The Whole Tooth

"What doesn't kill you makes you stronger" "You have to have rain before you can enjoy the rainbow" we hear these motivational quotes all the time as we pass through trials. I was beginning to think that whoever came up with this stuff never made it almost all the way through first grade without losing a tooth. For the past year this has been the biggest stressor of Grace's life, but it finally happened. Grace lost her first tooth. It happened at school and she came bursting through the front happier than I've ever seen her. I of course cried because well you know this means her childhood has basically ended. She did leave the cutest note asking to keep her tooth and made a simple request of getting a guitar instead of money (where do they come up with this stuff?) Of course for me, my childhood has not ended and therefore I missed the memo that

... SPOILER ALERT...

The tooth fair is not real. So it turns out I was supposed to be the tooth fairy. I woke up to what I thought was going to be the worst day ever with one sad little girl. Fortunately I'm married to superman who (I will never know how he did it) but somehow he took care of it all. Minus the request about her keeping the tooth. He says he didn't take it. We looked forever all over the room but couldn't find it. Until a few days later it miraculously appeared in Emilyne's mouth as Emilyne got her first tooth!

This picture of course is a more accurate depiction of how it really happened but hey what doesn't kill you makes you stronger.

Cutest Dad Ever

Most girls wouldn't find the thought off sharing their husbands love with three other girls very fun but I have to admit I'm kind of crazy about it. You see six and a half years ago when Grace was born I realized that I wasn't the only girl completely infatuated with Travis.

I can remember taking Grace to her three year checkup and telling the doctor I was a little worried because from the time Travis would leave for work until he came home Grace would just lay on the floor sucking her thumb waiting for her daddy to come home.

His advice to me was this "There is nothing wrong with a little girl being crazy about her daddy. If she's sixteen and this is still going on bring her back."Three years later we're only ten years away from our follow up visit, and how any of us find the will to survive those 8 hours a day without Travis is a mystery to me.

This week was one of those weeks where my toes couldn't stop tingling as I watched Travis plan the first annual Daddy Daughter Valentines party for Grace, Anna and all their friends and their dads. He made the girls a cute invitation and slid it under their bedroom door. He planned the manliest tea party menu of all time with jalapeno popper dip, battered brats, pigs in a blanket, cupcakes and pink kool aid. He even planned a craft for the guests. It was a picture frame to hold a picture of each dad and daughter.

It was so sweet to watch as each dad arrived with his little girl. All the dads were dressed up in suits and ties with their little girls wearing their fanciest dresses, make up, ringlets and I even got a couple of whiffs of perfume. As the guests arrived that was my cue to leave for my own date with Nelson.

I would have loved to have been a fly on the wall for the party, maybe next year. While I didn't get to see them interacting on their little date it wasn't too hard to imagine. I watch him all the time dancing and singing with them, I've seen them pass cards under the door while he's in his room studying and watched him take a break to slide a response under their door, we've come downstairs to little notes saying how much he loves us on days he has to leave really early. The best part of all is watching these little faces light up everyday when they hear the garage open and shout "Daddy's home!" I may have to share him with three other little girls but it's so worth it.

Iowa Invasion

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Welcome to my millionth attempt at blogging. I can never get the pictures and writing lined up how I want, so after an hour and a half of trying to figure it out I usually just give up and hit the delete button. I have decided today that a) if you're reading this you love me and don't really care if they line up and b) since when am I a perfectionist?

So we the Tidwell family have officially invaded the thriving metropolis of West Des Moines Iowa and we are in love! Grace walks around the house saying "Daddy guess what, Mommy's in love with Iowa." I don't think there is a more perfect place in this world for our little family at this time. If you head east you run into down town Des Moines which is full of a million cheap family friendly activities including the greatest farmers market ever. If you go west there's nothing but corn fields, wild flowers and oddly enough the DMV.

Grace started kindergarten (thumbs down) The stinking thing is 7 hours long! Anna and I miss her like crazy and we spend most of the day asking each other when does Grace get home. Grace on the other hand loves it of course.

Travis is enjoying everything about school. He has said though that nothing could have prepared him for the amount of information dumped into his head on a daily basis. He says a week and a half of school is about an entire semesters worth from his undergrad. Even though it's alot he absolutely loves everything he's learning. For him it's a huge spiritual journey to learn the ins and out of the human body. He had his white coat ceremony on Saturday and I had to ask myself when did this happen?

Whenever it happened I'm so glad it did. In so many ways I feel like the Midwest was made for me. The people and bugs are friendly and the corn's delicious. What more could you ask for?