Catie's Cruisers

Lauren's Run is here again. This year it will no doubt be a great event, complete with the CURE picnic immediately following it. Our team is Catie's Cruisers and we'd love for you to join us! All proceeds benefit Cure Childhood Cancer. Click here to register. If you'd like to walk with us, be sure to enter Catie's Cruisers as your team name. Hope to see you there.

Absence

"Every minute of his life since then has been marked by her absence, every action has lacked dimension because she is not there to measure against. And when I was young I didn't understand, but now, I know, how absence can be present, like a damaged nerve, like a dark bird."
From The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger

"I know how absence can be present...." That is a really good way to put it. Catie's absence, while I don't focus consciously on it every minute of the day, seems to be felt in most moments of the day. Even now... 14 months later. I don't know what I expected it to be like this far out from her death. I certainly didn't imagine it to magically be fine or that we would never think of her or that we would suddenly never miss her. But I don't think that I expected her absence to be so present.

Big Tears from a Little Girl

Last night Izzy followed Tre' into her room. About 2 1/2 seconds later she comes running out of the room just bawling -- not "I'm hurt" crying, but just bawling like her heart is broken. So I go and lift her to my hip, thinking she was getting to something she shouldn't have and Tre' had told her no, when he comes out asking, "What's wrong Moonpie?" So I look at her and look at him and we're clueless. She's still bawling. I walk back into the room, still holding her on my hip and I see the cause of all the drama. There it sits in the middle of her room, left unattended as I had not finished up in there yet.... the big ole scary vaccuum cleaner. It wasn't even running -- just the sight of it pushed her over the edge. I had to laugh a little. We've tried everything, letting her touch it while it's on and while it's off, using her own vaccuum cleaner... nothing seems to be able to conquer the fear of the big scary machine.

So... I'm thinking I should use this to our advantage... If I put the vaccuum cleaner in plain sight in our bedroom, do you think it would convince her to sleep all night in her room???

When in Savannah do as the Irish!

St. Patrick's Day is a HUGE event in Savannah. Tre's Mamanon always has a big shindig at her house. Each year we go to her house for green grits and green bread and lots of other yummies! Tomorrow will be no different and it is always a grand time! I was looking back through old pictures tonight and thought I'd share some green with you. I don't have the pics from Catie's first 2 St. Patty's Days digitally, but I do have them from her last 2. Looking back on pictures of Izzy 1st Wearin' O' the Green, it's AMAZING how much she's grown in a year!!


Catie (age 2) and Daddy


Chowing down w/ Mamanon


Aunt Tati and Uncle Chad's dog Snowy turns green every year!


Worn out and resting on Aunt Tati at the parade


Catie age 3


Keeping Catie hydrated was always a battle. This year she had learned of the fun that leprechauns could bring! We put some food coloring in some apple juice and told her it was leprechaun juice and she drank it down!!! She loved that it turned her tongue green too.


Oh how I miss that grin.


Think she's grown a bit?


We didn't brave the parade w/ Izzy last year. It will be fun to see what she thinks of it tomorrow!

She's all over the place!

I swear, Izzy B is growing by the minute! She has definitely decided that walking is more efficient than crawling now and she is all over the place. She's even doing well walking outside in the yard. She loves being outside, and the weather has been gorgeous for the last couple of days. She loves having her hands to carry stuff has she walks and this week I bet she's walked 5 miles around the inside of our house! :) She's quite the dancer when the music comes on and she continues to entertain us and keep us laughing. Her favorite games continue to be chase and peekaboo. She's a tornado at times and can completely clutter up a neat and clean room in about 90 seconds flat. I thought I'd post some recent pictures.


Bathing in the sink at the beach house

Crashed for a nap at the beach


Near Catie's garden w/ the sign our neighbors gave us.


Tonight in her first silky nightgown! Catie (who LOVED her silkies) would have been so proud!