August 2015

August started out rough with dropping Bingo off at his new home, and while I was emotionally drained, I knew it was the best decision for Bingo and for our family.  That night, we kept our minds off the sadness by going to our friends' house for some Monopoly Deal and drinks and laughs. :) 

We had a brief, but nice visit with Eric's mom and stepdad who were in town.  It is fun to have Eric's brother, stepbro, their wives, and their kids over for some swimming and catching up :) The girls get along SO well, and my kids have definitely been blessed with some great cousins! 

Dress up is NOT just for girls!  This dude LOVES to be Buzz and Woody and Captain Hook. (Side note: Grady no longer says, "Pattin' Hook".  He's mastered "Captain"....and his baby talk is slowly disappearing. :()

"Hey Mommy! To 'finity and beyooooond!"

I hope the Toy Story phase never ends. 👽🚀

(Little feet running to me in the family room...)

"Hey, Mommy. You just stay right there. Okay? Don't go in Whitney's room. Okay? Dere is nuffing wrong in Whitney's room. You just stay here."

😳

Oh, Grady. You make this parenting gig easier and more difficult, all at once.

Not evidence of any foul play. He just wanted to snag the iPhone off Whitney's alarm clock and he knows he's not supposed to touch phones without asking. He busted himself before he even committed the crime! Had he just grabbed it and started playing with it, I wouldn't have known.....until the house was too quiet and I went looking for him. Stinker.

After much prayer and consideration, we made the very difficult decision to become Bingo's foster family instead of his forever home as planned. He is an AWESOME dog for countless reasons. Seriously. I love that mutt. But he made it clear to us that he wanted more and while he loves kids, he needed bigger kids vs my tiny kids. He needed a yard. His repeated attempts to escape (by breaking through our porch screens) along with some events that scared me, Whitney, and Grady lead us to this choice. This is absolutely heartbreaking for me, as while Bingo is certainly no Bailey, it felt like saying goodbye to Bailey all over again. Whitney went from loooooving this pup to fearing him. And my human children come first. I wrote his new family a letter...

Hard day. Bingo is headed to his new home with a huge fenced property and two other dogs to play with. His new parents are an awesome couple with a teenage daughter who is a dog lover. They are excited to throw the ball with Bingo and we feel like they were an answered prayer. His new mom's name? Kathleen.

Sad for myself but happy for Bingo's new adventure. And happy we will get updates and pictures.

Ive NEVER seen this movie before and yet, it was on television the night we said goodbye to Bingo.

Grady just brought me his monkeys (He sleeps with them every night. They are his version of "safe" and "comfort"). He put them in my lap and said, "You be happy now, Mommy, okay? Not be sad anymore. I give you my monkeys." 

Benny Boo Boo (and Aunt DeeDeDee!) are the best medicine! (And I got pics of Bingo and word that he pulled the teen daughter around on her skateboard for miles this morning before chasing an opossum! Love that he's loving life!)

This last week has been tough, but every time Whitney is asked about or reminded of Bingo, she immediately follows up with, "...but Im excited to get a puppy for Christmas!" She's told EVERYONE, "Bingo has a yard now, and Im getting a puppy for Christmas! Like, a real live LITTLE puppy that can sit in my lap and that I can take care of and put bows in her hair!" She's told people she is going to open a little puppy on Christmas morning, "right out of a box!" She has decided it needs to be a girl and it will be named "Little Bow Peep" because she will put BOWS in her hair like Whitney wears bows in her hair. ("Bo" or "Bow" for short! And Grady is on board because of Bo Peep in Toy Story!)
She hasnt stopped talking about Christmas morning when she is going to meet her new little puppy.

Little does she know that Christmas morning was scheduled for early August this year!.

Whitney LOVES spending time with Bennie! 

Grady called for help. Thinking he was on the potty, I started walking that direction. As I rounded the corner in the kitchen, I see this. And all he said was, "hi. I'm stuck. It's a little ouchie." before I started recording. The video was cut off when Eric Bass called, but the fun continued.

Both kids were SO excited to meet their new teachers for the school year!

Grady met Ms. Donna and instantly fell in love.  It is December now, and I can report that he is having an AMAZING school year!  Love his school and his classmates and teachers! Doesnt get better :) 

And at the time, we were SUPER excited about Whitney's first grade teacher.  She was again placed in the honors class and that meant she would be with most of the kids from her wonderful Kindergarten class.  We were SOOOO excited! After an awesome Kindergarten experience, we had high expectations for first grade, and we assumed first grade would live up to our standards.  

Unfortunately, in mid-October we learned that Whitney's teacher was not a good fit for our sweet girl.  It was a difficult decision, but we decided to move Whitney to a different first grade class.  She misses her friends, but was THRILLED to be with a teacher who better-matches her personality.  She's been THRIVING ever since :) 

Apparently mommies get a new backpack for "Back to School (tennis)," too! 🎾❤Its just what I wanted!!!!  Eric surprised me with it :) 

As we sat on the couch and I listened to Whitney read her 50th book of the summer, it was SO hard not to tell her about the secret about to be unleashed the next day! 

We found this sweet pup on  Craigslist.  She was being rehomed because an older dog in the home wasnt happy about the new puppy.  The owner wanted a good family, so they didnt charge much and, honestly, Bow Peep Bass is totally priceless to us now! 

Bo Peep when she was still Lexie...

Eric and I brought the kids to my parents at the crack of dawn and we drove two hours to Tampa to pick up this sweet girl in a gas station parking lot :) We fell in love INSTANTLY.  

She weighed 5lbs and was about 3 months old.

I LOVE when Bennie does this at our house, and was sooooo excited when Bow Peep assumed this position as soon as she entered our home. :) 

We got home and called my parents to bring the kids home to reveal the new family member! 

Christmas in August!!

The best, happiest, most genuine smile EVER.  She was SOOOO happy!

A pink crate.  A pink bed.  Pink toys.  The works. :) 

And the man who "isnt a dog person" was smitten with the Peeps. 

'Twas the night before first grade and our Summer Bucket List was complete!
It poured and stormed the weekend we tried to see Winter the dolphin (we got 45 minutes into the trip and turned around), but we will make it a day trip this Fall.

Note my own personal bucket list at the bottom. I try to shoot for the moon, Yall. Closet cleaned. Maybe next Summer I'll clean out the backseat of my car.

Smitten.

And because a new puppy apparently isnt enough excitement for one month....we tackled the kids' FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL!

This guy is so much fun!

And even with the blazing sun in her eyes, this beauty is gorgeous on the inside and out!

How can she be SIX already?!

She was excited about a new school year.  No anxiety or fear.  Just straight excitement.  I love the confidence in this sweet girl!

The traditional First Day breakfast :) 

This was a full year ago!? 

And this year's walk into his new class! 

And our Bug's first day in first grade! 

Both kids were troopers.  Way cooler than I am! They walked with such confidence, never questioning or worrying.  They trusted that we wouldnt leave them someplace unsafe or unhealthy, and they both looked forward to the fun that awaited ahead! 

Both kids had EXCELLENT first day of school! 

He was excited and happy.  Tears and sadness never occurred to him.  He is so cool. 

He got right to work and has loved school every day since that first day!  He has great classmates and an amazing team of teachers who just LOVE him to pieces.  

"Mommy! I wanna PLAY!!!"

Kindergarten was an AMAZING experience from start to finish.  First grade got off to a rocky start, but we are settling into her new class and are looking forward to great things in the months ahead! 

2014

                                                                                     2015

And when I picked him up from school, he was ALL smiles! 

As Bo Peep got to know our family, we fell more and more in love with her sweet personality and shaggy self. 

I promised Whitney I would bring Bo Peep with me to pick her up from her first day of school, and of course, Bo insisted on dressing up for the occasion. 

Whitney's school uses an app (Class Dojo) to help the teacher communicate with parents re: student behavior.  Whitney loves getting in the car to tell me how many points she earns each day, and its a fun way to track how well she is doing. :) 

Happy First Day, Bug! 

When I drop off my baby girl at a school with over 900 students, and the Assistant Principal happily opens my car door and says, "Good morning, Whitney!! I'm happy to see you!", it feels good. I went to private school most of my life, and until I worked in a public school myself, I never thought I'd send my kids to a Florida public school. Like most experiences in life, you get out what you put in.

This kid amazes me. Typically, when I ask what he did at school, he says, "I played bull dozers/dinosaurs/trains/potato heads," and sometimes hell name the friends he had fun with. Today he told me he played dinosaurs with Cole and he went to chapel and heard music and that Ms. Donna read him "The Kissing Hand." I was floored by the details he decided to share. I know most days will be "I played trains," so today I am grateful for details and my baby boy hugging my neck and asking, "Mommy? Will you kiss my hand like da book?"

Same pup. With glasses. And a bow. It's like they asked themselves, "How do we make the perfect backpack for Whitney Bass?"

My new pal in carline. 

Bedtime Shenanigans

August FBing:

I am so grateful! I have the best husband and kids and parents. My family and friends are amazing. The first week of school for both kids couldn't have gone better. I got to play tennis with fun ladies. I get to work in the food pantry at Whitney's school with friends I've missed. And the weather is beautiful for a weekend in the pool and at Disney. Life won't always be this pretty and "easy" and fun so I'm grateful and feeling extra blessed and happy today. Happy Friday 😃

Bo is very patient as Whitney carries her through the house like a doll.  She often said, "This is totally my dream come true!"

I'm craaaaacking up. My parents are the best.

Grady lost his Zurg "guy" somewhere in the last few days. We've looked everywhere and can't find Zurg. When I dropped him off at school this morning, Grady said, "You gonna go home a look for my Zurg, Monmy??" When I picked Grady up from school, the first thing he said was, "Hi, Mommy! Did you find my Zurg???" Poor Zurg is a lost toy.
I asked my parents to look in the toy bins at their house. My dad just texted me:

We took a trip Disney after the first week of school. 

Looooove the magic of Disney, but especially through the eyes of these besties!

Beauties!

Grady got a Zurg toy and decided he definitely wanted to be Buzz Lightyear for Halloween this year! 

Despite being allowed on the ride previously, Grady magically shrunk and was not allowed on Splash Mountain.  But I took Whitney and a VERY SCARED Faith on the ride :) 

Parking lot after a long day.....YEAH! Disney with three kids was a success! 

And after a sleepover....church together the next morning. 

A great day together, followed by a fun morning at church together, and modeling their Caton's Closet dresses to celebrate their first week in first grade! 

Bow got her first grooming and looked soooo pretty afterwards!! I didnt think she could get cuter! 

Grady and Bo are besties

Bow Peep was thrilled and overly excited to meet her first new doggie friend, Bennie Boo Boo.  Unfortunately, Bow needs to learn how to play harder to get and REALLLLLLLY wants to play, but Bennie likes a slower pace. lol They are fun to watch together now :)

It was, of course, 93849 degrees out in August, but taking Bow Peep for walks was full of adventure.  Its so nice to have a little dog who doesnt have to go far or run long distances to wear herself out.  We walk to the corner of our street, climb a few trees, and then head home and Bow is a happy pup :) 

Happy National Dog Day to all the dogs loved by Team Bass, past and present! Beemer, Bailey, Bingo, Bennie, and Bo Peep have each added to our lives in their own ways, teaching us and humbling us and loving us despite our flaws

Bow Peep's new bed arrived and she was in love at first sight.

Isnt that a perfect bed for a dog named Bow Peep!?!

Weekend sillies!

We got a very rare kid-free night out to celebrate a bestie's birthday and we had a blast!

Eric's brother and sister in law met us out after the dinner party and of course, hilarity ensued. :)

Eric finished the desk for Whitney's room and she was SOOO excited to have a place to do her homework :) 

Unintentionally dressed us alike .....again! 💜🎾

And a HUGE "Thank You!" to my amazing husband who is dropping both kids off at their schools this morning so I can get to Opening Day tennis on time

And that's a wrap on August!  Itll be a Christmas miracle if I can get September, October, and November blogged before 2016....but Im trying!! There was a LOT of fun jammed in those months, so Im looking forward to reliving it as I type it out!