Texas Blue Bonnets

Can you live in Texas and not feel compelled to go get photos of your child with the famous Texas Blue Bonnets? I can't - I can't pass up any photo op!

Yes, if you look closely, her whole mouth is blue. That is thanks to the Bubble Gum flavored Snow Cone that I bought her on the way - bright, electric blue. What was I thinking....

And, as much as she wants to pick flowers, she couldn't stand the thought of stepping or sitting on them. She really, really didn't want to sit anywhere there may have been a bug.

Goodbye, Bentley

This month, our dog died. Bentley would have been 9 on March 24th, so he has been around for all of Grace's life. I am so sad that it happened now - Bentley and Grace were having so much fun playing together over the past few months. We had hoped for several more years with Bentley and were really surprised when the vet told us that Bentley had a fatal tumor in his belly. We were told that we would have about 2-4 more weeks. 6 days later, Bentley woke up and didn't have the use of one of his legs (we think the tumor, which was larger than my head, was pressing on his spinal cord). He died that day around 1.

I started trying to prepare Grace for his death. So, I told her that we were sending Bentley to live with Poppy in Heaven because Poppy would love to play with him. She said, "No, mommy! Bentley is too heavy. He can't float."

I explained that it doesn't matter what you look like or how heavy you are, you can still go to Heaven.

Then, the day he died, we wanted to get out of the house so we went to eat lunch. We were sitting on the outside balcony of a little sandwich shop when a helicopter flew over head. You said, "There is Bentley's helicopter! They are taking him to Heaven!"

You are doing well with the adjustment. But, almost every time we come home, you run to let Bentley out and I have to explain it all over again. You keep reminding me to close your playroom door so Bentley can't get in - or to put up the bread because he loves to eat it. I don't think you realize that he isn't coming back.

Just Can't Keep Up

Wow, has this been a busy month! I can't seem to keep up - which is becoming VERY normal for me!

Some of what is happening here:

Unc and Jeanie got married (finally!)...Grace was the cutest little Flower Girl in the history of Flower Girls. When I showed her the dress that she was going to wear (which we call the "wedding dress") - she put her hands to her mouth and exclaimed, "Oh, mommy, it is so beautiful. But, it is little and Jeanie is a big, big girl." Apparently, she thought it was Jeanie's wedding gown! I explained it belonged to her and she was ecstatic. She went to get her hair done (sense we all know I can't do that!). She said that she had princess hair and that she loved it. And she did, because for 2 days I couldn't take the hair down...thank goodness gravity took over. Sense then, every time I fix it, it has to be like Ms. Laura did it. By the end of the wedding, my girl was done for.
Here are some of my sweetie on St. Patty's! We hit the park with Josie and Austin. Josie ate a rock and choked - I got to try out the Heimlich Maneuver (affectionately known as the Heimlich Remover)....and it worked, THANK GOD, cause I would have been devastated had it not.Grace and her classmates took a field trip to a local farm. Grace had such a great time seeing all the different animals (and picking the flowers that she was NOT supposed to pick - I can't get her to stop. And she is so sweet, "But, mommy, they are for you because I just love you.") My favorite was the ostriches and seeing their huge eggs. Your favorite was the Fairie Woods - a nature trail with tons of little fairies every where. You also loved Fancy, the donkey and watching the cow get milked.
This month, we had several birthday parties, trips to Chuck E Cheese, play dates, parks, Jungle Java - I can't even begin to tell you how much we have done.

Zilker With Daddy

We have gone with Jeff to Zilker for the past 2 weekends. Last weekend, we just went to play and hang out. She showed off her new skill (swinging by herself) to Jeff, who hadn't seen her do it yet. There was a cool clown doing balloon sculptures - keep your eyes open, he may just make an appearance at her birthday party! Which is scheduled for June 20th for those of you who like making the trip. After playing for a while, we went for a canoe ride on the lake. this was her second time to do this and she really loved it. She especially loved seeing all the turtles. After that, we went to one of the fields, where Grace and Daddy flew the first kite of the season. It was great watching Jeff fly a pink Barbie kite! Grace had a great time chasing the shadow.Since she had so much fun flying the kite, we took her to the Austin Kite Festival on Sunday (March 1). We had such a great family day. We spent around 4 hours flying our kite, playing in the bouncers, checking out the booths...Grace even made her own kite. It actually flew pretty good, considering I was the one flying that one! Jeff didn't want to suffer the embarrassment of the Barbie kite, so we went to the store and got a more manly rainbow colored kite!