July

 We returned from our beach trip feeling sad that vacation was over but VERY happy to enjoy some time in our new pool! We'd only been able to use it about a week before it was time to leave for the beach. 

We finished up the landscaping and even strung some lights across the back fence

The picture on the left feels like just yesterday!

Texting with her friends while relaxing by the pool. What a life!

Cam and Huck are not big fans of the pool but they always want to be outside with us. I get worried about them getting overheated so every now and then we force them to get in and cool off. On this day Kyndall made them into surfing dogs.

If they could talk I think they'd be cussing us out right now and calling us stupid humas.

Even though the virus was still very real and even though we were still practicing social distancing, I allowed Kyndall to have friends over as long as they stayed outside. Her friend Ashlyn who has been her best friend since we moved here was getting ready to move to another town so she had her over one last time. We are really going to miss her being across the street.

This picture was taken in the summer of 2011 when Kyndall was less than a year old. I decided I wanted to recreate it so we did....

2011 vs....

2020

Since we were spending sooo much time out by the pool, Matthew upgraded his grill to this charcoal smoker that he'd been eyeing for a while. Since then we've cooked more burgers, hot dogs and chicken than I can even count! We've enjoyed spending our days in the pool and then eating dinner on the patio.

He even bought the stone attachment so that we can grill homemade pizzas

Normally each July Kyndall and I make a road trip to Nashville so that I can have a yearly check up with my transplant team. However, this year due to COVID my doctors advised me not to come. So, we traded one road trip for another and took off for Tallahassee instead! Even though we had just seen our family two weeks prior at the beach, I hadn't seen Grandma since Christmas and if I didn't make the trip it would be Thanksgiving before I saw her again. That's almost a year and that's just way too long to be apart from family. So, my little road warrior and I packed up and made the 14 hour drive.

I looked back at one point to find this silly girl holding her ipad with her feet.

She said her neck was hurting from looking down at her lap so she came up with a creative way to hold her ipad!

Wyatt had big plans of him, Kyndall and Grammy sleeping in the same bed during our stay. I'm not sure if any of them got good sleep, but they sure had fun!

We spent lots of time outside by the pool that week and Aunt Kelly also blew up Wyatt's water slide for them to enjoy.

My parents' dog is 15 years old now and he probably won't be around much longer. Kyndall is having a hard time imagining life without Albert so she gave him lots of love and attention while we were there.

While we were there my parents had their 40th wedding anniversary so Wyatt and Kyndall made a cake for the special occasion...

We all went out for a celebratory anniversary dinner and it just happened to be at the same restaurant where Matthew and I had our first (blind) date 14 years prior in July of 2006. It's also the same restaurant where he took me back 8 months later and proposed!

We pulled out some old pictures for the occasion

One of the main reasons we made this trip was to visit my Grandma whom we haven't seen since Christmas thanks to COVID. I've never gone seven months without seeing a family member. We enjoyed spending the day with her in Two Egg. Kyndall sewed this beautiful blanket for her only Great Grandmother and it is definitely a treasure! She picked out the fabric herself and even paid for it with her own money which makes it even more special. 

Back yard fishing with G-Daddy

We didn't venture out much due to the precautions from the virus but we did enjoy a girls lunch date at one of our favorite places, which also allowed me to see one of my favorite former high school principals who owns the restaurant. 

They begged me to make them a blanket fort to eat lunch under

I may not live in Tallahassee anymore but I'm still connected enough to keep up with some of the local happenings. Lately I had been hearing a lot of buzz about the "fried Oreo guys" who have become quite popular around the city. I was inspired by their story so we made a trip to the south side of Tallahassee to check them out for ourselves. They were every bit as kind and their Oreos every bit as delicious as we had heard!

Sweets are never in short supply at Grammy and G-Daddy's house!

She always looks forward to the abundance of frogs at Grammy and G-Daddy's house. She couldn't wait for it to get dark each night so she could go out and see what critters awaited her.

We spent a few days at Nonie and Poppie's house as well, where Nonie had warm brownies and ice cream waiting for us when we arrived.

Nonie always has some kind of fun activity or craft planned for her and Kyndall to do. This time it was making slime.

Swimming in the rain!

Always catching some kind of critter!

A little surprise from Nonie since she's recently obsessed with all things Flintstone

Before we knew it, it was time to head back to Texas

Kyndall's new friend down the street, Cameron, was having a birthday sleepover and Kyndall wanted to make her a special gift. We went to the fabric store and she chose the perfect fabric and then we took it to sewing class so that Mrs. Dian could help her make it into something special.

She was SO excited and couldn't wait to give this pillow to Cameron!

Cameron's birthday party

They made tie dye shirts at the sleepover

A sweet friend of mine sent Kyndall this shirt!

Enjoying a lazy day

Warm chocolate chip cookies before bed....why not?

Saturday mornings are usually Matthew and Kyndall's time for their Daddy/Daughter breakfast date. But due to COVID they hadn't been able to do that in many months. Matthew picked up some cute and yummy donuts instead.

A sweet treat from Freddy's, just because!

I introduced her to a classic!

We hung this sea turtle that G-Daddy bought her during our beach trip

While we were at the beach Kyndall grabbed my arm as we were floating in the water and proudly exclaimed that she had just lost a tooth. I smiled and cheered on the outside but on the inside my heart was sad. It was a bittersweet moment because this was no ordinary tooth. It was her very LAST baby tooth and saying goodbye to it served as yet another tangible reminder that her childhood is fleeting and she is growing up faster than we even realize. It truly does feel like just yesterday that we were celebrating the loss of her FIRST baby tooth. I can still remember the pure joy we ALL felt as she realized that the Tooth Fairy would finally be making a visit to our house. She could hardly even sleep that night because she was so full of excitement. The look of sheer wonder on her precious little five year old face the next morning as she soaked in the all of the magic is one I will never forget! Her eyes lit up as she saw the sparkly pink fairy dust perfectly formed into the shape of a heart on top of her dresser. Her smile stretched even wider as she saw the cup of water that had magically turned blue after the Tooth Fairy dipped her wing into it. She hung onto every word as I read aloud the note that the Tooth Fairy had left behind for her. She held tight to the crisp dollar bill that was tied up with ribbon and vowed that she would never spend it. Though the magic has since faded with age, to this day we still have that pink fairy dust safely tucked away in a little jar inside of her childhood keepsake box along with every note that the Tooth Fairy ever left for her.

As a parent I’ve always tried my very best to appreciate every day with our only child. People always tell you how fast they grow up but nobody has ever told me that I should emotionally and mentally prepare myself for the “lasts”. We tend to focus a lot on the “firsts”—their first foods, first steps, first words, first day of school, first time riding a bike, etc. But suddenly it seems there are more lasts than firsts and that is hard for me to accept because it means she is growing up which means she needs me less and less. There will soon be a last story before bed, a last tangle to comb from her messy hair, a last push on the swing at the park, a last lunch to pack, a last bad dream that sends her running to our bed in the middle of the night. I don’t know when any of those lasts will be so I’m doing my best to soak up every second I’m given with this amazing little human that made me a mother. Unlike those with multiple children, I only get one set of firsts and one set of lasts and because of that I want to be even more intentional about purposefully living out every moment with her. While this tooth may seem like just a little thing, it represents something so much bigger and that is the fact that at 9 years old, we are halfway through her childhood. I pray that I have the wisdom to make the very most out of the days I have left with her.

Yesterday the Tooth Fairy made her very last visit to our home and it was actually comical how vastly different this final visit looked as compared to that first visit just five years ago. There was no fairy dust, no note, and the tooth wasn’t even left under her pillow. (In fact, I think the tooth is still somewhere in my beach bag, likely covered in sand.) Instead this time the Tooth Fairy called her downstairs and handed her a crisp 100 dollar bill and congratulated her on successfully losing 20 teeth. She apologized for the delay in delivering the final reward but explained that there is a national cash shortage over which even the Tooth Fairy has no control.  She also reminded her that gone are the days of getting paid for giving up body parts and told her she would be wise to save that $100 or start doing some chores.

I’ve heard it said that “babies don’t keep” but as I’m learning, neither do little girls.