Svea and The Purple Crayon

The Barnetts lent us "Harold and The Purple Crayon" a few weeks ago and it has snuggled deep into Henry and Svea's hearts.





I remember it from childhood too, as does I, Husband. So we are all full of warm fuzzies over here.
The purple kind.

Paper dolls

I had no idea Svea would love paper dolls so much...good thing the Harper-Holders did.




She will spend over an hour changing their clothes and making up stories about where they are going and what their names are. Shug will spend over an hour silently gnawing on the boots and other accessories Svea drops to the floor during a wardrobe change.



Luckily we have been able to save and repair all accoutrements so far.

The Shug

Henry told me today that I "broke his heart" because we didn't have any yogurt in the house. This was not a sweet moment; it was full of screams and tantrums and truly something broken.



Then he told me that I had "the baddest rules of all" because I made him wash his hands with soap before eating. I thought about explaining the double meaning of the word "bad" and that he, like Michael Jackson, could possibly be suggesting that I am AWESOME by saying I have bad rules. He wasn't in the mood for that depth though. I kept it to myself.



Svea hated me for making her wear a seatbelt today and said she just "wanted to be silly and skip it." The whole buckling up thing, that is.



She also said she loved her spaghetti at dinner, but that she wasn't going to eat it. And she didn't.



But Shug? She's been great to me today. Peed in the house only once, still loves air conditioning vents on the floor and eating paper. She's sweet to cuddle with and rub against and she naps a lot. She needs me about 12% of the day, but loves me 100%. Those are nice odds.
All this typed by a non-dog person.

¡Barcelona Matadors! ¡Olé!

Henry is playing soccer for the Bardelona Matadors this year. He cried last night when I told him he only has practice two days a week...instead of 8.















Svea dressed appropriately for Henry's practice, getting ready for her own practice which is in 2 weeks. What's 2 weeks to a 4 year old? Eternity, I tell you.

(Way more pictures and an awesome web site of the Matadors can be seen here.

Pancake Birthday Party

We celebrated Svea's completion of her fourth year of life with a pancake birthday party. A tableful of cousins were there, and a roomful of aunts, uncles, grandparents and great-grandparents helped us begin her fifth year...



Some friends in Evansville actually suggested the morning pancake party...and now I wonder why we haven't done this for everyone, every year.



With sunglasses as the party favors, Carter and Graham left Alabaster in style:



Lydia too, of course:



Happy birthday, Svea! We are so very glad you were born.

Svea is Four!

Svea turned four this weekend.

She got a camera.



This blog is about to have some very interesting photography coming its way...

First Day of Kindergarten

The first day of kindergarten:



I think we all had butterflies, but were more excited than scared.





After three full days of going, Henry got in the car this afternoon and said, "Thank you! I had such a good time!"

I wanted to get out and go hug his teacher. I can't remember the last time Henry thanked me like that...

Erickson House Pop Art

Svea:



Henry:

Things I Have Learned Today

1. Kindergarten Classes now have blogs.



2. Kindergarten teachers are very cheerful.



3. Henry's new classroom makes ME want to go back to kindergarten.

4. His new teacher is a major Auburn fan, so she should feel very lucky that she also has a Golden Retriever named Charlie (Henry's math works like this: Fan of AU favorite cartoon character.
Whew. That was a close one.

4. You can put money in your lunch account through a web site. The internet is a magical place...

5. If you give a 5 year old boy a dog toy to hold in the store, he will stick it in his mouth immediately. Just trying it out and all.

6. If your 3 year old does not unbutton her dress before taking it off, it will get stuck on her forehead and cause distress...until she realizes it's kind of funny and she'll run around bare chested in her headdress (if you will).

7. They are so excited about starting school they are already doing their "homework":

Svea, Resting with Palm Tree

Little Running Time in the Evening

Little Lap Time in the Morning

"Let Me See If I Can Pull Up A Picture Of Shug On My Email"

I Heart Jeanine

With all the puppy excitement around here, I have been remiss in not stating my clear excitement and (ahem) approval of Jeanine's victory.

If you would like to explore the strategy and politics of this Huge Important Win, let me know and I will dive right in with you.



And Whitney, I heard you voted for Kayla. Traitor.

Any Jack Michael Sugar Spot

But I think we'll call her "Shug" for short.



Here in Alabama, if you say your dog is named Shug, people might ask you if she's named after Shug Jordan or Suge Knight. Seriously.
I'm going to go with: she's named after Sugar.



She is truly so sweet and soft, appropriately playful but not obnoxious. She sleeps a lot, pees and poops a lot, hops around a lot. I guess like any puppy. I've never had a puppy though so I'm treating her like an human infant, which is really my only experience with something this small and alive, so she is going to be SET in this human house.

I don't think I'm up to Dooce's level of photographing Chuck, but I think Shug will be my most blogworthy subject the next few days. Her, and Henry starting kindergarten and Svea turning four.
Just a few things going on around here...

Pizza at the Alabaster Pool

Great day today at the Alabaster Pool with new friends and pizza:







It felt like a perfect way to celebrate the end of summer...survive the 94 degree heat and 3,000 percent humidity.

Thanks, Julie, for inviting us to be your guests!

Just Another Day in the Living Room

Henry and his Delta Dragoinoid II or something in the middle of battle.

He has an awesome bruise on his chin that is shaped like a purple goatee. I wasn't there when he fell and got the bruise, but I heard it had something to do with the Alien Game. It's healing nicely though and should be gone by the time kindergarten starts next week...

Svea likes to make this face:



and say, "I can't believe it!" in an old man's voice, acting like she has no teeth. I seriously look at her and wonder where she came from.
After acting like a toothless old man, she likes to drape her head and dance around. Sometimes she's Mary. Sometimes she's Jesus.



She was Jesus in this one. As if you couldn't tell.