You probably can’t imagine anything cuter than this janie and jack knit dress we picked up for finley, right?how about one for finley and baby sister?

i should not be allowed in that store. it’s dangerous. my eyes were darting around the store eyeing things for finley and then for the baby and then for finley and then….ohmygosh. look at that little suit for a boy. do i have any need for a little pinstripe suit. Thank goodness I don’t. I will tell you that our birthday girl will be decked out in the cutest little “happy birthday skirt”-her words, not mine.

These are some photos from the last month, or maybe even longer. It already seems crazy that we were just wearing tank tops! She’s really into wearing these sunglasses. She asks for them all the time when “it’s soooo bright! i need my gasses”. Last week we made a fire, which was so bright she needed to wear her glasses.

At our very favorite park feeding the ducks.

i love this picture! such excitement.

no better sight to wake up to.

She’s also gotten really into dressing up and wearing accessories. Her tutu and necklaces have become an everyday fashion statement. Luckily, she has this really cute apron so she can be just like mama when we’re baking.

I must have had my camera on a weird setting, since these turned out so blurry. But the moment was just so cute I had to post them anyway. Not so much because she was wearing her daddy’s work boots, but because she would not stop laughing and acting so proud of herself for being so funny. She loves to be silly and make us laugh.

Brian and I have always said that we would love to have a whole clan of girls. Even though we know it’s not true, we discuss how nice it would be to never have to deal with some of the “boy issues”, especially in adolescence. Today, I was hit with one of those moments where i realized man, this is a really sucky thing about being a girl/raising girls.

mean girls.

We were in the play area at the mall and it was empty except for two older girls (probably 4ish). It started out that they were chasing Finley around. All the girls were laughing and having fun. When they stopped the “chase game” I heard the ring leader tell Finley she couldn’t follow them, she wasn’t invited, and that she didn’t have a ticket. “Go away”, she said. Finley had no idea what that meant and she just kept running around after them. I’m sitting there wondering what’s worse: that they’re being so mean to her, or that she’s totally clueless and thinks she’s made some new best friends.

A few minutes later, Finley sort of backs away into a little hiding spot. I think to myself that she must be pooping (because the girl likes her privacy). I watch the older girls run over and make fun of her for pooping and tease her about it being stinky. It broke my heart. I swooped in and took off the bathroom. For a long while, I just couldn’t shake off how upsetting the whole scene was. Thankfully, Finley had no idea what was going on, and she kept asking to go back and play with the other kids.

In no time though she will understand when she’s being teased or left out. And she will undoubtedly have hurt feelings. I just hope and pray that as we deal with this more regularly, God will lead Brian and to figure out how the heck to deal with this issue. How to protect our children, how to teach that we must love our enemies, how to raise girls that are kind and loving. And how we as their parents can deal with the anger and sadness that comes from watching encounters like we had today. (I’d be lying if I didn’t admit that I was thinking not nice thoughts about the two girls, and also their mom and dad- who both had their noses buried in their blackberries).

I know I’m getting a little ahead of myself here. But, for some reason this issue just really strikes a cord in me. I wasn’t ever bullied per se, but i can remember certain times throughout my childhood where I felt left out, and I just desperately wanted to be included. And as hurtful and upsetting as it was to me as a middle schooler, I think it’s going to be even worse when it happens to my babies.

this morning i heard finley playing in our closet so i opened the door.

me: what are you doing in here?
finley: i’m pooping mommy.
me: okay, lets go change your diaper.
finley: no. just pee. just pee.
me: hmmmm. what’s that smell then?

as we’re walking to her room.

finley: {laughing hysterically} i’m tricking you. i’m tricking you! my poop so tiny. my poop so hard. {more laughing}

seriously, i couldn’t come up with this stuff if i tried. such a silly little trickster.

When we were remodeling our kitchen i somehow stumbled upon this kitchen re-do. I got hooked and spent a ridiculous amount of time looking through her blog. She is a REALLY cute mom of 7 REALLY cute little kids. Yeah you read that right. 7! She is a Christian and writes all about her faith and mommyhood, and I think you should get hooked on it too. resolved2worship