My Date

Today Kennedy had a rough day. It is so easy for her to get lost in the commotion each day of taking Jake to Meridian and feeding/changing/holding Leah. I knew she was at the breaking point when she started crying when I told her I couldn't hold her pencil and use it as a music-leading baton while she sang because I had to feed Leah (yet again). I told her to come to Leah's room and asked her if she needed a mom & Kennedy date. Her face lit up as she said "yes!" and we were off. I took her to the Disney 3-D version of Up. It was a really cute show and she liked it for the most part. By the second hour though she was ready to go home and kept saying she missed Leah and Jake. I figured she was just scared of the scary parts of the movie, and this was confirmed when she even resorted to saying, "mom, I'm really getting sleepy. I'm ready to crawl into bed." I don't think she's ever uttered those words before in her short life! So I had her sit on my lap as we finished watching the movie (hey, I had to get my $23.00 worth out of the show-I wasn't leaving until I saw the end). I convinced her that they would save the day in the end and it always turns out good, so she hung in there with me. Of course after the movie she said she loved it and it was the best date ever. I agree. I loved holding my oldest girl that long without her complaining and wanting to get up. I don't get to do that often anymore, so I relished it while I could. Afterward we made a trip to Target to pick up a few things (Kennedy loves target). Kennedy always comes up with some kind of game to play while we're driving. Tonight it was the "find-the-store-to-match-the-sign" game. If you saw a sign on the side of the road advertising a store, you had to look for that store. It's great reading practice for her. The other night she read an Amelia Bedilia book to me-I was amazed! She is an awesome reader. Tonight she asked me how to spell the word "giant" and when I told her she said, "oh, so it has the word "ant" in it then." She has all these great reading strategies that I used to teach to my third graders! Watching her learn to read and seeing the joy she gets out of it has been one of the most fun things of motherhood so far. It ranks right up there with their first smiles and first "I love you's", which, by the way, Jake has learned to say. He concentrates really hard and says slowly, "I.....lub....you" It is the absolute best. I love being a mom. Leah is still loving chewing on her hands like they were made of sugar. Today she even started growling while she was doing it. It made her laugh when I growled back at her. I love this stage, when they have a serious look on their face, but as soon as they catch your eye they break into a big grin! It is another best feeling in the world kind of thing. I still can't believe I have three kids, but it is awesome because I get more chances each day for these great moments (mixed in with a little-or a lot-of chaos, running around, tantrums, whining, etc. etc., of course).