There was also a great deal of that "baking in the sun WTF I thought it was fall" feeling.
Honestly though? My favorite part of the parade was the nice family next to us. You know, the one who decided that it would be a good idea to bring their HUGE PIT BULL to a parade where there are hundreds of children (who, it must be pointed out, when they are seated on the curb are at LOWER THAN EYE LEVEL with the dog, the PIT BULL dog). The same parade where there are marching bands and fire truck sirens and old cars backfiring randomly. Any number of which could spook a dog into biting my child's face off, thankyouverymuch.I mean, really? Did the pit bull NEED to come to the parade? Did it really get ANYTHING out of the experience, besides baking in the sun?
Of course, when I quietly warned Kate not to sit so close to the "nice puppy", the woman turned and snapped at me "HE is THE BIGGEST BABY IN THE WORLD! HE wouldn't hurt a thing. If anything, if he gets scared, he'll just jump into his daddy's lap."
Look, call me crazy, and trust me, I'd love to believe you. HOWEVER, your dog should be at home. Or at least more than 6 inches from my child's face.
Thing 2: A friend invited us over to pick apples. From her yard. Her pretty, spacious, out-in-the-country yard.
Here's my kids, just hanging by an rustic wall, not being forced AT ALL by their mother to "pose" for a picture:
Also, not being forced at all into a "here's our family, picking apples" type of picture:
They looked so thrilled to be alive! And taking pictures!
Thing 3: THIS child had her "1st day of school" today.
After a slight wardrobe malfunction this morning (wherein she accidentially got the back 50% of her dress wet with toilet water), this was Outfit #2 of the day- a little 70's vintage number I got at a garage sale for a quarter. And of course, an old Dora backpack of the twins', complete with broken parts! Thing 4: These two are home from school early today. Nope, not H1N1*, just a routine "early out" day. See how close they choose to sit next to each other while watching tv? Awwwwww. They are loving school and loving being apart and loving coming together again to walk home. Seriously, their transition to 1st grade/seperate classrooms could not be any more rainbows and unicorn kisses. Happy!
Thing 5: Someone has a birthday on Friday.
And someone else on our household is a bit sad about her baby being a BIG THREE YEAR OLD. Boo!
*I have to say, after all the talk, all the hype, all the notes home from school, the wondering about the vaccine, the statistic that are being thrown around about who's at risk ETC ETC ETC, I'm just ready for my kids to get the damn SWINE FLU already and get it over with. This way we'd a) have natural immunity to it and b) be done with it and c) MOVE ON ALREADY.
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PS. I'm not against dogs, or even pit bulls, per se. I just get a little nervous when one is allowed to wonder over, towering over my kid, and sniff her face. Repeatedly. I get ESPECIALLY nervous if that dog is a Pit Bull, bred for fighting and known for the strength of their jaws, jaws that could clamp down on my child's body.
I'm sure there are LOTS and LOTS of really sweet, nice pit bulls. They just make me nervous, so close to my kids.
TOTALLY AGREE WITH EVERYTHING YOU SAID ABOUT THE DOG. And you called him a nice puppy and you were polite to his owners, it's just that it's impossible to give ANY animal the benefit of the doubt when (1) you don't even KNOW the animal and (2) children are involved. Even nice, family, never-hurt-a-fly, non-violent-breed dogs occasionally get into extreme circumstances that cause them to bite suddenly.
I love the TOTALLY NON-POSED photos! So natural!
The photo of Marin's first day is kind of heartbreaking. She looks so SMALL compared to her sisters in their first-day shot a few days (weeks?) ago. And the pre-birthday shot? HEARTBREAKING.
We live on a "parkway" which means there is a large park that runs down the middle of our residential street. Our street also leads to our city's central park. That's a long way of saying we see a LOT of dogs on a daily basis. A lot.
My two year old is terrified of dogs. No particular incident, he's two and sometimes he is irrationally afraid of things.
One afternoon we were in the front yard working on one of the planting beds when my son saw a dog. He started trying to climb me. The older "gentleman" who was walking his large dog WITHOUT a leash noticed my son was afraid and started to chastise him. I mentioned that the dog actually stands taller than my son and it would be like a horse galloping up to him unrestrained. I pointed out he might be a bit nervous in that situation. He laughed at me and told me it's just a dog and my son "really ought to get over it or he's going to grow up to be a pussy." In. My. Front. Yard.
I'm not a fan of dog people and their belief that everyone should love their unrestrained beast. (/broad sweeping generalization here)
Just knowing my own family friendly but rather unpredictable around strangers dog, I would not want any dog next to us at a parade, unless it was a working dog. Or it fit in a purse.
I have known incredibly bright and gentle pit bulls. I have a dog who felt like a child to me before I had human children. I understand people who view their dogs as children, who maybe are cooped up for big parts of the day, so they like to bring them along whenever possible. A parade seems like a reasonable choice.
Her reaction? NOT AT ALL REASONABLE. I have a petite golden retriever who never barks and is incredibly submissive and gentle. We bring her along to things like playgrounds. I STILL always try to be respectful and protective of other people's children. We tie her as far away from other children as possible and remind children who approach that they should always ask if the dog is friendly.
On another note: your pictures are SO LOVELY.
Third note: your comments on my posts lately have been BEYOND comforting. Thank you so much for them all.
I also say BOO to my baby turning 3. Whoever thought this was a good idea? Can't I just freeze frame her at this age? As for the dogs, I have cute little baby-faced toy dogs. I respect people's space around my dogs. In fact, I would rather walk my dog in peace instead of stopping 10 times so some annoying kid can "pet" my dog.
I cannot wait to hear how Marin did on her first day of school!!!
I am WITH YOU on the dogs. I am a Dog Person, too, and have always had them myself. But my own beloved pooched BIT MY KID BAD once, and I've been bitten twice (bad) by strange dogs, and I simply do not trust them. Even if I still love them. Yes, I hear you.
Marin is so beautiful. Those curls! And oh, that perfect round cherub (sp?) face! Love that girl.
And the older girls too. I try to imagine what it must be like to have two of them, twins like that. Do you ever get over it? Or are you always looking at them, and your mind screaming, "TWO! TWO of them! Weeee!" (in a good way)?
Finally, did you get a new camera or something? These photos are awesome. Like they're in technicolor.
I cannot believe Marin is 3!! What a great picture you captured of her on the step.
The parade looked like fun but I think it was missing 3 boys sitting next to your girls! Miss you all.
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