Camp Pinecrest Presents Hope Hospital. . .a.k.a. VBS!

Vacation Bible School ~ Day 1! What a blast. . .Gracie did great, considering the last session started at her usual bedtime!!! She made a sock puppet, played Duck. Duck. Goose!, had a snack, sang songs and hung out with her friends. What else could she want? It was really cute on the way home when she said "Mommy. . .I was the only one in my class that. . ." (really LONG pause) (Mommy's mind running wild)!. . ."That what, Gracie?", "that was nice the whole time!" What a wonderful surprise (and surely not any of the scenarios that flashed through my head ~ sorry, sweetheart:))! Hopefully tomorrow night will go as smooth (even after falling asleep at 9:45p.m., a morning with Cousin Alyssa in the swimming pool and no "official" nap). I am trying to post photos, but it will not allow it. Maybe tomorrow. . .

IT'S DADDY DAY!

Well, after 5 long weeks. . .DADDY COMES HOME TODAY! It has been a really interesting time for all of us. Gracie is almost a different child. She is completely potty trained and very independent. She is sleeping like a champion, but still waking up a bit early. However, she will let the dogs out and get her own "breakfast snack", as well as take herself to the bathroom and put her clothes on for the day (which is sometimes quite entertaining:)). She loves to help Mommy with any task, which includes filling the dog bowls with water!!!! and giving them their treats; it is amazing that my other "daughter" has been able to lose 4 pounds. Denver is having a lot of trouble with her knees and shoulder so I have restricted her (people) food intake, as well as cut back her exercise. She is doing much better (thanks be to a double dose of Rimadyl) but I think Brey will really see a difference. We had a HUGE scare with Denver. . .she was panting all of the time and doing this strange gagging cough. Being that I WAS a drug rep (which is almost a doctor:)) I decided to research and diagnosis her condition online. . .I was 100% certain that it was congestive heart failure. When Brey called the next morning I promised myself I would not say anything. . .but out it came! Poor Daddy had to sleep and then climb the Swiss Alps the next morning with this extra baggage weighing him down. After an extraordinarily long day and a $400 vet bill. . .Denver is totally fine! The vet actually said she is in really good condition for an almost 12 year old dog. Praise God drug reps are just that. . .The vet must think I am a lunatic. . .I completely presented the case as it was a done deal. Oh well. . .I LOVE TO BE WRONG! Beaux is still Beaux. The weather has been pretty severe this month, which means the carpet cleaner has been hard at work. Poor little dude, I know he'll be so relived to see Daddy. Only Brey makes him feel safe. Unfortunately, Daddy missed Father's Day, but Gracie has been planning his celebration for a month! Mommy has done remarkably well. I think having a jam-packed schedule has helped us both, but unfortunately I did not finish any of the tasks I had wanted to do. I am actually looking forward to cleaning the house today. . .now that is a significant personality change! I have learned to use the tractor to mow the lawn. Who would have ever thought I could plow with an ATV and mow with a tractor? I really do love to do the yard. . .I mow about every 4 days:) Could it have something to do with complete isolation? Gracie plays outside and gives me a "thumbs up" every time I come around to let me know that she is o.k. I have also executed Daddy's vision for the backyard. YIKES! This is the scariest part of the entire separation/reunion. . .I had 9 huge trees planted, a new patio put in, electrical overhaul done and the hot tub is being delivered on Tuesday! Hope he loves it! He is still having a fireplace built, so I will post pictures when the project is complete.

Tomorrow is our 12th Wedding Anniversary! What a perfect gift. . .time together! It is funny to look back on how I used to handle separation. I remember the first time he went to the field. We had only been married 6 weeks and he had to leave for a month. Granted, it was just to Fort Campbell (which is where we were stationed) but it was completely devastating! I sat in the foyer sobbing. I remember him telling me years later that he had forgotten something and knew that he could not come home to get it, so he actually had to go to the store and buy a new one:) I wish I still felt that way when he leaves. Sad how life hardens your heart. A week long business trip here and a two week training course there make it easier to be apart. . .but it shouldn't be easy. Being a parent forces you to go on with the normal routine, or at least create a new normal. I know many of the issues that Gracie and I dealt with were directly related to not having Daddy's attention and influence. Obviously, we have been counting down the minutes to Daddy Day. Last Sunday we started talking about the upcoming week. . .Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday ~ ballet camp, Friday ~ dentist and Saturday = Daddy Day! The bedtime routine ran way long last night as she'd been running around the house singing and dancing to songs she'd made up about Daddy coming home:) This morning at 6:20, in the midst of a dead sleep, I heard my door open. I peeked open one eye and she had a huge smile on her face! She shouted out "IT'S DADDY DAY!" For the last hour she has been popping in to say "I miss my Daddy" just to hear me say "You don't have to. . .he's coming home today!" She laughs and say "I KNOW!" and runs off.

Final thought. . .It was really hard to be apart for this long (especially when you can not just pick up the phone and call whenever you want), but a lot of good has come, too. I pray that our normal will be slightly adjusted from the way it looked before he left. May we sit and relax more. . .laugh out loud more. . .talk about the insignificant more. . .think about the little things more. . .in general, not take one day together for granted. Here's to the new normal!

First visit to the Dentist!

I had no idea what to expect today. Gracie is a trooper, but when it comes to visiting the doctor, a bribe for good behavior/participation is usually involved. I have to say this dentist and her staff is AWESOME! It is a Pediatric office which was chosen because of her education (Baylor College of Medicine with a UT Houston Residency). They are top notch and high tech! Gracie had to be coaxed from the waiting room due to all of the cool toys. We were taken to an initial visit exam room that did not even have a "chair". . .but it did have more really great toys! Their plan was to have Gracie lay back on my lap and put her head in Dr. Foster's lap so she could manually examine, brush and floss her teeth. As we were discussing her history, Gracie interrupted with "I want to go in the big chair!" She knew they had t.v.'s on the ceiling and could not wait to check that out! They prepped a room and made her dream come true. The hygienist was so calm and nurturing. She showed her all of the tools and explained how she would use them. She gave her a test drive with the water/suction routine and let her touch everything else. She started up the Dora video and Gracie never flinched. Of course the Doctor was just as fabulous and ended by giving Gracie a bag of goodies and a token for the prize machine. Because she did not have any cavities she will be entered in a drawing to win an I-Pod. . .seriously, who thought of this stuff? When did the dentist become a fun, social outing? She can't wait to go back in January. . .she has even picked out the prize she will get with her next token! Here are a few photos from today. . .
Checking out the equipment. . .

The cleaning. . .

Cool Breeze. . .

On the phone with Daddy. . .He comes home tomorrow after being away for 5 weeks!

All bright and shiny!

Dance Camp. . .The finale!

So after a rough ending yesterday, today was fantastic! Gracie had a blast learning the routine and making a Dora the Explorer Vest (out of a paper sack). She was not thrilled about the part where she said her name in Spanish, but she managed through. . .for Daddy. I encouraged her to do her best so Daddy could see the video. . .it worked:) I am still devastated by the fact that I missed the actual performance. I had been sitting in the parking lot for almost an hour and I MISSED IT! I don't know why they started 5 minutes early, but they did. Fortunately, they did the performance again, which is why no one is wearing their vest. I can only imagine what she must have been thinking. I know she knew that I was there because she waved at least 10 times. I'm sure I feel much worse about this then she does, as she has not even mentioned it. None the less, Dance Camp was a huge success and will be repeated next year ~ hopefully with Cousin Alyssa in toe:) Here is the video from her final performance at the Princess / Dora Adventure Dance Camp 2009. . .(yeah, yeah. . .mute the music on the playlist below by pressing pause (II)).

Dance Camp ~ day 3. . .

So. . .what can I say? The teacher said Gracie had a great time today and did a great job learning the routine, but when it came time for the mommy recital. . .not so much! She half-way participated for the first few moves and then started whimpering, which was followed by full crying. So out of character. On the way home I asked her why she was upset. The first answer was she's afraid of the dragon in Sleeping Beauty (which was no where near the class, but they were dancing to Sleeping Beauty music). The next answer was that she did not like pretending to be asleep and the final answer was that she missed daddy. I'm not sure any of them were the truth, but I will say there was a 180 degree mood swing from the time I walked in and the time the recital started. Who knows? The mind of a three year old is almost impossible to decipher. I will say she came home and had a great nap:) Tonight we were able to spend some time with Aunt Lara, Cousin Nikki, Amma, Poppy and Nana. What a treat! I think the highlight of the day was playing dress-up with Nikki and Nebo (the life size stuffed chocolate lab)! So, yes, I do have video of today, but I don't think she'd appreciate me posting it for all to see. You'll have to make do with a picture from tonight. . .