Wild Child

My daughter is half Tasmanian devil. In the last week, she has found another level of energy and fun. She'll run and jump and spin in circles while squealing with delight. On Sunday afternoon, she thrashed around on my friend's living room floor laughing and jumping on Steve-o's chest. But as soon as we put her in her carseat for the drive home, she could barely hold her eyes open. She slept--HARD--for 5 hours in the car.

I've decided that this wild chaos is her way of trying to stay awake. I really must capture it all on camera and post here for your viewing enjoyment. It makes me tired just watching her.

Goodbye, Ol' Bird

This morning, Nannie, my great-grandmother (and Avery's great-great-grandmother), passed away peacefully. Until the last week, she's been doing very well, but she took a rough turn. She had a strong heart, but the rest of her was wearing out. To have been 90, I think that's pretty impressive.

Around midnight, her breathing slowed down and became more peaceful. She'd had what the doctors call a "death rattle" in her chest for a day or so, but her last hours were calm. With two of my aunts by her side, she opened her eyes (for the first time in 4 or 5 days) and looked at them intently. Then she squeezed their hand and exhaled one last relieved time. She was gone.

For the last few years, she has always talked of being eager to go be with Jimmie, my great-grandfather, who preceded her in death. She has acted ready for a long time, so I know she's thrilled to be together with him again.

I will always miss her and remember all my favorite things about her -- fresh figs on the kitchen counter, ginger ale on a hot day, climbing the clothesline in her yard, her beautiful roses. She was always wonderful to me and loved Chad like he'd always been hers. I am better from knowing her.

So here's to Jamie Burgess, my Nannie. I love you, Ol' Bird.

Dog days of summer

Avery's been very busy while she's out of preschool this month. (I'm hanging in there, by the way, but very eager for Crieve Hall MDO to start up again in September!) Here are a few pictures from our fun lately:

Grandma and Avery, playing with a little bottle --hours of fun


Yummy watermelon on the deck, stripped down to a diaper to save the clothes!


Cooling off in the little pool -- so hot, even I had to join her!


Noshing on corn on the cob - she wouldn't let us pry it out of her hands before leaving the restaurant!


Enjoying a refreshing hose-off at the Troup farm


Playing in the dryer. Don't worry -- it wasn't on! She was having a ball!

Everything

This video moved me to tears. Thank you, Jillina, for sharing it with me. It's pretty incredible.

August already?

Okay, so July totally got away without me. I'm not quite ready for August, but it's here. It will be my busiest month this year by far. Avery is out of school this month and I have added two new clients. If you see me out and about and I seem to be in the zone, snap your fingers and welcome me back to Earth.

We've spent a lot of time indoors the last couple of weeks. It's just TOO HOT. It's almost not even worth going to the pool. I may just have to grin and bear the scorching heat on our walk to the pool for the relieving cool of the water.

We spent last weekend in Florence with my mom and brothers. They drove in from NC to play on the lake with us. My grandparents got a trampoline for the lake that is anchored on the lake bottom with a cinder block. I wish I had video of my mom trying to simply get on it. The actual jumping was just icing on the cake.

You would have thought it was Thanksgiving on Saturday as most of the family gathered from across the South to celebrate Grandpa's 62nd birthday. Grandma's kitchen was full of home-cooked Southern food and, as every year before, we dug into the annual prune cake -- Grandpa's favorite!

Avery had a ball running back and forth between all the cousins. I really wish we lived closer to all of them because Avery thrives on the family interaction. She's started speaking in sentences and over the weekend, her vocabulary seemed to develop even more. It's so fun to see!

No pictures this time, but I'll be sure to capture some of Avery's antics for next time.