Sleepover at the Beach

On Sunday, Kara had to go out of town for work, so Kasia and I drove down to Salvo, NC to spend some time with Karlie, Bryan and the girls. Kasia has been talking about wanting to go sleepover at someone's house forever, and this seemed like as good a time as any to make her wishes come true.

The last time we went down there, it took a little while before Kasia, Kylie, and Kinzlie started to play well together. That was definitely not the case this time around. They hit it off immediately and ran off playing really well together for the rest of the night. I had brought Kasia's Tinkerbell bed for her to sleep in, but after the girls talked, I was informed that there would be some new sleeping arrangements. Kasia wanted to sleep in Kylie and Kinzlie's bed, and since there was room for everyone, that was fine. But then Kinzlie wanted to sleep in Kasia's Tinkerbell bed, and if Kasia was in the big bed, that was fine too. Well, then Kylie wanted to sleep in her sleeping bag on the floor. So you had all three girls all sleeping in different places than they were originally supposed to.

Of course, as the night went on, Kylie moved in to the bed, Kinzlie moved in with her parents, and I was on the futon. It was a true sleepover, except of course the girls didn't do each other's hair and tell ghost stories.

The next day we went to the beach so the girls could play in the sand, and then spent the rest of the day jumping on the trampoline. I was kind of amazed at how well the girls were around each other, and despite the occasional dispute now and then over a toy, it went really, really well. When we left, the girls kept hugging each other goodbye, and Kasia was so pitiful looking when we walked out the door. By the time we got to the car, all she could say was a quick sobbing, "I miss Kylie and Kinzlie." So we're definitely going to have to go back again soon, and hopefully by then, the infamous Pirate Pool will be blown up and ready to go.

Happy Birthday Kasia

(you may want to turn down the volume before watching)

Kasia is now a four year old! Can you believe it? Four years ago we were bringing this tiny little girl home from the hospital, and now we have this four year old, ice cream eating machine!

We had a small party for her at our house with pizza, cake and ice cream. Kasia's playmates, Devlin and Charlotte came over as did some family. It was a fun and chaotic time.

Kasia is really a lucky girl and was given a ton of new toys to play with. Sometime during her party, she decided to take the pile of gifts and stack them on top of Chatam.

So now our little girl is four and is getting ready to go to pre-school in the fall. She's developing her own personality, getting so big. It's amazing to look at the pictures of her from just last year and see how much she's changed in just a year.

A Visit From Ama and Buppa

 

 

For Kasia’s 4th birthday, my parents were able to come down for the weekend to celebrate with us.  Kasia could not have been more happy.  We have seen them since last summer, so it was quite a treat for us.  Kasia loved that they were coming to play with her.  She loved that they were coming for her birthday.  And she REALLY loved that they were going to be spending the night so that they could have a sleepover.  I’m not sure why, but having sleepovers is really big with Kasia. 

They flew in on Saturday and we immediately threw them in to a birthday party for Kasia.  It was crazy and fun.  We didn’t let them rest at all and immediately started loading them up with pizza, cake and Scotch (Shirley can really down that 18 year old Glenfiddich).  I think they had a pretty good time. 

The rest of their trip was a lot more relaxed.  We watched the Olympics, went out to eat, and played some cards.  Kasia had a wonderful time playing with Ama and having Buppa chase her around the house.  I heard, “You can’t catch me Buppa” so many times that I was waking up at night with those words in my head. 

They flew back out on Tuesday, and it was just in time to miss rain/snow/ice that we received just after their plane took off.  As we were saying goodbye, Kasia seemed to be taking it pretty well.  When we got home however, it was a different story.  It sank in that the sleepover was finished and that Grandma and Grandpa were gone.  That’s when the tears came, and boy did she take it hard.  However, the fun she had while they were here drastically outweighed the pain of them leaving. 

Kasia now can’t wait until the next time when they can have a sleepover.

Look Over There!

Pointing at the camera must be some genetic trait that is passed down from male to male in the Smith family. Here are three generations of Smith men all trying to get Kasia to look at the camera, and then couldn’t get their fingers down in time before the picture was taken. If Chatam has a son, I’m curious if he’ll be a pointer too.

This Is Why I Worry

 

Kasia has a friend named Devlin whom she gets together with quite frequently to play with.  He is also quickly becoming my biggest worry.

The other day Devlin and his sister Charlotte were over at our house playing.  Kasia and Devlin were up in Kasia’s room playing, while I was working on something in the office.  I then heard the pitter patter of Kasia’s feet coming down the stairs and running in to our kitchen.  Then, I heard Natalie (Devlin’s mom) say to Kasia, “Hi Kasia.  Does Devlin have his shirt off too?” 

What?!  I didn’t hear that right.  I couldn’t have heard that right.  So I went out to check, and sure enough.  There was Kasia with no shirt on.  She was giggling away and running around.  So did Devlin have his shirt on?  Yes, he did.  What was going on up in that room, I don’t know.  But what I do know is that I put Kasia’s shirt back on her right away and instructed her that she needed to keep her clothes on at all times.  Then I had a sit down with Devlin and let him know that there was to be no funny business going on in here.

Then as I left them to play, I told Kasia that she needed to keep the door open while they were playing in her room.  She told me that she needed to close and lock the door to “keep the monsters out.”  Yeah.  Right.  I tried that one on my mom when I was in high school, and it didn’t work then either.