Delinquent blog

Finally I am able to post...
First things first: THE PARTY! Kylie is two, and her party was a blast! I have never seen a two year old have more fun at a party, nor have I seen a two year old enjoy opening presents so much…and I don’t just say that because she is my daughter…or because she is the smartest little girl in the world…or because she is the most beautiful girl in the world…just because it is true. I never could have pulled off the party had it not been for my million house guests…a HUGE thank you to all of them!!! It really all came together quite smoothly, even including the late night session Papa B. and I had throwing raw sugar (a.k.a. sand) at the sand castle cake! It was a fun birthday week!
Rodgers went home with Nana Kathy after the party for a week in Pinehurst, Richmond, and Connecticut. He had a lot of fun visiting and playing! Kylie and I enjoyed our girl time! We took a trip down to Columbia for a night to visit Nana Stewart and the cousins and Caroline where Kylie was introduced to one of her new favorite places: the jumping place. This place is called Leaping Lizzards, and it is just a little store front where they have big inflatable mazes and slides for the kids to play on. They also have a puppet booth for the kids to play puppets, a kitchen with pretend food, a ton of dress up clothes…so much fun! We were there for an hour and a half and Kylie still was kicking and screaming when we left…literally. So, I guess it was a hit! Kylie loves her new cousin, baby Walker! She got lots of cuddle time with him this last visit and then informed us all she was taking him home to her house! Haha! I don’t think so!!!
Then we all (Nana Kathy, Papa Fred, Rodgers, Kylie, Rod, Ian, Courtney, and I) headed to New York City for the weekend!! I’ve always been a huge fan of the city, so I was very excited about our trip from the beginning, but at the same time, this was the first trip there with the kids, so I didn’t know exactly what to expect. Let me tell you, they LOVED it! Rodgers couldn’t get over how big the buildings were…he now is building Lego towers at home “like the big towers in New York”…he loved all the revolving doors (and he went through more than I think I have in my lifetime). Kylie liked the horses in Central Park and climbing all the big rocks. Going to see the Lion King was the big hit, though! I couldn’t believe Kylie sat through that whole play, but she did. Rodgers got very excited during the play and tried to talk back to the actors a couple times, but thankfully we were in the orchestra section, so no one noticed. There are a couple key lines that have stuck with him such as “I thought Simba was very brave,” and “Simba! He’s alive!” He also likes to run around the house chanting nonsense and dancing and carrying on like Rafiki…good thing I understand what he’s doing…otherwise I would be a little worried. Saturday night, Mom and Dad took the kids back to the hotel and Ian, Courtney, Rod and I went out to a rooftop bar the concierge told us about. It was beautiful! It was on the 17th floor of a hotel about 10 blocks from ours and we sat up there talking and seeing all the lights of the city. On the way home we got pretzels and hot dogs from a street vendor. Fun times! We all had a great time in the city! Thanks Mom & Dad!!!
Now, our travel to and from NYC…let’s just suffice it to say that I don’t think any of us will be signing up for flights with Delta anytime soon!
There was one tragedy on our trip…our beloved “Raffie” (Kylie’s giraffe) got lost in the airport. The night we got home, she was too tired to be very sad, but the next morning was a disaster! She was sad all morning even after several failed attempts by me to find a “new friend” in our basket of stuffed animals…none made the cut. So, we headed to a store at the arboretum where I had seen a giraffe like hers a few months ago, and I just prayed they would still have one. Praise God for answered prayers and “saved” lives (I mean my own in more than one way)!!! They had a “Raffie,” but as I looked down at it at the counter while paying I thought there was no way she was going to believe this bright, fluffy new animal with firm stuffing in its neck was her Raffie! But I came out and held him up to the car window and she squealed with delight! I told her I found Raffie and that he had gone to get a bath and get his neck fixed. So, now she is probably NEVER going to let Raffie out of her sight, but that’s ok!! I’m just glad he’s back!

The kids have enjoyed playing together since we got home. I think they missed each other last week! We have played with all of our friends in the neighborhood, walked, cleaned, gone to Bible study, played at the park…lots of fun.
I have had fun catching up with most of my buddies…Amy, Kerry, Betty. Betty and I made up for lost time the other night and decided to have coffee, ice cream, and a beer all at once! I do think the hardest thing about summer is everyone having crazy schedules and not being able to connect as consistently with each other…but on the other hand, we visit lots of people we don’t usually see otherwise…so it’s a toss up.
Yesterday we were scheduled for check ups at the doctor and right as we were about to leave, Rodgers threw up all over my bedroom floor (gross), so he and I changed clothes real quick and ran out the door to the doctor. Good timing for a doctor appointment, except that he threw up all in my car on the way to the doctor’s office (gross gross). After that I guess he was satisfied that he had given me enough cleaning for the day, so he didn’t throw up anymore. I don’t know if it was a virus or just something he ate??? Anyway, their check ups went well, despite the fact that when he walked in Kylie was in her underwear, with her ponytail pulled out and she was jumping and dancing on the examining table…thankfully he just said, “well, hello Kylie!” I guess he isn’t surprised by us anymore. No more ear infection in Rodgers, and the doctor said that Kylie is amazing for a 2 year old developmentally and verbally she is “quite extraordinary.” She is 75% for height, 25-50% for weight, and…97% for head circumference…hey, maybe it is just all the hair!!!! :)
Speaking of hair, she decided yesterday afternoon that it would be ok if I put her hair up again (a decision prompted by Rodgers getting the battery operated bubble wand stuck in her hair, having to sit through combing out the huge tangles that resulted, and the ultimate loss of two chunks of hair that could not be saved). When I asked which barrette she wanted, she said all of them. I told her they don’t all fit in your hair at one time. She said, “Yes, they all did fit.” And then she proved to me that they do all fit…

OKAY, I AM STILL HAVING TROUBLE GETTING THE PICTURES TO POST, BUT I AM GOING TO JUST LEAVE THIS HOW IT IS...NOT QUITE AS FUN WITHOUT ALL THE PICTURES, BUT HOPEFULLY I CAN GET THEM ON SOON!!!