Binky Girl's Love

As anyone with children knows, life with a toddler learning independance can be grueling. They scream. They cry. They whine. A lot! Binky does all that with gusto.
Yesterday was particularly rough. Austin was at work so it was just her and I. Me. The bi-polar momma who is in the middle of adjusting to a med change and not feeling so sure of herself. No matter what I did, Binky threw a fit. Nothing I did made her happy. She wore me down after a few hours. Luckily, for me, my best friend was there to talk me off the ledge (so to speak) even though she was horribly ill. Things were better in the evening and I decided to take her to the fireworks (It was her first time).
She did great, didn't give me any fits about staying in her stroller. She had a great time flirting with the elderly man who sat next to us with his wife. When the show started she cheered and clapped, and yelled "WOO HOO". The girl who is afraid of vacume cleaners didn't bat an eye at the loud booms!
Part way through the show she started tugging on my hair so I tilted my head a little closer to her. Turns out that is exactly what she wanted. She pulled me closer, wrapped her arm around my neck, and we watched most of the remaining show cheek to cheek.
It touched me deeply, this little show of love. I know she isn't a bad child and that she doesn't mean to annoy me and I try so hard to let her behavior roll off me. I feel guilty for getting frustrated. (Note: I have never shown her my frustration. )
I will continue to pray on this and know that God will continue to work with me on patience. Also, hopefully this new med will kick in soon, or not, so we know what the next step in treatment will be.

Fourth of July!

I love this time of year. The weather is finally warm enough warm enough and the rain has finally let up enough to enjoy the outside. Getting outside is important when you have a 20 month old with tons of energy!
We are lucky enough to live in a town full of history. Main Street is lined with mansions built in the 1800's during the lumbar boom. We happen to be 2 blocks off this street and live in a building built in he same time period. It was once a mansion too, but has since been turned into an apartment building. It might not be the best neighborhood, but it's home.
We also happen to live just a few blocks from downtown. There is an ecletic bunch of shops there that range from clothing, to a cobbler, to a fancy cigar shop, to coffee houses, to a 5 star restaurant! We've lived in this apartment for 1.5 years and I still haven't made it through all the great shops.
Just on the other side of downtown in a major river way. It is still used for shipping so it's a common thing to have huge ships and barges go up and down it daily. Both sides of this river are lined with parks. This side is more of a green space where they hold concerts. The other side includes play areas and baseball diamonds.
Which leads me back to why I love this time of year. Our city has a HUGE festival for Fourth of July. There are rides and music and good food and THREE (yes! three) days of Fireworks! The festival kicked of on Thursday afternoon. That night and last night we were treated with 15 minutes of beautiful fireworks. We watched from our roof. Tonight we will pack up the Binky Girl (Boo is with his Dad) and head down to the park for 45 minutes of fireworks! Binks did well watching from home but I am a bit worried how she will do when the booms are louder.
I can't wait! I have loved fireworks as long as I can remember and this year I get to share them with Binky for the first time!