Tall drink of water

Peanut, at not quite 2 1/2, is really, officially starting to outgrow some of the toddler things. Like, we took down the baby gate from the bottom of the stairs. She swings on the "big-girl swings" in the backyard and at the park. We no longer strap her into her booster seat at the table (she still needs the height a bit, and I like it for psychological reasons -- as in, stay in your seat and eat!).

She's also approaching the end of her need for sippy cups. It used to be that when we went to the park or anywhere out and about to play, I'd bring water so either of the girls could have a drink when they needed. Because the environmentalist in me prohibits buying bottled water, I always brought tap from home. Until the end of the spring, I was bringing the water in a sippy cup so Peanut could have a drink without spilling the entire supply. I had just begun to wonder how I could replace the sippy with something a little more grown-up, when the girls discovered L's biking water bottle. Yet another benefit of our biking hobby, as it turns out.

"Daddy's water bottle" has become our standard drink bearer for all outdoor activities this summer. Both girls have figured out how to work it and drink out of it, and it is perfect in so many ways. It's big enough to have adequate water for both of them, it doesn't spill, and it fits in the car cupholders.

I've seen the individual flip-lid straw thermos things for kids and all manner of stainless steel bottles (which I think are very cool, by the way). But Daddy's water bottle is just the perfect thing. However, it will look a tad out-of-place when we're toting it in the February dead of winter as opposed to the August sun and sweat...
Photo credit goes to Jellybean!

Visitors

My parents are here this week for a visit with the girls -- oh, and with us too (sometimes it's hard to tell that they might actually be here to see L and me too. I swear, he and I could run out the back door at 8 a.m. and they wouldn't notice until bedtime). They're from one of the square states in the middle, so they get up here a few times a year to visit, and we get back there a couple times a year as well.

The last time we saw them was May, so I had Peanut look at pictures and home movies from that last visit so she would be familiar with Grandma and Grandpa when they got here. She's in a separation anxiety phase right now, so she acts like any stranger in the house must be here to abscond with her mom and dad. She warmed up quickly, and now I love to hear her words for "meemaw" and "beepa."

Jellybean was counting the days until my parents arrived, so she is perpetually giddy the whole time they're here. It's a nice change for her, because she's been a bit more difficult the further into 3 she has gotten, with a bit more grumpiness mixed in to each day. I hope the happy, sweet girl will be back some day, but at least she's here temporarily while my parents are here.

The main thing that has struck me this week was how much I was looking forward to my parents' visit. It's not that I, as their only daughter, miss them terribly when I'm not with them (I miss them, but come on, does anyone look forward to spending a week 24/7 with their parents?!). I realized that I was anticipating their arrival because of the reciprocal joy that exists between the girls and them.

There is nothing I love more than seeing loving grandparents with their grandchildren and vice versa. Few things can match that love and happiness that grandparents and grandchildren have for one another, and I think it's one of the main rewards of being a parent. The only thing I can think of that comes close to that is seeing my husband and the girls together when they're really enjoying one another's company.

So, this week is full of going to parks and doing all the silly kid things so Grandma and Grandpa can be involved. (It's also full of my parents' quirks, but they're way secondary to the fun we're having!) It's L's first full week of teaching too, but we're too busy to notice.