When Imitation Isn't Necessarily Flattery

Before Jessica could talk she has been imitating us, learning to clap, making faces and sounds. I knew I was in trouble this past school year, when on a weekend, Jess and Ristow stayed at my parents house overnight and my mom told me that Jessica was waving Ristow's clothes at him and "yelling" for him to get dressed. Now she couldn't say specific words at the time but everyone could tell it was an imitation of me trying to get Ristow dressed before school. Funny and a bit embarrassing at the same time ;)

Since then, she has imitated more sayings and words and loves to pretend to be cookie monster and say everything in a rough low voice. (Christopher likes to pretend that he taught her to talk like Carl from the movie Slingblade). Nowadays Jess has quite the vocabulary and likes to talk almost as much as Ristow does, which as you can guess, doesn't leave much time for anyone else in the family!

This afternoon Jess took it to a whole different level. When we came in from playing outside, she grabbed a toy bunny and put it in the corner for a "time out". She said "bad, hit, out, one" then walked away from him and went back gave him a hug and made him say "sorry baby". Then she gave him a kiss and went on to play with something else. The translation of Jessica's words work out to be something like "That was a bad choice. We do not hit! Sit in time out for one minute." Which she seems to hear quite often and can now obviously imitate in her play.

It really amazes me all that they pick up and learn, even at such a young age. It also is a good self check for me to make sure she is imitating good things and not bad. Imitations like Christopher's fly dance moves or Ristow's silly faces and jokes and hopefully lots of my hugs and kisses and love!

4th of July, Cousins, Chickens and more

After the McClintock Reunion in Ohio, the kids and I decided to drive up to PA to see my brother Jim and his family. We drove up on the 4th and made it just as the Ligonier Camp 4th of July Parade was starting! The kids were so excited and love seeing Uncle Jimmy and Dylan in the parade.
The next big excitement was seeing the cousins. Ristow and Dylan ran to each other from across the parking lot and hugged, it was the cutest thing. Right out of a cheesy movie!
When we got down to their house Jess screamed with glee as she chased after the chickens and ran around. Later in the visit she was walking around the yard and the chickens were actually following her in a little parade.
We did tons of stuff while we were there. From fireworks and sparklers



to riding horses and playing cowboys.



We picked wild black raspberries and saw a military helicopter overhead that responding to our shouting and waving with spins and circles! Ristow's other favorite thing is eating in the camp cafeteria and spending time with Uncle Jimmy.

Unfortunately I didn't get quite as much grown up conversation time as hoped as Suzannah and I spent much of the time refereeing the little ones. James and Jessica weren't quite the loving cousins we had imagined they would be. They are at that age of testing and tantrums and communication frustrations. It is a good thing they are so stinking cute ;) Lots of good hugging time was had and fun on the swings.


All in all, it was a great visit and we are so glad we could make it up to see them. Time passes so quickly and the kids grow so fast. It is important for them to know each other.
Much love to the Paul Family!

McClintock Family Reunion 2011

Another year, another reunion. Kids are bigger, hairs are more grey, some new faces are added to the mix. But in general reunions stay the same... great food made with lots of love, hugs, laughter, small talk, catching up and sharing pieces of life together.

This year it was fun to see our little niece Alma and Jessica play together. I look forward to the cousins growing up together. They battled over laps and toys but seemed to be pretty intrigued with each other.

Ristow looked forward to his special stash of cookies at Nana's house that he only gets when we go there.
He loved talking and playing with the older kids and gave lots of hugs. We spent great family time at the pool and the playground! It was wonderful.

It was a very enjoyable visit and we are so thankful for the time we got to spend with everyone!

Strawberry Picking

For the last few years we have made it a little tradition to go strawberry picking with my Mom and Dad and then we make jam together. It is lots of fun and Ristow has really enjoyed it.
When I was little my brother and I would go strawberry picking with Mom and our Aunt Betty. I have so many found memories of picking strawberries and begging to eat "just one more". They were experiences that I cherish and I am thrilled to be able to share that with my kids.

We are lucky enough to live in an area where there are numerous pick your own farms within an hour of us. We went this weekend and just barely made the end of strawberry season around here. But we picked a few baskets full and enjoyed the time together.

I filled my basket pretty quickly and moved along the row fast enough to keep my basket just out of reach of the toddler on my heels reaching for another strawberry. Jessica loved that the strawberries just kept magically appearing in my basket and would grab one and run away, shoving it into her mouth. It was only much later on that I realized she had been eating the berries stem an all. That should make for interesting digestion ;)

Ristow on the other hand picked only about 15 strawberries total. He is very particular about which berries are worthy of picking or not, so he would rather just have a few GREAT ones than a basket of mediocre ones.

Tomorrow morning is Jam morning at Mom's but at the rate my kids are eating these berries, there may only be enough for one container of jam ;) At least they are enjoying them!

Jessica

Jess will be 18 months in just a few days and I am truly amazed at how much so has grown, changed and developed. She is so smart and so stubborn, so independent and so cute all at the same time. She challenges me in my patience yet warms my heart. She fights with passion to get her own way and yet conforms to the shape of my lap and relaxes into my arms for a snuggle.
She is beautiful and bold, energetic and exhausting all in a glance. I am thankful that I am blessed to be her Mom and walk along side her as she grows into the person God has created her to be.
So far the last 18 months have been an eye opener and I can't wait to see what comes next!

Moving on Up

Today was Ristow's Kindergarten graduation. He was styling in his Tony Hawk shirt and black tie, which of course he picked out. (Luckily I talked him out of the striped sport jacket to wear over it ;)
It was a wonderful program. The kids sang a few songs and then got their certificates. Ristow kept chanting "Shake, then take" over and over the last few days so that he wouldn't mess up when he had to shake the principals hand and accept his certificate. He did great.



I am so very proud of Ristow. He has worked hard this year and really made it a great one! Next comes 1st grade and now he walks with his head a little higher when you mention him as a first grader. He is so cute. I am so thankful for his teacher who took extra time to challenge him and had extra patience with his out of the box thinking ;) It was a great fit and a great year!



I picked him up early as a reward and he got to pick where we went to lunch. Of course he picked McDonald's, since we hardly ever go there and you get a toy! Then for dinner, Poppy took him out to eat at the Cowboy restaurant (Logan's). Quite a day of celebration!

The End Times or The 13 year Cicadas, whichever you prefer

The other day I heard someone at the store say "Oh my gosh, I saw one of those Cicadas today!"

To which I wanted to reply "You should come to my house, we've got thousands!"

Yes, this is the year of the Cicada. For the 10yrs we have lived in Nashville I have been hearing about the 13 year Cicada. Well, finally it is here.

Yesterday we walked out to the bus stop and you could not walk across the yard without hearing a crunch every step. Ristow tip-toed and danced his way to the bus stop trying to avoid the Cicadas and their shells. He has had a bug phobia ever since he was two and we took him to a butterfly garden, when a giant rainforest-esque butterfly the size of his head, flew in his face.

Jessica on the other hand has been totally into the Cicadas. She wants to play with, inspect and step on the crazy things. She picked one up by the wings at the bus stop and loved watching it buzz around in her hand. I on the other hand eventually swatted it out of her hand because it was grossing me out ;)

It is so noisy around our house and as you drive down the road. They fill the trees and are everywhere. Not sure how long they are going to be gracing us with their presence but for now I battle between Ristow not wanting to even go outside and Jessica begging at the door to be let out and explore.

And of course because of living in the bible belt there are those who swear that our Cicadas are a sure sign of the end times. Well, I say whether it is the end times coming or just another year with lots of crazy bugs. We love each other the best we can in the meantime tip-toe through the Cicadas!