Purple Pappy Milk Juice

Last week we went on vacation to Pappy's house in Oklahoma. Pappy and Grammie built their dream home right on the lake and it's gorgeous. It's such a beautiful home and is a perfect place for the grandkids to visit. I've been looking forward to these visits because I am excited to see how much fun the kids will have with all the swimming and boat activities, and this trip did not disappoint us.
So let's just get the main question out of the way... Did Ellie or did Ellie not like the water? Can you imagine how difficult a week in a hot Oklahoma summer would be if Ellie decided she was afraid of the water? No thank you. Luckily, though, she LOVED it.

It turns out that Ellie is our little fish and was very proud of herself for being able to swim all by herself. She wasn't quite brave enough to jump into the water, though she kept reassuring us that "Affa my nap, maybe I will" and when we pointed out that we had no more nap times before we had to go home, she admitted that maybe "affa next time I come to Pappy's house, maybe I will." So we plan on holding her to her word.

It didn't take long for Ellie to learn the rules for swimming and she even made sure that everyone else in the house knew them too. "You know da rules! First you have to go potty for you can go swimming!" I think she went swimming twice a day. It was definitely nice to have the dock RIGHT there, and I loved how she kept referring to the noodle as her "flute."

Even Addie went swimming, though she's not too sure what to think of the water yet. She did better in the lake than she has in the past when we've tried to take her to swimming pools. Maybe it's just more peaceful there. Regardless, she did much better than I would have expected, though she much preferred to sit quietly in the water than to be splashed.

Pappy has a boat that goes along with his nice house and Ellie certainly enjoyed going out for rides. We'd take the boat out and anchor it, jump out and swim. Then we'd head back home.

My little boat girl. Whoop! Whoop!

Sadly, Addie didn't share Ellie's opinion of the boat. I doubt any baby has ever been fond of the wind.

Our days were so full that everyone was exhausted. Ellie shocked us by never wanting to wake up. She took 3 hour long naps and would always tell us "I want to sleep couple more mindents" whenever we woke her up. She absolutely loved sleeping in the same room as her baby sister and thought it was great fun.

When we left for our trip, Addie was sleeping almost 12 hours at night without waking and she was taking hour-plus naps during the day. Every day we were gone, we slowly watched that get worse and worse. By the end of the week, she was napping on Daddy's chest and waking five times during the night. Ugh.

The best part of the trip, though, was Pappy. This was the first time that Ellie warmed up to him right off the bat. Usually it takes her a few days and then just when she's great with him, he has to go home. But this time? Oh, this time! This time she knew that Pappy was special and she knew that she loved him the moment she saw him.

And Addie? Well she's at that age. You know, the age where stranger danger sinks in and she's scared of people who aren't Mommy or Daddy. Or apparently Pappy. She loved him. She soaked in his attention and he was wonderful. She had no problems at all.

I think that watching my girls develop relationships with their grandparents and seeing the joy that they bring each other has to be close to the top of the list of things I love about parenthood. Even Michael commented on how my dad makes a perfect "Pappy" and the girls are lucky to have him.

And Grammie... Let's not forget about her. Not only did the girls love Pappy, but they had no problems with Grammie either. You can't top that!

But Bun Bun? She loved Pappy and Grammie so much that she could hardly contain her excitement and refused to sit still for even one picture.

Pappy, your girls love you. All of us. The day we were leaving, Ellie told Pappy, "I won't cry when we go home, even dough I will be sad. I wish I could stay here forever." Oh! Melt my heart!

Ellie and Addie... Your mommy adores you. Hollywood glasses and all.

Both girls seemed to grow up so much this weekend. Addie kept stealing Ellie's toys (they're all Ellie's right?) which marked the beginning of a new stage for their sisterhood. Ellie is being tested with her ability to continue to be the wonderful proud big sister she is, and though they're breaking new grounds, over all she's doing pretty well.

And Ellie? She's reached another subtle level of thinking things through. She was able to count all the people who would be eating dessert - even though I wasn't in the room, she included me and said "and Mommy makes five." She has also started doing math and asked me "Mommy, four plus two makes seven, right?" I was so proud of her for even thinking in those terms that it never occurred to me to correct her. It's so strange to see the subtle, yet substantial, changes a child goes through.

Well, enough is enough. I'm so sorry for such a long post. It was a great weekend and I even managed to get a family picture of all four of us! That NEVER happens. Well, except this time.

Have a good weekend!

Oh! Ha! I almost forgot to explain the title. It's the result of yet another subtle change for Ellie. Purple Pappy Milk Juice is officially our first family inside joke. We laughed about it in regards to everything from name calling to pretend noodle horse races to adding the words to Pappy's tattoo. It was great fun, but you wouldn't get it. Trust me.

Right. Right. I'm leaving now.