Special Days with my Three

Each summer before school starts back up I try to take one day and do something special with each of my kids. I love the one on one time with them and I think it means a lot to them as well. It is rare that they get undivided attention from one of their parents and they can just talk freely without being interrupted (or, let's be honest, punched) by one of their siblings.

First up this year was Bennett. Unlike her brother, she had no problem deciding what to do. She wanted lunch, shopping, a pedicure and then she begged to finally get her ears pierced. Since I knew it would really change her look, I was hoping we could avoid this until she was 25, but we decided that going into 3rd grade was a good time to do it.

We had lunch at the American Girl bistro in Dallas. Oh, how I love these lunches with her. This was our 4th time to do this together and I cherish each one. I loved talking to her about 3rd grade and what her hopes were for the year. She opens up so much when it is just the two of us and I honestly didn't want our meal to ever end.

Lord, thank you so much for blessing me with such a special gift. I love her so.

Since she was getting her ears pierced later in the day, her doll Caroline got her ears pierced too.

Shopping! This kid did not get her love of shopping from me.

Pedicures with my girl.

And then we went to this really great salon in downtown Dallas where Dad, Will and Lainey met us. She is looking a little nervous here.

She is looking really nervous here. :)

And true to form, Lainey was really upset that she couldn't get her ears pierced. Being the little sister really stinks sometimes.

Voila!

What a beautiful smile. She looks older already. Sigh....

And to end our day we headed across the street for dessert at Carlos' Bake Shop. Please note how Lainey is not in this photo. She was still mad about not getting hers pierced.

On to special day #2. Will is a lot harder than Bennett when it comes to decisions. With so many options in the DFW area he thought about this for weeks and weeks. He changed his mind about 10 times and then he felt bad because he wanted his sisters to be able to come as well. Oh, Will. Never change. He finally decided on the Legoland/Aquarium combo with lunch at Rainforest Cafe. Deal.

Here we go! Ready for our special day!

Legoland had rides. Who knew?  And here I thought we were going to play with Legos all day.

4D movies for the win!

Will also got to do this thing. I have no idea what it is called so I am calling it "this thing." He loved it and twisted and flipped a lot.

Lunch with y favorite Buddy at the Rainforest Cafe. I honestly loved just having a meal with him alone. This kid is so fascinating. He talked and talked and talked and I just listened and hung on every word. 

Riding some mechanical stuffed animal back to the aquarium.

And we wrapped up our day looking at all kinds of fish and sea creatures together. Will is so incredibly inquisitive and he reminds me so much of Rob in that he wanted to stop and read every fact about every species of every animal. I wish I could spend every day wandering around museums with this kid. Okay, maybe not every day. he would drive me crazy. But 4 days out of the week would work.

And in typical third child fashion, Lainey's day was much shorter and I only took a few pictures. How appropriate. I took her shopping for Shopkins (of course) and then took her to Steak and Shake for lunch and milkshakes. She may not be able to carry a conversation like her siblings, but man is she fun. I just delight in this kid and could stare at her all day.

What a great week spending quality time with my kids. I am so grateful for them and I am very humbled that God has entrusted me to raise them and care for them. I need to do special days like this throughout the year and not just in the summer before school starts. time is flying quickly and I am all too aware of how precious and fleeting these days are.