Ten on Tuesday!

1. I need to be better about documenting our lives on the blog again, hence this post tonight. David pointed out that we used to post so much when Ruby was little, documenting the tiniest details about her life and celebrating each milestone. I don't think I'll be able to keep up with the blog like I did when it was just Ruby (I had THIRTEEN posts for her the month before her 2nd birthday), but I can at least attempt to get an occasional post in about the girls. And I love any excuse to post cute pictures of my ladies.

2. My favorite time of day with the girls right now is the first moment that they are both awake. Beatrice usually wakes up first, and we hang out in her room until Ruby is up too. As soon as Bebe hears Ruby's door open, her body starts to shake with excitement, she runs to the hallway and whispers "Ruby awake, Momma. It Ruby! It Ruby!" Then, they meet in the hallway and hug. I need to record the interaction so that I can replay it for them in ten years.

3. I recently took the girls down to the Capitol to witness history being made on the Senate floor. State Senator Wendy Davis was attempting to filibuster a bill that would greatly limit the rights of women in Texas. I obviously didn't explain the women's rights issues to the girls in great detail. I simply told them that we were going to support Senator Davis because we agree that women should be able to make choices for their own bodies. I felt that keeping it as simple as possible would limit the questions I'd get from Ruby, but also help her to understand why I felt it was important that we go witness the filibuster. We only spent a few moments in the gallery, as it was very crowded and we had to be home before bedtime. I hope, however, that this is just the beginning of showing the girls how important it is to be a part of the political process and defending their rights.
 

4. Beatrice continues to ask regularly for Stella. It makes me a little sad, but it also makes me so happy. I love that Stella was such an important part of the first 22 months of her life and that she misses her furry friend.

5. Beatrice was examining me the other day with her doctor's kit and a flashlight. She kept shining the light in my mouth and telling me to "open my mouse." It was too sweet, I couldn't bring myself to correct her.

6. Beatrice Lolly will be two at the end of the month. I love this age so much, because she is starting to be more of a big kid, but she still has baby moments where she needs her momma. Here she is, enjoying a baby moment, passed out at the beach for naptime.




7. Fridays are my favorite day of the week. I have the girls to myself, and we have established a pretty fabulous routine. We usually meet Henry and Aunt Lo at Deep Eddy Pool (where Ruby is now swimming on her own thanks to a week of swimming lessons!) and then head to P. Terry's for cheeseburgers. It's a pretty perfect Austin day, and are lucky enough to do it once a week.





8. Dress up has become a favorite for both girls in the last month. I think part of its revival is due to the necessary escape from the summer heat. I also think Ruby likes helping Beatrice create fancy ensembles to model for me.



9. Our spotify playlist has a lovely mix right now of songs from the Brave soundtrack, Scissor Sisters, Bob Schneider, Miley Cyrus, Willy Wonka, and The Princess and the Frog. Afternoon dance parties are also an excellent way to beat the heat.

10. We spent a week in July in Branson with my parents. It was a great vacation, and I already shared a ton of photos on Facebook, but I'm sharing this one again. It's my new favorite picture of my three favorite people. I printed it this week and plan to frame it by my bed.

Stella Marie

I honestly thought the loss of Stella would hurt less by now. I am still having a hard time with the sudden nature of her death, and missing her presence in our home. Being at home during the day is hard, as she was always in the room with us or bathing in the sun out back.  I find myself thinking I see her in the corner of my eye, laying on our bed or in her crate taking a nap. I took out our old computer this afternoon so that I could look at pictures of her and just let myself be sad for a bit. David has been encouraging me to write a blog post about her, but I haven't been sure what to write that would do her memory justice.

During the last few weeks, I've realized just what an important part of our lives Stella truly was. She was the first big purchase that David and I made together. She was "ours," not something that one of us brought into our marriage and then shared with the other. She was our wedding gift to each other, our chance to practice parenthood on a more forgiving subject, something bigger than ourselves to care for for the first time in our lives. I've always loved the first picture below of her in the living room of our first house. Before the clutter of kids, jobs, and 8 years together, Stella was our everything.





When I suffered a miscarriage at the very end of 2007, it was Stella who stayed in bed with me all day and let me cry and hold her. She was my baby when all I wanted in the world was a baby to hold. I will forever be grateful to her for that, as the loss of a baby is made a tiny bit easier when one has a cuddly friend waiting at the end of each day.

Stanely has adjusted amazingly well to life without Stella. It's crazy when I think that the first seven years of his life were spent with her and the second seven will not be. I just always assumed that they would grow old together and be best friends forever. Stanley cuddles with us a bit more these days, sleeps in bed with us at night, and tries climbing onto the sofa any chance he can. I'm not sure how much of it is sadness that his friend is gone, and how much is him taking advantage of all the extra headrubs and cuddles we want to give him. Either way, it feels nice to have him closer.


 

We spread Stella's ashes at her favorite park last weekend. We hiked to one of our favorite swimming spots with the girls and Stanley, then took turns dropping some of her ashes into the little waterfall there. It was so strange to be at the park without her leading the way on the trails, and leaving at the end of our trip was hard. But we love that we can go back there anytime we want now and think of her, running with her friends and brother, swimming with our girls, and playing at her favorite place in the world.
 

And now I just have more pictures of Stella to share. I chose some of my favorites, ones that make me smile and think of all the happy times we shared with our girl. We miss her so much, but will be forever grateful for all the love she gave us. 

 

Beatrice Lolly

Follow Beatrice's Day - Five Seconds at a Time

One hundred percent modeled after the original version starring Ruby.

Beatrice Loves

Peacock Park

It's been lovely in Austin the last few days, meaning that we have been spending tons of time outside. We ventured out to Mayfield Park this morning with our favorite weekday companions, Aunt Lo and Henry. We had a picnic, read some books, colored, and explored the grounds. But the most exciting part of Mayfield, was as always, the peacocks.

Maily!

For the past few months, Ruby has been obsessed with an ipad app called Maily.  It allows her to send emails, art, and photos to her friends and family, and is pretty much the coolest app ever.  As you can see from the examples below, the grownups have a lot of fun with it too.