Jumping into June like....
Father's Day!!
I so enjoy a reason to celebrate and I think Pete makes it pretty easy to celebrate him and his importance in our family;). The girls and I put our heads together and came up with a special gift (either bought or made;) for Daddy to open each day along with a special message about why we thought of each gift for him. The girls LOVED it, and Pete amused us: he's not one for gifts, but I think he felt pretty special with how excited the girls would get as they would give him his surprise each evening.
Our life is something else. We aren't the most "normal" bunch... lots of chaos and craziness most days, but I know that Pete and I wouldn't change our "nest of munchkins" for anything. He makes it happen: works his rear off so I can stay home to give our girlies the best we can while they're young. We are grateful for this hard-working, always teaching, always loving guy.... we love you, Pete and are proud to call you ours;).
The gift Harper was the MOST excited about was a bird feeder. She shares her Daddy's love of the outside. Between the garden and that bird feeder, she and Pete are ALWAYS lost in conversation chatting about the birds or the vegetables beginning to grow in our garden this year!
{Garden Love}
{Happy Birthday, Lily}
I love that we still get to head back to the old hood for some celebrating! Like when your old neighbor but forever friend turns 40- we all show up and celebrate... LOVE!!
{PGA Family Fun Run}
Our hearts were in the right place, our bee gear laid out, and our running shoes prepped, but there was a slight Pete/Amy miscommunication on the start of the race- oh dear! Well, we rallied, ran from the car to the course, and made it to cheer on the finishers of the race. OOPS!!!
I mean we were STYLING!!!
...AND made it for the General Mills group picture- HA... I mean, priorities- right?!
GO TEAM GO!
{Annual Daughtery Family Pool Party}
We look forward to Mara and Jon's Party every year. Lounging in their beautiful pool, sharing yummy dinner, and Mara's fabulous desserts- I mean... PERFECTION!!! We've done this for the last 4 years and it's crazy to see our babies get older and still SO ENJOY playing together- SWEETNESS!!
Aside from fun activities with friends, we have been enjoying our more laid back summer schedule. No alarm clocks set, long summer days of fun, and playing outside until we're sweaty messes. That's what summer is made of right?! We end the day with a good scrub down and sleep hard... summer days are long, fun, and help us ALL sleep like babies!
Harper tried out a Trike Theatre camp in downtown Bentonville. It was AMAZING!!! I asked a couple of her classmates if they'd like to do it with her; they did and Harper, Lemepe, and Brody had a BLAST! She so enjoyed her time, made a new friend...
...and was so excited to show me the different stuff she learned throughout her week when the parents got to come on the last day. Not only did she learn about pirates (it was a pirate-themed camp:)), she learned about confidence, kindness, and being courageous. I LOVED IT ALL and can't wait to get her back there for more!!!
She has been a sponge this summer. She has watched Maggie's therapists work with her and one morning I come out to see her "doing therapy" with Maggie. They were working puzzles, using Maggie's timer, and she had rewards for her little sister- it was precious!
She LOVES scanning groceries and enjoys "helping" me with my workouts.
We have fallen HARD into Harry Potter. Reading every night, she is SO into it....
...and it made me smile one night when I was downstairs picking up quickly before bedtime and come up to find Daddy reading to her instead; I think we're all enjoying this new book series- HA!
Ms. Maggie has had a productive summer...
First was packing up the troops for a trip to St. Louis for her yearly check-up with the CP Clinic at the children's hospital. We had a chance to meet her new neurologist and get some feedback on Maggie's progress.
She and Daddy enjoying the gardens on one of the floors of the hospital. Pretty incredible and serene amidst the craziness of the hospital atmosphere. We visit this floor every time we're here.
I think Maggie likes it too!!
The visit went well. Her team there suggested a surgery for Maggie to help with her strength in her legs. A hefty spinal cord surgery it would be and Pete and I are still on the fence on whether or not we will move forward with doing it now, but we DID leave with some good news: the cyclic vomiting Maggie has dealt with for the past few years, may be correlated with migraines. Poor girl is having a harder time dealing with these vomiting/lethargy spells as she gets older. Her doctor prescribed a new medication to hopefully help treat the migraines they think she is having therefore slowing the cyclic vomiting from happening.
So, we left that appointment in St Louis and met with her local pediatrician who suggested a couple tests be run before starting the medication. THANKFUL there is a satellite branch of AR Children's Hospital near our home where we went to have the tests done. Just received word that the tests came back clear- we're ready to start her new medication and say FAREWELL to cyclic vomiting- ha!
{Pool Party with your new puppy friend}
Kid was in Heaven with our friend's new puppy, Beau. This fur ball laid by Maggie most of the time we were there- the CUTEST!
Equally as cute: our friends over for dinner chatting with Mags at the dinner table- LOVE LOVE!
Bittersweet...
There are people that come into our lives and leave it forever changed- forever better EVEN if they are only a part of our lives for a short time. Ms Rachel IS one of those people. She came into our lives in January as Maggie's ABA therapist. She and Maggie connected from Day 1. She was Maggie's very first ABA therapist, witnessing first hand the unbelievable meltdowns Ms. Maggie could have when out in public. She held her hand AND OURS and showed us how to work through those tricky situations and be better. She taught Maggie how to appropriately use words, eased the frustration, and made eating out/church/any social eating 1000% better for us. She not only helped Maggie, but helped ALL of us to be better- better with Maggie, better as a family, and have way more positive moments as a family outside of our home. She became a great friend to me and Harper considered her the older sister she never had... HA! Anyway, she moved onto St. Louis to continue her education and touch even more lives. We miss her EVERY day, but love knowing she will continue on doing what she does... what a gift she was to us;).
...just after saying goodbye to her we learned that Maggie's other ABA therapist, Lynzee, would be moving on as well. Loved stopping by to give her goodbye hugs and getting this card from her. We have called Maggie our little tiger since birth. Seeing this card made me teary eyed. These therapists seriously touch lives and make us as parents feel important and special. LOVE THEM!
Between the ABA therapists and the therapists at TEAM, I am set. These people are miracle workers and my peeps- don't know where I would be without them.
...like when moments like this happen: Maggie wasn't eating well for a good couple weeks and then all the sudden one day she eat her WHOLE lunch for me. I totally snapped a pic and sent to her therapists. DORK? YES. But it takes a village. And I wanted my village to see that our hard work paid off and the kid was eating- hehe.
Ms. Evelyn contines to be her own person. She is SUPER GIRLY, always busy, and if not watched like a hawk, can get herself into mischief- hehe!
Like this day...
on my birthday...
I was face timing my mom and dad. She comes in (when she was supposed to be napping) dressed in a sparkly dress with her eyeshadow done (below her eye), lip stick, blush, and her nails painted. WHAT?! I was 50/50 between "she is adorable- take a picture" and "oh Dear God, where was this done- is there nail polish in the carpet?!" Thankfully the mess was able to be cleaned up and she made us smile with her cuteness- HA!
She has been a busy girl at school, and has asked EVERY NIGHT to go out and ride her bike. She is busy always... the long summer days suit her well;).
We have also been enjoying summer nights. We LOVE live music, so anytime Pete gets tickets to the AMP pavilion near our house you WILL find us there;).
We also enjoyed a work function together, complete with a photo booth- HA.... and Niki was the PERFECT date for a food fair that came to our downtown!!
We even got to attend a wedding for our mutual friends- SO MUCH FUN!
...but most days, you'll find us in the pool, relaxing, beverage in hand, working HARD at slowing down and soaking it in!
...I am found most days with Yeti in hand, sunglasses on, ready to tackle the day. I am working hard at enjoying the present: our family is naturally busy and things are hectic. My tendency is to overwork myself trying to keep everything perfect, but I am QUICKLY learning that doing things with GRACE is far better than PERFECTION. Trying to work smarter, not harder, and take the time and energy I do have to enjoy the long summer days, relax with my people, and find my happy OUTSIDE of chores and making everything perfect....
...I am and always will be a work in progress;), but cheers to taking it slow, laughing more, and choosing GRACE OVER PERFECTION.
