So Stinking Cute!!!

Sweet Pea is 16 months old. She has been a breath of life and fresh air into our family. She is a bringer of healing for our three adopted girls, who have gotten to watch me mother Sweet Pea the way a mother should care for her baby. She has been a source of pure love, and the girls have been able to fully connect with her. This has driven their attachment to us even deeper. She has been the unifying force in our family. She belongs to all of us equally and will never remember a time when Bubbles, Piper, and Sunny weren't members of our family.

The sweetest, most delightful blessing. And oh, adorable!

This week, Sweet Pea can officially say all of her siblings' names. Bub (what she almost always calls Pepper) was her second word, back when she was seven months old. Sis (for all the girls) came right around her first birthday. But the actual names have been slower in coming.

Snapper: "Wibwee"
Bubbles: "KayKay"
Piper: "Memmy"
Pepper: "Dacky"
Sunny: "Assy"

Of course, I know the real names and can easy decipher Sweet Pea's version of the names. They are all so cute. Except for Assy, which I think is about the funniest thing ever! Sunny tends to be somewhat of a stinker, so the fact that Sweet Pea calls her "Assy" makes me chuckle a lot more than it probably should.

In fact, I chuckle over it every time I hear it! Snapper and Bubbles chuckle over it too, because they are both old enough (almost 13 and almost 11) that they make the connection to that other word. They'll sneak sheepish glances at me, as though they know they shouldn't laugh, but then we all bubble over with mirth because we just can't help it!

It reminds me a little bit of what my brother used to say every time a fire truck drove by...

Kids! Gotta love 'em!

Here's a photo of my beautiful little Sweet Pea. She's my delight.

Things I Love...

Last night I took my beautiful firstborn out on a date. An 8th-Grade-Eve date. When I started this blog, Snapper was in the summer between kindergarten and 1st grade. Now she's this tall, gorgeous thing, all grown up and oh so smart and sweet. She was experiencing some back-to-school jitters, so I took her out for a confidence booster. We enjoyed milkshakes, bought a pair of very needed tennis shoes (for her size 11 feet), got her eyebrows threaded (because she inherited the bushes that sprout out of my forehead), and....drum roll...bought a little bit of makeup. We enjoyed sweet conversation and laughed a lot together. This morning I straightened her hair and applied the very basic, mild makeup, and sent her out the door. Her confidence was much increased over yesterday because of the time and attention. She doesn't need makeup to be beautiful, but 8th grade is such a fragile age, and I wanted to make sure I was sending her out as solid as possible. Light pink blush, a touch of neutral eye shadow, and some lip balm made her feel like a rock star. Just look at this beautiful girl! I'm so proud of her.

That said, as we were out together last night, I felt this perfect sense of contentment. I was inspired to write down a list of things I'm totally loving right now, things that add sweetness to my life.

• Southern summer evenings. I love the velvety warmth of the summer air, when it's 82 degrees at 10:00 p.m. You can almost grab the air, and it is so soft on my skin.
• Coconut cream pie milkshakes from Sonic. Uh...yum!
• Having a pool in our backyard.
• My 15-month-old Sweet Pea running around the house, getting into everything, taking "selfies" with my Pampered Chef food scraper, and charming the socks off of everyone.
• The freshly purged, reorganized, and decorated kiddo bedrooms. I've had the decor for almost a year, but haven't had the energy or motivation to put it up. I only have Sunny's room to do now, and I should be able to finish it this afternoon.
• Ancient Harvest quinoa pasta. So much healthier than regular pasta!
• The satisfaction of having fought--and won--a battle with the school district concerning a (bad) decision made for one of my children.
• Jersey knit sheets on my bed
• Audio books with my kids. Namely the Narnia series.
• Gentle thunder rumbling throughout the day
• Good reads
• Good music. Lauren Daigle's new album. My current fave!
• Our new Keurig, which replaced the coffee pot we've had for the last nine years. It finally gave up the ghost. The new machine is such a treat!

School starts for the elementary kids on Monday. One 5th grader, two 4th graders, and one 1st grader. Happy!