it’s that time of year again, when the pool is permanently settled in the the driveway. probably until october. popsicles, bathing suits, flip flops, and lawn chairs. toys and buckets and seashells scattered all over. the neighbors chalk is at our house, and our toys are over there. tiny voices screaming and playing in the hose.

i was never much for summer, but… now i love it.

5. caylin is now in BFF love with both our neighbors’ kids. always asking for shelby and madi to play.
   

11. the playground is a multi-weekly thing now. my bike is back out, and she’s always down for a ride or a walk in the stroller.
    

16. still obsessed with building towers. now, out of toilet paper.
    

17. the newest obsession – barbies. i have… hundreds in the closet in the guest bedroom. all boxed up, because my mom is awesome. and caylin has discovered them. there’s a giant tupperware box of probably 20 of them that we took down for her to play with (not getting them ALL out, no way). they’re in the same room as the polly pocket collection that she also found. so she is less enthused this month with polly pockets as she is with barbie. i am kind of sad that she actually says “barbie” now instead of “gobie”. gobie was so cute.
    

18. still obsessed with cheese. “what do you want for breakfast, caylin?” CHEESE. “what do you want for lunch, caylin?” CHEESE. “what do you want for dinner, caylin?” CHEESE. this was half her breakfast when we went to stay in the cabin last weekend.
    

mom and brett and caylin and i went to merlefest last weekend. i should have known better than to make this a big family thing, since toting a 2 year old to something like this is just… not an easy task. caylin does far better 1 on 1 than she does with all 3 of us. new sleeping arrangements, lack of sleep, overstimulated. long story short, i paid $150 for caylin to play in the sand for 3 hours.

we got to seven devils late thursday night, and caylin didn’t go to sleep til like midnight. friday she was just NOT having it. so many tantrums and crying. almost didn’t go to merlefest, but i’m glad we did. as soon as we told her we were taking a bus from parking to merlefest, that’s all she could talk about. and that was the only bargaining chip we had when she’d start to throw a fit.

weather was amazing. great background music, since we didn’t actually get to watch any sets. mom and i walked around for most of it and shopped and ate a funnel cake, which, that alone is worth $150. the people watching, the smell, the mountains. brett sat with caylin while she painted and played with sand. it turned out to be a great afternoon.

though, i will say, other people’s kids can be RUDE. one kid threw sand in caylin’s face. another grabbed her arm and shoved her away. another little girl who was probably 6 or 7 at least started mouthing off to her. i know they have to learn things on their own, but, let me tell you… it is HARD to sit there and watch other kids be assholes and not intervene. SO HARD.

caylin got to ride the bus twice (highlight of her month, for real), mom got her funnel cake, brett got whiskey, neeses’s sausage, and a forensic files marathon, and i got my black bean queso dip from macado’s and a new cowboy hat. all was well in the world.

we drove back home saturday, and brett dropped us off. he drove to the liquor store before it closed at 7, and got in a wreck. miraculously, no one was really injured, just achy. both cars are most likely totaled, so that’s fun. bottom line, no one hurt, really don’t care about anything else. sucks, but could have been so much worse.

37. she’s been on a my little pony kick ever since she came to work with me a month ago. i bought her a pack of the miniature ones that comes with a book and a poster. and brett bought her 4 bigger ones that she HAS to sleep with. along with like 20 beanie babies, and 2 dolls. if anything’s missing, she’ll let you know.
    

38. i bought her a cape, because every kid needs a cape.
    

39. she’s not as into helping me cook lately. when we get home now, it’s still daytime and playtime, so she’d rather be outside. can’t blame her. but when she does, she’s so proud of herself :)
    

45. she plays dress up with my clothes and shoes and belts.
    

46. she still LOVES stamps. covers herself in stamps. and us, if we let her.
    

47. she’s very concerned lately about the amount of toilet paper we have in the house. it’s… odd. but that’s caylin. if the roll isn’t full, “more too paper, mommy? i get!”

48. still can’t catch the cat, and he still hisses and spits at her whenever she’s within arm’s reach.

49. this has definitely been a trying month as far as discipline goes. she is very defiant. strong-willed. stubborn. likes to NOT listen. there has been a lot of yelling and explaining and butt smacks and taking-the-ipad-away. nothing has really worked so far, aside from letting her just sit there and scream and cry and pout until she’s done. and then we change the subject. we don’t know what else to do at this point. it’s frustrating, and usually has to do with her messing with loki.
    

it’s hard to stay mad at this face for too long.

i mean, cutest thing i’ve ever seen.

mom took caylin to NC on tuesday morning to see my uncle who just had surgery, and is bringing her back in a few hours. i was excited to be able to work from home today and have the house to myself for the first time in ages. but, not surprisingly, the only thing i want is for them to come back so i can see her little face.

it’s been a weird 3 days with her gone. we were so excited to have freedom–we weren’t sure what to do with ourselves. we went on an awesome dinner date last night to oscar’s in summerville. had pizza and drank whiskey the night before. stayed up watching forensic files and house of cards and american sniper at like movie-theater-volume. enjoyed the ability to use the ice maker after 9pm.

it was awesome quality time, but it just doesn’t feel right without her here :)