Boswell Birthday Bash

A couple weeks ago, we made our way back to Johnson City so that we could throw a joint birthday party for Bill and Barbara! Their birthdays are in August and October, so we decided to split the difference and celebrate them in September. We (the Boswell kids) hatched the plan back at the beginning of the year and started officially planning it in the Spring. It went so well, and so many of their friends showed up to party with us!

It was a little tricky to find a time that Tim and Rachael and the four Brad Boswells could all be in Johnson City at the same time. And don't you know, the weekend that worked for us was the weekend of the Battle of (at?) Bristol. So, some folks who would have been at the party couldn't because of having had tickets to the game for a long time. That being the case, we still had over 40 guests!

We also made plans to have some professional family photos taken the morning of the party. It's been a while since the Boswells had professional pictures taken, so it was time. Thankfully, we were able to snag a photographer who came over the house and got us in our natural habitat. It was a really smooth photo shoot; the girls were awesome, and I think it was helpful to have Claire in a really familiar environment (and I bribed her with cookies. Truth.). Can't wait to see the finished products.

I tried to grab little snapshots throughout the weekend so that we'd have decent documentation of a fun weekend. Enjoy!

Tim flew from Minnesota into Raleigh and then rode back and forth to Tennessee with us. It was fun to get extra time hanging out with "Takia." He and Lily hung out a little in the backyard while some other family members were getting their pictures taken.

Flying Lily!

Playing with Papaw.

She was having fun, I promise. She was about an hour past nap time, though so it was a delicate time.

Bill and one of his sisters, Aunt Donna. She brought some awesome pictures of Bill and Barbara through the years that everyone had a blast looking at. (She also brought bubbles for Claire that were VERY appreciated!)

Claire had a blast at the party! Partying is kind of her thing.

We had the party at a large outdoor pavilion next to a lake. I had ordered a bunch of pictures and had planned to hang them up around the pavilion (like the picture above) so that folks could walk around and look at family pictures. This little stretch of pavilion was one of only two sections where we could hang pictures without them going flying, thanks to the breeze. Oh well. It was a good idea in theory.

Say cheese! Also, I had gotten table cloths for the tables, and they gave us such grief, thanks to the breeze. We used copious amounts of tape to keep them down. As in, we ran out of the tape I had taken with us and had to get Rachael to grab some more when she came (we all had different tasks that afternoon and showed up at different times).

Boswell friends holding Boswell babies. Lily made quite a few rounds.

Friends!

More friends!

Neighbors AND friends!

And even more friends. Note: because of the Battle of (at?) Bristol, there were quite a few orange shirts present.

The birthday kids!

Y'all. Have you ever had a Costco cake? They are FABULOUS and such a good deal. There is an amazing layer of ganache inside. Wow. We also had about 3 dozen cookies that I made the day before, after panicking and thinking we wouldn't have enough cake. I'm laughing as I type this.

We had a time for friends and family to say a few things about Bill and Barbara. Nice things, mostly.

No really. Everyone had lovely things to say. And funny things!

Claire even joined in with the humor, laughing hysterically along with the crowd and then, very loudly when everyone else quieted down, asking, "What are we talking about?" Bless.

We had super good barbecue and fixins + cake, cookies, and ice cream. The menu was a winning choice.

This was part of the view. We definitely could have done a lot worse.

We stayed for church and lunch on Sunday, which was Ray Ray's birthday! She chose this fun restaurant for lunch. If you're ever in Johnson City, we highly recommend Cootie Brown's. Yum and fun.

The girls and Aunt Sue, whose birthday was actually the next day.

Smiling with Gran right before loading up to head out.

I tried so hard to get a good picture of the girls and Rachael on her birthday. This was the best I got.

Because most of them looked like this. Why do I even try?

We had a great time celebrating my wonderful in-laws. I think it was a great testimony to their kindness and generosity that so many friends came to celebrate them. Happy birthdays, Bill and Barbara! We love you!

Letter to my Little Lily: 5 Months

Little Lily,

Another month has flown by. It’s really hard to accept that the weeks are racing past me and that you’re growing and changing every time I blink my eyes. I’m stuck in a place where I want to tell you to stop!, but I am also so excited to see what phase you’re moving into next. It’s just so tricky.

Playing so happily on your quilt made by our dear Mrs. Tidwell!

You are rolling over (from back to front) just about every time we put you on a flat surface (usually on a blanket on the floor but sometimes the middle of the bed or in the pack-n-play). Often you’ll grunt and “fuss” for a few minutes while laying on your back…then the next thing I know, you’re not grunting anymore. I’ll look up, and you will have rolled over and are so very proud of yourself, giving me the biggest smile. You’re still very strong with incredible muscle tone; sometimes you hold these really impressive yoga poses that make me wish I was as yogi as you.

Your face when you roll over. You're so proud!

Check out that muscle tone!

This month brought a little bit of a sleep regression, which was unfortunate, but not actually too bad. When I say “sleep regression,” I really mean that you’re restless and fidgety between 3-4 in the morning, and I end up waking up to change your diaper/re-swaddle you/track down your paci. You don’t cry or complain really, although you do sometimes talk and make happy noises (which don’t help with everyone sleeping but are very cute). Hopefully, we’ll be getting back on track here soon. We could all use a little more uninterrupted sleep. The sleepiness has forced me into the world of coffee drinking, my dear.

You absolutely adore Claire, and she loves to hold you.

You are still the smiliest that there ever was. Just the other day you were sneezing and still trying to smile at me. You smile at just about anyone who will look at you, and it is the most endearing trait. Friends, family, and strangers alike melt when you do this. I hope you hang on to that joyful spirit all your life.

You're smiling so wonderfully! Claire was...smiling...a little less enthusiastically.

You're also still sticking out your tongue a lot, and it's still hilarious. Sometimes you blow raspberries, too. And by "sometimes," I mean most of the day. You're a little jokester. Kind of like when you think you're not getting enough attention and you fake cough. Yes, you actually do that, and it is too much.

That tongue. 

At your last checkup, you were clocking in at 14.5 pounds, which puts you in the 50^th percentile. I can’t remember exactly how long you were, but you were in the 90(something)th percentile. Oh, and your head was in the 93^rd. You are definitely our child; you and Claire both have wide head circumferences. I’m pretty confident that it means you’ll be a good thinker.

You girls were so sweet and cooperative for this picture, and I'm so grateful.

We let you try a few (miniscule) bites of a peach this month (your first “solid” food!). You didn’t dislike it, nor did you necessarily like it. You couldn’t really figure out what to do with it, so you swirled it around your mouth a few times and then popped it out. We’ll try again next month. We also moved your meal time seating from your swing (on the floor) to your Bumbo (on the actual table). We realized that you were discontent and fussy during mealtimes, and we determined that it was because you wanted to be up where the action was. You love being around people and activity and just did not appreciate the isolation of the floor. Situation: remedied. You happy little social girl, you.

This picture makes me laugh!

A couple of weeks ago, Daddy and I were snuggling with you right before bedtime, and Daddy commented that it almost hurts to think of being a family without you. I could not agree more. We loved our family of two. And then we loved our family of three. But we could not be happier than we are with our family of four. We’re so glad you are here.

We love you so much, Lily.

My very favorite picture. I got this one while we were at a symphony-on-the-lawn concert at Duke.

Week 19

I couldn't pick just one, so I picked two...

...ok, three.

Week 20

Again...couldn't pick just one. You're just the sweetest. (Also, this dress was Bo's when she was a baby!)

Week 21. I love the crossed ankles.

5 Months. This was the best picture I could get. Most of them looked like this:

You would not be stopped. And it's ok, but you're just so sweet. (This outfit was also Bo's!)

Around here lately: August 2016 edition

It's a long one, folks. She was full of all kinds of words this month!

(driving out of the Boswells' driveway on the way to AL): Bye, Gran! Nana, say "bye" to Gran.

(driving into HSV on 565): Nana, do you see those buildings? That's HUNTSVILLE!

(to my dad): Your truck is very huge!

(referring to a stuffed animal): It's a kowawa bear.

Fingers out of mouth. Paci good. (Brad tells Lily, "Fingers bad. Paci good." Claire got it close enough.)

At least Brad was giving me a real smile.

Oh, I'll get it because I'm BIG!

Mommy, can you move yourself so I can see?

(referring to a glittery card): It's sprinkly with sprinkles!

Big girls poop in the potty. Dogs poop outside. (all of the grandparents have dogs, so she was getting a lot of opportunity to observe this theory of hers.)

See you when you wake up! (what she says to anyone who is tucking her into bed)

I want to fly in a rocket to go see Bo and Winnie. (Huntsville is very NASA-y and has a lot of rockets. Claire was quite taken with them.)

We made these flowers to put in our pretend lake- just like Rapunzel does in Tangled.

'And all the glittering starry host...in my gallery!' (this is a mixture of "Fairest Lord Jesus" and a song from Tangled that she sang to herself while falling asleep.)

At my haircut, is he going to get the chicken out of my hair? (this took a minute to figure out, but we finally decided that she was referring to when she brushed her hand through her hair at breakfast, disregarding the Chick-fil-a residue on her fingers.)

(while watching the countries walk in during the opening ceremonies, waving their flags): HOSANNA!

(calling Winnie): Wiwwy...nie!

People, Lily is a girl who went to the beach with Nana and Poppy. And Bo is changing her diaper! (guys...I do not even know.)

Once upon a time, a single drop from the sun made a magic golden flower FOR A SNACK! (the sun-drop-magic-flower thing is from Tangled. The "for a snack" thing...I don't know what that is.)

"Strings of mercy/never ceasing" (she got a little confused on the words from Come Thou Fount. We sing it to her every few days, and I promise we say "stream.")

To help curb the incessant questioning about when we're doing ______, I help Claire make paper chains. We take off one link each day, and I promise you it actually helps. This one is counting down to our next trip to Johnson City.

The Alabama house. (i.e. my parents' house)

Erin (asking how she wanted her hair fixed): Do you want a pony, piggies, or piggy buns?
Claire: I want cake!

Mommy, I told Lily to stop crying and to feel better, and she diiiiiiid!

Lily is crying. I will pray for her. (this is actually her response very often when Lily is crying. We love it.)

Would you take care of Lily and then come and get me? (at my parents' house, I forgot to turn on Lily's monitor during nap one day, resulting in Lily crying and crying, waking Claire up, and prompting Claire to ask me- through her monitor- to take care of Lily. #momoftheyear)

Got you, little fella. (said to a rogue ball)

I bumped my noggin.

I'm stirring soup. And peanut butter and a honey sandwich. (in her play kitchen. Interesting menus.)

Burp, Lily! BURP BURP BURP! (Lily tends to have a little trouble burping after eating, so Claire cheers her on.)

Look at my crackles. (freckles)

Playing in the mist (for watering plants) up at Duke. 

I think I will wait patiently. There is the rocket. It is way far but we are going. (this was a funny stream of consciousness she had while driving through Huntsville one day. And there really is a rocket at the Space and Rocket Center. She wasn't making that part up.)

I am disappointed that Nana won't get my car for me. (in fairness to Nana, she had gotten Claire's toy car for her when buckling her into her car seat, but Claire had acted ugly and knocked it away. It was at that point that Nana refused to get it for her. Justifiably.)

I'm going to do the right direction that Nana tells me. (this was shortly after the Nana-won't-get-my-car incident. She was attempting repentance.)

I'm going to behave back to Nana. (see above)

That is the United States on the truck of America. (we were next to some sort of service van at a red light. There was an American flag on the van. Thus, the truck of America.)

The skeeto got me. (pointing out a bug bite)

Good job, me!

Good morning, Miss Wiwwy! (she greets Lily like this most mornings. It's terribly terribly sweet.)

Oh golly! It's a mess. And it's broken. (in reference to a house on Fixer Upper.)

I'll make sure Daddy has a good time. (I can't remember where they were going, but Claire was on fun duty.)

I walked into the living room to find it completely trashed...and Claire just planking on the footstool. Not sure why...

You win the winner. YAAAAY!

With God, all things are possible for flowers. (I'm not sure how flowers play into things, but she's on the right track, generally speaking.)

Come back, GHOOOOOOOST! (I was so confused by this one for a while because we do NOT do ghosts. I figured out she was actually meaning to say "goats," because there is a Curious George where they chase goats around a farm. Mystery solved.)

You're my best feeder buddy. (to me at a picnic where I was divvying up the food on my plate for the two of us.)

Here's a piece of Christ. (at church, there's a part of the service where we "pass the peace"/"greet each other with the peace of Christ." Claire really loves that part, but apparently, we need to work on our homophones.)

I have many words. (we were talking about how a younger friend of ours doesn't talk as much as Claire does. That he doesn't know as many words. Claire recognized that she has many words, and BOY is she right.)

How am I ever going to get it back? (I think this was in reference to something we took away as a form of discipline.)

This is an emergency! (in reference to spilling water on her church dress. We weren't actually present for this little moment; her Sunday school teacher told us about it later. Clearly, we need to work on our definition of "emergency.")

I can play princess here. (*spins around while saying "princess!")

Hi, Lily Cake! (Lily's middle name is Catherine, so we sometimes call her Lily Cate. And Claire says Cake.)

I want that cake when I got married. (Claire has been very interested in weddings/getting married recently. She's especially been taken with a picture of our wedding cake. She literally licks her lips while talking about it.)

I'll be back next month with the next installment of the crazy things Claire says!

Alabama in August

We've spent a good amount of time in Alabama this summer. Before Grammy passed away, we had planned an August trip to celebrate Grammy's 80th birthday; after she passed away, we chose to keep the trip on the calendar anyway, deciding that some more family time was still a good idea (plus, Brad had a conference in Minnesota for several days + a few days scheduled to visit Tim, so having extra hands to help with the girls was a big YAY for me).

My mom actually flew up to Durham to make the drive with me, which was HUGE. About a week before our big pilgrimage south, Brad and I had taken Claire halfway to Johnson City to meet up with Bill and Barbara for a Claire swap (I guess it wasn't technically a swap...more of a delivery). She spent 5 days with them- without us- before Mom, Lily, and I got there to pick her up. She had the grandest of times! Brad, Lily, and I had a pretty good time, too. It's amazing how productive I can be with only Lily at home. We definitely missed Claire, but we did, I admit, enjoy the lower-key nature of the week. We even went to see and actual movie in an actual movie theater! Lily went with us and slept through it like a champ.

Mom, Lily, and I said goodbye to Brad and headed over to Johnson City, spent a day and a night, and then packed up the girls and made our way to Alabama- just a few days before the Olympics began! We had a fantastic time eating our Huntsville favorites (I'm looking at you Phil Sandoval's, Little Rosie's, Papa Gyro's, Lawler's, and Steak Out), visiting with dear friends (Hi, Mrs. Tidwell and Mrs. Romine!), going to church with Nana and Poppy, seeing our cousins, and watching a LOT of Olympics. Claire got to do some of her favorite things (like eat sugar and stay up late and watch TV and run around outside), and I had a great time hanging out with my parents. 

Now, I hope you enjoy a photographic tale of our trip:

Making our way to Johnson City to pick up Claire. Lily is great in the car, by the way. It's about a 4.5 hour drive, so this is a wonderful trait.

Visiting with Ray Ray during lunch.

A quick little visit with Mamaw (not pictured but definitely present: Papaw, Aunt Donna, and Uncle JD).

Supper with Aunt Sue. They were having a big time.

Watching videos with Ray Ray.

This is what I have to put up with, guys.

On our way south!

Getting to watch a rare car video around hour 4 (it's about 5 hours from JC to HSV, and the stretch from Scottsboro to Madison feels interminable.).

We went to Bridgestreet for supper our first day back in town. And for funsies, Poppy and Claire took a ride on the train. It was a hit, of course.

We had supper at Pieology and dessert at Steel City Pops. Mom introduced me to the Buttermilk flavor (which had me skeptical at first), and it was goooooood. Related: Claire is not fast enough with big popsicles.

Dad of girls + Poppy of girls = this picture.

In honor of the Olympics Opening Ceremonies, we made a torch for her to bear. And bear it she did.

It even joined us for supper. Note our patriotic-wear. I also taught her to chant "USA! USA! USA!" which she did with gusto.

Getting ready to watch!

And Bo came for the weekend! Lily really was excited. This is just not a great picture of that excitement...

My children could not get it together.

And again. Claire's face. I mean, really.

Fun on the floor with Bo!

And this is an absolute favorite of mine. How sweet are they??

My Auntie Val (Daddy's sister) and her newest granddaughter, Cheyenne, with Daddy and Lily. Cheyenne was born 3 weeks after Lily. 

Cheyenne: Do they make you pose for pictures all the time, too?

Lily: Yeah, girl. I think we better just roll with it.

Auntie (my mom's sister) brought her granddaughters, Mackenzie and Rosemary, up to visit for a day. Rosemary was very taken with Lily, and Claire had a blast with a "big girl" to play with.

I sent Brad this picture of Crazy Eyes. Wanted to make sure he didn't forget what she looked like.

We love our Nana.

And our Poppy.

We stopped back through Johnson City on the way home (it's about halfway between HSV and Durham). Hangin' with Papaw here.

And NOT cooperating for a picture with Mamaw. 3-year-olds... They are so tricky.

Having a blast with Gran and Daddy.

We had a really great visit, and Claire, especially, had a wonderful visit. I've lived several places as an adult, but I'm always reminded of how much I love Alabama every time we visit. I'll always consider myself an Alabamian and will always consider it home. And thankfully, Claire is learning to love it, too. In fact, as we drove back to Tennessee on the journey home, I texted Mom some of the things that Claire said:

Mommy, I wish Nana will be OK. I hope that was fun for nana. I don't want to leave without her. 

Lily, I know we're leaving from Alabama, but we had fun. I'm sorry we're going. 

Lily was fussing. Claire: Lily wants to go back to Alabama. I'm so sorry, Lily, but we can't go back to Alabama today. I'm sorry. .. (hangs head)

Thank, Mom and Dad, for such a fun visit home! I'm so glad the girls and I were able to spend such fun time with you! Looking forward to the next time.