.....there have been many terms of endearment to describe Brody in our home.....all of them have been chosen by his big sisters, of course......brudda brudda, Mr. smiley, honey honey, sweetie sweetie and the latest and the one that seems to be sticking is buddy buddy.....notice the trend in repetition.....he's never just called buddy.....it is always buddy buddy.....
.....to say that our family is smitten with this child is an understatement......he is constantly being held, read to, rocked, used as the centerpiece for tea parties, chosen as the student for school, sung to, enduring an outfit change by one of his sisters, or plain and simply is receiving adoration and attention from all of us.....lately, we have been including him during our meals because I can't peel the girls away from him.....
.....unless it's an excursion for ice cream......and because the girls have been such good big sisters and are spoiled by grandparents, they received special mail to use at the ice cream shop......
.....they each received an ice cream coupon with four single dollars and instructions to go buy one.....the excitement over this trip wasn't the actual ice cream, as we usually partake in this treat quite frequently in the summer......the anticipation of this trip was the fact they had their own money and got to pay for their special treat all by themselves......
......Elsie handed her wad of dollars to the cashier in one clump and Callie very deliberately slid each dollar one at a time on top of the counter, counting as she passed each one.....I ignored the sighs and eye rolling from the impatient New Yorkers behind us in line as I snapped away to document their excitement....I also ignored the loud exhales again when the cashier told me that eight dollars wasn't enough for two small cups of yogurt with colored sprinkles and I had to rummage to the bottom of my bag for more money......
.....Elsie was happy to collect the change, though.....
.....and ice cream trips aren't the same without friends....
.....and all of them were very serious about finishing every last drop of their dish.....I had to wrestle away their cups as they slurped ice cream turned liquid as if they were finishing a bowl of soup......
.....and when we walked back home full, happy and on our sugar high, our smiling baby was delighted to see us......
.....and we were ecstatic to see him too.....
.....so this was a quick post, in the middle of a busy weekend full of trips to the zoo, sleep overs, BBQs, ice cream parties, visits from family and new playgrounds......I had to take a moment to express just how much we are loving our little man and how one week can make such a difference.....sleep, encouragement from my husband, fresh air, perspective.....they are all things that can snap one out of being overwhelmed with adjustment......
.....more later on this festive and glorious weekend.....
.....off to enjoy more of these moments.....
....happy weekending....