Tuesday, while I was driving through this (once the rain and wind let loose, I seriously contemplated calling Ryan to tell him one final good-bye - it was all very unnerving at the time) on my way to Fort Wayne...
...Phoebe was getting promoted in her Crouching Tigers class. Luckily, Hadley's mom was there and had her phone handy to capture some of Phoebe's moves.
She broke her first real board and earned a new belt. We're so very proud of our "kee-yah"-ing daughter and her newfound excitement for all things martial arts.
Friday morning we ran to the library. We've been blessed with kids who love books - praying that love grows with them as they get older.
After the library, we headed to the dentist. It was my 6-month check up and I believe the last six visits to the pediatrician, he'd asked us if Phoebe had seen our dentist yet - so I'd scheduled a visit for her as well. She was NOT very excited about it but our hygenist did a great job putting Phoebe at ease.
Showing her all the equipment and special tools used in cleaning teeth.
She finally agreed to have her front teeth polished and ended up getting her entire mouth done. We'll go back in February with hopes for a more thorough cleaning and good report. Phoebe has asked every day since then if she has to go back to the dentist so I'm pretty sure she didn't love her visit enough to want to go back anytime soon!
We ran a couple of errands after lunch and then Maverick decided he was ready for a nap. While driving around so he could sleep (yes, both of our children refuse to nap in their beds) Phoebe and I had some fun chats. One was about fruit salad. She said she'd make hers with oranges and lemons. When I asked her if she'd eat it, her response was, "Nope, I just want some feta cheese!" She may not look it, but she's Greek way deep down! We also had a good sixty minute downpour on Friday afternoon - complete with hail and monsoon-type conditions - at one point I just pulled into some random neighborhood to wait it out.
On a side note, we did a couple test runs from where our new house is going to be built and Phoebe's elementary school. If we turn one way out of the neighborhood it's five minutes away, if you turn the other way, it's only three. Regardless of which way we go, with the way our kids refuse to like mornings, we'll need every minute we can get!
When Maverick woke Phoebe up at 6:00 Saturday morning, Nana and Papa were there! No better way to start the weekend, for sure!
They pilfered all of Papa's pocket change and emptied it into Phoebe's piggy bank. Here Nana is trying to coax Phoebe into trying the zucchini bread I made the night before. She's not a big fan of vegetables in her bread! But she did try it and I'm proud of her for that.
Nothing like Lincoln Logs before 7:00 in the morning!
Maverick has taken a real liking to this baby doll. She has a bottle that she'll suck on and when it's removed from her mouth she'll start to cry. He loves to feed her and then yanks the bottle out just so he can hug her and pat her back. Lately he's been flopping down on her, too. Ryan insists it's time for G.I. Joe to make an appearance in the Wallis' house!
The real reason Phoebe wasn't too keen on the zucchini bread...she knew Papa was on his way back from Long's with donuts! Donuts made the early morning much more enjoyable!
After a two-hour visit at the design center picking out optional exterior colors for our house (in which I'm 100% certain we provided the best birth control our designer will ever receive), we headed up to Kokomo to visit with the Shull's. Despite the dead grass, Phoebe and Bailey attemped to roll down the short hill.
This shopping cart cracked me up with the little car in front - Maverick thought for sure he could fit inside and go for a ride...
And I'm pretty sure Phoebe fell in love with everything Bailey had, even this Yo Gabba Gabba sleeping bag (neither of which she's ever seen before). It was better than Christmas!
A little bedtime reading (Phoebe is busy "reading" with Nana's Nook).
Sunday morning we headed back to Kokomo to see little Parker Lynn Shull get dedicated at church. Even Phoebe and the baby doll went up front with the rest of the family when they prayed for her.
Maverick made it through almost the entire service. Luckily they had this great fountain out in the narthex to distract him when he could no longer sit still inside. This little guy is still working on at least four molars and his eye teeth all at once - it's created a lot of early mornings for us but he's handling it all like a champ!
These girls had SO much fun together!
We headed to Bob's for lunch after church, the girls doing their best to wait patiently for our name to be called. Bailey got this bear from her Grandma Julie after church and Phoebe thought it was the best toy ever!
Either a rousing game of "Ring Around the Rosie" or "London Bridges" - we'd played them both!
Nana getting some rare one-on-one time with Maverick. Our kids have a hard time sharing lately - whether it's toys, books or people. I have a feeling we'll see a few battles as they get older.
After lunch, we headed back home as Nana and Papa got on the road back to Georgia. It was a fast weekend but oh-so-fun to spend with family!
