Gone batty.

OBX all the time.

We bought a Jeep - woot. Phantom. We drove it to the OBX.

Fall stuff

We love bowling.

We visited Boston.

Vivian is FOUR.

PointSource got on the Inc 5000, and I got to visit Taliesan West (kind of just the gift shop) during the award conference in Phoenix.

Adelaide's best friends - Cameron, Zach, and Tristan:

An awesome Fall day, having a picnic and reading in the park:

NC State Fair, sponsored by PointSource - why is she so grown-up and beautiful???

Dressed as a Box Troll for a special day at school:

We bought some birds, named Angel (after Gigi) and Sky, because we had to watch my mom's bird Pisa for a while and fell in love with the pretty chirping.

Adelaide's Gigi

Adelaide, when your great grandma passed away, you said some of the sweetest things I have ever heard you say. Although it was, and still is, an incredibly sad time for me, you made me feel so proud and honored to have you as my daughter.

You reminded me that Gigi would be seeing her own parents in heaven, and how much she must be missing them. You celebrated what a great person Gigi was, remembering all of the things that you knew she liked - chocolate, shoes, jewelry and God. ;-) That distilled view is not only accurate, but so very precious. When you cried, I mourned with you, but I also rejoiced at knowing you had something to cry about - you really knew Gigi, and you were blessed to have known her in a way that I am assured she will stay with you your whole life. Your concern for Grandma, knowing that Gigi was her mother, was a treasure that I know Grandma was thankful for, and something that I am positive put a sweet note on the pain she was feeling.

When I took you and Vivian to build stuffed animals and eat dinner to give Aunt Jenna a break for her hip surgery, you had a very intimate conversation with your cousin. You discussed in the backseat, without knowing I was listening, how sad it was that Gigi had passed away, but also how happy because she was in heaven. You and Vivian processed these new emotions together. That was also a gift you gave me and Aunt Jenna both, an illustration that raising you as close as siblings is giving you both the kind of support in each other we hope you will always have.

We still talk about Gigi, and we pray for her every night. Thank you for comforting me, and we miss you, Gigi.

Facebook, September 8: 

"My grandma Jennie Ferrando passed away last night. She was a feisty, and devout woman. She taught me how to be an ambitious and strong professional, and validated my compulsive tidiness. She and my grandpa shared the kind of rare marriage where their love was visibly evident every day of their lives. When she first got a Facebook page, I chuckled and cheered. If any of you have pictures of her to share, please tag them.

I love her so very much."

 

Summer stuff

Adelaide started SECOND GRADE!!!

She posed herself of course for those photos. 

When Adelaide had to get a cavity filled (not her fault! it was the grown-up teeth crowding her baby teeth) and they gave her laughing gas... she didn't laugh. She did this:

Oh my sad poor nugget was pathetic coming off her very chill and relaxed high. 

Sometimes we eat awesome meals, like this:

Ryan and I celebrated our 10th wedding anniversary. Ryan left me some of my favorite cupcakes on my desk the day of, and then we went for a weekend to Pinehurst, to enjoy some spa-ing, eating, shopping, and chilling out.


During this time, Ryan left Amplify and joined the PointSource cult family officially. Another new member of the family courtesy of Ryan is my precious Elwood unicorn mug!!! 

Jenna ended the Summer by needing a fairly extensive hip surgery. It meant I had to bath her, take her to physical therapy, and be seen with this at Target:

Halloween birthday! Boo!

Adelaide decided she was going to have a Halloween themed birthday party last Halloween. The idea came from an RIP cake she saw at Target that I think was intended for "Over the Hill" 40 year old parties, and other parents loved getting an extra use out of expensive costumes ;-)


As a Vampire Queen, Ade enjoyed the creepy storyteller, and all of the amusing games I grabbed off Pinterest (yarn spiderwebs, pin the spider on the spiderweb, eyeball races with eyeballs on spoons, and of course mystery gross stuff to put your hands in contributed by Aunt Jenna).

It was a fantastic and fun party, hosted at PointSource, which was also a wonderful feeling. We were surrounded by the great friends we work with, and it was a proud feeling to be able to use the space I helped build.

Happy birthday to my creepy little girl!