Miscellaneous Jabber

K sure has become a Daddy's Girl lately.  They've been spending a lot of quality time together.  I met them at Barnes and Noble's the other day and couldn't resist snapping a photo before they saw me.  Brian is the most amazing dad I've ever seen.   Sometimes, he'll come dragging in after a 48 hour shift and a 1 1/2 hour drive and K will say, "Daddy, will you play with me?"  He'll sit right down and do a puzzle with her or something.  I really don't know where he gets all of his energy. 

A cute one of them at Joe's Crab Shack.

I found these old pictures of Brian and couldn't resist posting them on my blog.  Can you spot him?  He's the tall on on the right (in back row).

Back in the day when he worked on a hand crew.  He looks so young, doesn't he?

And another.

Today, K was talking about how she is going to get married.  She said, "I have to wear a white dress, right?  Where will I get a white dress?"  When I asked her if she wanted to be a mommy when she grows up, she said yes and that she wanted 2 kids.  I told her I didn't want her to grow up, that I wished she'd stay small.  She reassured me that she'll live right next door to me with her husband.  I'm going to hold her to it.  She's absolutely the sweetest.  She constantly grabs my hand and kisses it.  Peiodically through the day she'll tell me that I'm a good girl or I did a great job on something.  I was upset about something the other day and was crying while I talked to a friend on the phone.  She brought me a blanket and tucked me all in, complete with kisses.  Then she got into my craft cupboard and brought me some fake flowers.  She left again for a minute and came back in with a big pillow and basically lifted my head to put the pillow under it.  I thought she was done but she ran out of the room again and came back in with my Starbuck's (decaf now).  She whispered to me that I'm a good girl and that she loves me.  She definitely has mother instincts.  So special.

I don't want anyone to think that it's all roses with K though.  She has her moments.  Most of the frustration with her comes from what she wants to wear.  It started out with her only wanting to wear comfortable clothes ... basically sweats.  Leggings used to be OK but now she says they are too tight.  Well, now she doesn't want to wear long sleeved shirts either.  T-Shirts or tank tops with shorts (in January).  She just always looks so sloppy.  Sometimes I pick my battles but sometimes I make her wear what I want which usually brings 20 minutes of crying.  It makes mornings challenging.  When we get home, if she doesn't like what she's wearing she'll immediately go upstairs and change.  Sometimes she changes back and forth 2 or 3 times in a day because I'll make her put her nice clothes on to go and get M from school.  Uggh.  What to do?

M's been easier lately.  He's been very nice to K and has been pretty helpful for me too. (except for homework)  For the past month or so, he's been very affectionate and loving towards me.  He tells me very often that he loves me.  I'm soaking it all in because I know he's growing up so fast.  When I drop him off at school in the morning he'll give me a kiss quickly while not letting any of the other kids see.  I remember those days too.  The other day I surprised him and told him that he and I were going out for the day.  We went to his favorite place to eat, The Spaghetti Factory, to the movies (Tangled) and then to the bookstore.  It was a great day, I could tell he felt special.  I'm going to be mindful to do that more often.  K and I spend quality time alone all the time when M's in school but he doesn't get that often.  I think I'm going to surprise him with a Kings basketball game at the end of the month.  He'll love it.  Off to bed.