was super brave. Dec jumped when I wasn't expecting it and floated under the dock ... for a second before I snagged him), and kayaking around the bay.

Kayak race collision

With the customary moaning and groaning (and encouragement from spectators ... including the next door cabin), the annual kayak races happened. After a six year hiatus (pregnant and nursing totally get you out of things), I was drafted back to the race. No thanks to me (other than not being completely incompetent), my crack team of me, Brenda, and Mike J squeezed out the win. As always, the races provided a great amount of entertainment.

We ate a quick dinner at the cabin, snagged a cousin picture, and then packed up to head back to Gma and Gpa's. We got the gang bathed and settled in on a "picnic" blanket in the living room with some popcorn and a show to end the night. We needed to rest up ... more beach time ahead!

** And more photos ahead. I couldn't choose!**

The fam

Jumping

Winning kayak team

Four blondies and a dark-haired newbie cousin

The Trip North: Part 1

Testing the golf cart

We packed up the car and the gang last Friday to head north for the 4th of July holiday. It had been two long years since we'd been at the cabin for the 4th ... and it was time to change that! We gave ourselves a virtual pat on the back that we didn't need the roof bag or the trailer (although I admittedly had to borrow a stroller from my cousin Anna ... stroller was the difference between trailer and no trailer ...).

The first part of the ride was not our finest. Quinn does not like car rides. She whined, she fussed, she insisted on an unnecessary potty break and then needed a necessary potty break not fifteen minutes later ... We were an hour in and I texted my sister "Traffic sucks. Q's a pain. Mike's already yelled and threatened to go home. Family fun ..." Thankfully, that was the low point of our holiday weekend and we got it out of the way immediately!

Enjoying the fire

Our next door neighbors in S-town have a seasonal campsite about 2 hours north of here. We happen to drive right by it on our way to GR (or as Declan called it all weekend "Gramp Rapids"). So we connected with them and stopped by for lunch. We got to see their home away from home, their campground neighbors have three teenage girls who happily grabbed our gang and took them to the playground, they fed us lunch, and we tested out their new golf cart. It was a lovely way to get out of the car, get our wiggles out, see some of our favorite people, and shake off the first part of the drive!

We were so happy to get to Gma and Gpa's house. After dinner, we took the kids down to the park/beach for a while. When we got back, Gpa and Auntie had a fire going and coals that were ready for s'mores. We enjoyed sitting around the fire, eating our treats. D got a little wild around the fire so had to go bed, but we let the girls stay out longer than usual. They like the vacation life!

Bubble machine!

On Saturday, we threw a baby shower for my cousin Olivia and got to meet our new cousin - sweet little nugget Huxon Michael. He's so little and we are totally in love. It's so funny to see such a dark little boy with all these blond cousins! Dec went fishing with Grandpa and Daddy during the shower and was as pleased as could be with his Big Boy Outing.

That evening, the gang and I headed out to my high school friend Bryan's [parents'] place to catch up with him. B and I were laughing that it was easier to get together in GR - even though we both live down in the cities. B's parents' house is on the lake, so the kids had a great time playing in the sand and wading in the water. It was a cool evening, so we didn't put them in swimsuits. Since they are unaware of where their butts are when they squat in the water, we brought semi-naked people and a pile of wet bottoms home!

The Bookends Keep Getting Big

The "bookends" (Fiona and Declan) have logged big milestones in the past week. My efforts to keep the gang from getting big are up against some stiff competition!

Last Thursday, Mike took Dec in for his two year well check. He is doing great and is the third V baby to astound Dr. H with 2yo verbal skills. He is right on par with all the developmental milestones. Having two older sisters is probably helpful in that department! He weighed 24 lbs 1 oz (7 percentile) and was 33.75" tall (36.5 percentile). He's such a string bean! I'm afraid for when pants weather returns. Summer is my favorite because I can size down to fit skinny waists (and long legs don't matter). At least half of Dec's shorts are 12 month size. And I had to try on five 18 month swimming suits before we headed north to find two that didn't fall off of him. I should probably stop complaining when he wants six dinners every night ... seems we need to fatten him up before fall!

Then last night was a very big night for Fiona. She lost her first tooth! It's been loose for almost a month and when we were up north for the 4th of July, she and Mike spotted the new tooth popping through the gum behind it. The presence of the adult tooth renewed her wiggling motivation and by the time we got home yesterday, she could bend the tooth to a 90 degree angle with her gum. Mike talked her into letting him tie a piece of floss around it and popped it right out. Q was super supportive (and curious) and held Buggy's hand during tooth extraction. Fiona was scandalized that there was blood, but got over it pretty quickly and was pumped to put the tooth under her pillow. We had a near catastrophe when I flipped her blanket to tuck her in, not realizing that she had put the tooth ON her blanket ... but we found it fairly quickly. And this morning, she discovered two quarters under her pillow from the tooth fairy. She's very proud of her gap and we're proud of how brave she was.