Sisters coloring together, sharing the same book, content. Wow. Awesome. Not only that, but they looked up when they heard the camera beeping, and they both automatically smiled. (Rachael is saying, "Cheeeeese!")
"Oh my gosh! I'm FIVE!!" I don't know why she posed like she's channeling Kevin McCallister, but it works! One day wasn't good enough for Grace, we celebrated her birthday just about every night last week! And some days too! Monday night, we went to Pump-It-Up, where she had her birthday party last year. We just went with a couple of her friends, and she had a blast! Rachael was pretty content sitting in Daddy's lap for quite a while, but soon enough she was showing interest in the big slide. With Daddy's arm in a sling (although that's gotten much better!), it was up to MOMMY to take her down! She loved it soooo much! One time, all three of us went down (me, Rachael and Grace), and that was definitely an adventure! 
But wait! There's more! A while ago we asked Grace where she'd rather go for her birthday, Sea World or Busch Gardens. She chose Sea World, so that's where we went on Saturday. Chris' mom was able to join us, and we had a blast, as usual! It was especially fun watching Rachael get so much more involved this time! She was able to ride a few of the rides this time, and I think she might've tried to touch a stingray if we'd let her! (I touched FIVE of those slimy little suckers, and Grace still wouldn't try herself!)
Here he is with a lady friend.
Today was one of Chris' off Fridays, and Rachael enjoyed some quality time with Daddy. See the black strap across him though? That is part of a sling he has to wear for two weeks. During the softball game Tuesday night, he went to make a catch and did something to his shoulder (and hung on to the ball, naturally). It was bad enough he made an appointment with the doctor without my prompting -- that has to tell you something! He has to wear the sling for two weeks, and if there isn't significant improvement by that time, he'll have an MRI. The doctor said he may have sprained it, or it could be a hairline fracture. No matter what, he has to take it easy for about 6-8 weeks. No softball, Ultimate Frisbee or flag football. No golf. No fun for Chris, basically! So please keep him in your prayers, that he heals completely and that he does rest it, and that I can manage without his wonderful assistance around the house. After all, he does his share of cooking (okay, okay, and my share too), cleaning, and this means no rough-housing with the girls. They'll get a lot more cuddle time with him though!
This girl's a little sweetheart. We went to lunch after we picked her up from school, and as we were sitting down she gave her daddy a kiss on his hurt shoulder. He smiled and told her he wished that was all it took. Rest assured that she will be praying for him. One of the things that thrills my heart is when Grace has a boo-boo that gets better, or she was just feeling a little off and gets to feeling back to normal, she'll say, "God made me better!" She knows God can make Daddy better too -- and we ask for your prayers for that as well! Thanks!
When Grace has free time, she does this...
(She showed me how she put the letters
next to the animals that they started with. Yay, Phonics!)
the Chick-fil-A Cow makes an appearance! Rachael couldn't make up her mind -- she would be squealing to get closer to him, and then if Chris took her near him, she'd squeal to get away! And I'm not sure if you can see it, but Rachael has a little bruise on her cheek. When I first saw it last week, I asked what happened and Chris thought it was from when she kind of plowed into our bed. I thought maybe I was kissing her squishy cheeks too hard! My mommy senses were on alert though, and over the weekend I casually brought it up to Grace, and it turns out it was the result of a skirmish between the two. *sigh* Grace owned up to it right away, though, and apologized for a second time, because she told me she'd said she was sorry to Rachael right after it was originally done!
Grace wanted to hug the Cow, but instead just took the photo op! She loves going to Chick-fil-A, but I think it's because when we go we're usually meeting friends there! We were actually surprised we didn't run into more people we knew when we were there today! Especially Auburn fans -- we can't swing a cat without hitting an Auburn alum in this area!! ;-) We're definitely more of a pro family, I think, and Grace told me today that she wanted another "Dolphin dress" since Rachael fits into hers now! I told her I was pretty sure that could be arranged -- I think her dad considers that to be a wise investment!
