Paul & Kate's Great Vindu Inn Escape

For the first time since well before Hattie was born, Paul and Kate got away for a night on the town. We left the girls with Ga and Pappaw, and headed into Charleston for our great overnight escape.

We stayed at the Vindu Inn, dined at its rooftop restaurant, and (best of all) had a full night of sleep with no interruptions and plenty of time to lounge around the following morning. Ah, the life!

Pullen Park Redux

With all the success if a Monday afternoon spent at Pollen Park, we decided to double down on Tuesday. Our great hope was to fill that ominous void of eatly-evening energy that do often leads to I'll behavior...and also to entertain...and also to exhaust the little ones in an attempt to ease the nighttime routines.

The big story of the trip was Clara climbing to the very top of the spiders web, this 15 foot tangle of ropes upon which she had previously mustered the courage to get about a third of the way up.

Not this time!

Paul and the Girls at Pullen Park

With this beautiful Autumn weather, it wasn't hard to convince Paul, Clara and Hattie to spend Monday afternoon at Pullen Park. 

After riding the boats and train, Paul parked himself on the grassy knoll with Hattie climbing all over him while Clara ran around with a seeming unlimited number of options of other kids to play with.

Wild Dunes Visit

With September came the annual McKnight pilgrimage to Wild Dunes. We made it down for a couple of visits. Here we cover the trips with some pictures...

August in Review

August has come and gone. We are making the mental transition from summer to fall, all too glad to give up the brutal heat of the past few months and eager for the fun activities autumn has in store. And yet summer has been fun, and August was a big month in so many ways. 

First, we would be remiss - after going into great detail about Clara's three-year-old foibles back in the rough month of June - if we didn't highlight how delightful she has been in August. She has reclaimed the old standard of 98 percent delight to two percent Tasmanian Devil. 

It's not about particulars here. What we've noticed is a general pattern of Clara working hard to check her frustration when she doesn't get her way, she feels competition with Hattie for attention, it's time for operation cooperation, or whatever else the flash point might be. She's been on the verge of major meltdowns, but she has checked herself and reeled it back in. And always of her own doing. If you could have a window into that brain of hers to see the mind gears churning, you would witness some mixture of logic and rationalization she mixed together to work her way through conflicts that, two months ago, would have ended in nasty tantrums.

Yeah, Clara! Yeah the toddler steps toward tiny pieces of emotional control. We'll take it! And yet we steel ourselves with the knowledge that the only constant in this parenting life is change, and the only phrase that holds true forever is  this too shall pass. 

Forts

Clara's latest fascination is building forts from the cushions on the downstairs couches. It keeps her occupied, and we don't protest. For a time we were taking them apart each night after she went to bed so the parent might have a place to sit and veg in the evening. But Clara was disappointed each morning to see her creations torn asunder. So we've given her the corner oversized chair as the permanent fort that remains standing even at night.

August was Clara's First Haircut and First Dentist Visit

August brought some firsts by way of Clara's first haircut (yes, at three and 1/2 this is the first ever...and she only allowed approximately 3/4 of an inch to be sheared) and her first visit to the dentist.

Hattie's Teeth

Hattie is finally crawling, pulling up, and cruising. She's begun waving, babbling more, and even making the occasional ROAR. But nothing is coming in quite as fast as those teeth. Seven in all. Unfortunately for Kate, Hattie is currently enamored of practicing the chomping motions. Gotta try those suckers out.

The Dryden Family in Auburn Garb Ready for Football Season

Durham Bulls 2...Bat Girl!

After dinner we made a detour into the Bulls stadium to find the face painting artists. The girls each went her own way. Elizabeth wanted to be a butterfly. Carolyn wanted to be a dragon. And Clara wanted to be Bat Girl.

The only hard part was explaining to Clara why the face paint had to come off in the bath tonight. We think she envisioned it more as a permanent tattoo-thing.

Durham Bulls 1...At the Ballpark

We took a family outing to see the Durahm Bulls play and sat in the comfortable confines of the Tobacco Road Sports Cafe, the outside deck of which overlooks left field and gives a nice vantage point for the game.